Overall 9.8-
ToeJam & Earl was a pretty weird game back in its day, and when you remove it from those carefree 16-bit days, it feels even weirder. As two hip-hop-loving aliens, you'll have to avoid evil earthlings like little devils, hula dancers, bees, and evil dentists while trying to find the pieces of your spaceship so you can escape back to your home planet, Funkotron. But in this case, "weird" doesn't mean "bad." This game was "fresh," or perhaps even "def," back when it was released in the early '90s, and while its lingo and attitude are most definitely dated, it's still a lot of fun, especially with two players
Sound 9-
The effects and music in ToeJam & Earl were pretty cool back in 1991. While that FM synthesizer inside the Genesis was put to effective use on the bass lines and other parts of the music, a lot of the drums and other sounds were digitized, giving the game the sound of an old drum machine. If you want to just drop a beat, there's a jam-out option that plays the music from the game sans drums, so you can hit buttons to play the drum samples yourself. The blend of rap and funk represents some of the most memorable music to ever grace a Genesis cartridge. The beats are elegant and whimsical, providing the perfect tone for all the game’s humor. One could, nevertheless, argue that the sound effects are equally impressive, from the off-key “La-La-LAAH!” of Cupids and the “Halelulya” of getting your life bar refilled to the crunch of eating moldy bread and the burping that ensues when you open a root beer present.
Graphics 8-
The backgrounds are simple (green grass, black space, blue water, etc.), and the sprites for the characters and Earthlings could definitely be bigger. That said, the characters are rich with animation, and the wacky cast of characters comes to life thanks to the attention to detail.
Story 8-
The game itself is almost like a dungeon-crawl, in an entirely different-looking environment. The levels are randomly generated (in the main mode, anyway), and you need to scour each level in search of items, including your ship pieces, while being on the lookout for enemies. The items you collect are presents, and at the start of the game, you have no idea what any of the presents do. But when you open a present and discover what's inside, you're guaranteed that all the other presents that look the same have the same contents. The presents can help or hurt, depending on what you get. Tomatoes can be thrown at enemies. A decoy present directs the enemies to huddle around your decoy, letting you skittle away to safety. Rocket skates give you a nearly uncontrollable boost of speed that is usually a real nuisance. There are a good number of different presents in the game, and figuring out what they all do is a key part of the game.
Overall 9.8-
ToeJam & Earl was a pretty weird game back in its day, and when you remove it from those carefree 16-bit days, it feels even weirder. As two hip-hop-loving aliens, you'll have to avoid evil earthlings like little devils, hula dancers, bees, and evil dentists while trying to find the pieces of your spaceship so you can escape back to your home planet, Funkotron. But in this case, "weird" doesn't mean "bad." This game was "fresh," or perhaps even "def," back when it was released in the early '90s, and while its lingo and attitude are most definitely dated, it's still a lot of fun, especially with two players
Sound 9-
The effects and music in ToeJam & Earl were pretty cool back in 1991. While that FM synthesizer inside the Genesis was put to effective use on the bass lines and other parts of the music, a lot of the drums and other sounds were digitized, giving the game the sound of an old drum machine. If you want to just drop a beat, there's a jam-out option that plays the music from the game sans drums, so you can hit buttons to play the drum samples yourself. The blend of rap and funk represents some of the most memorable music to ever grace a Genesis cartridge. The beats are elegant and whimsical, providing the perfect tone for all the game’s humor. One could, nevertheless, argue that the sound effects are equally impressive, from the off-key “La-La-LAAH!” of Cupids and the “Halelulya” of getting your life bar refilled to the crunch of eating moldy bread and the burping that ensues when you open a root beer present.
Graphics 8-
The backgrounds are simple (green grass, black space, blue water, etc.), and the sprites for the characters and Earthlings could definitely be bigger. That said, the characters are rich with animation, and the wacky cast of characters comes to life thanks to the attention to detail.
Story 8-
The game itself is almost like a dungeon-crawl, in an entirely different-looking environment. The levels are randomly generated (in the main mode, anyway), and you need to scour each level in search of items, including your ship pieces, while being on the lookout for enemies. The items you collect are presents, and at the start of the game, you have no idea what any of the presents do. But when you open a present and discover what's inside, you're guaranteed that all the other presents that look the same have the same contents. The presents can help or hurt, depending on what you get. Tomatoes can be thrown at enemies. A decoy present directs the enemies to huddle around your decoy, letting you skittle away to safety. Rocket skates give you a nearly uncontrollable boost of speed that is usually a real nuisance. There are a good number of different presents in the game, and figuring out what they all do is a key part of the game.
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