Earthworm Jim 2

Earthworm Jim 2 for Game Boy Advance is the 2002 handheld version of the surreal action-platform sequel first released on 16-bit consoles in 1995. Developed for GBA by Super Empire and published by Majesco, it adapts the Super NES edition of Shiny Entertainment's Earthworm Jim 2. The game returns to the series' comic-book sci-fi universe, where an ordinary worm has become an unlikely hero after gaining control of a powerful space suit. Jim sets out once more to rescue Princess What's-Her-Name from the villainous Psy-Crow.

At its core, Earthworm Jim 2 is a single-player side-scrolling platform game built around running, jumping, shooting, and using Jim himself as a whip. Players move through enemy-filled stages, look for routes through hazardous environments, and manage the suit's health while using a selection of weapons picked up along the way. The portable release preserves the sequel's mixture of action and broad cartoon comedy rather than treating every stage as a conventional platforming course.

That variety is central to the game's identity. Alongside more familiar run-and-gun sections, the adventure includes unusual set pieces and changing objectives: Jim may need to navigate perilous interiors, answer deliberately absurd questions in a game-show sequence, float upward while avoiding obstacles, or take part in a flying-shooter-style challenge. Snott, the green alien companion from the series, also has an important gameplay role in the original design, functioning as a useful tool for reaching and crossing certain areas.

The Game Boy Advance version is specifically a later conversion, not the original 1995 release, and its credits should not be confused with Shiny Entertainment's work on the Genesis and Super NES game. Super Empire handled this GBA port, while Majesco brought it to the handheld in 2002. Its content draws on the Super NES version, placing a distinctive mid-1990s character-platformer on Nintendo's portable system years after the initial release.

Earthworm Jim 2 GBA remains tied closely to the series' deliberately bizarre humor: its cast includes Princess What's-Her-Name, Psy-Crow, Evil the Cat, and other exaggerated adversaries, while levels use strange visual ideas and abrupt shifts in play style. The objective remains the same through the chaos—guide Jim through the adventure and reach the Princess—but the route is designed to surprise players with its changing challenges as much as with its platforming action.

The GBA conversion is also a notable example of how a game can differ across platforms. Contemporary coverage of the 2002 handheld release identified technical issues involving performance, graphics, sound, and the password-based save system, so it is best understood as a separate portable adaptation rather than a replacement for the original 16-bit versions. Even so, it preserves the sequel's broad premise, recognizable hero, action-platform structure, and eccentric stage concepts for players exploring Earthworm Jim's Game Boy Advance chapter.