ToeJam & Earl vs. ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove

[@jimmyeddy]

New episode of Versus is up! Hello Kitty Kruisers vs. Garfield Kart: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqLaonhuqZ6UapI ● If you like this video, be sure to check out the Versus playlist: bit.ly/2N0aGek

[@jacktaylor6155]

I always felt like Nickelodeon should have tried to make this as a show

[@Acanofalconpunch]

Funny you say that. I heard they are going to make a show or movie

[@fizznovareal]

​@@Acanofalconpunchoh damn really?

[@megaedge2762]

In my opinion, the most underrated soundtrack.

[@Brantendo64]

The funniest thing about Jam Out mode was that, looking back, it's so simplistic and sort of useless, but for some reason it was my favorite thing as a kid. Haha

[@jimmyeddy]

I think I wasted upwards of 30 minutes in Jam Out mode trying to make T.J. and Earl do something funky 😂

[@Brantendo64]

@@jimmyeddy Same, then 30 more minutes trying to copy their moves hahaha.

[@powerfist80]

Bad take on the newer versions visuals, it looks amazing.

[@c.zatara-673]

In the original title it was also possible to give your gifts to the other player, you could just drop 'em and the other player could pick it up. I also think that you underestimated how innovative and how well the gameplay took advantage of the tech. available in the era, which the new title doesn't even come close. Sure, comparing it without historical context BITG can arguably have a better gameplay, but it never came close of the same impact the original was when it was released.

[@bencamp18]

Well said. Other than the online multiplayer stuff (very glitchy, btw) and the obligatory achievements and unlockables for "replay value" this game is essentially a rehash. I don't understand why it exists. It is a nostalgic novelty that wouldn't have much to offer for someone currently initiating to the series. We've had Diablo since then in terms of the top-down rogue genre. And many other more fun games that take more advantage of the consoles and engines they are played on. This one has the difficulty ramped way up but still expects you to defend yourself with slow, inaccurate tomatoes whenever you can find them and for as long as the timer lasts. Tedious, monotonous, and not especially fun. I'll take the original.

[@JohnnyFromVirginia]

I had no idea they made a new Toejam & Earl. I’m downloading it tonight!

[@adammclaughlin845]

This is a good video but I think it understates how rare it is for an early 90s game to be as playable and as much fun today as it was back then. Controls are awesome, graphics are awesome, music is awesome, split screen effortlessly changing to full screen is still unmatched to this day. And seeing how bad the players are on the original game hurts my soul - the game gets better once you get good at it.

[@chumorgan443]

The original did something that I NEVER hear anyone talk about. How did it store 25 worlds , enemy and item placement in real-time memory?!. This was the genaration where re-spawning enemies when you re-enter a room was the norm. This was something elce.

[@PlayingAround4Now]

You're right! I never thought about it but it's crazy that this old game could remember which enemies were defeated and which presents were picked up on each floor.

[@JMFSpike]

Yeah, it really was a technical marvel. I don't know how they did it. That split screen co-op was also several years ahead of it's time, as that was pretty much completely unheard of until the late 90's. Even the randomly generated levels, while it had been done before, I don't know if it had ever been done to that level of complexity. Maybe on PC, but not on a console. I still can't believe they were going to make a proper sequel all those years ago and that Sega stupidly made them make it a platformer instead. I mean, Panic on Funkotrom was absolutely fantastic and I love it, but it lacked (although not completely) the originality and uniqueness of the first game. At least they made it different then all the other platformers out there, but I would have loved to see what could have been. I wonder if an early beta of the second game before it was turned into a platformer exists out there somewhere.

[@PlayingAround4Now]

@@JMFSpike Yeah, I wish there was a proper sequel on the Genesis. Have you played TJ&E3? Or Back in the Groove?

[@enthused7591]

Toejam and Early is genuinely a top 5 game of all time to me, although I'm 100% aware that's because I was a Genesis kid before any other console. That Sega intro and the intro theme music are the most nostalgic music in all of gaming for me. Nothing beats this game in terms of it's lax attitude and sarcastic humor.

[@legalfreedom]

For anyone who hasn't noticed or been exposed to both, the music and attitude in TJ&E is heavily inspired by Parliament's Mothership Connection album. To the point where some of it was certainly directly lifted. It's pretty striking. I wouldn't doubt it one bit if the entire game concept was heavily inspired by this record. kzbin.info/aero/OLAK5uy_k5BKg6aR7SkE69hOjKtbSTVMLYr-6AftU

[@shorekey1y560]

Yep

[@iTiZaQUeStiOnMaRk]

Panic on Funkotron will always be my favorite

[@Jac735]

Facts ths was a real good game and it was hard you had to do cheats

[@d0nk3yk0ng64]

👍 to anyone who can list all of the 90s stuff put into the blender

[@hillbillysanders8695]

I saw Nickelodeon and beans babys and bart Simpson

[@pagestre9035]

This video is fantastic! As a huge ToeJam & Earl fan I was hoping somebody would do this eventually, because this kind of coverage of this game isn't very common. Your production is great and editing is very entertaining to watch. Nice job, glad I watched looking forward to more! 😄

[@PlayingAround4Now]

How did you not mention the soundtrack? These games have some of the best music!

[@ChaossX77]

Not sure how you dint compare the music in a game like this.

[@casedistorted]

Really great videos! I know you guys didn’t get far in this series 3 years ago but felt it could have done well with enough videos in the series.

[@jimmyeddy]

I still have the intention of perhaps making more of these videos, it's just a question of finding the right topics, games and motivation. Thanks for watching!

[@megaedge2762]

Imma gonna disagree with staying together. You find a lot more items and level up easier separated. If you are in trouble, use some presents!

[@Dnobagav49]

Not sure if you're a fan of the SOR series but an in-depth vid on SOR 4 compared to the old series would be awesome.

[@jimmyeddy]

I've got Streets of Rage 4 on preorder from Limited Run Games. I've only ever played SoR 2 so far but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Your suggestion has crossed my mind for sure.

[@Dnobagav49]

@@jimmyeddy looking forward to a future review ;)

[@kamenanew9867]

Strange that you noticed the hyperfunk zone carring over from the second game, but felt like the rhythm sections were unique to this game when they are basically carried over themselves also straight from said second game. Otherwise, good vid. Thanks.

[@smkrs1824]

Do Mario Kart 8 Deluxe vs Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled

[@epicraytv1997]

Honestly, I kinda prefer the original.

[@elmoisred616]

Hey, love your content! I too made a retro game channel and it was inspired about channels like this, thank you %)

[@timellis1560]

that double dragon theme is 🔥

[@emilyapricot1313]

Play 0:06 - 0:08 in 0.25x slo mo + pause to see all the 90s in the blender ! (You’re Welcome)

[@jsemail894]

Boogey Booogey Boogey!

[@enthused7591]

The one thing that stands out about the new version is that it looks a little cramped and lazy in the way that they just kind of scattered enemies and random other artifacts around. In the original, you usually only had to contend with 1 or 2 npcs at the same time and it had a very natural feeling layout throughout the whole game. Not a huge deal, but definitely noticeable that it felt like someone was trying their best to "recreate" the original, without quite the amount of talent and ability that the original designers had. ToeJam and Earl for Genesis was absolutely groundbreaking in every way for a game that came out in 1992.

[@jimmyeddy]

Agreed. It's crazy to think how much better designed lots of these games were when artists and programmers were severely limited by hardware. It's also crazy that T.J. & Earl was actually released in 1991 in the U.S., just a month after the North American SNES launch, and there's nothing comprable to it on the console.

[@Balefactor]

Wow. You hit the nail right on the head when it comes to Back in the Groove's aesthetic. Even down to comparing it to all those lame flash cartoons released the for past 15 years. Back in the Groove is such a fugly game, but gameplay-wise it looks like a great time.

[@jimmyeddy]

It's a pretty excellent title. I wish they'd add a retro mode to change the graphics into sprites like you can in *Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap* and the upcoming *Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX*

[@scr0ngle108]

I like the way it looks, reminds me of funk album art from the 70's

[@megaedge2762]

I do think the new game looks a bit easier.

[@heyjustj]

I so wish they would have stuck with a pixel art style but in HD. That’s a huge misstep in my opinion. But I will admit the OG as iconic, unique, and fun as it was is now a bit slow to play through and there are some insanely annoying enemies. It feels like this new version fixes gameplay but misses the mark with style. It oddly feels retro… but retro to the wrong era. Like you said a flash game or something. I hate the look of the 3D island and shadows. It needed one cohesive art style with that 2D line drawing that they half did or scrap it all for pixel art. If they had nailed the art this would have been a no brainer for me to buy.

[@oldbordergeek]

Funkotron panic is best 1111

[@GraveUypo]

huh, i disagree entirely with the gameplay part. i think the new game is a huge downgrade in every way to the old one. enemies are easier, levels are too small, characters are too big and fast... all the sense of exploration is gone. it's like it's made for people with short attention spans. btw you could rank up in the old one, although it pretty much only improved your health bar afaik. and you must've been really unlucky, because there are only 25 levels and all 10 pieces are spread in those, so in average it should be one every two and a half levels. there have been instances where i finished the entire game on the 10th level, which means i got spaceship pieces in every level.

[@jimmyeddy]

I was a newcomer going into the ToeJam & Earl series this year but I can definitely see where you're coming from. The visual style and overall cheap feel of the new game definitely leave a lot to be desired, especially considering how great the original's music and artwork hold up. At the same time I still felt like the overall improvements made to the new game put it over the top, at least in terms of being the more desirable of the two games to play in 2019. To me, I didn't really notice that anything was taken away from the old game, just new stuff added, lots of them were excellent improvements like the mini games to break up the monotony. Also, about level size, I sort of disagree. I think Back in the Groove has lots of large levels, it's just that (like you said) the characters move around a lot quicker and in general are larger, but if you play around enough, there are a lot of larger scaled floors with new themes and physics. Maybe you're right about it just being a case of getting unlucky rng in the playthrough I did of the original game's "Random World" mode, but it certainly put a bad taste in my mouth. It's good to know that it's not *always like that*, and if you get lucky, you *can* beat the game in 10 floors, so I'll certainly keep that in mind moving forward as both are games I intend to revisit because I genuinely enjoyed both. Also, thanks for watching the video!

[@GraveUypo]

@@jimmyeddy i think the new one also has the same type of RNG for ship pieces, so you might go through a dry spell in it too, eventually. or maybe there's a pseudo-rng implementation that prevents that from happening, which would be ideal.

[@jimmyeddy]

@@GraveUypo I've played through BitG probably a dozen or so times, both online and offline. It never got as long as the original, but it certainly is a possibility with enough playthroughs, a very unlucky run could be encountered.

[@jayc706]

Thats weird. You shouldn't be able to beat the game in less than 25 levels. The last ship piece has always been on the 25th level.

[@GraveUypo]

@@jayc706 which game? To be fair, i'm probably remembering it wrong. I'm fairly sure there have been more than one instance when the last piece i found was not on the 25th level, but then again i might have been backtracking to finding the ones i missed before.

[@glassGPT]

11:19

[@bellby]

early hiphop or herbie hancock?

[@carter6182]

I guess somebody knows their Tommy Boy

[@hillbillysanders8695]

@@carter6182 Herbie Hancock is a musician...

[@mitvoid]

So you don't compare music? Thanks for the comparison anyway. The recent version looks so ugly, I don't care playing Terrible animations, poor colours. The artists had no clue what they are aiming for I guess.

[@jimmyeddy]

The visuals look like early aughts flash animation. I definitely like the 16-bit visuals for sure.

[@STAXONDECK1]

You should it’s a much better game wasn’t I did it care for the graphics at first but I like them now same feeling I had with streets of rage 4

[@jonahabenhaim1223]

luckily they added the classic characters

[@muslimmokhles6949]

2

[@bannanabread1697]

ToeJam genesis is better than ToeJam console

[@jimmyeddy]

I was under the impression that the Genesis is a console...

[@bannanabread1697]

@@jimmyeddy i meant 2019