The Ice Cream Truck or Phantom Ice Cream Truck is a recurring hostile Earthling in the ToeJam & Earl series.
Appearances[]
ToeJam & Earl[]
- "Quite possibly the most feared of all Earthlings. Many unsuspecting victims have been lured out of the safety of their homes by the sweet tinkling sound of music, only to see a ghostly Ice Cream truck bearing down on them from out of the mist.
No one really knows the story behind this "Spectre of Frozen Confections", but it assumed to be a tragic and awe-inspiring one." - — ToeJam & Earl manual, page 33
The Phantom Ice Cream Truck only appears on higher levels. Fast moving and deadly, the Phantom Ice Cream Truck is supernatural in nature, often appearing and disappearing in a puff of smoke. It is only heralded by its horn, but is otherwise silent. It will head strait for the player, flattening you if it touches you, taking a large amount of health.
Popping them with tomatoes is possible, but not advised as it will simply reappear, sometimes even manifesting more than once so that there are two or even three of them. Luckily they will be fooled by a decoy, although they will pop it fairly quickly. Walking around the edges of the level or around water is advised, as they are not too smart and will often just vanish in smoke or turn around when hitting an obstacle.
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove[]
- "This Ice Cream Truck is seriously dangerous. The ice cream it drops is yummy, but the best plan is just to run away."
- — ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove online manual[1]
In this game, the Ice Cream Truck is a mid-to-late game enemy. The supernatural element is downplayed in this game, as the ice cream trucks do not vanish and reappear. However their threat remains the same as the first game, and squishing you will still take significant amount of life from you.
Unlike in the first game, they will not be deterred by difficult terrain, and actively hunt the players around obstacles. However they can be thwarted by zig-zagging or walking in circles. One positive is that they will drop lots of ice creams which can be picked up to boost any health lost.
A more dangerous and tougher variant of the Ice Cream Truck, the Deadly Ice Cream Truck, appears at higher levels. These are more damaging to the touch, are faster, and more difficult to evade. They also drop old cabbage instead of ice creams.
See also[]
- In ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove, there is a higher-level variant, the Deadly Ice Cream Truck.