ToeJam and Earl: Back in The Groove is a 2019 video game. It is the fourth entry in the ToeJam & Earl series, and the first one since ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth (2002).
The game was developed by HumaNature Studios, founded by series creator Greg Johnson, and published by the studio on March 1, 2019[1]. This is the first entry in the series to have no involvement from Sega.
With initial publisher Adult Swim Games pulling out during development, ToeJam and Earl: Back in The Groove is entirely self-published by HumaNature Studios and development was primarily crowd funded.[2]
Former child actor Macaulay Culkin is a life-long fan of the ToeJam & Earl series, and is credited as an executive producer of ToeJam and Earl: Back in The Groove through his company Bunny Ears.[3][4][5] Culkin starred in a series of interviews and sketches to promote the game.[6][7][8]
Gameplay[]
The game plays most similarly to the original ToeJam & Earl game for the Sega Genesis. The game plays from a fixed, isometric viewpoint, and features the same basic gameplay of searching and exploring up a successive layer of floating islands. While it mostly does not play like the game's vastly different sequel, ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron, it implements some of the minor side aspects of it, such as the "Jam Out" rhythm-based mini-game, the HyperFunk Zone, and the coin meters that give random rewards. The game features nine different playable characters, and four-player cooperative gameplay, both online and locally. Whereas the original ToeJam & Earl game had 20 different types of Earthlings, Back in the Groove has 60.
Development[]
The game was developed by HumaNature Studios, the company founded by ToeJam and Earl series creator Greg Johnson. Work on the game's premise started shortly after the team's prior game release, Doki-Doki Universe, which released December 2013. After teasing that the team had been busy working on the game's premise in early 2015, the game was formally announced in March 2015. The game's original plan was to forgo securing a publisher, in favor of raising funds through crowd sourcing. The team ran a Kickstarter campaign throughout the month of March, with a goal of raising $400,000 to fund the game. The game's goal was met on March 25, two days before the campaign's end, and ended up at over $500,000 as the total amount, successfully funding the game, but failing to meet the stretch goals required to get the game released on traditional video game consoles, instead being relegated to the Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows. The team, at the time, consisted of just three people - Johnson, an engineer, and an artist.
Initially scheduled for a 2016 release, in August 2016, it was announced that Adult Swim Games had joined on to publish and give additional funding for the project. This allowed for the game's release on additional video game platforms, but did not specify which ones, and delayed the game into 2017. While Adult Swim Games was publishing the game, the deal did not involve the creation of any sort of animated cartoon for its Adult Swim television broadcast. On February 28, 2017, during a Nintendo Direct focused around indie and crowd-funded games coming to Nintendo platforms, the Nintendo Switch was revealed to be one of the platforms the game would be released on, with more to be announced. Versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were confirmed in April. In June 2018, it was announced that Adult Swim Games would no longer be publishing the game. It was ultimately self-published digitally by HumaNature Studios in early 2019. Limited Run Games published physical editions for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Characters[]
Character Data: ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ToeJam[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | Double Time with Hitops and Spring Shoes | |||
Starting Present | Hitops, Spring Shoes | |||
Earl[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | Can eat bad food | |||
Starting Present | Organic Power Food, Fudge Sundae | |||
Latisha[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | Extra damage with all Tomatoes | |||
Starting Present | Tomatoes, Slingshot | |||
Old Skool ToeJam[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | Double time with Hitops and Nice Rocket Skates | |||
Starting Present | Hitops, Decoy | |||
Old Skool Earl[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | Gets 2 for 1 Sushi and Rootbeer gives 5X health | |||
Starting Present | Sushi, Rootbeer | |||
Lewanda[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | Uses all Coin Meters for free | |||
Starting Present | Fix Present, Change Present | |||
Flo[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | Gives boost to others when hi-fiving (especially Earl) | |||
Starting Present | Good Earthling, Heal Friend/Invisibility Paint | |||
Peabo[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | More time with Icarus Wings | |||
Starting Present | Mystery Present, Mystery Present, Boom Box | |||
GeekJam[edit] | ||||
Speed | Search Skill | |||
Life Bar Size | Inventory | |||
Present Skill | Luck | |||
Special Ability | Gets a stat bump with every School Book, 2 for Amped | |||
Starting Present | School Book, Identify |
See also[]
- ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove/Presents
- ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove/Power Hats
- ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove/Achievements & Trophies
- ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove/Patch Notes
Reception[]
- According to review aggregator Metacritic, ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove received "generally favorable reviews" on Nintendo Switch and PC, and "mixed or average reviews" on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game has a Metascore of 75% on Metacritic, with a user score of 6.2.[9]
Links[]
- ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove (official website hosted by HumaNature Studios)
- Online Game Manual
- ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove at Wikipedia
- MobyGames
- Metacritic
- GameFaqs
- ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove at speedrun.com
References[]
- ↑ https://www.tjebackinthegroove.com/presskit
- ↑ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/humanaturestudios/toejam-and-earl-back-in-the-groove
- ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/toejam-earl-2019-review-macaulay-culkin-2019-3?r=US&IR=T
- ↑ https://www.engadget.com/2019-02-27-macaulay-culkin-toejam-earl-launch-interview.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3RhcnRwYWdlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHI5afW4ndh1BWCUqtCfTOPAUK-1BRQTQ_m07kYJr_TUxv4xzGfmTdyNLT9Ou5_Tol4GXwvmPiHsBYpDxvqMtdI-5h-DvWHh3yMRVmkuNPWekMHGqz0TcwfBiuAiAIqHRGPQwf_Yf6nljnFjIIb5aHSPt0Y-nyoKcvwZlfEyRFMw
- ↑ https://comicbook.com/news/watch-macaulay-culkin-epic-adventure-to-save-toejam-and-earl/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUwfQoA9-Mk
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XhEdMbn25U
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S9U8Lx_DkDM
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/toejam-earl-back-in-the-groove!
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove |
---|
Protagonists |
ToeJam • Earl • Latisha • GeekJam • Peabo • Lewanda • Flo |
Supporting Characters |
Lamont |
Gameplay |
Patch Notes • Presents • Power Hats • Ranks |
Earthlings |
Boogie Man • Brother Marvin & Drone • Danger Chickens • Clipboard Volunteer • Construction Worker • Cosplay Nerds • Cow Ghost • Stupid Cupid • Football Player • Ghandi Ji • Happy Dolphin • Hula Girl • Hungry Caveman • Ice Cream Truck • Inquisitor • Insane Dentist • Internet Troll • Jetpack Santa • King Tut • Lawn Mower Man • Little Devil • Mad Inventor • Mailbox Monster • Man in Black • Medusa Baby • Mole Thief • Naked Man in a Box • Obnoxious Tourist • Opera Singer • Rabid Fan Boy • Runaway Elf • Segway Guard • Selfie Person • Shady Character • Sharky • Shopping Cart Lady • Snotty Sick Kid • Sushi Chef • Sweet Little Girl • Texting Person • Tornado • UFO • Wiseman in Carrot Suit • Wizard • Yeti with a Pencil |
Games and Media in the ToeJam & Earl Series | |
---|---|
Main Series | ToeJam & Earl • ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron • ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth • ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove |
Spinoffs | Ready, Aim, Tomatoes! |
Compilations | Sega Vintage Collection: ToeJam & Earl • Sega Genesis Classics |
Merch | The Funkotron Shop • Yetee • 30th Anniversary Collection |
Other Media | ToeJam & Earl Rap • Sega Tunes: ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron • Super Funky Telethon • Cameos |