Jim is a normal earthworm, until a special "super suit" falls from the sky and allows him to operate much like a human, with his "worm-part" acting as a head and the suit acting as arms, body, and legs. Jim's task is two-fold, he must evade the game's many antagonists, who are after him because they want the suit back, and also rescue and protect Princess What's-Her-Name from them.

The game plays out with Jim eluding and defeating all enemies, and saving Princess What's-Her-Name. However, not only does she not return Jim's affection, but she is also crushed by a random flying cow.

Playmates Toys, finding success with the license for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, wanted to start their own franchise. Inspired by the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog series with Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, they decided that they wanted to start the franchise as a video game, a rare approach at the time. From there, the game's design actually started with Doug TenNapel's simple sketch of an earthworm that he presented to Shiny Entertainment. Impressed, David Perry and the rest of Shiny bought the rights to Earthworm Jim from TenNapel, and started developing the game. From there, TenNapel would work on doing the game design, creating level ideas, and voicing Jim's character, while Perry and the other programmers created other characters and game mechanics.

The game's crazy atmosphere, world, and characters was due to the fact that the company had previously always been restricted to doing licensed games, like 7up's Cool Spot, where they had to conform to the other company's preset limitations. In that respect, the game was actually created as a satire of platform video games at the time; for instance, "Princess-What's-Her-Name" was a parody of how so many video games had throw-away female characters to be saved.

Original

The original version released was the one for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1994. The version for the Super Nintendo, also released shortly after the original in 1995, is largely the same as the Genesis version. The Super Nintendo version has altered graphics, with alternate backgrounds and special effect, but lacked some sound effects and one of the levels from the Genesis version (titled "Intestinal Distress"). The reason for the Genesis version having the extra level was that "Genesis version was more easily compressed and had the room for the bonus level".

Special edition

A "Special Edition" of the game was released for the Sega Genesis add-on, the Sega CD, and Windows 95. It was based off the Genesis version, contained all of its levels, plus some extended section to the levels and a single completely new level, titled "Big Bruty". These versions were also the only ones to contain alternate endings when winning on the "Easy" or "Hard" difficulties, in which a narrator rambles on about many (false) facts about worms or congratulates the player in a similar absurd manner respectively.

Another special edition of the game was released exclusively through the Sega Channel, a subscription game service for the Sega Genesis, for a contest dubbed The Great Earthworm Jim Race. This version included a secret room which, when reached by the first 200 players, would display a password and a toll-free telephone number. Those that called the number were awarded special prizes.

Scaled down versions

Eurocom ported a compressed and scaled down version for the Game Boy. It was hindered by the lack of color, lack of graphical detail due to both processor and small screen size, choppy animations, and a lack of buttons, which made it hard to control. This version was also ported to the Game Gear, which included color graphics, but still suffered from all of the other problems of the Game Boy version. A direct port of the Game Gear version was also brought to the Sega Master System, but only in Brazil.

Years later, the Super Nintendo version would be ported to the Game Boy Advance as well. Despite the extra power of the Game Boy Advance, this version still ran very poorly, with poor animation, missing details, and missing levels, and was widely criticized.

Digital re-releases

The Great Earthworm Jim Race is a special version of the original game broadcast via Sega Channel in 1995. The game featured an increase in difficulty level and it featured a secret room which, when reached by the first 200 players, would display a password and a toll-free telephone number. Those that called the number were awarded special prizes.

The game was re-released digitally on a number of platforms in the late 2000s as well. The original Genesis version was released through Wii's Virtual Console service in Europe on October 3, 2008, and in North America on October 27, 2008.

Gameloft also released it digitally on a number of mobile/handheld platforms. It was released as a download for the Nintendo DSi as DSiWare, which is also downloadable on the Nintendo 3DS system. It was a port of the Genesis original, but did not contain the "Who Turned out the Lights?" secret level. The only new addition was an extra minigame that involved the player using the system's camera on their own face, in order to mimic the same faces Jim would make on-screen. Gameloft released an iPhone version of the game, which featured overhauled and smoothed graphics, a remixed soundtrack, and touchscreen controls.

High definition remake

A high definition remake of the game, titled Earthworm Jim HD, was released for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in 2010. It featured a comic book-like introduction, three new computer-themed bonus levels, and a 4 player multiplayer mode with special levels based on already existing ones. The extended version of the "New Junk City" level from the special edition is also included, but "Big Bruty" and the "Who Turned out the Lights?" levels are not present.

Reception for the game was very positive. Earthworm Jim was awarded Best Genesis Game of 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Famicom Tsūshin scored the Super Famicom version of the game a 30 out of 40.Earthworm Jim was rated the 114th-best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.

The game has been noted for its fluid animation, featuring a hand-drawn style that was unusual for 16-bit releases. With regard to the game's overall appeal, a review from GameZone stated "Back when platformers were the king of genres, Earthworm Jim made its presence known as the 'cool kid on the block' by appealing to many demographics. Obtaining a moderate difficulty level and establishing itself with stylish humor, Earthworm Jim was a financial and critical success for Interplay and Shiny Entertainment. Even though I feel the sequel is the best of the series, the original still is able to stand out on its own." The review also went on to praise the soundtrack from Tommy Tallarico as well.IGN recommended it on WiiWare as recently as 2011 as a game to play during software droughts for the system.

However, later Gameloft remakes of the games received mixed reviews. Reception for the 2010 remake, Earthworm Jim HD, less positive. IGN and GameSpot both felt that the surreal art style and animation stood the test of time, but felt that some gameplay aspects and controls felt dated in comparison to modern platformers. Similarly, the iPhone version of the game was criticized for its sloppy controls, mostly due to being touchscreen only.

A sequel, Earthworm Jim 2, was released in 1995. It was released in the same manner as the original; first on the Sega Genesis, and then ported to many other systems. It too was generally well received. Two further games, Earthworm Jim 3D for the Nintendo 64 and PC, and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy for the Game Boy Color, were produced in 1999. However, they were developed without the involvement of Shiny Entertainment and were mostly met with negative reviews.

An enhanced remake, Earthworm Jim (PSP) by Atari was planned for a 2007 release for the PlayStation Portable, but was ultimately cancelled.

The game also inspired non-video game products, such as the Earthworm Jim television series, a comic book series, and a line of action figures.