Earthworm Jim is now available for purchase and download on the Nintendo Wii virtual console. It's the Genesis version, so while it's not the best looking Earthworm Jim (that would be the SNES version)... it more than makes up for it with extra vocals and a bonus level.

To this day, I regard Earthworm Jim as the best US-developed videogame character. The world and it's universe were original, hysterical, and beautifully designed. Even the characters' names encapsulate the inventive humor that makes the game a classic. Enemies include Psycrow, Professor Monkey-For-A-Head, Evil The Cat, and Bob The Killer Goldfish. Most importantly, you have to save Princess What's-Her-Name.

Few games exude as much personality. It's for shame than none of Earthworm Jim's sequels lived up to the personality of the original. Earthworm Jim is really hard and the level designs can be infuriating... but the polished design of the world and characters had me coming back to play more. After all these years I haven't beaten the game. But I love playing Earthworm Jim to experience one of the greatest video game universes created.