Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim was born from Doug TenNapel's mind and David Perry's technical genius (future creator of MDK). An ordinary earthworm wearing an alien super-suit became an unlikely hero in a universe where every level upended expectations: a rocket race through an asteroid, bungee jumping with a giant booger, an underwater race in a glass sphere, and the legendary level where you launched a cow to progress. Animation was revolutionary — Jim stretched, contorted and used himself as a whip with a fluidity that made other platformers look like flip-books. The Mega Drive version was the original and definitive: Shiny developed on this platform then ported elsewhere. The surreal humor anticipated by years a Ren & Stimpy style applied to video games.