Useful information for the player about items, levels and tips from "The Whole Can o' Worms" manual for Earthworm Jim 1 & 2.
It was
written by the team at Shiny Entertainment / Scott Herrington.
Each time you pick up one of these you get an additional 250 rounds of plasma power! Plasma shots are limited, so get as many of these as you can find!
The Big Wally of plasma detonation! This item will generally wipe out anything you can point it at and fire! Every time you collect one of these babies you only get one mega shot, so use them wisely!
Atomic energy that the suit needs to function.
Collecting these items increases your overall suit energy. More healthy than a big bowl of chicken soup.
During the Andy Asteroid Races, grab these to protect yourself from colliding with the asteroids.
Catch one of these power gems to throw yourself into overdrive. Useful for a quick burst of speed to avoid or catch up with Psy-Crow in the Andy Asteroid levels.
While racing, grab these items for fun and profit.
Collecting 50 of these will gain you an extra continue.
Hidden throughout the vast levels are these items that will give you an extra life towards rescuing the Princess.
Menacing crows, giant mutant garbage cans, the junkyard’s owner Chuck and his dog Fifi want to welcome you to the junkyard in their own special way – by trying to kill you. Bounce from tire to tire or slide across zip lines to grab extra power-ups. Watch out, compared to Fifi’s bark, those bites are even worse!
Welcome to Planet Heck. As Evil the cat dances, you wander through a devilishly tricky maze. Step quickly...it can get a little too hot for Jim even in his indestructible suit. For an uplifting experience, take a jog on a gem, but don’t let Jim get a hot foot! There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight for sure!!
Bob the Goldfish knows that EWJ’s super suit could make him ruler of the world. Maybe even the universe!!!
Controlling the drone cat minions in his underwater lair, Bob uses his servants to find you wherever you hide, high or low.
Don’t let the size of Bob’s kitten guards fool you – they’re just as powerful as the cats! Hamsters galore!
Bungee jumping is scary enough without Major Mucus trying to bash you into the walls, but that’s exactly his plan. As your bungee cord gets thinner and thinner, your life hangs on by a few measly threads!!! But that’s not all. Mucus Phlegm Brain is counting on you to get too close to the pool of snot or fall in – he’s waiting for lunch!
The Professor would love to have Earthworm Jim on the dissection table, but that darn super suit keeps him safe. The Professor wants that suit back – after all, he designed it for the Queen. Or course, he could make another one… If only that darn monkey hadn’t eaten the blueprints. That’s another can of worms entirely. You’d better keep an eye out for the Professor’s creepy science experiments – they’re everywhere. Careful when the lights go out! Remember when you were afraid of the dark?
Relive the horror (If you can find it) and find your way out!
Walking the dog was never like this!!! If you let little Peter fall, watch out – his temper gets the best of him and he mutates into a ravenous hulking giant! If the meteor showers don’t rain on your parade, and the flying saucers don’t blow you away, then maybe, just maybe, you’ll make it through okay. Oh, did I forget to mention the Unipus’ (It’s like an octopus but with one arm) tentacles that can kill you…?
It’s dark, but there’s lightning in the distance and you’ve got to keep your head in order to stay alive. You’re now facing the Queen and her minions head to head, so use yours. The Queen is using her control over all the insects in order to try and stop you. Everywhere you turn, one of her followers is going to be there. Try to control your every move here. Any mistakes you make will probably be your last.
Ready for a wild ride through space? Well hold on to your seat because between each level Psy-Crow is right on your tail! Dodge the asteroids and try knocking Psy-Crow off his rocket backpack to help you get to the finish line alive. Grab the atomic Accelerators along the way to leave Psy-Crow in the wake of your heavy ions. Of course, If you’re travelling that fast, you’ll want to stock up on shields...unless you’re an expert pilot.
Each one of these gives Jim’s suit an extra 4% on the old life meter. Grab ‘em up whenever you can.
These bad boys will boost your suit power up to a cool 100%. Groovy to say the least. A better pick-me-up than a kick in the head, and far less painful…
A tasty lo-cal snack that actually boosts Jim’s suit power up to a whopping – yes, whopping – 200%! No weird side effects, no heart palpitations, a perfect way to start your day, just like the queen mum!
They’re not just for breakfast any more. Grab these and earn chances to earn extra bonuses later in the game.
Lets you go on longer than Lucy in syndication...
Buy yourself some time in Lorenzen’s Soil with each of these. They’ll postpone the sky from falling.
Gives Jim 250 rounds of ammo. As Jim’s granny used to say, “sonny, you can never have too much ammunition to shoot, or too much grease for the pig” (Never could quite figure out that second part…)
Even Acme doesn’t make anything that’s this powerful! Good for two rounds of plasma energy.
Lets Jim hit the broad side of a barn without even looking. If you can’t hit anything with this, only one other gun may be able to help you…
This one-shot-wonder will clear just about everything off the screen, but watch out, it packs a pretty mean recoil! It’s like a Mega Plasma on steroids as seen through a magnifying glass reflected off a carnival mirror.
Don’t worry, it doesn’t go to your home and destroy it, but rather, it finds the closest enemy and then says “Hello!” in its own special way.
Confuse your enemies and delight the kids with the amazing bubble gun. Not very effective in most situations, but a pretty sight nonetheless.
Grab these shells to increase the power of whatever weapon Jim is holding.
Icon dos for the password. (For our Spanish friends.)
One of the three (that’s I of III – for our Roman friends) items Jim needs to find on each level. Find all three icons and receive the password. Of course, you’re such a fine player that you probably won’t need that, but just in case…
Icon san banme for the password. (For our Japanese pals.)
Tag these to activate the continue point. Should something unfortunate happen to Jim.
Gives Jim extra turbo power. Makes him 90 times faster than a squirrel on asphalt in July.
Use this to bolt back to the beginning for more bomb laden balloons in the Flyin’ King.
Big Block Engine
Makes the pocket rocket twice as manoeuvrable and speedy. Cheaper than a trip to your local auto parts supplier for new valves.
We fooled you in the first one – there was no hidden can of worms. Well, we thought it was funny. Anyway, now these things are hidden throughout the game!!! Find ‘em for an extra continue(good for three lives at participating locations. See store for details).
Bob’s Summer home, A.B.T. is also the home to blunderbuss wielding octopi, # 4’s bowling alley, and umbrella-wielding geriatrics (who get a great senior citizen vacation discount). Even though the happy pigs aren’t as good looking as Wilbur, as smart as Arnold Z., or as militant as Napoleon, you can still heft one up and use it to your advantage (as long as you don’t mind getting a little dirty). Use the E-Z stair climber to get to the real action, but watch out for the jealous grannies who want their turn on the lift. Hmm, haven’t I seen those grannies on TV somewhere…
ProTip: Certain areas look totally out of reach. Look around for possible pathways to the power-ups. There is a way to reach everything on the level.
Psy-Crow has taken the Princess to Peter Puppy’s world and now is holding Peter’s puppies hostage, all 600 of them! Cornering Psy-Crow in an abandoned spaceport control tower on the edge of Nowhere City, Jim has to stop Psy-Crow from throwing the helpless puppies out of the window and thus getting rid of any evidence!
Use the giant marshmallow o’ love to get the puppies back to Peter. Drop a few and Peter might get angry. And you know that getting Peter angry is like having a 900 pound weasel stuffed down your shorts! Yikes!
ProTip: Always go for the first puppy thrown. Follow the sequence and you’ll get them there safely. Watch carefully where the puppies land, knowing where to position yourself is half the battle.
Special Level Controls:
B – Turns Jim around
A- Makes Jim dive for puppies
Control Pad – moves Jim in that direction
In order to pursue Psy-Crow and the princess through the living intestinal planet Doc D’s old summer home – Jim will have to don one of his numerous disguises...Sally, the blind cave salamander.
Still holding on to his plasma blaster, Jim must pass the pinball bumpers, collect power-ups in a quick memory game, and then compete in an impromptu game show! Watch out for the villi that are always on the lookout for a snack! (don’t know what a villi is? I told you to stay awake in Biology class last time didn’t I? And did you? I didn’t think so.) Tender morsels can be found throughout the cavern to win extra chances for bonuses.
Earthworm Jim...come on down, you’re the next contestant!!!!
ProTip: The more mealworms that you collect, the more bonus power ups you’ll have the chance to win in the game show round. Always choose the most correct answer, except in situations where all the answers are wrong, in which case choose the least likely answer, but not ruling out answers that are just plain funny that we really liked…
C – Fires Plasma Blaster
B – Swim/move
Moves Jim in that directionManaging Heck can be a pretty tiring job, even for Evil the cat. That’s why, in the off-season, he changes jobs with his cousin Flagitious and runs the travelling “Circus of the Scars”. Wait in the turnstile line of despair, evade the pea shooting cat carnies, eat way too much fried food before going on the tilt-a-whirl, and hopefully catch Psy-Crow before he gets away again!
Show off your strength at the hammer and bell competition. Laugh at the horribly deformed Elephant man...wait a second! Don’t do that! Recognise him as a man, and not an animal! See his inner beauty...hey! Hurry up! Psy-Crow’s getting away!
ProTip: Evil the Cat doesn’t have his pilot’s licence yet and isn’t too manoeuvrable in the air, so try avoiding whatever spot he goes off the screen, cause that’s where he comes back down.
Controls:A – Deflates Jim’s head
B – Inflates Jim’s
Jim, on his trusty pocket rocket, flies over the lochs and castles in search of his princess. Psy-Crow has warned the mayor, Major Mucus, of Jim’s arrival. Jim has to get through the planet’s defences and dethrone the Major so that he can continue after his beloved princess. From homing missiles, cannon balls, and flying sumo/Roman centurions, Jim has to evade them or shoot them out of the sky in order to stay alive. Guide the blimp to its destination and drop the bomb. It ain’t easy bein’ in love…
ProTip: Use the Express Lane on the bottom of the screen to get additional bombs from the level starting area to destroy Major Mucus.
Controls.C – Fires rocket’s guns
A – Orders large pepperoni pizza
B – Turns rocket
For centuries, aliens have visited planets in search of intelligent life. For years, Jim’s had an unbridled passion for cows. Now those two ideologies will meet in an epic clash. Jim, known to cows as the Brahman Brahma, can never say no to a bovine in need. Help him save cows from alien abduction. Round them up and get ‘em back to the barn before the aliens steal them for their nefarious schemes. Mutant Superpowered penguins and transforming udder ships challenge Jim at every step of the way. Hurry, the longer it takes, the farther Psy-Crow and the Princess get away! If Jim fails, the cows will be used for inhumane scientific experiments like: Where exactly on a cow is the ‘tenderloin’? And, “A statistical analysis of funny looking clothes that Herefords hate to wear, in order of increasing irritation” – type research papers.
ProTip: Like in ABT, you can jump while holding a farm animal. But since some of the platforms aren’t stable, you’ll need to hurry when standing on one.
Psy-Crow has tricked Jim onto the planet of paperwork! Now, he’s got to run over piles of paperwork, past sneaky file cabinets, and evade the masked lawyers and accountants who will stop at nothing to get him to properly fill out his ISO 9000 forms (to renew his class ‘C’ pocket-rocket pilot’s licence). Deeper and deeper into the archives, to where the mighty blast furnaces and printing presses await. Will the nightmare never end? Will he ever find the right form? Where can he find the exit door? Will he become permanently filed? Is he in the right office? Which one was the dumb one, Lenny or George? I can never remember…
ProTip: Grab the mice to start the machinery. Then, watch out for the sneaky file cabinets. How can you get past them? The answer can be found in drawer number two.
What the heck is goin’ on here? A planet of meat? Where days are measured by when the burger patty sets and rises? The burger flips at noon, the bacon is hot and sizzling, the steaks are rare and juicy, and the eggs (for the steak, of course) are slightly runny. Keep away from the salt shaker or Jim will end up like a piece of those deep fried onion things your parents serve at parties!
Dodge the sandwich toothpicks, destroy the bendy straws, and above all, don’t get Flamin’ Yawn mad or you’re totally forked!
Remember, to make an omelet, you’ve got to break a few eggs. (Warning: drooling on the control pad may result in poor game performance and possible electrocution. Like the pros, please wear a bib while playing to avoid possible injury.)
ProTip: Although you can’t destroy the salt shaker (the bane of worms, we all know), shooting at it will stop it for a second and even make it break off a bit. This will five you the extra time that you’ll need to get through the tricky parts.
The largest quickie 24-hour church and deli in the Lost Vegas System, it is known by many names: Mystical Shrine of Mu, The House of Holstein, The Steerstein Chapel. This Cathedral holds all the answers to Jim’s questions. Can Jim finally defeat Psy-Crow once and for all? What the heck is the princess’ real name? (It really is What’s Her-Name, just so ya know.) Will he be too late to stop the princess from living a life of misery and pain as Mrs. What’s Her-Name Crow? If you’ve read this far in the manual, quit it, and go play the game. I mean c’mon, you didn’t pay all that just to sit around and read this did you? Should you fail here, udder chaos will rule the universe. (Like you weren’t expecting at least one udder joke.) Get real!
ProTip: Like we’re really gonna give you a tip for the final level. Yeah, right. And as long as we’re wishing, I’d like a pony.
TOPSECRETBONUSAREA(THATYOUMAYNEVEREVENSEE!)
Totally Forked.
Try not to stay in the same place too long. As a moving target, Jim is a lot tougher to hit.
Limit your firing to short bursts of plasma. This will help you save much needed rounds for later.
Use your head – literally! Your whip-like head can do more than destroy your enemies. You can use it to swing from place to place. Hmmm… What sort of thing could you swing from?
Don’t be afraid to make a leap of faith. With a part-time propeller for a head, Jim can gently glide down a chasm that he’s leapt into – even though you couldn’t see where he was going to land.
Sometimes hanging round isn’t such a hot idea and you’ll need to get out of somebody’s way. Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps (you’d be amazed at how many enemies don’t look up…)
Surrounding yourself with Earthworm Jim action figures, watching the new television show and buying anything with Earthworm Jim, the Playmates logo, Shiny Entertainment’s logo or the Funsoft Logo on it will automatically make you the coolest person in your neighbourhood.
Gather as many atoms as you can before the end of each stage. You’ll need as much energy as you can get to defeat the bosses. And watch your plasma gun’s energy level – recharging only seems to take longer when you’re in a jam!
Open your eyes and search around. There are many secrets to be found. Closely look at what you see, for many secrets are off the screen…
There are a ton of goodies on each level. If you can’t find a way to get something you see, the answer may lie just ahead, or below, or above you, or this-away, or that-away…
To keep Psy-Crow out of the action, you have to beat him in the Asteroid...race. Otherwise he’ll give you problems on every level. (Lose a turn for not laughing at the asteroid joke.)
Defeating the Queen involves stopping her from laying eggs. Now, how can you do that? Don’t you wish you stayed awake during health education?
Most of the time, keeping Peter moving along is the best plan of action. But how can you stop him, or slow him down, when you need to? Click.
Making cookies with bitter-flavoured shortening rather than butter or margarine keeps them from flattening out too much when baking.
Jim’s been working out recently, and can now lift just about anything that isn’t nailed down. He’ll pick up things such as farm animals, furniture, even the check at the end of the dinner!
If you grab a gun you don’t want, look around for the one you do and then grab it. It’ll help you out in the long run if you avoid guns you don’t want.
Snott can stick to a number of different areas. Just keep your eyes open and look for slime covered pipes and rocks.
The Snott parachute works the same way as the Helicopter head used to. You can glide for hours doing this. No helicopter head this time, as that move really left Jim quite dizzy and with some severe lower back pain.
If you see something that you can’t get to, try and remember its relative position in the level. You may pass back by it at a later point in the level when you can reach the item or access a secret passageway.
The answer is never “B”.
Although Jim has no teeth, he believes strongly in proper oral hygiene. As he always says, “If you got good gums, ain’t nothin’ gonna get you down.” Always floss between meals.
Just simply hold the button down to rapidly fire a weapon. No more annoying “Press the Q button ridiculously fast to fire the gun”, - thumb crippling actions needed.
Go buy the action figures in your local store to study more about Earthworm Jim and what other super-secret weapons and defences he has.
Read at least one piece of classic literature a year. I personally recommend reading one a month in addition to your normal reading list. For example, Jim is a sucker for E.E. Cummings’ early works and any Hemingway he can get his hands on…
Loosen the lug nuts just a little on the tire you want to change before you elevate the car with the jack.
* Humour in manuals is measured by weight, not by volume. Some settling of humour may occur in shipping. And no, we’re not telling you the super deluxe cheat code that is hidden in the game, so don’t even THINK of calling for it!