ToeJam & Earl

ToeJam & Earl (TJ&E) is a 1991 game for the Sega Genesis, know outside of North America as the Mega Drive. You play as either ToeJam or Earl in this funky adventure. TJ&E is a game where you have let Earl drive the spaceship and crashed on Earth because of it. Your ship shattered and parts were scattered around this huge planet. You have to get them all put back together and get to your home planet, Funkatron.

Gameplay
The gameplay is a topdown view of your character as he walks, flies and swims around Earth to collect your ship. You wander around the strange planet avoiding the enemies, Earthlings, and collecting presents to help you on your journey. But you don't know what's in each type of present until you open it. Once you open a type of present, however, it'll be identified if you get another of the same type. You could get tomatoes to thwart the crazy Earthlings; you could get rocket shoes, to zoom uncontrollably around the level, or much more, some good, some bad.

To end the level, you must get to the elevator that moves you to the next level, and get the ship piece on that level, if there is one. The game is won when you have collected all of the ship pieces.

Game Modes:
Random Mode: This mode is randomly generated, and thus fun every time!

Fixed Mode: This is a set mode. The levels, enemies, presents, are all set already.

Allies
ToeJam:

ToeJam is one of the aliens you may choose to play as during the game. He is a three-legged, red alien with a mouth. He moves a bit faster than Earl, but is slightly weaker.

Earl:

Earl is the other playable extraterrestrial. He has the drawback of being a bit slower, but has more health and can take a good beating from the Earthlings.

Carrot Suit Man:

Yes, you read right. This man in a carrot suit will ID a present you have for two bucks. He's very useful when you don't want to risk death.

Santa:

The jolly man is here in TJ&E, and he has stuff! You must sneak up behind him without being seen, and he'll drop presents. If he spots you, he'll start his jetpack and leave.

Wizards:

Wizards can heal you for just a buck! Sounds pretty simple to me.

Opera Singer:

When you walk up to the Opera Singer, she'll offer to sing and clear all enemies from the screen for a few bucks. It can be good, but only if you don't have a weapon.

Mailbox:

While not technically a character, the mailbox is very useful. For bucks, you can order presents and get them immediately. Also see the Mailbox Monster.

Hula Girls:

You'll see Hula Girls a lot. They're in between friend and enemy, as they'll hypnotize you and stall you for a while, as enemies can beat you up.

Enemies
Lil' Devil:

These will poke you with their claws. Not too hard to avoid or kill, but a nusance.

Shopper:

Some crazy lady with a shopping cart will be around moving randomly. Easy to avoid.

Hamster:

A giant hamster in a giant hamster ball. They can be dangerous, but not very hard to get away from.

Cupid:

Yes, Cupid is an enemy. He'll shoot you and mix up your controls. Be careful and try to run from these. You never know how your controls will act after he gets you.

Dentist:

One of the worst enemies to face, this Dentist will run faster then you and try to give you a root canal. If you see the dentist, run!

Boogey Man:

This will appear as a shadow moving very quickly toward you, then BAM! You get scared and lose lots of health. Try to get away if you spot a shadow (Duh).

Mole:

You'll see a line of dirt tunnel at you, and the mole will pop up. He won't hurt you, but he'll take presents. That sucks when you have all the good presents.

Nerd Herd:

That's what the game box calls this pack of out of control nerds. They'll trample you if you're near them.

Bees:

Bees don't hurt much, but they'll chase you down and it'll add up. Try getting a bit further away and they might lose interest. If not, find a pond and jump in.

Mailbox Monster:

On later levels, wait a few moments before walking up to a mailbox. If it moves at all, don't approach it! It's a monster and will beat you up.

Shark:

If you watch the water, you might see sharks swimming around. These are going to hurt you when you jump in. The solution: don't jump in.

The Lawnmower Man:

Yes, a fat, bald guy with a lawnmower. Somewhat dangerous, but not too bad if you can keep off to the side a ways.

Chickens:

This is a weird one. A pack of chickens will launch tomatoes at you. You might want to open a box of tomatoes to toss back.

Tornado:

Name says it all. A funnel cloud will suck you up, carry you around, then drop you. Often, it happens to drop you off an edge.

Phantom Ice Cream Truck:

Yes, you read that correctly. You'll hear a bit of music, then it comes.

Presents
This is a list of presents, with discriptions. If you want to be surprised, skip this section. Also note that in Random Mode, there's no way of knowing what you'll open ahead of time. In fixed mode, it's always the same.

Super Hitops: I list this first because you'll start with them. You get 4, 2 for each player (Or 4 for one player, in Single Player mode. They make you run Super fast, and jump farther. Duration: Medium.

Fudge Sundae: This present will recover health. It's just like the one you'd find on the ground, but ready to eat! Duration: Instant.

Food: It's food in a box. It'll be good food, or bad. You don't know until you try it. Duration: Instant.

Rootbeer: You'll laugh at this gift when you open it. You'll recover health, then start burping uncontrolably! It's hilarious! It is harmful, though. You'll never be able to sneak around the Earthlings when you let out a belch. Duration: Instant life recovery, Long burping.

Rosebushes: You can lay 1 bush per player behind you at a time. They hold off enemies and will save you if used well. If you touch them, you'll get hurt, so keep moving. Duration: Long.

Tomatoes: You can use these as a weapon to throw at enemies. They don't go very far, but some weaker enemies will die from them. It's best to use this on stalled or distracted enemies. Duration: Medium.

Slingshot: Better Tomatoes! They go way farther than the normal tomatoes. Very useful weapon. Duration: Medium-Long.

Tomato Rain: My personal favorite of the tomato based packages, this will cause it to rain tomatoes! You can get hit, but if there's several opponents on screen, it's worth it. Duration: Medium.

Another Buck: You got Another Buck! ...Yeah. Duration: Instant.

Jackpot: Woo-hoo! 5 bucks! I'm the winner! Duration: Instant.

Decoy: This lays a decoy for a while to get the enemies off your trail. It looks weird, but it works. It will be destroyed, though, so try to get away quick. Duration: Short-Medium

Boombox: Yeah! Lay down this groovin' track and all the Earthlings will boogie down! Grab out a pack of Tomatoes, or just run. Duration: Medium

Doorway: Watch your head as you go through this door! You could come out anywhere! Right next to where you are, or across the map. Even on a random island you can't get off of! Duration: Instant teleportation, Short lasting door.

Telephone: A telephone will appear nearby. Answer it, and your map will have several tiles flipped up. You might get lucky and find the exit or ship piece, or you might get a corner. The phone also appears randomly with no present. Duration: Instant.

Extra Life: Do I even need to say it? The only advice I have is to use this ASAP before you lose it. Duration: Instant.

Promotion: You got promoted! You should use this right after you get a level. It's pointless to use if you're just about to level anyway. Duration: Instant.

Icarus Wings: This present gives you wings! Use them to fly around. But when they start to flicker, try to land before you fall! (Note: It is unknown if this present is actually Red Bull) Duration: Medium.

Innertube: You can float on the water and swim faster! Sure, it's almost never useful, but see for a trick. Duration: Long.

Rocket Skates: When you strap these on, you can move really fast, and skip along the water surface! It's just that you can easily fly out of control and zoom into a cliff! They do work for the Level 1 trick below, though. Duration: Medium.

Spring Shoes: You can wear springs on your shoes! They let you jump super far. They're a bit dangerous, but fun. Duration: Medium-Long.

Unfall: (Or Togetherness) You'll fall up to the farthest level you've reached thus far. In 2-Player, this is Togetherness. You'll fall to your partner, no matter what level they're on. Duration: Instant.

Earthling: You'll get an Earthling upon unwrapping this box. You may think this is just bad, but you could get a good Earthling (See Allies). It's more likely, however, that you'll get a random enemy. Duration: Instant.

Rain Cloud: Apparently, you didn't get the present you wanted, because after you open this, a Rain Cloud appears above your head. It'll zap you with lightning bolts, and the only place that's safe is underwater. If you ever get one of these, drop it. Duration: Long.

School Book: Never use this text, unless you're on Level 1. You'll fall asleep and have to mash buttons to wake up. Duration: Until you wake him up, plus a couple of seconds to get up.

Total Bummer: This present will instantly kill you! That's a bummer. Try to get rid of these if you can. In the words of the Comic Book Guy: "Worst. Present. Ever." Duration: Instant.

Random Present: No matter how many times you play, this will always be the yellow box with black stripes. It's a different item every time, so don't look at me for the answers. You can ID it, but you'll have to ID it every time to know what it is. Duration: Unknown.

Randomizer: This is the most insane present in the game! It will randomize what's in Every present in the game. Unless you're feeling lucky, avoid this present. Duration:N/A

Tricks and Glitches
~Level 1 isn't as 1 dimensional as it seems. Get several Icarus Wings, Rocket Scates, and Innertubes, and go back to Level 1. You can do this with just 1 Innertube, but it's safer to have multiples. First, go to the top-right of the map using some presents. There's an island with presents there. Grab all the ones you want, then go back, past the starting island, and to the lower left corner. There's more presents, and a hole. Grab what you want, and jump into the hole! You heard me! You'll arrive on "Level 0". It's a small island with a few non-lethal Hula Girls, a hot tub where you can chat with some girls and refill your health, and a Lemonade Stand, to get an extra life. When you're done, jump off the island to go back to the highest level you've reached! If you need the life and presents, go for it.

~You can't be hurt by anything except projectiles if your character's feet are off the ground.

~When you open a Total Bummer, there's a chance to save yourself! Hold down the presents button while you're being zapped and recover life. There! You're alive again.

~In a two player game, the split screen can make it hard to know if you're near an Earthling. Be careful.

~The Randomizer doesn't shuffle the presents on the ground. They'll be unidentified, but the same. You can drop what you want to keep, and use a Randomizer on your bad presents to get better ones.