Rygar 8 Bit
Jaguar 64-bit
if they make it like the first game then sure
New Toejam and Earl in the works
- Thread starter UnlovedJew
- Start date
So I've been replaying the games in anticipation of this, and it led me to watching this SEGA Nerds TJ&E retrospective featuring Greg Johnson. They talk about some ideas that the new game could potentially take, so I figured I'd post them here and get a little more discussion! Here are some of the main concepts they discuss:
- A light crafting system that allows regular presents to be turned into better ones
- More co-op features that Toejam & Earl can utilize
- Persistent upgrades/abilities that stay with you throughout the game or even multiple playthroughs
- More dialogue/fleshed out characters
- An A.I. helper or pet that assists you in some way when playing alone
- Rhythm-based minigames
Most of these sound pretty cool, especially the A.I. helper. A problem I had with the first game is that it loses a lot of the appeal when playing solo, so it sounds like a great way to keep things fun when you don't have a buddy around.
If there's one aspect I don't agree with, it's having the characters more fleshed out. In the third game they were quite explicitly African-American, which sort of made them less appealing to me as they felt less like wacky aliens trying to imitate hip-hop culture and more like stereotypical black dudes in costumes. The more "mature" focus didn't really help matters... Toejam worked better when he was the long-suffering straight man to Earl's foolishness rather than a goofy lecherous gangsta wannabe .
- A light crafting system that allows regular presents to be turned into better ones
- More co-op features that Toejam & Earl can utilize
- Persistent upgrades/abilities that stay with you throughout the game or even multiple playthroughs
- More dialogue/fleshed out characters
- An A.I. helper or pet that assists you in some way when playing alone
- Rhythm-based minigames
Most of these sound pretty cool, especially the A.I. helper. A problem I had with the first game is that it loses a lot of the appeal when playing solo, so it sounds like a great way to keep things fun when you don't have a buddy around.
If there's one aspect I don't agree with, it's having the characters more fleshed out. In the third game they were quite explicitly African-American, which sort of made them less appealing to me as they felt less like wacky aliens trying to imitate hip-hop culture and more like stereotypical black dudes in costumes. The more "mature" focus didn't really help matters... Toejam worked better when he was the long-suffering straight man to Earl's foolishness rather than a goofy lecherous gangsta wannabe .
I hope I'll understand this one day. Tried to play it a few times and couldn't see what the hell is even interesting about it.
Panic on Funkotron was awesome though.
Oh, that's great. I was just thinking about what a good fit TJ&E would have been for Double Fine's Devs Play series.
Rygar 8 Bit
Jaguar 64-bit
randomized levels (we didnt have much of these on consoles was really cool)
randomized pick ups (again we didnt have much of this on old console games it could be a thing that helped you or completely fucked you over)
whacky enemies that dont just hurt you but can cause effects on you that mess you up like the hula girl that if you get near her causes you to dance and leaves you open to get attacked from something else near by
coop that splits the screen if your partner wants to go somewhere else on the map and pick something up
Regarding fleshing out personality and characterization, I kind of think that doing it in the style of Team Fortress 2 is a much better fit. Keep it basic without resorting to a bunch of cutscenes and dialogue interrupting gameplay (aside from the funny quips), and explore the characters further in external media. I also think that they should remain unabashedly late 80's/early 90's in their style and image without resorting to updating it. They should still refer to eachother as homeboys and whatnot.
The world around them can be different, but I think its' really important to keep the satire of human society as a focal point. Maybe have stuff like humans with smartphones trying to catch them to take selfies.
The world around them can be different, but I think its' really important to keep the satire of human society as a focal point. Maybe have stuff like humans with smartphones trying to catch them to take selfies.
They've started a kickstarter for it now: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1578116861/toejam-and-earl-back-in-the-groove
Ixion
Member
I dig everything about it except the art-style. I think it's because the characters look interesting, but not the environments. Needs more flavor somehow. More funkiness.
UnlovedJew
Member
When I saw this I actually jumped for joy. BACKED.