See Jim Run, Run Jim Run, also called Cupid's Cathedral,[1] is the tenth and final level in Earthworm Jim 2.
The final level is essentially a race on foot between Earthworm Jim and Psy-Crow, with the latter having unfair advantage in the race almost similar to the Andy Asteroids? level in the first game.
Whoever gets to the altar at the end first marries Princess What's-Her-Name, inherits the Galaxy and wins the game.
Description[]
Earthworm Jim has finally discovered where his nemesis Psy-Crow has hidden the captive Princess What's-Her-Name - a cavernous building of unique and bizarre architecture in the Lost Vegas system. The building has a large number of names; the Cupid's Cathedral, the Mystical shrine of Mu, and others.
The Princess is held in the fast-track wedding chapel, which specialists in non-consensual marriages. Whilst Psy-Crow has been tormenting Jim around the Galaxy, Psy-Crow's henchmen have prepared the Cathedral for Jim's arrival, filling it with traps. These include rotating gears, closing walls, and revolving blue energy spheres.
Jim and Psy-Crow arrive at the Cathedral at the same time, resulting in a frantic race on foot to reach the Princess at the altar. Unfortunately, there are two tracks, with Psy-Crow taking the easy one which is free of obstructions, and with Jim forced to take the difficult trap-laden path, giving the villain an unfair advantage.
If Jim loses the race, he will lose a life, and be forced to attempt the level again.
If Jim wins the race, he asks the Princess to "hold his finger" whilst he hails a space taxi. Jim's escape plan falls on Psy-Crow as he appears at the altar, crushing him. This then begins a surreal, dream-like end sequence, where the characters are all revealed to be really cows.
Manual Description[]
"Cupid's Cathedral"
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."[2]
Trivia[]
- The name of this level is a pun of the catchphrase of the famous children's educational "basal reader" books, See Spot Run, Run Spot Run. This was first introduced in the 1970s, as part of the "Dick and Jane" series featuring Spot the Dog. The phrase has since entered popular culture.
- The Cupid's Cathedral and Lost Vegas system it resides in are a satire on the famous, real-world fast-track weddings in Las Vegas.
- Psy-Crow does not attempt to directly harm Jim in this level, instead letting the level itself do the job for him. This means that this level is unique; it is the only level in the game which has no hostile enemies, although the environmental traps and obstructions more than make up for this.
- The way the light reflects off the Cathedral's massive circular windows was, among other things (such as the mechanics in Lorenzen's Soil) one of the aspects of the graphics in the game noted as being groundbreaking for the era in video gaming.
- In the SNES port, Psy-Crow can be wiped out by using a Barn Blaster.
Gallery[]
Music[]
- Game music composer Tommy Tallarico based the dramatic and fast-paced music of this level on the third and final movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.[3]
The Moonlight Sonata was a big influence of the soundtrack to the game. Tallarico also based the slower music for the earlier level "Villi People" on the first movement of Moonlight Sonata.
References[]
- ↑ North American Earthworm Jim 2 Nintendo SNES instruction manual
- ↑ North American Earthworm Jim 2 Nintendo SNES instruction manual
- ↑ http://rocketworm.com/information/classical.html