Format: Cartridge
Genre: Action
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega

The art may not be the most technically elaborate, but like many titles of the era-- Marble Madness readily comes to mind-- Toejam & Earl's one-of-a-kind aesthetic has that sort of intrinsic aspect that invokes the imagination. It's this sort of "what is that object, and how can I interact with it?" quality that really amplifies and works in harmony with the game's exploration-focused gameplay.

Like the game's art, John Baker's funk and hip-hop inspired soundtrack is greater than the sum of its parts; it's not particularly impressive from a technical standpoint, but it is nothing if it isn't catchy and incredibly memorable. The game's sound effects are perhaps the best part of the title; they are almost entirely digital, and are extremely loaded with charm.

More real-time roguelike than anything else, Toejam & Earl's gameplay involves traversing massive, randomly generated, multi-level stages, while collecting single-use items, in attempt to find the missing pieces to the protagonists' ship. A simple point-based leveling system encourages exploration, and the item designs lend absolute loads of ludonarrative potential to the two-player, split-screen mode.

Like another cult classic that had Greg Johnson's influence all over it-- Star Control 2-- Toejam & Earl is a game that almost completely defies categorization. What is certain is that the game is a perfect collision of cohesive aesthetic elements with genre-bending gameplay and outstanding overall playability and replayability-- an all-time classic.