Flashback! - Gaming with my mom

I saw that Toejam & Earl was being re-released on XBox Live and PSN next month.

This may not be significant for most, but for my mom and myself, this is exciting (although it would be more exciting if a Wii version was coming) since this was a game we played to death when I was younger.

For those unfamiliar with the game, it was about two aliens crash-landing their spaceship on Earth, which consisted of several large levels for you to explore as you tried to find your broken pieces and head back to Funkotron.  The game was simple to play.  You found presents laying around that contained a random, mysterious item that either tremendously helped or impeded your progress.  Each level was filled with "earthlings," which contained killer bees, cupids, mobs of people, a lawnmower man, hula girls, the crazy dentist, an ice cream truck, and the infamous boogie man (there are more enemies/characters, but you get the idea).

Gifts could have tomatos you could throw, rocket skates, a slingshot, an extra life, death (total bummer), a randomizer (presents became unknown again), or money, among other items.

The game was simple, but it was fun.  When you started in a level, you had no idea where anything was.  As you roamed around the level, areas of your map opened up, allowing to see more of your surroundings. The idea was to avoid the enemies, pick up the goodies, and find your ship pieces before locating the elevator, which took you to the next level.  As the game went along, it obviously became more challenging, but luckily two-player co-op via split-screen was supported.

My mom and I would rent this game regularly until we finally bought it, then played it to death even more.  I was usually Earl since he was slower, but I was better at the game.  My mom would be Toejam, who was faster, a must if she was going to escape some of the later enemies.  One of the quirks of the game was when you were in your split screen, only your character felt the effect of a present opened.  However, if you ended up in the same spot on the map together, the split-screen went away in favor of a larger view.  In this case, a present opened applied to both characters.

There were many times when I'd walk into her section as she was opening a total bummer, thus killing me as well as her.  The other common occurrence was her opening rocket skates as I walked into view, thus sending me off the edge of the world (which luckily just meant you would fall to the previous level).

Upon telling the world via Facebook that the game was being re-released, she immediately began commenting on the status with some of her memories and this went on for a little bit.

The game was always fun, albeit frustrating later on when the enemies became more difficult and we inevitably became tired.  This, being an older game, didn't offer a save feature.  If you wanted to beat the game, you had to make it through in one pass.  There was no saving and coming back later.

It added to the challenge, but made it worthwhile when you finally made it through.

I have a lot of fond memories playing this game though.  My childhood friend, James, and I would play this game at sleep overs.  He was actually the one who introduced me to it, and when it came to finding it, it was hard.  Blockbuster for some reason didn't carry it for rent, and the only other game rental place in Brunswick at the time was I believe called "The Sound of Music," which was odd since it was a music store.  But they had Toejam & Earl, so whenever it was in, we'd rent it and play it virtually every day we could.

Gaming was something we did as a family though.  While my dad didn't care for games, my mom loved them, especially in the NES/SNES/Genesis era.  She doesn't do so well with the 3D games of today, but she can still play the puzzle games.

When we had Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, my mom had first crack at them before we could play them.  I remember watching her play A Link to the Past for hours before I was able to step in and play.  She was never exceptionally good, but she was funny to watch and I'm pretty sure she knew it.

My sister and I usually would play the co-op games, but Toejam & Earl was the game my mom and I probably played the most together.  It was maddening, it was frustrating (stop opening all the presents!), but it was one of the greatest memories I have as a child.

With a little luck, we'll be able to relive those memories next month.

Hey mom, want to come over and play Toejam & Earl with me?