Hey Vern, it’s Earnest Evans
There are more than a few recognizable characters in video game history. We have Mario, Kratos, Master Chief, and so many more, but one most people don’t remember is Earnest Evans. I am sure when I said that name three people stood up and got mad that I was disrespecting the namesake of Earnest. Still, we live in an era where any series of games can come back, except Eternal Champions of course. The Earnest Evans Collection contains three games from developer Wolf Team, and you might be surprised to learn that only one of them stars our titular hero Earnest Evans.
So if our boy Ernie is not the star, what else is included here? Well obviously, we get Earnest Evans, but the collection also includes two other games. The first is Annet Returns, which is known as Annet Futatabi in Japan. This is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up similar to titles like Golden Axe. The third game in this collection is El Viento. This is a side-scrolling action game which bears a striking resemblance to the Valis games, which were also on the Genesis.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $14.99
It is weird to call this the Earnest Evans Collection outside of the fact that it is the only game most people may even vaguely recognize, and for good reason. It was released on the Genesis in the US and garnered minor attention. The other two games are not as well-known. Also why are the games a “collection” when they feature different characters? Well, it does have a throughline story, and funny enough Earnest is only a minor character in the other two.
So, let’s do a quick breakdown of each game. Earnest Evans is a side-scrolling action game that appears to be similar to something like Castlevania, but with QWOP style controls. Earnest flails his whip all over the place and animates like a marionette. It was an awkward game back then, and even more so now. The control is its biggest enemy and the level design leaves a lot to be desired. It was neat to play around with for 30 mins, but after that I was getting more and more frustrated as it went on.
Next up we have Annet Returns, which is the most unique title in the bunch. This side-scrolling beat ‘em up is similar to other Genesis staples such as Streets of Rage and Golden Axe. Annet can move up and down on the playing field and has a limited set of attacks as well as a magic attack. The game is easily the most “playable” of the bunch, but it is marred by bad AI and frustrating design. Revisiting this game made me realize just how good the aforementioned beat ‘em ups actually are. This game attempts to mimic it with disappointing results.
Finally, we have El Viento, which is the weirdest of the bunch. This side-scroller action game stars the same Annet from the previous game. This one is the definition of fine. Annet moves left to right tossing boomerangs at enemies and navigating through bland environments. The action is serviceable at best. The biggest issue with this one is its difficulty. The game is relentless and enemies do a ton of damage. There is no way to heal yourself and dying means an instant trip back to the beginning. It is a short game but still packed with frustration at every turn.
The package itself sits in the median when it comes to Limited Run Games’ releases. It has a museum with some cool stuff and the option to play the CD versions with anime cut scenes is cool. The standard rewind and save state features are here, which is nice, but expected at this point. The visual options are pretty limited in comparison to some collections, which is disappointing. The quality of these collections pouring out of LRG have become hit and miss.
This is by far one of the most obscure collections I have experienced to date. Earnest Evans is niche and the other two included games will only be recognized by the hardest of the hardcore. It is also not a lot of fun to play these games, so the nostalgia wears off fairly quickly. It was cool to check out, but I did not find myself coming back for more after a couple hours. This will likely sit in my collection as an oddity, which I guess is fitting as the original games likely suffered the same fate.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
