ToeJam & Earl

ToeJam & Earl is a 1991 action video game developed by Johnson Voorsanger Productions and published by Sega for the Genesis console. It centers on ToeJam and Earl—alien rappers who have crash-landed on Earth—as they attempt to escape the planet, players assume the role of either character and collect pieces of their wrecked spacecraft. It references and parodies 1980s and early 90s urban culture and is set to a funk soundtrack. ToeJam & Earl's design was heavily influenced by the role-playing video game Rogue (1980) and derived various features from the game, such as the random generation of levels and items. As such, ToeJam & Earl is often considered to be an example of a roguelike game.

The game was positively received by critics, who praised its originality, soundtrack, humor and two-player cooperative mode. It attained sleeper hit status despite low initial sales, and its protagonists were used as mascots by Sega. ToeJam & Earl was followed by two sequels: ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron and ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth, released for the Genesis and Xbox respectively. The sequels' commercial and critical performance were mixed. A fourth title, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove, was released on March 1, 2019 without Sega's involvement, using funds from Kickstarter. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in December 2006 and re-released again on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in November 2012 as part of the Sega Vintage Collection. The game was also re-released on the Nintendo Classics service on December 16, 2021.