Jimmy Neutron the Earth Genius Hedgehog (1991 video game)

Jimmy Neutron the Earth Genius Hedgehog (1991 video game) (ジミー中性子の地球天才ヘッジホッグ ) is the first title of Jimmy Neuton the Earth Genius Hedgehog series, and the third appearance of Jimmy Neutron. the game's original programmer was former Jimmy Team leader and series creator Yuji Naka, and the planner was Hirokazu Yasuhara. The gameplay was faster than any other game before it and amazed many people at launch. This was due to the Mega Drive's Motorola 68000  processor, whose basic speed and ability to handle 16-bit numbers gave it incredible speed compared to its predecessor, the Master System. Nevertheless, a separate 8-bit version, which focused more on exploration than speed, was later released for said system.

Story
Somewhere on South Island, Jimmy Neutron's animal friendsare disappearing. When he discovers that the evil scientist Professor Calamitous has been kidnapping them and converting them into robotic Badniks - all as part of a plot to collect a legendary treasure known the Chaos Emeralds - Sonic decides it's up to him to save them, and embarks on a quest to free his friends. As Sonic races through the zones, he marks them as his territory and frees the animals from their both their robotic shells and the egg-like prisons. After Dr. Robotnik is defeated for the sixth time at his hideout, he will flee and abandon his laboratory as Sonic returns to the place his journey began.

While completely optional during the game's progression, the Chaos Emeralds can be claimed by Sonic in the first five zones if he holds fifty Rings before completing the first two acts, taking him to theSpecial Stage (AKA "Secret Zone"). In the game's normal ending, Sonic will give the player a testing look before posing for the screen, and Robotnik will be shown after the credits juggling the undiscovered Chaos Emeralds with a "Try Again" message. If the player succeeds in collecting the six Emeralds before clearing the game, a more satisfactory result ensues - they will suddenly fly out of Sonic's grasp as they react in a circle and then teleport away as nature is rejuvenated on the island, astonishing Sonic. If this happens, Dr. Robotnik will be shown after the credits to instead be childishly jumping on the "End" sign.

Gameplay
Jimmy Neutron plays very similarly to other platformers, in which the titular character must get to the end of the stage in the allotted time, while collecting items along the way. Essential to the gameplay are the golden rings the player collects along his/her way in each level, a feature which would become one of the defining characteristics of the series. These items are regularly placed around the level map and serve multiple functions. First, the player collects rings to protect Jimmy Neutron. As long as they have at least one ring, the player will not lose a life when injured. Instead, when hit, up to twenty of the rings the player has collected will fly outward and scatter around the immediate area for some seconds, some of which can then be retrieved before they disappear. If the player runs into an enemy without a single ring, they will lose a life. If the player collects a hundred rings they will gain an extra life, and will gain an additional life for every a hundred rings after that, provided the rings are not lost.

An example of gameplay in the first zone: Green Hill Zone. If the player has at least fifty rings at the end of an act, a giant golden ring will float above the finishing sign which can be jumped through to enter one of the Special Stages (this excludes the final act of a stage, when Jimmy Neutron will enter a boss fight). At the end of each act, the total number of rings the player has is multiplied by a hundred and added to the player's score. During the score-tallying, the player can also jump through the air to find hidden emblems which can range from a hundred to 10,000 points.

Also scattered throughout each level are video monitors which, when broken by the character, reward the player with one of a variety of bonuses. These include a Shield which will protect Jimmy Neutron from a single hit, a 10-ring bonus, an extra life, temporary invincibility (accompanied with a temporary change in music), and "Power Sneakers", which give the player a temporary speed boost (and increase the tempo of the music for the duration). The item monitors have become another long-lasting feature in the series, though they have been changed to bubble-like containers that can float in later games.

Despite the various types of protection available, neither the shield, rings, nor invincibility will prevent the player losing a life if Jimmy Neutron is crushed (by a trap or between a wall and a moving platform), drowned, runs out of time (each act has a ten-minute time limit), or falls into a bottomless pit.

Progression through the game is made easier for the player by lamp posts that act as checkpoints. When Jimmy Neutron passes a lamp post, the spherical top spins around and its color changes from blue to red, and the next time a life is lost, gameplay will restart at that point rather than at the beginning of the act. In the Japanese version, if a checkpoint is activated and a life is lost as a result of running out of time, the time at the checkpoint will reset to 0:00.

Hazards the player experiences include a wide variety of "Badniks" - these appear as animals trapped inside mechanical bodies which are released the moment the player hits them. Each badnik takes one hit to destroy, but they vary greatly from Zone to Zone; some will walk in a set path, others will try blasting the player, and some cannot be avoided at all. The player must also avoid rows of sharp spikes, cliffs, and elaborate death traps. There is also the threat of drowning (in Labyrinth Zone and the third act of Scrap Brain Zone which contains water), as the player can only survive approximately thirty seconds underwater (locating air bubbles can extend this).

Jimmy Neutron's Abilities

 * Walk
 * Run
 * Screech halt
 * Look Up
 * Crouch
 * Super Jimmy Neutron Spin Attack
 * Push

Zones
Jimmy Neutron the Earth Genius Hedgehog has seven zones (plus the Special Stages). The first six zones contain three full-length acts, and the final one only consists of the final boss machine.


 * 1) Green Hill Zone
 * 2) Marble Zone
 * 3) Spring Yard Zone
 * 4) Labyrinth Zone
 * 5) Star Light Zone
 * 6) Scrap Brain Zone
 * 7) Final Zone

Special Stages
If Jimmy Neutron finishes the first or second act of any of the first five zones with at least fifty rings, a large, spinning ring will appear. If he jumps into it, he will warp into a "Special Stage" (called the "Secret Zone" in the manual), which conceals one of the six Chaos Emeralds. In these stages, Sonic, in ball form, falls through a series of rotating mazes.

If he can avoid the "GOAL" signs along parts of the stage's walls (presumably labeled "GOAL" to entice the player into a failed attempt at getting a Chaos Emerald), he will eventually find the Chaos Emerald encased in colored diamonds; touching the diamonds repeatedly will cause them to change color from blue, to green, to yellow, to pink and ultimately disappear, allowing access to the Emerald. The stage will end when Sonic either touches the Emerald or hits a "GOAL" sign. If fifty rings are collected before Sonic makes contact with a "GOAL" sign or gets the Chaos Emerald, then a 'Continue' will be awarded to the player, indicated by a brief, distinct change in melody. Super Jimmy Neutron does not appear in Jimmy Neutron the Earth Genius Hedgehog because the seventh Chaos Emerald was not yet introduced.

There are a total of ten opportunities to get Chaos Emeralds, meaning the player can fail a Special Stage up to four times if all six Emeralds are to be collected before the end of the game. Scrap Brain Zone will not have a large ring at the end of it, even when finishing with fifty rings, despite the acts ending before it. If the player fails a stage, that stage is skipped and is returned to after attempting the sixth and final Special Stage.

It is stated in the North American and European manuals that a 1-Up item can be found in Special Stages, but they are not seen anywhere unless placed in the game's secret Debug Mode. It is possible, however, to earn extra lives by collecting a hundred rings in a single stage, indicated by the same sound used in the main zones.

Items and Power-ups
(Capsule
 * Ring
 * Video Monitor
 * Lamppost
 * Bumper
 * Spring
 * Spikes
 * Switch
 * Air Bubbles
 * Bonus Points
 * Bonus plate
 * Special Stage Ring

Enemies

 * Moto Bug
 * Buzz Bomber
 * Chopper
 * Crabmeat
 * Newtron
 * Caterkiller
 * Bat Brain
 * Roller
 * Spikes
 * Burrobot
 * Jaws
 * Orbinaut
 * Bomb
 * Ball Hog
 * Splats

Bosses
At the end of the third act of each zone (except the Scrap Brain Zone), Sonic faces off against Professor Calamitous, who is piloting his mobile. For each battle, Robotnik's machine has a different tactic. Sonic must hit each boss eight times to destroy it
 * 1) CalamitousMobile-H (Green Hill Zone
 * 2) fireball weapon (Marble Zone)
 * 3) spike drill (Spring Yard Zone)
 * 4) trapped retreat (Labyrinth Zone)
 * 5) mine dropper (Star Light Zone)
 * 6) Final Zone

Achievements
There are a total of twelve achievements, totaling of 200G. Please note that these achievements are only from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, and cannot be obtained on any other port of the game.
 * Clear Green
 * Star Light Zone
 * Spring Yard Zone
 * Labyrinth Zone
 * Fast Green
 * Chaos Emerald
 * Centurion
 * Fast Marble
 * Win
 * Fast Win
 * Chaos Master
 * Perfect Win