Vinnie the pierrot or Vinnie the clown is the protagonist of the Vinnie's Tomb trilogy of games.
Vinnie's Tomb Chapter One – The Road to Vinnie's Tomb[]
- Main article: Vinnie's Tomb Chapter One
A long time ago, or perhaps not, Vinnie learned that multimillionaire Ernie York kept a large sum of valuable electronic surveillance equipment and cryogenic hardware at an electronic store. This happened to be the same electronic store where Vinnie's Great Great Great Great Not So Great Grandfather, who was also named Vinnie, worked at. Fifty-nine years ago the store was transformed into a tomb. No one really remembers why, but everyone in the world knows about the legend of Vinnie's tomb, except for the people who don't know about it
Recently Vinnie received an anonymous phone call from an anonymous caller, informing him that his Great Great Great Great Not So Great Grandfather was entombed by the local SZC (Sinister Zebra committee). Being a gullible idiot, Vinnie believed the caller.
Vinnie embarks on an adventure to find Vinnie's Tomb and Ernie York's forbidden treasure. In Edmonton, Canada, he finds a sword, before he crosses a bridge and finds a hole in the ground which leads to the Underworld. He learns that the Underworld was in a war with the drunken eyed sailors of moldville several years ago, but that it in recent times has become a wealthy metropolis, and that inside the underworld city lies many lucrative franchises and taco stands. Unfortunately, Vinnie knows that his journey most likely lies around the outskirts of the Underworld city, and that he will not have an opportunity to sample the fine dining establishments.
He meets two party-bots; stationary robots that were been fused together and programmed to guard and protect the Underworld by throwing pies at anyone entering the underworld during the war. They offer Vinnie keen bargains on assorted undergarments, but after Vinnie makes inquiries about the tomb, they explain that the key to the tomb is rumored to have been hidden with the ancient Tibetan handkerchief. and that the old queer snake who lives in a pile of garbage might be able to help. On the way there, Vinnie finds a mysterious skull that oozes blood intermittently.
At the pile of garbage, Vinnie meets the queer snake's brother, who looks after the key while the queer snake is in Las Vegas for a gig. The snake refuses to part with the key, as the queer snake plans to find Vinnie's Tomb himself. Disheartened, Vinnie finds the entrance to Fun Land and is able to open it with the use of a glittering diamond he found in the garbage.
In Fun Land, Vinnie meets a gang of sad aliens who are terrorized at night by a monster who sings Leonard Cohen songs and tell bad stand up jokes. He also meets an invisible horse, who claims that he is in possession of a dozen keys to Vinnie's Tomb, and that he is willing to sell Vinnie a key for five hundred dollars. Since Vinnie is broke, the horse suggests that he captures the loud mouthed beast, for which there is a handsome reward. He also stumbles over a metal box with an eight ball inside, as well as a pair of cool shades. Vinnie finds the beast, and after receiving a CD with a song the beast has made about Vinnie's Tomb, he is able to intimidate the beast into stopping his nocturnal singing.
Word quickly spreads that Vinnie stopped the beast from singing at night. After everyone in Fun Land has a good night's sleep, they give him a load of cash and a nicely written thank you note. Vinnie decides to use the money to buy the key from the ill conceived horse. On the way to the horse's newly constructed hay shack and rib joint he meets a frog on welfare. Still feeling like a philanthropist, Vinnie foolishly gives the frog most of his money. Fortunately, he still have enough to buy a pair of underwear and cheese.
Vinnie decides to buy a lottery ticket with his last dollar. Fun Land is a peachy place, and Vinnie finds that the creatures there are really kind and decent. He meets a monster snail who lets him stay at his hotel free of charge. In the morning Vinnie is informed that the singing beast has moved to Australia. He will be performing at the opera house one month a week. Vinnie's glad he made out okay, and is delighted when he wins five hundred dollars in the lottery. He buys the key to Vinnie's Tomb from the horse.
Travelling for thirty more days Vinnie comes to a cliff. He realises that he is desperately lost. Suddenly a nasty creature jumps from behind him and pushes him off the cliff! Oddly enough, Vinnie does not die. Instead, he lands on a strategically placed mountain of breakfast cereal. He discovers a nearby train station and hop aboard the train.
Arriving at a mysterious chasm, Vinnie discovers a forked stick in the ground and a book, which explains that to cross the pit he must use a sphere of light which rests on the other side. He creates a slingshot device by placing the underpants over the stick, and is able to shoot the eight ball at the sphere of light, which moves towards him. Hastily putting on his sunglasses, Vinnie is not blinded, but is instead transported by the sphere across the pit.
Finally, Vinnie has reached the alleged Vinnie's Tomb. He meets a mysterious creature outside, which explains that the tomb allegedly is located inside a nearby mountain, and that the tombstone Vinnie is standing next to is called the big blood rock. The clever clown crushes the skull that oozes blood against the big blood rock, which promptly opens a gash. Vinnie once again inserts the glittering diamond, and the door to Vinnie's Tomb opens.
Inside the mountain, Vinnie comes across a door. Eagerly inserting the key into the keyhole, he discovers that it doesn't fit. After a few more futile attempts, he realizes that the horse may have tricked him and that perhaps the snake brothers owned the only key to Vinnie's Tomb after all. Vinnie gets so mad that in a fit of rage, he kicks the door. It creaks open. It must have been unlocked all the time.
After Vinnie opens another door by reflecting a beam of light with his CD, he is suddenly attacked by a giant Dragollater. The monster viciously snatches Vinnie in his teeth, and he feels that death is near.
Vinnie's Tomb Chapter Two – Shine and Glow Vinnie[]
- Main article: Vinnie's Tomb Chapter Two
Vinnie loses consciousness as the monster tears his flesh. Later, Vinnie wakes up. The Dragollater has disappeared. Vinni examines his arms and legs. He cannot believe that he appears unscathed. He is no longer in any pain. The puzzled Vinnie enters the next room in the Tomb.
He finds himself in a maze. He doesn't have to wander far before he meets Namreh the tomb robot, who urges Vinnie to leave and who claims there is no treasure in the Tomb. Vinnie enquires about the SZC that allegedly entombed his Great Great Great Great Not So Great Grandfather, but right before Namreh reveals the stark horrible truth about the SZC, he explodes.
Vinnie delves deeper and deeper within the mazes, freeing Jasper the amiable ghost and solving puzzles on the way. He entertains himself on his aimless quest by performing the latest dance craze, The Alfano, before he uncovers a series of hidden passages in the tomb and makes more progress. Presently he finds a protective suit and dons it to get past a hazardous area of intense radiation. Leaving the suit behind because it's hot and clammy, Vinnie enters a new area of the maze where he finds that he quickly becomes fatigued, although he discovers envigorating energy balls lying around on the floor.
He stumbles upon a handwritten note by Roberta Fibbs, who was an elite scientist employed by the Sinister Zebra Committee, which has been using the tomb for its evil agenda for years. As a result of a dangerous experiment the tomb has become radioactive, and Fibbs helped develop the energy balls that are necessary for survival in the harmful environment. After Fibbs was caught taking elastic bands from the supply room without permission, she was imprisoned by the evil Ernie York and forced to listen to Michael Bolton CDs. She was freed by little Eddie the gingerbread man, but she got lost in the tomb's maze and succumbed to the radioactivity.
Armed with this knowledge, Vinnie finally exits the maze, only to step on a trap door. Ernie York, who is still alive but suffering from the radioactive shine and glow effect, has been monitoring Vinnie's progress from a secret control room in the tomb. He actives the trap door, and Vinnie slides down to an uncertain fate.
Vinnie's Tomb Chapter Three[]
- Main article: Vinnie's Tomb Chapter Three
Not much is known about Vinnie's adventures after this, as the final part of the trilogy was never released. However, based on prerelease information, we can conclude that Vinnie somehow is able to exit the tomb and join forces with Patrick. Together, they enter Dr. Garfunkelstein's castle and meet a group of tomb bots. They also reach the Very Scary Island and encounter the founding members of the Jackie Gleason Appreciation Society. While they travel around Fun Land, they are being tracked by Head Tomb-Bot Alice.