The Simpsons Arcade Game

Classic beat-em-ups emerged around 1989 with Final Fight and made an incredible splash on the arcade scene, especially in North America. At this time Arcades were changing from the pinball and classic video games with a wider variety of genres like shoot 'em-ups, fighters and beat 'em-ups. The behemoth Street Fighter II came out in March 1991, and was a smash hit. Fighting style games became big in the arcade and beat'em-ups were popular as well with sucessful ports to home consoles like the SNES version of Final Fight and the Genesis versions of Golden Axe to name a few.


So there were a few games that really stood out to me as a young arcade player: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Arcade Game, The Uncanny X-Men  and of course The Simpsons Arcade Game ALL made by Konami between 1989-1992. I didn't go to the arcade that often, but the pizza and mini golf places in Tucson had all of the popular games of the time. I remember playing and seeing The Simpson Arcade Game early on, probably between 1992-93. It was awesome then and remains today as probably one of the most interesting and FUN beat'em-ups because of the television show.

Character bios during the introduction of the game:

Matt Groening's The Simpsons exploded on television in 1989 and the irreverent family was soon everywhere: lunch boxes, t-shirts, toys, and television. This was the first licensed video game for the show (and probably one of the ONLY good video games based on the Simpsons) and it was spectacular. The 4 player version of the game allowed you to cooperatively crash through the streets of Springfield with three other people. It was crazy. To my simple boy brain... A video game based on the most popular cartoon show that my parents wouldn't let me watch? I was all over that.

The game is surprisingly faithful to the show. I'm not sure how often this happens, but it certainly wasn't the case for other Simpsons games. Someone at Konami must have been a fan of the first three seasons of the show, because it remarkably keeps the characters, settings, and cameos faithful to the television show. They even got some (but not all) of the voice actors to lend their talents for short sound blurbs and effects, which was a nice touch for a game at that time. The sprites used in the game also convey the artistic integrity and Matt Groening style of the show itself, and for some reason  holds up well compared to other games made in 1991. The levels are colorful and original, with enough character cameos to make you think back to specific episodes of the the early seasons of the show.

Art

Konami arcade advertisement. Totally rad clothes by the way. I like how they actually crowd around the cabinet to totally hide the game screen itself. 

I saw the game at the local nickel arcade, and the cabinet had seen some hard use over the years. I appreciate the artwork used on the cabinet because it invites the player to play the game. The simple light blue design and the recognizable characters make it stand out from all the black arcade cabinets, even in a crowded arcade.

Another Konami ad featuring the side cabinet art. 

I think these cabinets are getting more rare given their age, and require more upkeep because of the number of buttons and parts that have the tendency to break over time. The marquee and sides were in good condition, but the control panel overlay was missing and had been replaced from years of use.

Simpsons CPO overlay

Who ever replaced the buttons reversed the jump and attack buttons which made the game difficult to play at first. It was in sad shape, but playable, and that was ok. There is also a two player version that I've seen a couple of times that takes up the space of a standard cabinet.

Results

So I started the game and played Homer. He punches with his fists in a Three Stooges kind of way. If you jump and attack you can do a body slam type move or a flying kick. Jumping and punching at the same time does a special move jump kick that reminds me of the way Luigi jumps. Marge attacks with a vacuum cleaner, Bart with a skateboard, and Lisa attacks with a jump rope. An interesting mechanic occurs with two players, bart or lisa can jump on their parents shoulders and perform a series of attacks together. Marge and Homer do this rolling around attack that is hard to describe.

The level design brings the player through various parts of Springfield. My favorite level was Springfield Butte which pitted you against some of the characters found in the Season one episode The Call of the Simpsons where the family gets lost in the woods and after Homer is covered in mud is mistaken for the Missing Link. The end boss is a giant bear (the same one that adopts Maggie in the show).

The plot of the game revolves around Mr. Burns stealing a diamond which is accidentally misplaced at the beginning of the introduction and Maggie mistakes said diamond for her pacifier. Mr. Smithers then kidnaps Maggie for the remainder of the game. Kind of a lame plot, but ok I guess considering how bad other Simpsons games turned out to be. I played the game alone for most of the game, and I get the feeling that the game was designed with more that one player in mind. My guess is that the computer compensates the level of difficulty based on the number of players, and playing it by myself was just a little too easy. My super wife, Natalie, joined in at the last level to help me take down Mr. Burns, the end boss. She played Lisa and whipped the crap out of him with her jump rope.

 VICTORY!

The Simpsons, whether you like it or not, is an incredible influence on media itself and has been on the air for 24 years. That makes it the longest running sitcom, cartoon, and prime-time scripted show. I was six years old when it came out. Seriously. It can be argued that the show has had periods of decline and resurgence, but as a whole has been a favorite of evening television for folks around the world. The Simpsons Arcade Game is great, and something that everyone should try in a real arcade given the chance. It was released on PSN and XBLA this year as well. Go. Play it.

Statistics: 

Deaths: 40 - Continues: 20 - Approximate cost: $1.00 (in nickels) - Levels: 8 - Time: Approximately 45 minutes.