"The best Simpsons game"

If you have never heard of The Simpsons, than you probably live under a rock. Anyway, The Simpsons is a very popular cartoon made before the 90s that is still extremely popular today(and will be a for a while). A few years after the show was introduced, The Simpsons, for the arcade game was made. Simpsons games have always had a tradition of being mediocre. Only a few games were good, such as Virtual Bart for Genesis, which came out later. This game however, is probably the best Simpsons game ever. It's also the first one to be released.

As an arcade game, a regular person wouldn't expect a deep story. You shouldn't either unless you are really crazy. The Simpsons has a simple story(which contains NO spoilers, not that there is any in the game at all) about Maggie being kidnapped by Mr Burns and Smithers for having a valuable crystal stuck in her mouth. As Bart, Lisa, Marge, or Homer, you must complete levels in order to get Maggie back.

The four characters are each unique in their own way. Bart uses a skateboard to bash enemies on the head while Lisa whips them with a jump rope. Marge uses her vacuum cleaner, while Homer, ummm, uses his fists because he's that damn good. Since it's an arcade game, you really don't have to worry about the moves being repetive. Something cool is that Bart and Lisa do some moves together to do more damage and defeat more enemies. The same goes for Marge and Homer. You can only do this with another player though because if you play alone the only Simpsons character you will see is the one you chose. Like I said earlier, the moves are pretty simple. Just regularly tapping one button can have you do a simple attack or jump. Also, you can jump and attack. If press the buttons in an odd order in the air, you can do some really weird move that does more damage and lessens your chance of taking some.

There are a decent amount of enemies in this game. The first level has atleast five different baddies and it just gets more varied as you progress through later levels. One level has every enemy in the game in it, which is pretty cool. To top that off, there's a boss at the end of each level. Now they are tough! It's like you will always die or get hit critically. There are eight levels and each are fairly long. They get much longer as you progess. After completion of some levels, there is a cool bonus game that is easy to learn and is great fun.

The music or sound is never really something you would pay attention to in any arcade game. Plus the fact that most arcades are really loud and the volume on this game is lower, you wouldn't give a damn that the sound isn't good. But if you did hear the music, you would be suprised that is great. There's the regular Simpsons theme as well as other themes that have almost nothing to do with the Simpsons. If we had all Simpsons themes, though, that would suck so much. The sound effects, well they are hard to explain. They sound like they would do in the show, so there's no reason to complain there. Also, there's a small amount of voice acting. If something good happens to your character, like getting health/food, they say one of their lines. Also, they would say a sentence or two at the start of each level. If you don't hear them, there's a speech bubble indicating a form of communication. I'm impressed that they could squeeze in voice acting in such an old game. The audio area in generally is decent and there really isn't anything to complain about.

As for the graphics, I'm impressed with that as well. They look extremely similar as they would in the show. I wish newer Simpsons games would have graphics like this. The flat, 2-D textures make you feel like you are really in Springfeild(the name of the town in the Simpsons). Bright graphics and good lighting effects help this game even more. Homer looks like Homer, Marge looks like Marge, Maggie looks like Maggie, Lisa looks like Lisa, Bart looks like Bart, you get the idea, right? On top of that, there's so many things in the background. It's interesting how you are walking across a level and see in a yard what's happening. It won't help you in the game at all, but it's something cool to look at. There's many many characters in this game. On top of that, there's a cinema in the beginning so you know what happens.

This game would take about 45 minutes to completly beat. Make sure you bring about five dollars when you go to your arcade, especially if you are new. The bosses can be a real handful, plus the enemies start to get extremely difficult towards the end. The game is pretty straightforward. There's also a high score thing when you beat the game. I don't know if it saves or not, but it's worth a try.

Graphics-10
The 2-D graphics make it truly look like the show

Sound-10
There really isn't anything you can complain about. Impressive voice acting

Control-8
Simple and responsive, which will always guarentee a good time. I wish there were more moves you can do.....

Gameplay-9
The length of the game is good enough. I don't want any 10 hour game in any arcade game. Lots of things to do.

Difficulty-7
The bosses can be a real pain in the ass, but other than that, it's all a real challenge.

Replay-8
There's a high score system, but once you beat it, you might want to wait a while before you play it again.

This is probably the best Simpsons game, ever. It might also be one of the best late 80s arcade games.

Buy or Rent
I can't help you on this one, because you can't just go to a random game store and ask for a whole arcade game. But what I can tell you is this: The next time you are about to enter an arcade, pray the store has this game. You wouldn't want to miss out on the great fun.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/15/02, Updated 07/15/03