"Japanese company, American property… and yet it turned out so well"

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if the good people at Konami were trying to come up with perhaps the most unlikely Simpsons game in existence, or if they even knew quite what it was they were getting into when they got the license from Fox. Now, video games based on this venerable property are nothing new, and they’re still being cranked out today on a fairly regular basis. But using the same engine as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and putting the big-eyed, yellow skinned denizens of Springfield into a side-scrolling beat ‘em up would hardly have been my first choice. Still, this game was released just before Street Fighter 2 turned arcades upside down and the “you versus the world” genre of fighters pioneered by Double Dragon was king, so the choice was probably inevitable.

So what exactly has Homer, Marge, Lisa and the Bartman so incensed? The games intro sums it up rather nicely. Waylon Smithers of all people is robbing a jewelry store while wearing a cape and throwing around bombs. The Simpsons, extended family and all, were going for a stroll and Homer and Smithers have a collision, sending a stolen diamond flying. When it comes down, it’s caught by little Maggie’s mouth, who immediately proceeds to suck down on it like that ever-present pacifier. Smithers grabs the baby much to the understandable horror of America’s longest running animated prime-time family.

And from there, it’s go-time. You and up to four of your buddies are each one of the four members of the main family whose vocabulary isn’t limited to the sound of a pacifier. Bart rides and attacks with his skateboard, Lisa goes Indiana Jones with a jump rope, Marge has brought along her vacuum cleaner, and Homer goes in with his bare hands. Each character has their own unique attacks, particularly when pressing the attack and jump button together. Also, in a feature that’s reasonably distinct to this title, 2 characters can work in tandem to double-team on the villains. The adults give the kids piggy back rides, while Homer and Marge roll around like a two-person bowling ball and Bart and Lisa run around laughing evilly, I guess. It doesn’t exactly look that effective, but it somehow works in the game. Maybe the developers were trying to go for a double clothesline?

Starting on the streets of Springfield, you’re up against what I presume to be the staff of the town’s nuclear power plant who are trying to keep you from the baby and the diamond. There’s some variety to be seen in the enemies, though, including goons dressed up as Krusty the Clown, zombies, firemen and others. Now, apparently Konami felt it fit to add some Japanese influence into the game, because at one point you take on a band of ninjas. I’ve never seen ninjas in Springfield, but I have seen a lot of even weirder stuff, so it actually fits. At the tail end of the each stage there’s a large boss with lots of hit points. There’s also the usual curative items, special weapons that can be either held onto (hammer, broom or slingshot) or thrown (just about everything else). And yes, you can continue with another credit if you should lose all your lives. A pair of fairly easy bonus games are thrown in for good measure, too, and they involve simple button mashing.

In general, the game controls about as well as any of the better games in the genre. Attacks are smooth and reasonably reliable, although sometimes they will intentionally backfire on you, like when Lisa’s jump rope gets tangled or Marge’s vacuum cleaner sucks up that massive bouffant. It’s all really simple, truth be told, with the appeal being found in both progressively harder stages and in the somewhat silly happenings going on both in the game itself and in the background. Just the idea of Marge Simpson attacking the staff of a nuclear power plant with a vacuum cleaner in an amusement park is worth a chuckle, for certain.

Now, those who are familiar with the Simpsons program, which by now is probably everybody with a television in North America (at least) will have to suspend disbelief just a wee bit here. Since Mr. Smithers is the guy you’re chasing for much of the game, that is. I mean, Smithers is such a mellow, quiet, non-conspiring boot-licker in the show, it’s really hard to imagine him cackling madly and wearing a cape. Oh, he’s not above a little dirty work if it’s what Mr. Burns wants him to do, but this is way out of his league. And since the first season was the primary basis for the game, it’s not like Konami could really use, say, Hank Scorpio, or another somewhat diabolic antagonist who would appear later in the run.

Regardless, those same fans of the show will absolutely delight in the many, MANY cameos to be found in here. Principal Skinner, Otto the Bus Driver, Grandpa Simpson, Milhouse Van Hauten, Dr. Marvin Monroe, Moe Szyslak, Barney Gumble, Nelson Muntz, the cafeteria lady, just about everyone from the first season is present except a few faces (Ned Flanders the most noticeable absence). You’ll even see the three-eyed fish, the belly dancer Bart photographed Homer dancing with, and even that arcade rat who showed Homer how to win at a boxing game. And that’s not the end of it, either. Fans of Matt Groening’s Life in Hell comic will be very happily surprised that Konami really did their research for material to use in this game.

Speaking of the games’ looks, graphically this is probably the best attempt to bring the Simpsons and their world to life up to this point. The game is really bright and vibrant with color, and the background graphics rarely if ever repeat themselves. Character sprites are very true to the style of the series, and animate pretty well. And there are plenty of cute touches, like super-hero versions of the family flying in after losing a life, a devil Bart hovering over a fallen Simpson once they’ve lost their last life, and Homer’s manic grin while holding a weapon. For the time this was released over 10 years ago now, the game looked great, and still holds up pretty well today. Though, if I can be allowed to nit-pick here, I really wonder why Bart is dressed in a blue shirt when he wears red throughout his television career.

The quality continues to hold up well in the music and sound department. A fairly faithful version of the show’s theme opens the game’s demo mode, and music in general is bouncy and fun. The game even works in a bit of the show’s trademark satire in this category by playing a Michael Jackson-esque tune in a graveyard scene with dancing zombies. Sounds include voice samples of the main cast, with Bart’s catchphrase “I’m Bart Simpson, who the hell are you” cut in half to fit the length requirement no doubt. Also, there is a very distinct doink sound when you smack a grunt villain around which lends a slapstick, madcap feel to the game which eases the transition from satirical sitcom to Double Dragon-styled video game.

I’ve got to give Konami a lot of credit for this. They’ve taken a license that would have probably bombed in anyone else’s hands. Just ask Acclaim. The Simpsons is quite a nice side-scrolling fighter that builds upon previous Konami efforts in the genre effectively. There never was a sequel, unlike their hero-on-the-half-shell counterparts, but considering these games were about to be eclipsed soon, that was probably wise on Konami’s part to have one high note and then not worry about a second. There was a PC port that’s now rarer than a real three-eyed fish, so finding this one in the arcade is your best bet to play.

In the immortal words of Comic Book Guy… “Best. Simpsons. Arcade Game. Ever.”

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/04/03, Updated 05/04/03