Arcade Beat 'Em Up Review: The Simpsons

The Simpsons is a beat 'em-up arcade developed and manufactured by Konami early in the run of The Simpsons television series.

The plot is fairly simple but works well. Waylon Smithers broke into a jewelry store and stole a diamond for Mr. Burns. He crashes into the Simpsons, the diamond pops into Maggie's mouth in place of her pacifier and Smithers takes the diamond, Maggie and all.

Players can take control of any of the remaining four main Simpsons family members. Marge smacks thugs with a vaccuum cleaner, Bart whacks enemies with his skateboard, Lisa whips baddies with a jump rope, and Homer just uses his fists and feet. A devestating attack can also be accomplished when two players combine forces, resulting in the duo spinning around to offer an enhanced attack on enemies.

There are eight levels total, including Downtown Springfield. Krustyland. the Springfield Cemetery. Moe's Tavern. Springfield Butte at the Springfield National Forest, Dreamland, the Channel 6 Station building. and the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Each of the levels includes generic Simpsons-style men as enemies, but also include level-specific enemies such as Bigfoot, flying saxophones, and ninjas, among others.

The bosses include characters from the show such as the wrestler Professor Werner von Brawn, a Krusty the Clown balloon, a bear that looks like the one that befriended Maggie, and of course, Smithers, and Mr. Burns. It also includes characters created for the game such as a large goon and his child-size henchman, a fire-breathing drunk, a sentient bowling ball, an electric-shooting robot, and a kabuki warrior.

Konami did a fantastic job with the graphics, as both the characters and the backgrounds look just like pixelized versions of the art from the show. The music is also fantastic, including a digitized version of the classic theme song as well as stage music that wouldn't be out of place in the show proper. There are also samples of vocal clips from the show's characters.

Konami was the king of arcade beat 'em ups in the 1990s, and The Simpsons ranks among their best. Since it was released early in the show's run it includes some oddities such as a much eviler Mr. Smithers than usual, and deeper voices for Smithers and Mr. Burns than usual. All of that aside, it is still a fantastic beat 'em up arcade game that should be played by everyone at least once.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5