ULTIMATE GUIDE

LONG BEFORE TELEVISION’S MOST ICONIC FAMILY BECAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME, THEY WERE A HIT IN THE ARCADES. SO JOIN US AS WE LOOK BACK AT THE SIMPSON FAMILY’S CLASSIC GAMING BEATDOWN ON THE STREETS OF SPRINGFIELD

WORDS BY ALAN WEN

» [Arcade] The arcade’s intro faithfully replicates the show’s opening sequence – the bios however are somewhat lacking in substance.

BART

LISA

HOMER

Considering the availability of The Simpsons in the early 1990s, at the time exclusive to satellite television in the UK, the majority of the public’s awareness of the show starring America’s dysfunctional nuclear family was through other merchandise. None made as much an impression as the excellent multiplayer arcade beat-’em-up that could be found in bars, bowling alleys and shopping centres, as well as the London Trocadero, one of the few places to actually host a four-player cabinet.

Technically, The Simpsons isn’t the first game to be made based on the series. It was beaten just a month by the NES release of Bart Vs The Space Mutants – the show’s perception as a children’s cartoon was no doubt an influence on many other licensed efforts focusing solely on the mischievous ten year old. Nonetheless, Konami’s game was the first to properly incorporate the whole Simpson family as players took control of Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa in a side-scrolling scrap to rescue baby Maggie.

» [Arcade] Standing next to each other for about a second, two players can trigger co-op attacks, which vary depending on the characters.

The arcade hardware also ensured that, from the graphics to voice samples that feature the original voice cast, this was a game that most accurately represented the show, right from recreating its intro – Danny Elfman’s main theme aside however, the rest of the game music is composed by Norio Hanzawa. Not that this is necessarily a faithful adaptation. As far as Simpsons lore goes, the plot is completely ludicrous. The evil scheming nuclear power plant owner Mr Burns is an obvious choice as a final boss, but why would his assistant Smithers be robbing a jewellery store in town, which leads to the Simpson baby’s accidental kidnapping? Ultimately, it’s just an excuse to get the Simpsons out on the streets to beat up a swarm of (hired) goons across eight levels based on the town of Springfield.