Back in the 80’s and early 90’s there was a trend among video game companies to license anything they could and turn it into a game. More often than not though, the result was a putrid mess that left everyone disappointed. There were exceptions though, and one of them was Konami;s arcade beat em up starring The Simpsons.
The Simpsons Arcade game was released early in the show’s run and many of the long term ideas hadn’t been established yet. This worked out far better though, as it allowed Konami to just go all out and use a variation of the gameplay they had innovated for their TMNT games. You can play with up to four people as Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa as they journey to rescue Maggie from Smithers and Mr. Burns.
The game was fun and showed just how well a game could be if the right effort and touch were applied. Most Simpsons games were not very good at the time, such as Bart vs The Space Mutants and Bart vs The World. There were many of these games as well at the time due to the Simpsons being a worldwide phenomenon.
It is hard to appreciate if you were born before 1990, but Simpsons Mania was real. The show had such an impact on pop culture like nothing before it, and everyone wanted a piece of the action. This is of course, before the series started going downhill with season 8. The early seasons were full of raw anger and a key point of 90’s counter culture, before the spirit of the show got watered down as the decade ended.
The Simpsons Arcade game came at the exact right time. It gave a brilliant experience that was surreal and yet right at the same time. By not only applying the TMNT gameplay from Konami’s early game, but also using humor derived from the show, the game became a part of pop culture in its own right. There were references to unused ideas the creators had, as well as to Matt Groening’s other works like Life in Hell.
Of course the game was fun, since as we saw with the NES games, it wouldn’t be remembered well if it was just a Simpsons game. For all its seemingly nonsensical plot, the game actually captured the series’ trademark wit and humor. It did this by creating fun levels you could enjoy and marvel at, and play with your friends. Other games have tried to capture the spirit of The Simpsons Arcade game, but non have come close. This is a classic among classics.