The Simpsons (video game)
| The Simpsons | |
|---|---|
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Advertisement flyer of the game depicting the arcade cabinet. | |
| Developer(s) |
Konami Novotrade (C64, MS-DOS) |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Distributor(s) | Fox Digital Entertainment (XBLA, PSN) |
| Composer(s) | Norio Hanzawa |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Commodore 64, MS-DOS |
| Release date(s) |
Arcade
Commodore 64
MS-DOS
Xbox Live Arcade
PlayStation Network
|
| Genre(s) | Beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Cabinet | Standard, sitdown |
| CPU | Motorola 6809 (@ 3 MHz) |
| Sound | YM2151 (@ 3.579545 MHz), K053260 (@ 4 MHz) |
| Display | Raster, 288 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 2048 colors |
The Simpsons is an arcade beat 'em up developed by Konami released in 1991, and the second video game based on The Simpsons franchise, following Bart vs. the Space Mutants. The game allows up to four players to control members of the Simpson family, as they fight various enemies in order to rescue the kidnapped Maggie. The game was ported to the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS soon after its launch in the arcades. The game was released as The Simpsons Arcade Game on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in February 2012, however it has since been removed from both services.
Plot
As the Simpson Family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, take a stroll through town, they encounter a jewelry store being robbed by Waylon Smithers, who bumps into Homer, leading a precious diamond he stole to land in Maggie's mouth. With Maggie using the diamond as a makeshift pacifier, Smithers takes Maggie with him, sending various goons to keep the Simpsons from following him. Fighting their way through various areas, such as Krustyland, Moe's Tavern and even a dream world, the Simpsons eventually arrive at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, where they face against not only Smithers, but also Mr. Burns, who attacks them in a plutonium-powered mech. After managing to defeat Burns, the Simpsons rescue Maggie and head back home, throwing the diamond away.
Gameplay
The Simpsons is a side-scrolling beat 'em up for up to four players, with each one playing as a member of the Simpsons family: Marge, who swings her vacuum cleaner; Homer, who punches and kicks; Bart, who wields his skateboard; and Lisa, who attacks with a jump rope. Along with the standard array of jumping and attacking, two players can team up to form a joint attack, which differs depending on which characters are used. For example, Homer can lift Bart up to use him as a melee weapon, whilst teaming him up with Marge puts them into a powerful cartwheel attack. Players can also pick up food items to restore health, as well as objects they can throw at enemies and items that temporarily power up their attacks. Players are given a small number of lives, which are lost if the player's life bar runs out. If the player runs out of life with no lives remaining (represented by a Bart-like devil appearing before them), the player has 20 seconds to add credits or the game ends. At certain points in the game, players compete against each other in button-bashing minigames to earn additional points (computer controlled characters replace characters not being played by real people).
The Japanese version of the game includes small scale nuclear bombs that, when thrown, clear all on-screen enemies, as well as a life bar that, unlike in the U.S. version, can accumulate three levels of life by eating food when your character's health is full, and in addition, only in this version, the player's life is turned in bonus points after he completes a level and it's totally restored as the next level begins. In this version there are hidden items (food and weapons) which appear when the player hits specific points of the screen. Also, in the Japanese version the score points system is different from the American one: each enemy character defeated gives the player a certain number of points, while at the American version the player only earns a single point by defeating them, similar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles's arcade game score system.
Players will go through multiple endless loops after they beat Burns, the final boss, and rescuing Maggie.
Legacy
Soon after its release in the arcades, the game received ports to Commodore 64 and MS-DOS computers developed by Novotrade. A listing on the Australian Classification Board website, posted on November 9, 2011, hinted at a port of the game being developed by Backbone Entertainment for multiple platforms.[1] In January 2012, a high-definition port of The Simpsons Arcade Game was announced for PlayStation Network for release in February, with a release on Xbox Live Arcade also revealed.[2] The port features online multiplayer, the ability to unlock the rare Japanese 4-player version of the game, and promotional content from the game's arcade launch.[2] The game was initially made available exclusively to PlayStation Plus users at no charge.[3] In December 2013, the game was removed from the PlayStation Network store, although at the time it was still available through the Xbox Live Marketplace; no reason for the removal was given by either Sony or Konami.[4]
A completely different title inspired by the arcade game, The Simpsons Arcade, was released by Electronic Arts for iOS on December 19, 2009. Unlike the arcade game, the title is a single player game where players control Homer, assisted by the other family members via power-ups.[5]
Reception
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ScrewAttack placed the Arcade version of the game as the #1 best cartoon-based game of all time.[8] The PC/MS-DOS version of the game was reviewed in 1992 in Dragon #180 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3 out of 5 stars.[9]
References
- ↑ Sterling, Jim. "The Simpsons Arcade likely coming to consoles". Destructoid.
- 1 2 Makuch, Eddie (February 1, 2012). "Simspons Arcade Game hits XBL Friday". GameSpot.com. CNet. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- ↑ Makuch, Eddie (January 31, 2012). "Simpsons Arcade Game arriving next week for PlayStation Plus subscribers". GameSpot.com. CNet. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
- ↑ Tracey Lien (December 20, 2013). "X-Men and The Simpsons Arcade Game Disappear From PSN, Still On XBLA". Retrieved July 1, 2014.
- ↑ "The Simpsons Arcade on the App Store on iTunes". Itunes.Apple.com. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
- ↑ Weiss, Brett Alan. "The Simpsons -Review". Allgame. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ↑ McShea, Tom. "The Simpsons Arcade Game Review". GameSpot. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ↑ "Top 10 Cartoon Games". GameTrailers. ScrewAttack's Top 10. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
- ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia & Lesser, Kirk (April 1992). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (180): 57–61.