|
GameRevolution »
Features » How The Worst Simpsons Game And The Best Simpsons Game Is One And The Same
|
|
How The Worst Simpsons Game And The Best Simpsons Game Is One And The Same
Posted on Friday, February 10 @ 14:00:00 Eastern by danielrbischoff
When I was young, my parents would take me and my little brother to Dutchman's Pizza. More often than not they'd have the "Big Game" on the big screen TV, tons of big tables, and plenty of beer and soda to go along with their extra large pizzas.
I didn't care for any of those things. I only cared about the long hall of arcade cabinets they kept. Some of the cabs weren't in the greatest condition. Many had the stickers peeled off so you didn't know which button did what when you intially dropped your quarter in.
The Simpsons Arcade was one of these, but I played the cabinet so much that it didn't take long to memorize the buttons, much less the locations of enemies, the progression of the levels, and exactly what I was up against when I reached a boss.
Easily the best part of the game was the ability for others to jump in, take control of another member of America's first family, and beat down the nameless baddies that flooded every screen of the game. Konami's beat-em-up formula was practically drop-in and drop-out. It didn't matter if we were playing as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, or The Simpsons. In fact many titles shared the same engine (notably the 1989 TMNT Arcade Game).
The Japanese developer and publisher was at the top of its game (pun intended) when it released The Simpsons Arcade Game. In 1991, beat-em-ups like The Simpsons Arcade were exceedingly popular with gamers and arcade owners because of their addictive, just-one-more-quarter nature.
It didn't hurt that the Simpsons had a large backing. The original voice actors provided the dialog for the game and there are tons of key references to Matt Goening's work, including the Life in Hell rabbits. Let's face it, the game's art is also some of the best pixels have ever created.
But beyond that, The Simpsons Arcade is actually a terrible Simpsons game. Let's take a rediculous journey through the game's many off-the-wall Simpsons references and misses.
From beginning to end, there are quite a few errors, lowering the Simpsons-quality, despite the now classic, always beloved gameplay. Allow me a little Comic Book Guy. We've all got a piece of him in us.
|
|
|
|
(and Comic Book Guy: Eat my shorts.)
I was seriously awful at blowing up those balloons, though.