Being in the 30th anniversary of the long-lived series of The Simpsons , it is logical that it has had its glory days in the past, but there it is, at the foot of the canyon holding the pull. Nothing to do with their video games, where not only has they taken a break but several games have been withdrawn due to expired licenses. Without going any further, The Simpsons Arcade Game .
Known by The Simpsons , dry, originally for recreational purposes, it was, in the end, the second official video game of the series after that Bart vs. the Space Mutants by Acclaim that I never managed to pass on my Amiga. Both were released in 1991, curiously, but Konami’s was a beat ’em up that took various elements from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles released two years earlier.
A game for fans that entered by sight
Unlike that classic from 1989, where the Ninja Turtles were not a mere pretext to get rooms with a series that had been on the air for several years, with The Simpsons it did give that feeling by not truly taking advantage of the potential as a game of such a license. juicy.
As beat ’em up it was more innocent and simple than that of the Mutant Ninja Turtles, where the actions were simplified more if possible (there was no grip on the part of the player; but the enemies could grab us) and especially the elements in display (there were no traps, for example) were less showy and numerous, except for those that were collected. As if it were, in a way, a beat ’em up designed for children .
His story, as is often the case with almost any representative of the genre, was the least of it, although here we did have two extra motivations: on the one hand, to rescue Maggie from Smithers; and second, to see all the cameos of the characters in the series , which ranged from the merely visual such as Patty and Selma Bouvier, Abraham Simpson or Seymour Skinner, to all kinds of aids, such as Milhouse, Snowball II or Santa’s Helper. Claus.
They were eight scenarios that recreated, through a style close to the series, part of the appeal of Springfield , although using the most secondary enemies to fill in that part of “me against the neighborhood.” But it did not matter: our childhood “me” liked to make cakes with everything that was on screen and end up facing Smithers and Mr. Burns.
The Simpsons was never the best beat ’em up
The Simpsons Arcade Game , apart from sharing almost the entire playable core of the Ninja Turtles, also replicated the multiplayer for four people, being one of its main claims of this arcade, since it could be played with Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa. And not only that, but playing with more people could activate two-way special attacks .
The mechanism was a bit strange and risky, because you had to get close to the other person and wait. Yes, as it sounds. After two seconds, the animation between the two was loaded and the attack proceeded, varying completely according to the members: a “ball” between the adults, a launch when a larger and a small one got together, or Bart and Lisa from the hand running and jumping nonstop. A technique that made the game easier , go.
Despite its apparent simplicity, especially in relation to control (apart from that combined attack, we had a normal attack, another in jump and another pressing jump + attack as a stronger blow), it was a quite demanding game where lives fell like flies when reaching any boss.
There were tricks, such as the always effective diagonal “jump and kick” to avoid the onslaught of bosses, but it was certainly not as technical or varied a beat ’em up as the competition, where Capcom had nailed it with Final Fight. back in 1989. Even The Simpsons didn’t have memorable minigames, as they just hit buttons faster than the rest. Nothing to destroy cars from different points.
At least in the adaptation to PS3 and Xbox 360, withdrawn from the market a few years ago, some unlockable extras (images, character gallery, sound check and music) were introduced at the end of the story with each member of the family, apart from power enjoy the American or Japanese ROM, but could not hide the shortcomings of the original arcade.
Has it stood the test of time well?
Not much, really . If you want to play some games, it is more for its own universe than for what it contributes as a beat ’em up . A bit like it happened with that X-Men Arcade of 1992, no matter how good memories we kept from that time . After all, memories tend to be magnified …
The simpsons
| Platforms | Arcade, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, PS3 and Xbox 360 (analyzed version) |
|---|---|
| Multiplayer | Yes, local and online (up to four players) |
| Developer | Konami |
| Company | Konami |
| Launch | 1991 (Arcade) | 2012 (PS3 and Xbox 360) |
| Price | Discontinued |
The best
- Back to the Springfield of the nineties
- Its multiplayer for four people
- The combo attack is a great wild card
Worst
- How beat ’em up is pretty simple
- Worrisome shortage of movements
- Its withdrawal from stores or no remake
