Video Game Review of the Simpsons for Arcade

The Simpsons arcade game is an all time personal favorite game. It is also the best Simpsons game ever made. I've been playing the game whenever I can find it since 1991. Reviewing the Simpsons arcade is really exciting for me because it is something I am particularly knowledgeable about. The picture is of me playing this game in 2005 on the Atlantic City board walk. The Simpsons video arcade game is great for anyone who likes Konami beat 'em up fighters or any fan of the Simpsons. The in jokes and running gags are enough to play the game all the way through. If you've already enjoyed the game and are looking on buying tips skip below.

**Disclaimer**

This game is getting old and the arcade machines you see today lack the quality of the original. They also may have been altered or placed in a different cabinet all together. So if this guide doesn't match your playing experience 100% remember that you are probably not playing with an original machine. I have also never played a Japanese version of this game and it is slightly different. This is a review of the American Simpsons arcade.

Plot - Mr. Burns and Smithers steal a giant diamond, but lose it when they bump into The Simpsons and the diamond ends up in Maggie's mouth. Smithers grabs Maggie and runs off. The Simpsons are about to follow when a bunch of goons show up and the game begins.

Gameplay
The game is a classic Konami side scroller on par with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time or X-Men. Each player has their own station at the arcade. You have a health bar at the top of the screen next to your characters face. A point bar which increases with enemy kills. Credits which are controlled by the number of coins you feed the game. The game is over when you run out of credits.

Characters - The arcade cabinets vary greatly, even more so now with age and repairs, but the order goes Marge, Homer, Bart, Lisa. Marge is the best player in the game because her vacuum cleaner weapon has the greatest reach. Homer punches people and it is not as useful at Marge or Lisa. Bart has his skate board and Lisa her jump rope. Jump attacks are good for groups or difficult enemies. You can use co-op attacks to do more damage and the best are Marge and Homer or Lisa and Bart together. Mixing the kids with the adults is also possible but is not as effective. You will need to use these co-op attacks to save some coin or the game will get pricy.

Items - Are food unless they are weapons. Keep an eye out for them and use them when you can.

Levels - The levels are similar but the items you can find and the enemies you can fight usually match the location. Each level ends with a boss that range in difficulty. The levels are:

1. Downtown Springfield  

2. Krustyland                     

3. Springfield Discount Cemetery aka the Thriller Level 

4. Moe's Tavern

5. Springfield Butte

6. Dreamland

7. Channel 6

8. Springfield Nuclear Power Plant

Between levels are two mini games where you button mash to inflate a balloon or wake up the character. You can view the end here.

Graphics - Are top notch for 1991 and look like the television series did at the time. Now they may look a little dated, but just go watch some old Simpsosn episodes and you'll be fine.

Sound - Features the cast from The Simpsons TV show making all the sounds and popular catch phrases from the TV series.

Control - Crazy simple: You have an 8-way joystick and two buttons. Button 1 is attack and button 2 is jump.

Finding the Game
Your best bet is ebay, craigslist, or a local arcade dealer. When you go into restaurants with arcades or an arcade themselves they will often have a card for who sold them the games. Contacting these people will usually find you the best local deal, because shipping these things is a huge pain and not advised. Craigslist is good because it is again local and is often people who want to get rid of the arcade for less than it's worth. People moving are usually the ones trying to sell arcades. Ebay should be your last stop because it will be the most expensive and often very far away. One in mint condition is going to cost you at least $2,000 dollars and up. If you like fixing stuff yourself you can always just buy the JAMMA board online and the cabinet and put everything together yourself. Usually you just end up with a cabinet that isn't working. This game isn't hard to find and there are plenty in great condition, but if you don't have the space or money then there are other formats you can consider.

PC-DOS - Isn't as good as the arcade version. DOS sound leaves a lot to be desired and you'll probably end up just turning it off. The graphic look like an arcade game on DOS and it's just crummy. This version also cuts corners and is missing parts of levels. I just noticed I beat this version much faster. It has the advantage of being free online you can find it here for download.

itunes - This is not the same game, but very similar. Homer is chasing a doughnut instead of the family trying to save Maggie. You can buy this for $4.99 on itunes.

Commodore 64 - This is very rare and also super hard to find. If you have a Commodore 64 then this is a good game to have. I've never played it so I don't know anything about it. You can find it on ebay.

Quick Info

Levels: 8

Availability: Common and easy to find

Cost: Used from $900 to $2000 on average

Platforms: Arcade, PC-DOS, Commodore 64, itunes (kinda)

Year: 1991

Publisher: Konami

Players: 4 (Some are only 2 at a time)

Genre: Side Scrolling Fighter, Beat 'em up

Release: Global