You can still feel the pizza grease on your fingers as you grab the joystick and join three other players at the local bowling alley for a game of The Simpsons Arcade. Indeed, many a ’90s kid spent time tiptoeing up to The Simpsons arcade game cabinet, marveling at the graphics. Given that the source for The Simpsons arcade game was a non-graphic intensive cartoon, the arcade’s graphics onscreen were mind-blowing at the time and made you feel like you were controlling the actual Simpsons animated show that your parents weren’t so sure you should be watching. But how did such a cool game like The Simpsons arcade game come to life? A game with the ability to play with up to four players instead of the regular two players most arcades had?! For that answer and more, grab some Duff beer or go open this article on the toilet like a classic Homer, and get ready to take a trip back to 1991…
The Simpsons arcade game was released in 1991 by Konami, and while the game was uber cool at the time — it was hardly original. The basis for The Simpsons was based on another hit 4-player co-op Konami arcade game: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game released in 1989. While both The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shared the same game engine and cool 4-player capabilities, the humor and chaos in The Simpsons game always made it feel a bit more special growing up. So while The Simpsons game was a technical rip off of a previous Konami hit, there were many factors that elevated The Simpsons game beyond a simple clone with a different non-Ninja Turtles skin.
One of the coolest parts of The Simpsons game that really made it come alive to the ’90s kid was the use of actual voice actors from the show! That’s right, you weren’t just controlling static looking characters you watched every week in the cartoons, you were controlling a living, breathing character voiced by Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner or Yeardley Smith! To make the game even more diverse and cool, each member of The Simpsons family had controls beyond the typical punch, kick and jump of similar brawler-type games. Nope, nothing so boring for The Simpsons game — each Simpsons member had a special ability that made playing the different characters unique, and hence it never felt boring if you were stuck not getting a turn at your favorite character from the show.
So what were these uber cool abilities that set The Simpsons game apart from the competition? Other brawlers of the time like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles used different weapons in the characters’ hands when you were punching and kicking, but The Simpsons actually changed the way you played based on which family member you were playing. Uber cool!
Homer was the classic brawler character type who’d throw his fists around to smash enemies (ok, pretty “typical”) — however, Bart had a skateboard that he not only smashed enemies with, but could also be used to skate Bart around levels, dodging the bad dudes before you’d set up an attack. Marge was a bit more spry on her feet, and used a vacuum cleaner to bash her enemies senselessly, and could even propel her body into the air with her vacuum to beat her enemies with her butt! Lisa had a jump rope to wack her enemies with, and the rope made it a bit easier and safer to hit enemies from a distance as opposed to a character like Homer’s up front button mashing style. While the Simpsons characters were all unique and strong in their own way, as with any family — the characters were stronger when they banded together… literally!
The Simpsons was the first arcade brawler to have special 2-player attacks when family members joined up. Different combinations of Simpsons members could team up for extra special moves and maneuvers to beat the living tar out of the baddies. Homer and Marge would interlock to form a rolling ball with their bodies and run over any evildoers. Lisa and Bart would join hands and go running around the map clotheslining anyone who got in their way. Homer would pick up Lisa and both would smack the living daylight out of enemies with his fist and her jump rope in unison. Marge would pick up Bart with an “alright, now play friendly” before launching him flying through the air taking out bad dudes like his hero Radioactive Man. With fun ways to team up and attack cooperatively with your friends, the game certainly made you feel like a family, and this team-up element really brought The Simpsons arcade game to life.
The Simpsons arcade game was a chaotic game of family fun. The sounds, the gags, the random objects to throw like bowling balls, hammers, or even cars — it was all silly mayhem and hence uber fun for any ’90s kid. Sure there was some silly fun story about the evil Mr. Burns and his cohort Smithers stealing a diamond and then kidnapping Maggie after she mistakenly uses the diamond as a pacifier. And there were also some cool mini-levels between the main eight stages that had you smashing buttons to inflate a Krusty head the fastest, or slapping your character to wake them up the fastest from their dreams. But what the game is certainly most memorable for even now, was the innovative use of teaming up your characters with other players and making a game about a family of wacky cartoon characters really feel like a family.
What was your favorite character to play in The Simpson arcade game? Where you a run in and smash Homer type, a hop around the map Marge type, maybe a chaotic Bart zipping around, or a Lisa who stood a bit back and whipped butt from a distance? Let us (and your fellow readers!) know your favorite childhood memories of The Simpsons arcade game in the comments below!
- Aside from the The Simpsons releasing in arcades in 1991, The Simpsons was also released that year for the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS.
- It wasn’t until 21 years after The Simpsons game was first released in 1991 that the game was re-released for Xbox and Playstation in 2012.
- The Japanese version of the game was made a bit easier (and less of a quarter suck than the American version — capitalism!) as the Japanese version allowed players to accumulate found food that could be used for health. Beyond the meager one health bar in the American version, the Japanese version let players store up to three health bars!
- An Arcade version where only two-players could play at once was also produced, but this cabinet type was mostly made so patrons knew which arcades to avoid, as any arcade owner who bought a 2-player cabinet obviously didn’t care about their customers by neglecting to spring for the full 4-player experience.
- If you want an original The Simpsons arcade game experience in your home without shelling out big moola for a vintage arcade cabinet — you’re in luck! The company Arcade1Up is releasing a 4-player stand up arcade cabinet of The Simpsons on July 15th, 2021 for $599.99 USD.
- Aside from the The Simpsons releasing in arcades in 1991, The Simpsons was also released that year for the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS.
- It wasn’t until 21 years after The Simpsons game was first released in 1991 that the game was re-released for Xbox and Playstation in 2012.
- The Japanese version of the game was made a bit easier (and less of a quarter suck than the American version — capitalism!) as the Japanese version allowed players to accumulate found food that could be used for health. Beyond the meager one health bar in the American version, the Japanese version let players store up to three health bars!
- An Arcade version where only two-players could play at once was also produced, but this cabinet type was mostly made so patrons knew which arcades to avoid, as any arcade owner who bought a 2-player cabinet obviously didn’t care about their customers by neglecting to spring for the full 4-player experience.
- If you want an original The Simpsons arcade game experience in your home without shelling out big moola for a vintage arcade cabinet — you’re in luck! The company Arcade1Up is releasing a 4-player stand up arcade cabinet of The Simpsons on July 15th, 2021 for $599.99 USD.
