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Let's face it: The Simpsons Arcade Game is, by today's standards, not very good. But it's hardly fair to judge it against modern games, and no one wants this game because they expect it to stack up to today's fare. We want this game because we remember playing it back in the days of actual arcades, back when The Simpsons was a young, roughly drawn phenomenon. We've long wanted The Simpsons Arcade Game to return because of pure nostalgia.
I generally have little use for nostalgia (desecrate my childhood favorite cartoons with souless big-budget Hollywood movies, I genuinely do not care), but The Simpsons Arcade Game definitely pulled me back to days gone by.
On paper, there's not much to say about The Simpsons Arcade Game. It's a standard four-player side-scrolling brawler just like several other games that populated arcades of its era. As one of the four primary Simpsons characters, players batters their way through a dangerous version of Springfield in pursuit of Maggie, who has been kidnapped by Smithers. By the current Simpsons universe, the game is totally anachronistic and strange - minor background characters from the first season of the show take center stage, popular cast members are nowhere to be seen, and the Springfield of the game is a very different place than in the current show. It's not a Simpsons game for the current fan, it's a Simpsons game for the original generation of fans.  |
Nor is it a brawler for those who like the updated retro feel of games like Castle Crashers. This port perfectly preserves the game as it was: a skill-free quarter-grabber. It's impossible to be good at a game like this - you just hammer away on buttons and try to make the bad guys die. Sure, there's some strategy to be found against certain enemies, but in general you can't avoid damage and you often can't tell where you are on the screen amid the chaos. It's challenge via unfairness, as was once so common.
The Simpsons Arcade Game is cheap, ugly, strange and short. So why did I enjoy revisiting it so much? It's more than just nostalgia. The game is simply fun. There's something cathartic about its simplistic button-mashing, and the reason so many players have fond memories of it is that it was more clever than other games of the era. Not only is it full of secrets (hidden weapons and power-ups; in-jokes to the early show), it features an interesting team-up mechanic, oddball boss fights (a giant killer bowling ball for one) and four distinct playable characters. Like the show, it was different, engaging and odd. That's why we loved it then, and that's why I still do. Add in a Japanese ROM, multiple online and offline modes and a completely faithful port, and you've got a solid package that will do your fond memories proud. Younger players might not get the appeal, but if you played The Simpsons Arcade Game the first time around, you'll be thrilled to have it back.
The Official Verdict: 3 out of 5
This review is based on an Xbox 360 copy of the game provided by the publisher.
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