The Simpsons Arcade Intro + demo gameplay
5The Simpsons Arcade Introduction / Opening sequence + demonstration gameplay
The Simpsons is an arcade beat 'em up developed by Konami released in 1991, and the second video game based on The Simpsons franchise, following Bart vs. the Space Mutants. The game allows up to four players to control members of the Simpson family, as they fight various enemies in order to rescue the kidnapped Maggie.[1] The game was ported to the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS soon after its launch in the arcades. The game was released as The Simpsons Arcade Game on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in February 2012, however it has since been removed from both services.
As the Simpson Family -- Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie -- take a stroll through town, they encounter a jewelry store being robbed by Waylon Smithers, who bumps into Homer, leading a precious diamond he stole to land in Maggie's mouth. With Maggie using the diamond as a makeshift pacifier, Smithers takes Maggie with him, sending various goons to keep the Simpsons from following him. Fighting their way through various areas, such as Krustyland, Moe's Tavern and even a dream world, the Simpsons eventually arrive at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, where they face against not only Smithers, but also Mr. Burns, who attacks them in a plutonium-powered mech. After managing to defeat Burns, the Simpsons rescue Maggie and head back home, while Homer breaks the fourth wall by throwing the diamond right to the player.
The Simpsons is a side-scrolling beat 'em up for up to four players, with each one playing as a member of the Simpsons family: Marge, who swings her vacuum cleaner; Homer, who punches and kicks; Bart, who wields his skateboard; and Lisa, who attacks with a jump rope. Along with the standard array of jumping and attacking, two players can team up to form a joint attack, which differs depending on which characters are used. For example, Homer can lift Bart up to use him as a melee weapon, whilst teaming him up with Marge puts them into a powerful cartwheel attack. Players can also pick up food items to restore health, as well as objects they can throw at enemies and items that temporarily power up their attacks. Players are given a small number of lives, which are lost if the player's life bar runs out. If the player runs out of life with no lives remaining (represented by a Bart-like devil appearing before them), the player has 20 seconds to add credits or the game ends. At certain points in the game, players compete against each other in button-bashing minigames to earn additional points (computer controlled characters replace characters not being played by real people).
The Japanese version of the game includes many differences from the North American release. These changes include throwable small scale nuclear bombs that clear all on-screen enemies. A life bar that, unlike in the North American version, can accumulate three levels by eating food beyond the first full level. The player's life is turned into bonus points after they complete a level and is restored when the next level begins. In this version there are hidden items (food and weapons) which appear when the player hits specific points of the screen. Also, in the Japanese version the score system is different: each enemy character defeated gives the player a certain number of points, while at the North American version the player only earns a single point by defeating them. This is similar to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game score system.