A review of the best titles starring the fireproof Simpson family
It is currently impossible to hear about the Simpsons and not know who they are. The best-known family in Springfield has had us hooked on the television for many years and this time we are not just referring to their animated series. And it is that under the great success of The Simpsons, the yellow family has starred in numerous video games since its first appearance in 1991 with The Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants until today reaching mobile devices in 2012.
With more than 25 games on the market and on the occasion of its recent 33rd anniversary, today we take the opportunity to review its 10 best titles. Has the franchise had the same success in video games?
10. The Simpsons Tapped Out (2012)
Mobile
The Simpsons Tapped Out is a SimCity-style city builder where we must rebuild the city again. Among its strengths we find its free-to-play modality, its mission catalog, special events and its characteristic characters. The game quickly falls into a task of assigning tasks and collecting resources that allows us to create Springfield at our whim in addition to being able to visit other friendly cities. It is not the best game in the franchise but it is an entertaining title that can be highly addictive.
9. The Simpsons: Road Rage (2001)
PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA
With a style very similar to Crazy Taxi, our objective is to transport the characters of the animation series and take them against the clock to the destinations that are requested on the map. At the beginning of the game we can select the character story mode with which we want to play where each one will have a different transport with unique characteristics: flying ships, rockets, cars, trucks, and where we will also see Homer's popular snowplow in the game. Road Rage is a simple but enjoyable title, and some will still probably remember both its version of PS2 and GBA, although the latter version was less well received.
8. Virtual Springfield (1997)
PC
Completely moving away from the style of play that we are used to, in Virtual Springfield we move in first person through the streets of Springfield while collecting hidden letters. As a graphic adventure, in the game we can explore different scenarios on an open map and our main mission will be to collect all the hidden cards that we will discover in their scenarios. We will be able to talk to the characters and learn more about their secrets, tour iconic locations, as well as play mini-games as we go along. Despite its simplicity, it is a game that deserves to be mentioned for its original commitment that at the same time translates perfectly into the aesthetics of the animated series. His only downside is that in his day they had not taken advantage of it more.
7. Bart’s nightmare (1992)
Super Nintendo and Mega Drive
In 1992 the franchise planned to create titles based on episodes already broadcast in the series, or as in this case, using part of the imaginary based on the Threehouse of Horror. In this installment that concerns us, we embody Bart's nightmares where we must collect the missing pages of his homework so that when he wakes up he can pass the exam and obtain a good grade. With this beginning, we come to "Windy World", where Bart must evade various enemies and gather powers while searching for the pages of his homeworld that fly down the street. Bart’s nightmare is an entertaining proposal although it lacks uniformity between the levels we are going through and the end result is a mix with many elements fitted separately.
6. Night of the living Treehouse Horror (2001)
Game Boy Color
The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror, is a game of seven action levels extracted directly from the special Halloween episodes of the series (Treehouse of Horror). In this installment, the souls of the family are trapped in Bart's treehouse, and the only way to save them is by guiding Bart, Maggie, Lisa, Homer, and Marge safely through each of their unique scenes of nightmare. With a style that can remind us of the title of Konami Ate My Neighbors or Castlevania, each level is presented as a game in itself, which makes it a quite complete experience as a whole despite its short duration. He is not Mario Advance, but fans of the Simpsons, and specifically of the Treehouse of Terror specials, enjoyed it in a guaranteed way.
5. Krusty’s Fun House (1992)
Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, NES, Master System, Game Boy, Game Gear, Amiga and PC
Krusty’s Fan House is an enjoyable puzzle solving proposition and an example of good results when franchise rights are ceded. On this occasion, Krusty's fun house is infested with rats, so we will have to get rid of them with the help of Bart, who manages best with traps. With up to 14 different levels, in each level, we will have to discover how to attract furious rodents to traps so that Bart can crush, kill or exterminate them. One of the interesting points of the game is the increase in its complexity as we progress through its levels.
4. Bart VS. the Space Mutants (1991)
Mega Drive, NES, Master System, Game Gear, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Atari ST
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants is nothing more and nothing less than the first video game adaptation of the Simpsons. This time around, instead of relying on a specific episode, the game uses several characters from the series to create a new story about space mutants, a recurring race of hostile aliens and where Bart will be the only one who can stop them with a skate in hand. . In each level Bart faces different objectives that he has to achieve and certain elements that he must gather before moving on to the level boss. We can say that it was not a precisely simple game, since Bart can only be hit twice by his enemies and where most of them will not be able to kill them, only evade. Under a simple plot and complex gameplay, we can say that living the popular intro characteristic of the series in the first Simpsons game was an indescribable sensation.
3. The Simpsons Game (2007)
PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, Nintendo DS
2007 was a great year for the franchise as it was the first time we saw a The Simpsons game that highly met expectations, representing the game that should have been created for the franchise from the start. Developed by Electronic Arts, we are faced with a highly fun and entertaining game that perfectly represents the essence of the animated series thanks to its great sense of parody and the constant winks that are made to both the television series and other games. . This time we will play with Bart, Lisa, Marge and Homer where they will try to use their new powers to help them on their journey to stop an alien threat. We will find unique character abilities in addition to original levels such as "Bartman Begins", "Medal of Homer", Shadow of The Colossal Donut, "Everquest" and "Grand Theft Scratchy". In short, as Mr. Burns would say: Excellent.
2. The Simpsons: Hit & Run (2003)
PS2, Xbox, GameCube and PC
With the launch of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001, the video game industry wasted little time in emulating the recipe for its success, inspired by the saga. And where The Simpsons: Hit & Run, precisely incorporated many elements of GTA. At Hit & Run we get into Springfield and get behind the wheel with the Simpsons where we can fully explore the city to our liking. In the game we use the Simpsons family, in addition to Apu for 7 different levels. Hit & Run was one of the most remembered and beloved titles by its fans, and just a while ago the possibility of the arrival of a remake or a remaster was rumored, although frankly it is better not to have many illusions about it.
1. The Simpsons (1991)
Arcade, Commodore 64, PC, XBLA and PSN
The Simpsons Arcade was developed by Konami in 1991 and was officially one of the first games in the franchise. The game is a beat ’em up in which we will walk the streets of Springfield to rescue Maggie from the clutches of Smithers and Mr. Burns. This is how our journey to recover Maggie begins with the complete selection of up to 4 characters (Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart) simultaneously for the arcade version and where each character will have their own abilities to defend themselves. The known enemies in the series that we will face are Smithers and Burns as final boss, although we will find secondary characters as we advance. This first title was undoubtedly a great start for the franchise, where in addition to being a great beginning, it will remain in the memory of many who lived it in the arcades.
