PixlBit

Konami brought many great, well-known beat-'em-ups to the arcades in the late 80's and early 90's, and all of them but one have made a transition to home consoles. Yes, The Simpsons Arcade Game is the last and perhaps best classic Konami beat-'em-up to be brought back, and for those who've played all the other classic Konami titles to death, there's enough variance and originality here to keep players hooked.

The Simpsons Arcade Game calls upon members of the Simpson family to join together to rescue Maggie Simpson from the evil clutches of one Waylon Smithers, who has just robbed a jewelry store with hundreds and hundreds of thugs. Let's get this out of the way: the game was originally made very early in Simpsons history. The entire city of Springfield is nowhere near as developed as it is now, twenty-three seasons into the show.

As such, it's clear Konami took a few liberties and created a handful of extra characters to round out the roster. Expect to see a more supportive Patty & Selma, for example. In essence, The Simpsons Arcade Game is a product of its time, which can be a little rattling at first, but a handful of quick gags and cameo appearances, as conflicting as they may be, still provide The Simpsons Arcade Game with a lot more thematic fun than nearly any comparable old-school beat-'em-up.

Of course, there wouldn't be any purpose to the handful of gags if The Simpsons Arcade Game weren't a blast to play. As a single-player game, The Simpsons understandably can get old a little quickly.

Fortunately, there's a handful of options and very capable online play available to provide an ensemble experience worthy of a full '90s arcade. Unlike the port of the 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, a free play mode is available for both online and offline, with any number of players.

For those who want to encourage teamwork, preservation, and individual skill, it's possible to choose one of two “quarter”-based modes. One mode gives each player a lot of ten continues, while another lets the team of players share a pool of 40 in an attempt to clear the entire game. A fourth mode is available for those looking for a challenge, limiting players to one life and no continues.

The mixes of the different modes offer a variety not common for these Konami arcade ports, which is a refreshing and welcome change for a title that can last for just thirty or forty minutes in a single playthrough. Like the X-Men arcade game, the easier Japanese ROM with more power-ups and health items has been included as an unlockable, further bumping up the replay value.

Arcades in the '90s were competitive places. To stand out and receive a position in the spotlight, a game had to be of high quality with features to differentiate itself from the other machines occupying arcade space. The Simpsons Arcade Game does so with a few features fairly uncommon in arcade-style games. Besides a simple attack, players can perform team attacks by standing still next to each other. The few different attacks take coordination and teamwork to pull off successfully, but can be pretty useful for strong piggy-back attacks or forming Simpson-parent cartwheels that barrel over enemies, while allowing an original take on “Super Attacks” without becoming too overpowered. In terms of boss fights, there's everything from a boxer, to a giant hot air balloon, to robots from a generic science fiction TV show; some of it is pretty standard stuff, but there are a few fantastic and unique fights as well.

Over twenty years later, these simple gameplay hooks really elevate The Simpsons Arcade Game over TMNT, X-Men, and other arcade beat-'em-ups.

This particular port has more robust online features than most, if not all comparable beat-'em-ups. Still, it carries the flaws of the genre, growing repetitive after just a handful of runs. If you've got forty minutes to kill with some friends, it's still highly recommended.