The Simpsons and I have two things in common: we both made our debut in 1987 and we've both hung around a couple dozen seasons past our welcome. There was a point in time though where The Simpsons was a big deal. It was subversive just as much as it was pervasive, even if revisiting it now might make those early seasons seem positively quaint compared to what's currently on TV. By 1991 the show was really hitting its stride, Simpsons products were all over the god damn place, and it just made perfect sense for the series to leap into the gaming scene, which was enjoying its own explosion in popularity.
There was a lot of awful Simpsons games in the early 90s, but thankfully the family's first foray into the market came in the form of a Konami arcade beat-em-up. The Simpsons Arcade Game follows Konami's formula pretty rigidly, but it's a real "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" situation. Again, it is a bit hard to review these games since they all have a very similar feel to them, with the most significant differences being the source material. Konami had a pretty good track record of locking down the most valuable IPs of the era, however, and they often did right by them. The Simpsons does a great job of capturing the manic energy of Matt Groening's humor well enough, giving the game a distinct personality, even moreso when you consider how short-lived this particular style was to the show. As a time capsule of sorts, The Simpsons Arcade Game captures The Simpsons protoplasmic years as well as it does your average 90s Konami brawler.
In 2022 I would wager most people want The Simpsons and Konami to die a violent death, but nearly 30 years ago both were on top of the world, and we got a pretty damn good video game out of it.
There was a lot of awful Simpsons games in the early 90s, but thankfully the family's first foray into the market came in the form of a Konami arcade beat-em-up. The Simpsons Arcade Game follows Konami's formula pretty rigidly, but it's a real "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" situation. Again, it is a bit hard to review these games since they all have a very similar feel to them, with the most significant differences being the source material. Konami had a pretty good track record of locking down the most valuable IPs of the era, however, and they often did right by them. The Simpsons does a great job of capturing the manic energy of Matt Groening's humor well enough, giving the game a distinct personality, even moreso when you consider how short-lived this particular style was to the show. As a time capsule of sorts, The Simpsons Arcade Game captures The Simpsons protoplasmic years as well as it does your average 90s Konami brawler.
In 2022 I would wager most people want The Simpsons and Konami to die a violent death, but nearly 30 years ago both were on top of the world, and we got a pretty damn good video game out of it.