The Simpsons is an arcade game produced by Konami in 1991. It is a scrolling fighting game based on the cartoon series of the same name. The voice actors of the immediate family (Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, Julie Kavner, and Nancy Cartwright) provide their talents for their respective characters.

The plot, like many such arcade games, is simple. After stealing a giant diamond from Springfield Jewelers, Waylon Smithers bumps into Homer Simpson, whose family was conveniently walking down the street. The encounter knocks the diamond out of Smithers' hand, and Maggie Simpson snatches it in her mouth (in place of her pacifier), prompting Smithers to grab Maggie and run off. The Simpsons must give chase, but hundreds of employees from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant stand in their way.

The player chooses from one of the remaining four Simpsons: Homer, who punches and kicks; Marge, who swings her vacuum cleaner; Bart, who wields his skateboard; and Lisa, who uses a jumprope like a whip. They must fight through the employees and chase Smithers as he escapes through various Springfield landscapes. The game's levels are based on the streets of Springfield, Krustylu Studios, Moe's Tavern, Springfield Gorge, a graveyard, a dream world, the Channel 6 studio, and the Power Plant. Each level ended with a boss whose speed and strength would increase after taking a set amount of damage. Bosses included a professional wrestler, a hot air balloon shaped like Krusty the Clown, an imaginary bowling ball, a crowd of zombies, a pair of bouncers, and a martial arts sensei. After the boss was defeated, Smithers would appear with Maggie and narrowly escape. Smithers wears a cape through the entirety of the game, which he had not done at any point in the cartoon. In addition to using the cape as a shield and a makeshift weapon; in the final battle he also draws haldheld bombs from beneath it, which ultimately backfire on him. The game eventually leads to the Power Plant, where Montgomery Burns awaits to defend his prize.

Although the game is one of many scrolling fighters produced after Final Fight, it contained many innovations, including the option for two players to team up and attack enemies in tandem, with the exact attack differing slightly depending on which two characters were being used. Food could be used for healing, and various weapons and items could be obtained for use for a short time or for a one-time projectile attack. These items were often brought into the game by other Simpsons characters, and the Simpsons' own pets could be used as thrown weapons at various points in the game.

The game featured two occurances of a minigame between two of the levels, in which players competed against each other to be the first to finish a task (inflating a balloon shaped like their character in the first game, waking up their character in the second). The minigame was based on repeated button-pushing, with the player who pushed the buttons fastest winning. If less than four players were present, the player or players competed against one to three computer-controlled characters in these minigames.

The Simpsons is often praised for its faithfulness in digitizing the television series' unique animation. The continued success of the series has ensured that the game has its place in many modern arcades.

In addition to numerous Simpsons characters, characters from Simpsons creator Matt Groening's comic strip Life Is Hell also make cameo appearances.

In addition to the arcade release, the game was also ported to personal computers.

External links

• KLOV entry for The Simpsons