While it may have seemed like a done deal from the start, we set out to find out which of these games is the best, and who better to ask you, our dear readers? We used you to rate every Simpsons game you’ve played out of ten, and below you’ll find the results. An obvious omission, but something to talk about, is The Simpsons Arcade. This arcade brawler has been ported to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, but never to a Nintendo console. Come on, Konami — you know the arcade back catalog and you gave us the Cowabunga Collection! Or could DotEmu give us a sequel to Shredder’s Revenge? Mmmm, nostalgia… Of course, the magic of this list is that it is by no means definitive! The current order is all based on the overall user ratings of the games and is updated in real time. This means that if you haven’t had a chance to rate your favorite game and still want to get involved, then you can click on any of the Star Ratings below and rate the game out of ten. And you’ll see the list change right before your eyes. So without further ado, let’s head to Springfield and see which game came out on top… Publisher: Acclaim / Developer: Imagineering Release Date: December 1992 (USA) Making Bartman the main character of a video game is a no-brainer, and Imagineer seems to have figured that out. With the ability to create something goofy, full of the show’s trademark humor, and with extra creativity, The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man should have been a hit. Things are off to a good start, at least. From some nice cutscenes to a decent opening level full of challenging platforming, we got a good sense of what was to come. However, the NES-style difficulty really ramps up. Remember all those jumps in Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania where you can’t see what’s ahead? Yes, these are here. Plus, there’s no password system, meaning if we die, that’s it. While it’s off to a good start, it falls short of our high expectations, as well as your own readers’. Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment / Developer: Sculptured Software Release Date: September 30, 1994 (USA) A Simpsons game filled with different play styles sounds good on paper, but Virtual Bart has a pretty big obstacle in the way of it being fun – bad controls. It’s a funny game, we’ll give it that. Bart as the protagonist is a perfect choice and the fun set-up of each of the games, along with his trademark quips and jokes, gave us a good laugh. But when you’re driving a dinosaur across a landscape or escaping a factory as a pig feels like it’s traveling through molasses, then patience will be tested. Especially when the game is as hard and difficult as it is — there’s no real reward other than innovation or humor. And that’s a shame. Publisher: Acclaim / Developer: Imagineering Release Date: 1st November 1991 (US) / 1st January 1993 (UK/EU) Trying to join the many other cracking platformers that came to the Game Boy in the early 1990s, Bart Simpson’s Escape From Camp Deadly appears to be a lot like its compatriots Super Mario Land on a surface level, albeit a letdown. by frustratingly arbitrary difficulty and lack of originality. Sent to a summer camp run by Ironfist Burns and full of bullies, Bart and Lisa try to escape unscathed and reach safety. The game has some good platforming ideas with an array of Simpsons-inspired weapons that Bart can use against enemies, although compared to other platformers at the time, it’s somewhat uninspired. It doesn’t help that the game bears very little resemblance to the TV show. Yes, Bart, Lisa, and a few other Springfielders pop up here and there, though the links to past TV seasons are few and far between. Publisher: THQ / Developer: Software Creations Release Date: March 26, 2001 (US) / April 20, 2001 (UK/EU) The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror is certainly a beautiful Game Boy Color title, but if you’ve played any other 2D side-scrolling Simpsons game, then you already know what you’re getting with this one. This is a real shame because the Treehouse of Horror theme deserves more. We’ll start with the good stuff first. The levels. Each character gets their own unique level with a different style or sense of horror. So Marge will manage to deal with zombies, while one of the Homers turns our donut lover into a vampire hunter. But despite the lick of paint, there are very few differences in levels. Gradually reuse elements and stick to similar-level layouts, so you might be fascinated by the theme, but you’ll soon be bored to death. It doesn’t help that this Boy Color game title is getting pretty frustrating. What could have been a perfect Halloween game turns into a little handheld horror show. Publisher: Acclaim / Developer: Imagineering Release Date: December 1991 (USA) Released almost immediately after The Simpsons: Bart vs the Space Mutants, this title was a much more standard platformer. And while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel with its level design, The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World comes with improved controls, which is a big bonus if you’ve played any early Simpsons games. This, plus the simplicity of the game, made it a more enjoyable experience. Bart vs. You can also encounter a number of members of Mr Burns’ extended family. The game may not be a classic by any means, but at least it felt like part of the Simpsons universe, unlike some other games that bear the series’ name. Publisher: Acclaim / Developer: Imagineering Release Date: 1991 (US) / 1992 (UK/EU) The Simpsons: Bart vs the Space Mutants was the first proper attempt at a platformer in the world of The Simpsons and not just a typical side-scroller that happens to have Simpsons characters in it. As Bart, you can face a wave of aliens that have taken over Springfield. To foil their plans, you must complete an objective in each level (removing purple objects, popping balloons – you know, good old anti-alien stuff). The result is a reasonably competent platformer, albeit one with controls so weird that very few people made it past the preliminary levels when the game first came out in 1991. Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment / Developer: Bits Studios Release Date: March 1995 (USA) Not to be confused with The Simpsons: Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness, The Itchy & Scratchy Game is considered the definitive flagship title for the television characters in the Simpsons universe. Except, of course, it isn’t. Unlike its golf-themed counterpart, The Itchy & Scratchy Game is much closer to a platformer. You play as Itchy and must hold off hoards of incoming Scratchys by blasting them in classically gruesome fashion with axes, throwing stars, swords and a whole host of similarly OTT options. After dispatching a predetermined number of the cat antagonist, you’ll have to take on a boss version to complete the level before doing something very similar in the next location. It’s ridiculously repetitive, but somehow captures the mind-numbingly gratuitous violence of the popular Springfield sketch. Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment / Developer: Audiogenic Release Date: September 1992 (USA) One of the best Simpsons games on the NES, Krusty’s Fun House understands how to take one of the series’ most iconic characters and embrace the source material to its fullest. Instead of being a straight exit platformer, Krusty must navigate maze-like levels, solve puzzles, collect rats and guide them around the stage to exterminate them. Yes, it’s like Lemmings, except you’re trying to do the opposite. You’re not safe yourself, of course, but you’re armed with your trusty pies to outwit enemies and not make a complete clown of yourself. It can get quite addictive, even if it’s a little easier for this generation. Still, for a different kind of Simpsons game, Krusty’s Fun House is a decent outlet. Publisher: Acclaim / Developer: Software Creations Release Date: Feb 1994 (US) / 1994 (UK/EU) Less to do with The Simpsons and more to do with (you guessed it) Jack and the Beanstalk, The Simpsons: Bart & the Beanstalk uses the popular TV series to retell the classic tale with some annoyingly accurate platforming to boot. You play all the cow-selling, bean-climbing, and giant blockbusters that everyone knows so well here, only this time, it’s got some Simpsons characters! That’s a nice addition…right? Maybe it would be if this didn’t revert to the disappointing and insane formula that Simpsons fans had to put up with in previous games. But the setting and graphics give it a rather wonderful and unique aesthetic compared to other Simpsons games. A chance to see Springfield’s finest in a world outside of their own is always a good time, after all. Publisher: Acclaim / Developer: Imagineering Release Date: Sep 1992 (US) / 1992 (UK/EU) Sort of like a weird crossover between The Simpsons and the knockout game American Gladiators, The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Juggernauts is based on a series of mini-games where Bart competes in a Gladiators-style competition. The mini-games vary in challenge and demands, from a floor contest at Moe’s Tavern to a game similar to basketball but with electrified floor tiles. Ouch. As a collection of smaller games, Bart vs. The Juggernauts gathers quite a…
