The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants

The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants
From a actually pretty great beat-em-up to a major embarrassment that locked the IP up in bad game limbo for about 12 years. Not exactly a kind victory if you ask us...
Genre(s): Platform Platform(s): Amiga Amstrad CPC Atari ST Commodore 64 Sega Game Gear Sega Genesis MS-DOS Nintendo Entertainment System Sega Master System ZX Spectrum Release Date: NES NA: April 25, 1991 EU: December 12, 1991 Amiga EU: September 1991 Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum EU: 1991 Genesis, Game Gear NA/EU: 1992 Master System EU: 1992 Developer(s): Imagineering Arc Developments Publisher(s): Acclaim Entertainment Flying Edge (Game Gear/Master System/Genesis) Country: United States Series: The Simpsons Successor: The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World

"Eat my shorts, man!"

— Bart Simpson

The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants is a video game developed by Imagineering and Arc Developments and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the Nintendo Entertainment System and various home computers, while Flying Edge published the Sega Genesis, Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear versions in 1991 to 1992. It is the first game based on the animated television series.

Development

Bart vs. the Space Mutants is the first video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, and includes the theme song from the show. The game was designed by Garry Kitchen, who previously developed Keystone Kapers and Pressure Cooker for Activision.

Kitchen stated the game was offered to him by Greg Fischback of Acclaim a few days before the first episode aired, asking him to look into The Simpsons as a property to develop it into a game. Kitchen stated the biggest hurdle in development was time as Acclaim really wanted the game to be available before Christmas. According to Kitchen, the deadline was missed. Kitchen hired Barry Marx, a friend from Columbia University to come up with gags in the game that would be appropriate for Bart.

It was published in 1991 by Acclaim for the Nintendo Entertainment System and by Ocean Software for the Atari ST, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. The game was published in 1992 for Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, and the hand-held Game Gear console under Acclaim's Flying Edge label. A portable LCD toy of the game was also published by Acclaim in 1991. Imagineering developed Bart vs. the Space Mutants for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari ST, and Game Gear, while Arc Developments developed the game for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Genesis.

Plot and Gameplay

Bart vs. the Space Mutants is a 2D side-scrolling platformer. In the single-player game, Bart Simpson is the only one who knows of the aliens' secret plan (his X-ray sunglasses allow him to identify aliens in human form, similar to the sunglasses from the 1988 film They Live, in the words of AVGN) and he has to stop them from collecting the items they need to build their "ultimate weapon" to take over the world. There are five levels, in which Bart must collect or destroy a certain number of these items (purple objects in the first level, hats in the second, balloons in the third, exit signs in the fourth, and nuclear rods in the fifth). If Bart loses a life he says "Eat my shorts!" Another objective of Bart vs. the Space Mutants is to help Bart convince the other members of the Simpson family about the aliens' existence so that they will help him during the levels.
In order to get to some of the items and progress through the game, Bart must use equipment such as rockets and cherry bombs, which are bought with coins that can be collected by getting rid of aliens. Bart is controlled on foot and on a skateboard. To get rid of aliens, which are disguised as real humans, he needs to jump on their heads, although some are just regular humans. The game increases in difficulty with each level, and Bart meets up with a boss at the end of the first four. The levels uses elements of The Simpsons and some of the television humor appears in the game: for example, in the first level Bart can make a prank call to the bartender Moe in order for him to run outside so that the player can spray paint his purple apron (an example of an item that the aliens need) into a red color that the aliens do not want. The game includes some minigames.

Bad Qualities

1. For starters, the NES version has terrible controls. Running and jumping are both mapped to the "A" button. Pressing "A" makes Bart jump, while holding it makes Bart run. You can't even jump longer if you are holding the "A" button. You have to press and hold "A" and "B" to do a super jump, or else Bart won't jump longer. This is because the NES controller only has 2 buttons.
2. Poor graphics on the NES version for 1991 standards. Homer looks like he doesn't wear his shoes at all, or his shoes are actually in the same color as his skin, not gray, Maggie's onesie is green instead of light blue, and Marge's dresses are pink, not green. And for some reason, Bart's nose disappears when your in a stand-still, which is also pretty weird.
3. You only get 3 lives and no continues at all. There's a rare chance that you can get a 1-UP, but no continues at all. This can be hard for newbies, especially if they are running out of lives, without even being aware that there aren't any continues at all, forcing them to restart the game from the beginning.
4. You only have 2 hitboxes. If you will get hit 2 times without falling to something that instantly kills you, you are dead, forcing you to restart the level from the beginning. This can be pretty unfair at times, especially if the level can be difficult for some people.
5. In almost all versions of the game, the Simpsons theme is playing over and over again without even playing a different theme, which is just to prove that the music is repetitive, like the music in Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. No matter which level you will be playing, no new theme will play, only the Simpsons theme without even bothering to stop. The Sega versions don't even feature the Simpsons theme, not even for the main menu, but thankfully, due to the Simpsons theme not being in those versions, it doesn't play over and over again.
   • And on top of that, the music in the Game Gear version is much slower compared to the Master System version.
6. Speaking of music, the boss theme is just the game over theme, but it plays repeatedly without even bothering to stop until you will defeat the boss. Not to mention, it is also too loud. This is just to prove even more that the music is repetitive, and even ear-bleeding, like the pirated NES port of Super Mario World. Even most Game Boy games dont have ear-bleeding music at all.
7. The Sega Master System port heavily flickers, glitches and crashes when running in 60Hz, just to literally annoy you without even refusing to stop doing it. And once it crashes, mostly for a stupid reason, you have to restart the game. This is just incredibly familiar to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 and the NES version of Action 52.
8. The second level's floor is mostly covered in cement. Because of that people would be confused that it will actually make Bart walk slower if you won't jump onto the platform, but it actually kills you instantly. This can be just unexpecting, like traps in Unfair Mario, Unfair Crash Bandicoot and Cat Mario, also known as Syobon Action. You would not even realize if the cement is just an instant death that forces you to restart the level all the way back from the beginning.
9. The NES version has odd sound effects. The jumping sound is no better than other sound effects from the NES version, and it doesn't sound as good as some of the games in the NES version of Action 52 (mostly Manchester Beat). No matter which sound will play, they will never be good at all, and they will be always odd, even for a NES game released in 1991.
10. The plot is stupid. The concept is no better, it's ridiculous. On the first level, Bart has to spray purple items red, so that the aliens can't use them, due to the fact that the aliens needed purple colored objects at first, which is pretty stupid. And due to the graphics on the NES version, the red color looks like it was actually maroon instead of red.
    • Also, if the aliens can change the ingredients for their superweapon, why not have it be water or grass or anything common like that?
      • It's possible that the aliens can choose only specific ingredients, and common items like water or grass aren't suitable.
11. Poor collision detection. Even for the first Simpsons game released for the consoles. Due to how poor the collision detection is, just like in some other games that also have the collision detection that's on par with Bart vs. the Space Mutants, the poor collision detection is also in the next two NES Simpsons games, Bart vs. the World and Bartman Meets Radioactive Man, due to how the game is programmed.
12. The levels are pretty long, just like Super Mario Bros. Special's levels. They are even designed just to waste your time to have less time to do something you would want to do so much, like read a book/comic, watch TV, play a different game or hangout/chat with your friends. However, level 4 is the giant example, it is literally the longest level in the entire game just designed to waste your time.

Good Qualities

1. While the first level's object of changing purple items to red might sound silly, it actually provides much more variety in gameplay than the usual platform tie-in games from this era.
2. The third level has several fun sidegames that allow you to rack up extra lives, which really come in handy for the next level. This can also mean that you can get more lives without even walking and searching for them.
3. The Genesis and Amiga versions have improved controls, far better graphics and audio, more varied, if slightly bland music, and tweaks to the gameplay that make the game less frustrating, just to prove that they are improvements over the NES version. The Sega Master System, MS-DOS, and Game Gear ports are also improved over the NES versions, albeit not to quite the same degree.
4. The Amiga and MS-DOS versions feature a unique animated intro, which almost looks like a digitized clip from an episode of the show.

Reception

"What were they thinking?"The Shit Scale Games that are debatably bad High level of shit contamination The very high category The severe zone Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Major code red 👆 This product belongs to the "High Level of Shit Contamination" category of the AVGN's Shit Scale.

Ratings

Publication	Score
AllGame	4/5
Nintendo Power	66/100
Your Sinclair	92/100 (ZX Spectrum)
Crash	91/100 (ZX Spectrum)

Critical reception

The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants received mixed reviews. AllGame gave it 4/5 score. Nintendo Power gave the NES version a 66/100 rating saying that "Bart Simpson has finally made it to the NES from Acclaim. His adventure, though, is anything but a game for underachievers. This game is very challenging and could be frustratingly so to some players. The tasks that you must perform to complete the adventure require patience and skill". Entertainment Weekly gave the NES version a B rating. The Sega versions were met with mixed to negative to positive reviews.

The ZX Spectrum version was met with positive reception from critics, compared to the NES and Sega versions. Your Sinclair gave it a 92/100 rating, while Crash (not to be confused with Crash Bandicoot) gave it a 91/100 rating.

Trivia

• WatchMojo ranked this game the 3rd WORST in Top 10 BEST & WORST Simpsons games.

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