Developer: Imagineering Co. Publisher: Acclaim Released: February 1991 Genre: Platformer
The Simpsons license has a long and storied history within the video game industry. Sadly most of it is bad. You can place the blame on Acclaim, who held the license for more than a decade and routinely put out one bad game after another. And while that is true it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Most of these titles had the gem of a good idea buried under bad execution. That is most evident in Bart vs the Space Mutants. It creates a good first impression but that is soon gone as devolves into another platformer, and a bad one at that.
When aliens come to Springfield in disguise Bart is the only one that can see them thanks to his X-ray glasses. With the help of his family he sets out to foil their plans for world domination. I have to give credit to Acclaim for getting Bart vs the Space Mutants out relatively quickly in the Simpsons popularity. When the series became a hit it hit big. With that fame expectations were high but I have to admit that ultimately I was disappointed. It has such a great first level that you can overlook its control flaws. But it almost feels like the rest of the game rushed to meet a deadline and the game suffers in the process.
Bart vs the Space Mutants places you in Bart’s shoes. By default Bart has a pair of X-ray specs that allows him to see aliens in disguise. Stomping on these hidden aliens will drop a letter spelling the name of a family member. Each Simpson will help you against the end level boss although some are more hindrance than help. The coins you collect can be used to buy items from the various stores in the city. These items are varied, from magnets, rockets, a whistle, to cherry bombs and a wrench. Their uses are up to you to figure out and part of what makes the beginning of the game so great.
So, that first level. Every level in the game tasks you with collecting a set number of purple objects. The first stage is the streets of Springfield and has Bart covering up purple objects throughout the city. You have free reign to explore the city as you either cover up or destroy everything purple. There are more objects than you need and what makes this portion of the game so great is the puzzle aspect of it. The game is very similar to A Boy & His Blob in this regard. As an example, there is a purple awning too high for Bart to reach. With the wrench you can open the fire hydrant nearby to wash the fresh paint away. If you wait by the theater a moviegoer with a purple shirt will exit at set times, giving you another chance to reach your goal.
There is fan service all throughout which is simply great. Moe has on a purple apron but won’t leave the bar. If you crank call the bar he will come out briefly, allowing you to spray him. There is a bird on the stature of Zebediah Springfield. You can’t reach him but a cherry rocket wills care it away and the grateful stature will give you an item. You can even use a whistle outside the Springfield retirement home to call Grandpa Simpson. Beyond these the bosses are both popular and obscure characters from the series.
Had every level exhibited the same level of creativity as the intro Bart vs the Space Mutants would have been great. But after the first stage it becomes a generic platformer with a Simpsons skin. Sadly the idiotic controls drag it down. For the most part the B Button does nothing. You use items with B but after the first level it is almost useless. To run you hold down A. But to jump you also use A. This is completely baffling and in practice nearly ruins the game. After jumping you can hold B to gain a little momentum but it is not as precise as it should be. It works on the first level because the game isn’t asking much of you. Once you are navigating floating platforms it falls apart. Sadly this comprises the rest of the game and the controls are used in future games too.
Aside from the frustration with the controls Bart vs the Space Mutants has bad hit detection as well. Many of the items require precise placement to use. Whether it is the slingshot or butt bounce, prepare to see your hits miss and take damage in the process. The layout of the levels and their design can be confusing at times, with important elements like platforms blending in to the background. It took way too long for me to realize how to defeat the Tyrannosaurus in the museum because of this. All of these problems add up to a game more that is aggravating rather than difficult.
In Conclusion
Bart vs the Space Mutants could have been good. But in the end it all comes tumbling down due to its myriad flaws. In spite of its issues I still like it but would never recommend it. Shame as it had the pieces to a solid adventure but they never come together. It would only get worse from here.
