Wayback Wednesday: An Overdue Retrospective
This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at game that I’m overdue to cover with an in-depth retrospective.
In order to plan out future features, I’ve devised lists of potential ideas. For Wayback Wednesday, that naturally includes game retrospectives, but also topics related to modding and our community, specific features and content found in basketball video games, and NBA history. After all, there’s a finite number of old games to discuss, and certainly a finite number of them that I can get actually my hands on. At some point, I’ll have covered all of the games in my collection. With that being said, there are still many game retrospectives left on my To Do list.
That brings us to the game that I’m profiling this week. I’ve often mentioned it in passing, always promising myself that I’d cover it in detail one day. It’s undoubtedly flawed, which isn’t surprising for the time it was released, though other games of its vintage have avoided similar pitfalls. Nevertheless, it’s a nostalgic favourite despite its flaws; or indeed, in some ways because of them. I’m committed to covering both good and bad games, so as always this overdue retrospective will attempt to look beyond my nostalgia, while simultaneously celebrating it. Let’s take a look back…way back…
Bart vs. the Space Mutants
I remember the first time that I rented Bart vs. the Space Mutants for the NES; or rather, when my Mum rented it for me. We’d finished shopping and picked up lunch – a burger and chips for me – and she agreed that I could rent a video or a game. At the time, our local shopping centre boasted a video store that was almost as big as the adjacent supermarket, with an entrance inside and outside the centre. I have fond memories of browsing that store in the 80s and early 90s, especially after I got my NES. There was a wall dedicated to NES games, and after perusing it, I chose Bart vs. the Space Mutants. I was and am a Simpsons fan, so it wasn’t exactly a tough choice!
Developed by Imagineering and published by Acclaim – the latter company of course being very familiar to basketball gamers in the 90s – Bart vs. the Space Mutants was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. It also came out on the Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, and various home computers including Amiga and Commodore 64. Interestingly, the game was actually pitched while The Simpsons was still a series of shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show. The developers thus actually had to watch the first season of the show as the episodes premiered in order to get material for the game’s story, and ensure that it referenced aspects of the series.
Knowing that, much of Bart vs. the Space Mutants does make a lot more sense. The eponymous Space Mutants were established as a series of fictional horror films in one of the shorts, so they were an obvious candidate to be the game’s villains. With only 13 episodes to draw from, references to events from the series are sparse after the first level. Meanwhile, the game’s plot was blatantly lifted from They Live, the 1988 film starring professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Basically, Bart discovers that the Space Mutants are plotting to invade the Earth while disguised as generic residents of Springfield. Only Bart can see them, with X-Ray specs he ordered from a comic book.
It’s silly, but how else were they going to turn The Simpsons into a platform game, particularly that early on in the series’ run? Besides, the plot is hardly the biggest issue with Bart vs. the Space Mutants. In fact, between the show’s Halloween episodes and trademark tendency to reference and parody pop culture, I’d argue that it’s somewhat fitting! No, the game’s biggest problem is that despite being released later in the NES’ life cycle, it’s wildly inferior to much older platformers. Bart vs. the Space Mutants is notorious for its clunky controls and mechanics, frustrating level design, and artificial difficulty. As much as it’s a nostalgic game for me, I can’t disagree with any of that!
Let’s start with the controls. To its credit, Bart vs. the Space Mutants does follow the standard of using A to jump and B for action/firing weapons, which includes a can of spray paint. However, whereas games like Super Mario Bros. would also use the B button to run, Bart vs. the Space Mutants places that function on A. This means you need to jump and then keep holding down A after you land to move faster. It’s as clunky as it sounds! Pressing A and B together will perform a long jump, which is essential to reach certain platforms and evade enemies. Select browses through your inventory, and then Start is used to activate the currently-displayed inventory item.
These controls work alright in the first level, which doesn’t have too much in the way of difficult platforming. There’s a sharp difficulty spike in the second level though, with long gaps, moving platforms, pitfalls, and collision detection that means you have to be really precise where you land. Apart from the disguised Space Mutants that you can jump on to gain letters that spell out a family member’s name – i.e. “gaining evidence” so that they’ll help you in the boss fight – you can’t defeat enemies. You can also only sustain one hit before losing a life, and when you lose all your lives, it’s a Game Over with no continues. This all combines to make it a brutally difficult game!
The objective of each level is to foil the Space Mutants’ plan by disposing of the items that they need for their super weapon. In the first level, it’s purple things around town. In the second level – the mall – it’s hats. Getting rid of all the purple things in the first level actually leads to some fun puzzles with creative solutions. Many of them can be painted red with your trusty can of spray paint, but you can also drop towels on them, open up a fire hydrant to wash off purple paint, and frighten a purple bird into flying away from Jebediah Springfield’s statue with a bottle rocket. There’s also a section in the middle of the level that you traverse on skateboard, just to keep things interesting.
Unfortunately, most of the creative ideas for disposing of items were used up in that first level. That’s not to say that later levels don’t have some interesting puzzles, but some of them are rather esoteric. They’re also sandwiched between platforming that exposes just how broken the controls are. As I mentioned, most of the references to recognisable characters, locations, and events from the first season of The Simpsons are found in the first level. The later levels still have some connections to the show, but they undoubtedly take more liberties with their premise and setting; at least until the game concludes at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant with a confusing maze.
In many respects, Bart vs. The Space Mutants is a one level wonder. The first level is commendable, and if the rest of the game were more like it, it’d probably have turned out better. Again, it has the most references to the show that fans will immediately get and appreciate. It has some of the most fun and unique ways to complete the objective of disposing of all the target objects. It doesn’t have as many frustrating moments, as there aren’t many difficult platforming segments where you’re really fighting against the broken controls. I’d say it’s the one that most gamers remember best, as it’s likely the one they’ve played the most, and probably the only one that they’ve ever finished!
To that end, I’ve actually never been able to get past the third level, the Krustyland Amusement Park. I’ve only ever seen the later levels and the game’s ending from other people’s playthroughs on YouTube. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever beat the game myself; at least without the aid of cheats and/or save stats in the emulator, anyway. Honestly, I’m fine with that. There’s plenty of nostalgic satisfaction in figuring out how to beat that first level as a kid, and making it as far as I did despite the flaws and lack of fairness. As I said, it’s very much a one level wonder in terms of design, fun, and playability, not to mention closeness to the source material (though again, that’s understandable).
For those of us who grew up in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, this was often the case with games based on movies and TV shows. TV Tropes has labelled it “The Problem With Licensed Games“. Such games had the built-in selling point of whatever they’re based on, so quality wasn’t a priority. It didn’t help that so many licensed games were rushed so that they could be released while there was still buzz surrounding the work they were based on, alongside all of the other tie-in merchandise. And of course, in order to be a longer and interactive experience, licensed games had to take liberties with their source material. Bart battling an alien invasion would certainly qualify here!
We’ve still seen subpar licensed games beyond the 8-bit and 16-bit eras of course, but we’re more aware of those issues and better informed about games in general. There have also been fantastic games based on licensed properties. Obviously we can name countless basketball and other sports games here, but as video games have grown as a medium, we’ve seen better adaptations of shows and films. As for Simpsons games, the best releases probably remain the arcade beat ’em up by Konami, Hit & Run, and The Simpsons Game. Of course, the arcade game also came out early in the show’s run, so it features oddities such as a villainous Waylon Smithers being a jewel thief.
Once again though, the premise and eventual contradictions with the show’s (very elastic) continuity are the least of the problems with Bart vs. the Space Mutants. Unfortunately, the developers working on the game simply didn’t have the time – and possibly the experience – to make a more polished and mechanically-sound platform game. Mind you, they weren’t alone there. There are more platformers on the NES that have similar flaws to Bart vs. the Space Mutants than there are games that rival Super Mario Bros. and Castlevania in quality. With that being said, it stands out even among bad games, not just because of its flaws but because it’s a Simpsons game.
I can’t help but like it, though. Obviously, nostalgia for a simpler time is a big part of that, but I also appreciate the references to the show. It’s cool to see Nelson and the Babysitter Bandit appear as level bosses. Jebediah Springfield’s statue talking to Bart and making a pun that references the plot of “The Telltale Head” is worth a chuckle. Prank calling Moe is a great shout out to a running gag. There are some cool secrets to discover. The simulated depth to the environments, such as jumping on objects in the background and “three dimensional” movement in the skateboarding sequences, was creatively implemented. Again, its puzzle-platformer concept had so much potential.
If only those ideas were put to good use beyond the first level! Instead, the puzzle-platformer approach is largely abandoned, wasting what was an interesting hook. The inventory is barely used, and there are no shops to buy items beyond the first level. Despite the fact that Bart brandishes a can of spray paint while riding a skateboard on the cover, he doesn’t utilise them in later levels. Those levels also could’ve been set in more familiar locations, such as Evergreen Terrace and Springfield Elementary. As it stands, while the second, third, and fourth levels have some connections to the show, they could also very easily be from a game that has nothing to do with The Simpsons.
Of course, there’s also something both fascinating and amusing about these flaws in Bart vs. the Space Mutants. It’s funny how the creative vision changed from level to level, to the point where it almost feels like each one was made for a different game. You can’t help but wonder how that came to be during the design process. The use of the Start button to activate items means that the pause function has to be selected from your inventory, which is highly unusual. The looping of the show’s theme in the first level is hilariously obnoxious! Like a lot of bad retro games, it’s fun to laugh at. As much as I genuinely like certain parts of the game, a lot of my enjoyment is ironic.
There’s a reason that Bart vs. the Space Mutants has become a bit of a meme and go-to reference for me on the NLSC Podcast. It’s the game that comes to mind whenever the “get good” crowd defends flawed mechanics because they’ve been able to master them. When I dust off Bart vs. the Space Mutants, I can generally beat the first level and usually the second before I lose interest/all my lives. However, the fact that I have some degree of mastery over those terrible controls that allows me to get further than most sane gamers could stomach doesn’t make them good. Likewise, concepts such as shot aiming and Green-or-Miss aren’t great ideas just because they can be mastered.
It’s also a prime example of a game that I was able to squeeze enjoyment out of even with its clunky controls and other flaws. There have certainly been a few basketball games that I’ve enjoyed despite their roughness, because something inspired me to make the best of them. In the case of Bart vs. the Space Mutants, it’s a love of The Simpsons, and the tantalisingly fun moments that come from some of its better ideas. It could also be argued that there are other licensed games from that era that are just as bad or worse. That’s damning it with very faint praise, though! I enjoy it as a guilty pleasure, but to that point, there’s no way that I’d ever seriously call it a good game.
I’ll always have a soft spot for Bart vs. the Space Mutants, though. I appreciate how it tried to mix some puzzle-solving in with the platforming, and that it actually made an effort to reference and resemble the show. Looking back and realising that the devs had a harsh deadline and barely any material to work with explains a lot, and makes their efforts more respectable in hindsight. If it was just a bit more polished, or if the rest of the game was more like the first level, it could’ve been decent. Still, this very weird and clunky game remains nostalgic to me. And so, to the haters I say “eat my shorts”…while agreeing with every single criticism! Oh yeah, and one more thing…
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