0411 - Space Mutant

Finally drawing one of the "proper" Space Mutants, having only covered this one from the Tracey Ullman shorts before. Now, the creature makes a roaring noise before eating this Australian couple, qualifying them for inclusion.

I said everything there is to say about the Space Mutants way back when we covered character 0149, which means there's really only one thing left to do.

Oh.

Oh God no.

I've been putting it off for three and a half years, but I think it's finally time to play Bart Vs. The Space Mutants.

Bart Vs. The Space Mutants was a video game released in 1991 - around the time of "Principal Charming"'s first airing - for NES, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Genesis, Master System and Game Gear. It was a big deal because it was the first Simpsons video game released for home consoles, and while there would be many more to come, this one is remembered more than most because it hit during the peak of the show's popularity.

Also, crucially, it's notoriously not very good.

I've been mostly avoiding Simpsons video games where I can, but I think I might have to start actually playing them just to see what's up. So, with a glass of wine , a walkthrough and a shameless ability to save every few seconds, I devoted a precious Saturday night to playing through "Bart Vs. The Space Mutants" in its entirety. I played the NES version, supposedly the "best" version. If I was smart I would have streamed it or something, but I'm not.

It was okay.

Firstly I feel a need to point out that the titular Space Mutants are actually not the Space Mutants of the long-running film series, or at least do not share any visual similarities with them:

These Space Mutants can talk, plot, and disguise themselves as humans. Any human Bart encounters in the world could secretly be a space mutant, which doesn't factor into gameplay as much as you might think as all the "real" threats are pretty obvious. Anyway, the point is, these are actually not the same space mutants as the ones we're covering today, rendering this whole exercise pointless.

MOVING ON.

There are five levels in Bart Vs. The Space Mutants. The first four follow a similar format, where you complete a set number of a specific task, and then proceed to the end of the level (at the right) to defeat a boss. The most known version of these tasks are in the first level, where Bart has to get rid of a number of purple objects, via spray paint or a bunch of mini puzzles. This is the best level of the game, but it shows how the game might be a little too ambitious for its own good. The creative ideas of how to get rid of purple objects (or in a later level, some optional sideshow minigames) are let down by the technological limitations of the time. The controls are awful and difficult to navigate, making for a lot of frustrating experiences where I knew what to do, but my hands weren't quite able to do it quickly enough.

The end of level bosses of these first four levels are Nelson, The Babysitter Bandit, Sideshow Bob and Dr Marvin Monroe, and Adil makes an appearance in the middle of one level, bizarrely. These are the villains available from the first season, but I do feel sorry for Monroe getting lumped in with the rest of them.

The levels are fairly linear, and as long as you keep on top of the tasks as you go, the whole thing is pretty straightforward. There are some tricky jumps and hard to avoid enemy patterns, but I was surprised at how well I breezed through it (keeping in mind that was able to quick save every few seconds.)

But then I hit the awful last level.

This is a map of the final level, the Nuclear Power Plant, in which you are meant to find sixteen green rods and deliver them to the basement. The sixteenth one is given to you by Maggie after you find the other fifteen, and she could be anywhere. Also, there's a time limit. Even with a walkthrough I struggled to make it through this labyrinth, and my relief on completion was immense.

With the game complete, I was rewarded with the ending, which for some reason features Bart's head on Mount Rushmore:

Also Marge and Lisa have switched dress colours.

Would I say I enjoyed my playthrough of Bart Vs. The Space Mutants? No. I have a high tolerance for clunkiness in old video games, but when you consider this game out the same year as things like Sonic the Hedgehog or Street Fighter II, this feels inexcusable. But it was not as bad as I was bracing myself for. If I had to play this in 1991, without a walkthrough or save states, I probably would not have made it through the obtuse first level, but I'm glad I was finally able to tick it off my oddly specific bucket list.

Now I've conquered this foe, I'm less apprehensive about perhaps completing some of the other Simpsons video games (though I suspect many of them are even worse than this.) Maybe I should start with Tapped Out?

Oh...

This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.