The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants is a 1991 platform video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was originally developed by Imagineering and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and was later released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum by Ocean Software, and in 1992 for the Sega Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear; all ports were developed by Arc Developments. In the game, the player controls Bart Simpson through five levels as he tries to ruin the aliens' plan to take over the world, collecting specific items and avoiding enemies.
Bart vs. the Space Mutants was designed by Garry Kitchen, who was approached by Acclaim in 1989 while the original Simpsons shorts were airing on The Tracy Ullman Show. Full production began in May 1990 with an intended release by Christmas 1990, development issues caused the game to be delayed to early 1991. Upon release, Bart vs. the Space Mutants received mixed reviews, with criticism directed towards the control and high difficulty level. However, it was also a commercial success, selling over one million copies and becoming a best-seller for the NES. It was followed the same year with The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World.
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 due to an unlikely quirk that he discovers when using his X-ray glasses, which he ordered from an ad on the last page of a comic book. It turns out that the X-ray specs, which Bart procured to see the nakedness of girls through their clothes, also exposed certain Springfield characters as being possessed by Space Mutants.
With this knowledge of the aliens' secret plan, Bart has to stop them from collecting the items they need to build their "ultimate weapon" to take over the world. There are five levels, Kitchen stated the biggest hurdle in development was time as Acclaim really wanted the game to be available before Christmas. Full production began in May 1990, and would finish in December 1990, missing the Christmas deadline.
Reception
The game was a best-seller. It sold copies at $40 each.
Reviews of Bart vs. the Space Mutants have been mixed. Many critics have described the game as difficult. An author for the Italian newspaper la Repubblica said the levels are not easy, and the Swedish edition of Sega Force described the game as both difficult and boring. Nintendo Power wrote: "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."
The NES version of Bart vs. the Space Mutants received a B rating from Lou Kesten of Entertainment Weekly, who noted that "the biggest drawback of this game is its brutally difficult opening section. However, what makes it challenging are clever strategic puzzles rather than thumb-bruising acrobatics. Bart tests reflexes and imagination in a way all too rarely seen in video games."
James Leach of Your Sinclair gave the ZX Spectrum game a 92/100 rating, writing that "I'm really into this game. As far as I can see, it's got everything it should have. It's fast, it's easy in places and dead wicked in others and it's got a massive amount of variety. What more could you want? ... The graphics are very cartoony, as you'd expect, and there's pots of colour." Leach also noted that the idea of including minigames in Bart vs. the Space Mutants "is pretty inspired, and makes the game even more fun." He praised the variety and gameplay of the game, and noted that "while it may sound pretty basic [...] it's when you start discovering things, making use of objects, finding hidden treasures that it really comes alive. And achieving an objective is satisfying because the route to completion can be pretty tough (especially some of the platform elements)."
Kitchen stated that he "thought the majority of the game played very well, challenging but not in an unfair way" while noting the later levels could use more tuning, but failed to get it due to scheduling. He stated that "building a game against a fixed ship date is never a good idea so I do believe the game's quality suffered a bit because of compromises we made in an attempt to get it done in record time."