The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World is a 1991 platform 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 ported by Arc Developments to Amiga, Atari ST, Game Gear and Master System in 1993. The player controls Bart Simpson as he travels around the world on a scavenger hunt while facing off against Mr. Burns' family and agents. The game has received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
On the Krusty the Clown Show, Bart Simpson wins the opportunity to participate in a Round-the-World scavenger hunt. However, the contest has been rigged by Mr. Burns' assistant, Smithers, in order for Burns to rid himself of the Simpson family for all the trouble they have caused him over the years. Burns sends his agents and fellow family members to take care of the Simpsons during the scavenger hunt. Bart travels through various real-world locations collecting items, with occasional cameos from the other Simpsons family members. There are four major areas in the game: China, the North Pole, Egypt and Hollywood, and each has several stages to play through. The final stage of each area pits Bart against a boss — all of which are members of the Burns clan: third cousin Fu Manchu Burns, second cousin's grand-nephew The Abominable Snow Burns, maternal grand-uncle Ramses Burns and unspecified relation Eric von Burns.
In each stage, Bart must navigate through the area, collecting items such as firecracker balls for self-defense and Squishees to restore health (Bart can take up to five hits before dying). By grabbing a cape, Bart can become his superheroic alter-ego, Bartman, and fly for limited periods. The most important items in each stage are Krusty-brand souvenirs. There is one in every stage, and Bart must find them all in order to get the best ending (as well as unlocking a bonus Hollywood level). The other Simpsons also appear to give hints on where the souvenirs are. It was the second Simpsons game to be released for the NES, after The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants (1991).
Discussion of a follow-up to Bart vs. the Space Mutants was in discussion but not given a green light from Acclaim until the commercial success of the first game. Dan Kitchen said the development of the game was "born pretty quickly." Dan Kitchen recalled that in his original pitch meeting with 20th Century Fox, he said he looked out the studio window and said "you guys can take everyone around the world right here in your backlot, so let's do the same thing, let's do a level where Bart is literally walking across the animator's table and jumps into a sound stage and then he's in a pirate movie or China, various exotic places that I was trying to think would be fun to play."
Imagineering received more input from Fox, which led to more characters from the television series being put in the game, leading to them showing up on the interstitial map and minigames. Virgin Games (Amiga), and Acclaim (ST). The developers were Arc Developments (GG, SMS, and ST) and Virgin Games (Amiga).<br/>
7/10, 6/10, 7/10, 7/10<br/>(Game Gear)
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Reviews of Bart vs. the World have been mixed. GamePro gave the NES version an 80/100 rating, commenting that "after running him through the rigors of a zany-but-strenuous Nintendo workout, the conclusion of this review became obvious: if ya loved Bart in Bart vs. the Space Mutants, you're gonna like him in Bart vs. the World. Despite a few shortcomings here and there, Bart's new cart is a world-beater!" Tribune Media Services also gave it a positive review, writing that "the storyline is great, the graphics, as Bart would say, are 'cool, man', and the action and control are terrific. This version of The Simpsons is a lot more complex than the first — not harder, there's just more to it."
AllGame's Brett Alan Weiss was more negative, giving the NES version 2.5/5 stars. He wrote that "most of the puzzles [...] are childish and boring. Even younger kids will get tired with these silly little games after a while. [...] The Simpsons trivia is kind of cool; you'll find yourself remembering fondly several of the earlier episodes. However, the questions begin repeating themselves a little sooner than they should." He added that "once you are through toying around with the puzzles, you'll find that the meat of the game is lame as well. The level design is far from clever, the controls are sluggish, and the action is dull."
The Dutch magazine Power Unlimited rated the Game Gear version 70/100, noting that it "consists partly of boring platform worlds" that are "not really worth the effort". They added, however, that "fortunately, there are also some simple puzzle games that are fun" and keep the game above mediocrity.
According to internal data, by 1994 Acclaim sold approximately 53,000 copies of the NES version and 42,000 copies of the Game Boy version.