==================================================================== The FAQ/WALKTHROUGH for THE SIMPSONS ARCADE, v1.2 Based on the Arcade version Written and maintained by SubSane Last Updated November 27, 2005 ==================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Game Details 1.2 Story 2.0 BASICS 2.1 Game Start 2.2 Status Screen 2.3 Controls 2.4 Attacks 2.5 Items 2.6 Points 3.0 WALKTHROUGH 3.1 Downtown Springfield 3.2 Krustyland 3.3 Springfield Discount Cemetery 3.4 Moe's Tavern 3.5 Springfield Butte 3.6 Dreamland 3.7 Channel 6 3.8 Springfield Nuclear Power Plant 4.0 THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS 5.0 LEGAL / MISC. 5.1 Version History 5.2 Guide Credits 5.3 Contact Information 5.4 Legal Stuff ==================================================================== ===== 1.0 INTRODUCTION ============================================= -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.1 Game Details -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ah, The Simpsons. THIS was the original (and probably definitive) Simpsons game. I don't care who you are or where you're from, chances are you have seen and played this fun-as-hell multiplayer game. The original arcade game is hard to find nowadays, so if you see it, take advantage and pop in a few quarters! Developed and released in 1991, by Konami. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.2 Story -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Simpsons are simple folk. They don't drive fancy cars, own property, or partake of social activities. But, there's nothing wrong with a walk downtown, right? If only that were true. It was a sunny day in Springfield, and the Simpsons were out and about on the busy streets. As they neared the Springfield Jewelers store, a loud commotion arose from within. It was Mr. Smithers, the ambiguous lackey of the infamous C. Montgomery Burns! He stole a valuable diamond and bumped into the Simpsons as he ran out. The diamond flew up in the air and landed... in Maggie's mouth? Now Mr. Smithers has kidnapped Maggie to get the diamond back! Can the Simpsons save their youngest family member? ==================================================================== ===== 2.0 BASICS =================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1 Game Start -------------------------------------------------------------------- Character Select - - - - - - - - The character is chosen based on the quarter slot you choose. The first slot is Marge, the second is Homer, the third is Bart, and the fourth slot is Lisa. Press the attack button when you're ready to roll. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.2 Status Screen -------------------------------------------------------------------- Character - - - - - The face on the left is your current character. Health - - - The bar in the center is the health bar. It starts off purple, but goes to blue if you get hurt. If your health bar is depleted, you will lose one credit. Credits - - - - The credits are the number of chances you have. The more quarters you put in, the more credits you get. If all the credits get depleted, it will be Game Over. Points - - - The small number above the credits is the number of points. You get points for each enemy you kill. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.3 Controls -------------------------------------------------------------------- *NOTE* There are many different Simpsons arcade machines out there, mainly because the game can be installed in any of the ol' school four player arcades (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men for example). Though the cabinet may look different, the control configuration should be about the same thing. _______ / \ | Control | |Character| \ / \ ___ / | | | | _ | | _ ______ ______ / | | \ / \ / \ ( | | ) ( Attack ) ( Jump ) \_________/ \______/ \______/ Joystick Button 1 Button 2 Joystick...This is for moving the character around Button 1...Typically the attack button Button 2...Typically the jump button -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.4 Attacks -------------------------------------------------------------------- This part isn't hard to figure out. Just press the attack button and that should be enough for most enemies. There are a few extra techniques I can think about. Jump attacks are very effective. You can take care of large groups of enemies, or avoid attacks altogether. Co-operative attacks (referred to as co-op in the walkthrough), are great for anything. Homer and Marge have a great one, and Bart and Lisa have another good one. You can mix the kids up with the adults, but those co-op attacks aren't as effective. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.5 Items -------------------------------------------------------------------- The general rule for items is that if it is a food item, it will restore health (with the exception of the sodas in stage 2 and the bottles in stage 4). Any other kind of item will be a weapon. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.6 Points -------------------------------------------------------------------- You will get one point for every enemy you kill. The points serve mainly as a final score to rank players. ==================================================================== ===== 3.0 WALKTHROUGH ============================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1 Downtown Springfield -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies: Suit goons, fat goons, fire fighters, wrestler Items: Street signs, flower pot, apples, police car, bowling ball, burger This stage is very simple and short. It's more like an introductory stage for the player to get used to the game. You start off in front of the Springfield Jewelers, the place that Smithers stole the diamond from. A couple of suit goons will appear, so take them out easily by pressing the attack button repeatedly. You can also jump and press the attack button to do an air attack. Or, get together with someone else to do a co-op attack! Your choice. As you go to the right, avoid standing in front of the Noiseland Arcade or Rusty Barnacle. If you stand by those doors the fat goon or hostess inside will smack you hard. You can also grab the flower pot and unleash some flower power. So go ahead, killing the suit goons and fat goons. You can use the sign in front of the Pet Shop as a weapon, but don't stand in front of the door or you'll be hit. When you come across the wooden fence you'll have to kill a few more goons. Use the street sign if you want, or if there are at least two players you can pick up and toss the police car! Riot!!! Next up is the Springfield Fire Dept. The number of fire fighter that appear depends on the number of players on the screen, and they'll be packing cool. Avoid their extinguishers and use kill them off easily. Kill off the last couple of goons, then hit the tree at the top to get two apples and go down to get the burger from Sherri (or Terri). When the wrestler appears get the bowling ball and throw it at him to cause some damage, then just attack repeatedly to beat him up. He will begin to flash a bright red, and when it looks like the guy is about to explode, you're just about there. There will be a bonus stage after this where you have to blow up a balloon of your character's head. All you have to do is continually press attack and jump to pump the balloon up. You can get up to 64 extra points if you get first place. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2 Krustyland -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies: Krustys, suit goons, fat goons, Binkys, Krusty balloon Items: Trash cans, sodas, donuts, signs, pineapples, mallet, wheel, hot dog, dog, cat Happy happy, joy joy! Whoops, wrong animated show... Krustyland, hoorah! It's the Krustiest place on Earth, and that dastardly Smithers has cut through the theme park. When you start you'll see Krusty balancing on a ball. Knock him out, and you'll see that it's actually just a fat goon. Fight forward until you reach the two booths with Otto and Marvin Monroe. Oh, also remember you can use the dogs as weapons. Otto will release an endless amount of sodas that you can use as weapons, and Marvin Monroe will give out a box of donuts. But why would Dr. Monroe be selling donuts at a theme park? Anyway, kill off all the goons and move on. Next up are the tea cups. First pick up the mallet from Milhouse, then start killing off the suit goons. The fat goons in the tea cups will then fly out and attack you. The best place to stand is up in the left corner, and if you still have the mallet if will be a lot easier. On to the zoo exhibition. Beat up the tree near the gorilla cage to get some pineapples, but don't go near the gorilla or he'll punch you. Also be careful around the fat goons who carry trash cans. So go along, fighting as you will. Stay near the bottom of the screen because that bear is going to bust through the cage and escape. When you reach the Binky Show Hall you'll be attacked by a gang of the strange bunnys, so beat 'em up too. You'll also run into some suit goons who toss their hat, Michael Jackson-style. The next boss will be the Krusty balloon that Smithers escaped in. Grab the burger that Sherri (or Terri) gives you, then get to work. This boss is real simple. Just start swinging your fists, skateboard, vacuum, or rope like mad. When he goes up and releases the balloon bombs, stay in one of the bottom corners. Now the stages get a bit tougher. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.3 Springfield Discount Cemetery -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies: Suit goons, female zombie, gray zombies, brown zombies, ghosts, bouncers Items: Skulls, slingshot, burgers It's a ce... ce... ce... cemetary! Make your way forward, beating up all the suit goons you see. Some of them will have weapons such as bombs, hats, molotov cocktails, and umbrellas. When you see a ghost in a tree, jump attack to knock the ghost down to the ground. Along the way you'll also see skulls on the ground, so pick them up and use them as weapons. When you reach the end of the forest you'll be in the graveyard. Grab the slingshot on the grass, then move on. The zombies will all fall with a simple combo attack, much like every other enemy in the game. You'll fall into an open grave at the end of the graveyard, into an underground elevator. Fight off the few goons in here and then you'll face the bouncers that keeping popping up in other stages. Just start swinging, and if there are two players I recommend using co-op attacks. They will die easily, but if you still need health there will be a few burgers in the beer kegs. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.4 Moe's Tavern -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies: Fat goons, suit goons, bar hags, drunk Items: Keg, pie, slingshot, bar stools, bottle, pool ball Go forward and fight your way through more waves of goons (you can use that beer keg as a weapon), then grab the bottle and pie on the bar. The bottle is a weapon, and the pie is a health boost. A bit ahead you'll also be able to throw the green bar stools. As always keep going and you'll find a slingshot on the pool table. Use it until it runs out and keep going. After a whole bunch of goons and some bat hags you'll get to another bar, and a rather large drunk. Why are the drunks always big... The best thing to do is to stay on the ground and always in the center of his body. From that position you can attack him, but his flame and cough attacks can't reach you. Never stand close to him when he's getting up from an attack. After only a few hits the drunk will go down, and you can continue. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.5 Springfield Butte -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies: Suit goons, fat goons, bigfoots, loggers, bear Items: Rocks, boulders, pink fish, roast chicken, raccoon Like every stage so far, you'll immediately run into suit goons and fat goons. It's the same thing, except some of the fat goons now also carry boulders. It should be no problem for you at this point. You can also use the rocks and boulders on the ground as weapons. Fight your way through until you see a tree and some caves. Wait, is that Homer?! My bad, it's just bigfoot. These guys are no different from the goons, so give 'em hell. If you hit the tree you'll get two pineapples. But, DO NOT touch the honey comb. If it is disturbed a group of bees will start attacking. Go ahead and beat up some more goons, then grab the slingshot from Nelson. You'll then cross a bridge. Use the orange fish as a weapon and take care of these guys, then move on. Next is a pair of loggers, but they're incredibly easy to beat up. Also remember to get the roast chicken from Sideshow Bob. After this you'll come across a pile of logs. A bear will burst out of a cave behind the logs. Start moving around to avoid the falling boulders and keep swinging. As always, co-op attacks are a great idea. When you've knocked out this "bear", the stage will end. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.6 Dreamland -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies: Donuts, Marge clouds, saxophones, demon Barts, SNPP workers, giant bowling ball Items: M, A, G, G, I, E, !, star This one is pretty straight forward, with nothing but enemies. First you'll face off against some donuts, but they are just like most of the other enemies. Gather them together and start swinging to beat them up easily. Be careful when they roll or shoot donuts at you. Next are the Marge clouds. They are a bit more aggressive, so use jump attacks to pop them. Then the saxophones will start flying around, so use your jump attacks. Following the saxophones will be the SNPP workers. You can use the letters M, A, G, G, I, E, and ! as weapons against the workers. When you run out of letters just stand on the ground and beat them up like most of the enemies. For the demon Barts use the same exact strategy as the one you used for the saxophones. Jumping high to go nearly across the whole screen. The boss is a real aggressive bowling ball with three attack patterns. For all three attack patterns all you have to do is stand and swing constantly. I guess a giant bowling ball isn't too smart, because he will run into your attacks every time. You'll play through another bonus stage after this. The goal is to continuously tap the attack and jump buttons to slap your character and wake him/her up. The reward is another set of bonus points. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.7 Channel 6 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies: Suit goons, fat goons, robot, ninjas, kabuki master Items: Cameras, monitors, mallet, sodas, robot head, microphones, burrito, broom, bowling ball Channel 6! Home of Channel 6 Action News, The Krusty the Clown Show, and the Bumblebee Man! You can use the cameras and monitors to beat up the suit goons and fat goons that always appear. You can also jump on the gorilla's head to get a health item. So fight your way through and... hey, is that Maggie? And where is Kent Brockman? Anyway, beat up the goons and get the best weapon in the game... the mallet! It's ass-kickin' time! Fight your way to the right until you reach the Mars set. A robot will appear, and he's a pretty tough fight. Try and stay in the center of his body so his beams won't hit you, and use the alien as a weapon. Once you robot is destroyed, you can use the head as a weapon. Grab the corn from the upper floor and keep beating goons. Now, you see that broom? Get it! It has the same attack strength as a mallet, so try and keep it as long as possible. Now you'll be on a Japanese ninja set. The ninjas are sneaky, but not tough. Just go up and face them with whatever weapon you have (hopefully the broom), while avoiding the ninja stars and nunchuks. Don't forget that apple blossom tree! It has two apples in it. Don't get the slingshot! You will lose the broom, which is a much better weapon. Kill the ninjas that appear on the stage, then move on. Now you must face the kabuki master! Try and guess what you have to do here... Yea, uh huh. Attack! He's no tougher than most of the previous bosses. On to the final stage! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.8 Springfield Nuclear Power Plant -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies: Smithers, Mr. Burns Items: Bombs There's no stage here, just two bosses. The first boss will be Smithers. Smithers runs around throwing bombs at you, and the best way to attack him normally would be to jump attack. But, you can also use the blue bombs that Smithers drops. It's fairly easy. After quite a number of hits Smithers will blow himself up. If you need some health attack the decorations and lights. Now for the big boss. Burns will burst out inside of a giant robot! He has several versions of the robot, and the more you beat up the robot the more messed up it gets. The best spot is right in the center of the robot, to get the most hits. Avoid his arms, missiles, lasers, and any nuclear weapons he uses, because they cause quite a bit of damage. After you completely destroy the robot Burns will faint and you'll get Maggie back. Enjoy the lovely family ending, and thanks for playing another great Simpsons game! ==================================================================== ===== 4.0 THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS =================================== Most people don't know it, but there were three versions of The Simpsons Arcade. The original four player arcade (I'm sure most people played this one), the American two player version, and the Japanese two player version. Here are the differences between the three. -The four player version allowed up to four players on the screen at the same time. The other two versions only allowed two on the screen. -When players put their quarter in the four player version, the character chosen corresponded with the slot in which the player put the quarter. In the other versions, players could choose out of the four characters. -The Japanese version had an exclusive item: a nuclear bomb. The nuclear bomb was only in a few stages, and when used it could kill all the enemies on the screen. -Even though none of the game is actually in Japanese, several differences seem to be apparent in the Japanese version that do not show up in the U.S. releases. These differences are due to the different release dates. The Japanese version was released 3 or 4 months before the U.S. versions. Originally, it was intended to be in Japan (even though none of it is in Japanese) then they would just send some copies to America. Well, after some negative comments about the easy difficulty and the disappointing game, Konami re-released the 2 player version. In order to satisfy everyone, they also released a 4 player version. -Easier? Enemy AIs seem stronger, faster, and more advanced in the U.S. versions (both 2 & 4 player). If you are finding the U.S. versions too difficult, try the Japanese version. The extra weapons and ability to gain health past the maximum amount also make the U.S. versions seem easier. The bosses in the Japanese are also slightly easier than their U.S. counterparts. -Different weapons Weapons such as the Nuclear bomb (like the one used by Burns at the end) and the small bomb (like those used by Smithers) show up at regular intervals and are not apparent in the U.S. 4 or 2 player versions. These can be thrown like regular thrown weapons but have a much bigger "blast"! -Absence of certain vitality items U.S. versions have "corn" as a vitality item. (look in Stage 7 "Channel 6" ). This is a cheeseburger in the Japanese version. There is a glitch in the Japanese version concerning the corn. Sometimes it appears (though always somewhere different in the level), sometime it doesn't. -Different scoring You will find high scores are MUCH higher in the Japanese version than the U.S. releases. -Vitality Bonus at end of Stage You get bonus points for amount of life you have at end of stage. -Smithers drops many vitality items (all fruits?) once defeated. They are hard to get because they don't fly too far, so when you approach to get them you may get hurt by the explosion. Then, you can't do it afterwards because by the time Mr. Burns is done threatening you, they will have disappeared. -Weapon agility In the U.S. version it isn't possible to jump when holding weapons such as hammers or brooms. The Japanese version allows for jump attacks while holding weapons. - Change in demo mode The Japanese version does not inifitely replay the attract mode. They mix in demos of the gameplay with the usual attract mode. -High score screen This is a small difference, but the high score screen is different in the Japanese version. The order in the U.S. version is: Score Ranking, Initials, Score, Character That Was Being Played As. The order in the Japanese version is: Score Ranking, Character That Was Being Played As, Score, Initials. -Level design Some levels have extra barrels and in level 4 there some fat freaks with barrels. Don't let them throw the barrels, instead hit them before hand to get 2 vitality items. Not to mention other things are slightly different in the backround (most noticible on level 3), and the fact that it had to be different to make room for the changes, like the nuclear bomb and the cherry bombs. -Slightly Different Ending? Several characters besides the family seem to show up at the end of the game. (Nelson, Milhouse, Terri & Sherri Santa's Little Helper, Snowball II, and Principal Skinner.) (see the screen shot) http://www33.brinkster.com/subsane/simps2pj.jpg ==================================================================== ===== 5.0 LEGAL / MISC. ============================================ -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.1 Version History -------------------------------------------------------------------- November 27, 2005: Version 1.2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Aaron Ristow sent me a bunch of extra info, much of which is in the guide now. September 19, 2003: Version 1.1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Johan Grossman sent some more info about the Japanese version of Simpsons Arcade, so I updated that. September 13: Version 1.0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - I finally took a day to bang out a guide for this great game. Memories, oh those memories... -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.2 Guide Credits -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to... 1. Matt Groening. The man created 'The Simpsons', which has been on the air for 14 years and is still going strong. Shine on you crazy bearded bastard! 2. If I thank Matt Groening, then I also have to praise the hundreds of individuals who are involved with the show. To the writers, voice actors, animators, producers, gofers, and every other person involved... thank you! 3. Wilson Lau gets mad props for his kick ass 'Bart vs. the Space Mutants' guide. It inspired me to write guides for Simpsons video games. 4. Big thanks to Johan Grossman for his additional info about the Japanese version of the game. 5. Aaaron Ristow for a LOT more additional info. Thanks man! 6. Konami for making this game. 7. Thank YOU for reading. After all, I didn't write this for my own health... -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.3 Contact Information -------------------------------------------------------------------- The address is: subsane@gmail.com The issue of too many e-mails isn't a problem, so I'll most likely respond to any questions (for now). But, I do delete e-mails without a subject. Put 'Simpsons Arcade FAQ' or something similar in the subject line. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.4 Legal Stuff -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. "The Simpsons Arcade Game" is copyright © 1991 Konami Co, Ltd. The Simpsons and any related Simpsons characters are property of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Binky is a "Life In Hell" character copyright © 1991 Matt Groening. 2. This guide copyright © 2003-2005 SubSane. This guide may be distributed freely as long as it remains in it's ORIGINAL and UNALTERED form. It is only for private use and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes. If I discover that this guide has been altered in any way and is being displayed publicly, I reserve the right to have the guide removed from that location.