Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. The last two reviews for games based on The Simpsons have both left terrible tastes in my mouth. From Bart bs. The Space Mutants with it’s collect-a-thon gameplay, To the bland gameplay of Bart vs. The World. So, one would hope that the third time could be the charm with Bartman Meets Radioactive Man, right? Would it be the ultimate combination like nuts and gum, or bland and tasteless like flavor wax? Let’s find out with this week’s review.
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1992
PUBLISHER: Acclaim
GENRE: Action Platformer
By late 1992, The Simpsons was into its fourth season. A season that I believe was really the beginning of the golden age of quality for show. Not only was the comedic writing becoming far more top notch, but the show was becoming the go to show for guest stars including the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Aerosmith, Tony Bennett, and the biggest coup, Michael Jackson.
Simpsons mania was still red hot, and merchandise was still selling like crazy. This included video games of course, as more and more Simpsons games were being published by Acclaim, and more often than not, stinking up the joint. But with the cash cow still giving milk, Acclaim kept pumping them out. This included four NES titles. The fourth and final game being Bartman Meets Radioactive Man.
While Bartman had first been used in the smash hit song “Do the Bartman”, Bart’s alter ego, as well as Radioactive Man first appeared in the season 2 episode “Three Men and a Comic Book”. While the show really never used the Bartman alter ego following the episode, as well as barely referenced Radioactive Man, they still used the characters in the comics, even giving Radioactive Man his own actual comic for a brief period.
The popularity of the episode was enough of an excuse for Acclaim to pump out another video game. Once again the company would have Imagineering develop the game. Although Imagineering really just used elements from their video game adaptation of Swamp Thing. Bartman Meets Radioactive Man was released in December of 1992 on the NES as well as the Sega Game Gear. It has earned some mixed reactions, mainly negative. But is it really that bad?
COVER STORY
Great Simpsons art once again gives this cover some great eye catching appeal. Bartman and Radioactive Man in a nice action shot, while you also see two of the game’s villains in Lava Man, and Doctor Crab. It’s definitely nowhere as busy as the other covers, but sometimes minimal works far greater. And it definitely does in this case.
STORY
Bart Simpson is in his treehouse reading the latest Radioactive Man comic book, but is bothered by the fact that Radioactive Man hasn’t appeared in the comic at all. Suddenly Bart is greeted by Radioactive Man’s sidekick Fallout Boy, who tells him that Radioactive Man has been captured by Brain-O the Magnificent, and drained of his powers. The only one who can save him is Bart’s alter ego Bartman. First Bart has to defeat three villains to restore Radioactive Man’s powers, then he must unite with his hero to defeat Brain-O. Can he accomplish such a task?
GAMEPLAY
Bartman Meets Radioactive Man is a one player action platformer. You control Bartman as you must go through four chapters , defeat several villains, and restore Radioactive Man’s powers. You move Bart with the D-Pad, attack with the B button, and jump with the A button. Bart’s main method of attack is a punch/kick combo by tapping the B button. The only issue is that this can be very hit and miss.
Other moves Bart can execute come in special powers you can find throughout each level. These include eye lasers that act as powerful projectiles, and freeze breath that can freeze certain enemies, but for the most part works the same as the eye lasers only with far less ammunition. You can also find a tornado that will make you invincible, as well as nuclear icons that refill one of Bart’s five hit points. Interestingly, even if you collect nuclear icons when you have full health, it will count as an extra hit point. You can find 1st icons that give you extra lives. You can also earn extra lives with certain point amounts. There’s also an icon that can make Bartman fly for a short period of time.
The game is broken into four chapters, each with their own collections of levels within. The first chapter will have you start at a junkyard, where you have to avoid hooting debris, rabid dogs, and other obstacles. You then have to navigate around a sewer pipe maze, followed by a surprisingly decent scrolling shooter level as Bart must defeat giant bugs to advance further. After that, you face the first boss of the game in the Swamp Hag. You have to use ice breath to make platforms out of the creatures she drops, and make it to the top of the trees to defeat her.
The 2nd chapter has you underwater as you must swim past mines, dangerous fish, and other obstacles. These levels aren’t so bad if you get the hang of the swimming controls, which doesn’t feel as bad as you’d expect. You move in all directions with the D-Pad, and by tapping A, you can swim faster. Once you make it to the boss of the level, Doctor Crab, you have to get under him as he jumps at you, and uppercut him through several walls, all while avoiding the annoying crab that can damage you.
In the 3rd chapter, you have to make it to Lava Man, as you navigate some treacherous lava mazes, all while dealing with deadly imps, instant kill waterfalls, and a really taxing door maze if you aren’t careful. Lava Man himself isn’t too hard, you have to dodge his lava balls while freezing the dripping water and having it drop on him enough times to put him into submission. After rescuing Radioactive Man, you have to face Brain-O the Magnificent, who is just a giant brain in a tank. Use your laser shots to deflect off Brain-O and Radioactive Man to take him out in a surprisingly easily final boss fight.
In some levels you can find an icon with a planet on it. It will take you to an alternate universe where you hop from rock to rock as you collect as many extra lives as possible. The platforming is tricky in this area, but if you manage to get everything, you can skip the stage you’re currently on. Very helpful in annoying areas.
Now while the levels aren’t as annoying as the ones in prior Simpsons games, despite many levels suffering from being way too repetitive, the controls and gameplay are still the biggest problems in this game. The main victims being poor hit and collision detection, causing you to take damage more than you’d hope. There is a severely limited draw distance, so more often than not, you have to make leaps of faith, hoping there’s a well placed platform beneath you. Which means you’ll more often than not take a fall to your death.
Which leads to another issue that is especially annoying in the sewer area. And that annoyance is that if you fall too far down it will count as a death, even if there is a platform beneath you. This will happen to you a lot as some of the platforming areas in the sewer level have a ceiling that you will more often than not bump into, causing you to fall to your doom. In one area in Doctor Crab’s level, if you just miss a platform after being brought up by a conveyor belt, you’ll die instantly.
Other than the annoyances the game can have, the difficulty of this game is definitely less annoying than the previous Simpsons titles. It’s still a pain in many areas, but it is far easier to beat than the others. You start with four lives, and can get plenty of extra lives throughout the game, a earn a decent amount of hit points, and lots of items scattered through each level. You only get two continues, and there are no level selects or passwords.
GRAPHICS
Graphics are okayat best. You get a well done opening cut scene which captures the look of the show as well as the NES could do. Sprites are all decent sizes, and all look pretty great. Bart’s sprite is about the same as the last games, only now donning the Bartman costume. Levels all look pretty decent, but barely feel like something from The Simpsons, and could fit in any video game. But it’s nothing too distracting.
MUSIC
The soundtrack isn’t too bad, but nothing really catchy. Unlike the previous Bart games, this one does not have the Simpsons theme in it anywhere. I’d say the best songs in the game are the first level theme and the final boss fight with Brain-O the Magnificent. I get a bit of a 60’s Batman vibe from the tracks, which is very fitting considering the superhero gimmick of the game. In the sound department, all the effects are the same ones used in previous Simpsons games, as well as certain other titles like Home Alone 2, and Swamp Thing. It’s a shame that they were recycled so much, but they’re far from the worst sound effects.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Bartman Meets Radioactive Man is definitely the best of the Simpsons games on the NES, but that’s really not saying much, considering the ones that preceded it we abysmal. The controls feel a bit more well tuned than the previous games, and the levels are okay at best. But there are still plenty of annoyances in certain levels, as well as bad collision detection in a lot of places. In the end, I’d say it’s at least worth giving a play, but don’t expect anything amazing. It’s just average at best, and there are far better games of this genre on the console. And so, Playing With Power is safe from Simpsons games. But… for how long?
RATING: Thumbs Down