Simpsons, The - Bart vs. the Space Mutants

The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants, published by Acclaim in 1991, was among the earliest big Simpsons video games, riding the wave of the show's explosive early popularity. It's a side-scrolling platformer starring Bart, who discovers that aliens are secretly collecting mundane objects to build a doomsday weapon — and only he can see their true nature through his X-ray specs.

What gave the game its identity was the twist on the usual platform formula: each level revolves around thwarting the aliens by neutralising a specific type of object. In the first stage that means spray-painting or altering everything purple; later levels task you with hats, balloons and exit signs. Bart hops around Springfield's rooftops and streets, spraying, collecting and dodging, with a cast of familiar characters appearing to help or hinder.

It earned a lasting reputation for being brutally difficult, with fiddly jumps and demanding object-hunting that frustrated many players who bought it expecting light-hearted fun. That reputation is fair — it's a tough, occasionally unfair game. But it's also a genuine piece of Simpsons history, oozing early-90s show flavour, and it remains a curiosity for fans and platformer enthusiasts willing to wrestle with its punishing design.