The Simpsons are a household name; you don’t even need to watch the show or like cartoons to know all about Homer, Bart, Maggie, and the rest. Bart’s face was plastered everywhere in the 90s, including numerous Butterfinger campaigns – we all remember those. However, Bart’s popularity also caused him to be the face of multiple videogames across various platforms, including Nintendo’s. Well, The Simpsons’ very first Game Boy outing, Bart Simpson’s Escape from Camp Deadly, is 33 years old.
I could lie to you and say it’s one of the best Game Boy games you can get, but I’m not going to do that. However, I will state that the game isn’t as bad as many people think. While many fans of retro games and The Simpsons can agree that it isn’t the worst – that title belongs to The Simpsons Skateboarding or The Simpsons Wrestling – Camp Deadly still gets an unjustly bad rap.
The third-ever Simpsons game hit the scene in 1991, just a few months after the first two: the arcade game simply known as The Simpsons and Bart vs. the Space Mutants, which Acclaim Entertainment released on NES, Sega Genesis, and Sega Game Gear, among other platforms. Camp Deadly gets slammed for lousy design and the absurd number of enemies constantly appearing from nowhere. Those are fair criticisms, but the game has some solid platforming.
Look, I love Simpsons games, and if you asked me to, I’m sure I could scrounge up some sort of defense for Bart vs. The Space Mutants, but I’d be hard-pressed to defend its shoddy platforming, yet people still manage to find a place in their hearts for it. Both Camp Deadly and Space Mutants turned 33 this year, but the former shows considerable improvement when it comes to being a platformer, so if you like the first Simpsons NES game, I promise you’ll get some enjoyment out of the first Game Boy experience.
I also need to point out that Bart Simpson’s Escape from Camp Deadly is based on the iconic premiere episode of season four, Kamp Krusty, which immediately makes it better than people give it credit for. The plot in Camp Deadly essentially follows the TV show, so it’s a fun time on that front. Too many games get a bad rap. It’s not just Bart’s first appearance on Game Boy: Lara Croft doesn’t get an easy time of it either, with Tomb Raider: Underworld being her most underrated adventure.
Admittedly, I’m putting forward a case for Camp Deadly to celebrate its 30th birthday, but as a game from 1991, it can be difficult to get ahold of, though it’s not the most expensive Simpsons Game Boy game on eBay. That honor belongs to Bart and the Beanstalk, but that is truly awful. There are many cartoon games I’d recommend before that one.