Virtual Bart (1994 video game)

Virtual Bart is a 1993 video game released in 1994 for the SNES and Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis developed by Sculptured Software and published by Acclaim. Similar to the previous Simpsons video game by Acclaim, Bart's Nightmare, the game received mixed to negative reviews, but received mostly positive reviews among most of The Simpsons fans, due to the best gameplay.
== Plot ==
At a science fair at Springfield Elementary, Bart wanders into a virtual reality machine and must complete all levels to escape from the machine.
Upon completing all levels, Bart will walk off stage, and Homer will give the VR a try. If the player loses all lives, however, the VR simulation will end and Bart will end up queasy, with Nelson adding insult to injury by doing his signature laugh offscreen.
== Levels ==
*"Dinosaur": Bart is a dinosaur that somewhat resembles a coelophysis, on top of Mt. Springfield in the primeval era. The player must survive the various platforming hazards while fighting off other dinosaurs and neanderthalic versions of various Simpsons characters. Homer, as a caveman, is particularly persistent, and appears as a boss along with Moe, attempting to knock Bart into a freezing lake. Sending the two into the lake ends the stage; an ending is played of a frozen Homer on display at the Springfield Museum of Natural History, sighing "D'oh" as Dr. J. Loren Pryor passes by with a plateful of donuts. In the SNES version, Dr. J. Loren Pryor is carrying a tray of fries, a hamburger and a soda. If the player loses, a scene will be shown of Dr. Pryor examining Bart's remains at an excavation site.
*"Baby": Bart "relives" his infancy, escaping from his bedroom at the Simpsons' residence to explore. The player must guide Baby Bart through complex platforming sequences while avoiding hazards and animals. Bart eventually ends up in a live circus act, and is safely launched back home via cannon without his parents realizing his absence (at least Marge, as Homer witnessed Bart be launched into the ice cream truck he saw at the beginning and tried to pursue the truck to get back Bart.).
*"Pig": Bart is an escaped pig at Krusty the clown's pork factory. The player must rescue Bart's swine brethren while again surviving platforming hazards and fending off clowns and corporate thugs. After defeating the owners of the factory, an ending sequence plays of Pig-Bart freeing all the captive pigs, as they're celebrating. If the player fails, a scene is shown of Homer eating various corn-dogs only to end up scared by one resembling Bart's face, only to eat it anyways.
*"Water Slide": Bart slides down a massive, surreal waterside tube at a waterpark, dodging hazards and other waterpark patrons such as Groundskeeper Willie, Matt Groening, Sherri (or Terri), Janey Powell, Martin Prince, Edna Krabappel, Santa's little Helper, Nelson Muntz, and Krusty the Clown. The slide sometimes forks, with only one path the correct one. Taking the wrong fork will either force the player back (courtesy of a pudgy Homer blocking the way saying ''D'oh. Get help!'' (for those of you fans remember watching the Season 2 episode, Brush with Greatness)), or ejected from the slide into a bizarre death such as falling off a cliff, smashing against a Krusty wall, going right through a Krusty wall, or being eaten by a lion and then spat out back into the slide via a belch. Reaching the end of the level grants an ending sequence of a triumphant Bart soaking the twins Sherri and Terri. Blinky the Three-Eyed Fish makes a cameo as both a hazard and a marker for the level's progression meter (Only in the SNES version).
*"Vandal": Bart, from his hiding spot, must hurl tomatoes and eggs at his Springfield Elementary classmates, striking each one. Running out of time and/or throwing objects with classmates remaining results in failure, as does hitting any passing adult (such as Edna Krabbapel, Groundskeeper Willie, Chief Wiggum, and Principal Skinner) and if you hit an adult the game would be over (The exception is Principal Skinner, who can be hit in the posterior when he is bent over). The first level, requiring tomatoes, will occur on the school yard, while the second, requiring eggs, occurs on the school playground. Note that Groundskeeper Willie only appears in the latter level.
*"Post-Apocalypse": A spoof of the Mad Max films, Bart is a road warrior attempting to survive a post-nuclear holocaust Springfield. The level plays similarly to such game classics as Road Rash and Mach Rider. The player bikes through a highway while fighting off attacks from bullies Jimbo Jones, who throws bombs from his ATV, and Kearney, who attempts to beat Bart with a chain when he pulls alongside him in a chariot-like vehicle. Otto will also drive down the road periodically, flattening Bart should the player fail to dodge. Completing the level sees Bart return to his home on Evergreen Terrace. Bart's family is revealed to have been long dead, reduced to a group of skeletons on the living room couch. An uncaring Bart shoves their bones out of the way as Krusty's post-apocalyptic TV show is about to air ("Hey, surviving kids!"). If the player does not win, Jimbo and Kearney will draw and quarter Bart, driving off with ropes around Bart's arms until they stretch cartoonishly long. In the Sega Genesis version, the player must stick to a grey asphalt road amid light brown terrain and the damaged Springfield Nuclear Power Plant has smoke rising from one of its chimneys; but the SNES version, the road is dark purple without any lines and the terrain is an unpaved light purple road and the damaged Springfield Nuclear Power Plant has no smoke rising. The drive is also much longer in the Sega Genesis version.
== Trivia ==
*It is the first Simpsons game released for home consoles to feature recorded dialogue from the show's whole cast besides Bart.
*A port of this game was planned, however it was never released because of the failure of the console.
*Although the gameplay between both versions is largely identical, the difference in hardware between the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System results in a very different presentation. The color palette between the two systems is different, and the sound chips between the two systems use different instrumentation for the music. The Super Nintendo version is able to take advantage of the console's Mode 7 system, while the Sega Genesis version contains more recorded dialogue compared to its Super Nintendo counterpart.
*In Vandal, Ralph Wiggum appears to be in Mrs. Krabappel's class where Bart belongs, yet in the series he belongs to Ms. Hoover's class with Lisa.
Category:Video games
Category:Real World video games