Play Simpsons, The - Bart vs. the Space Mutants Online

I remember picking up The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants for the NES back in 1991. It was developed by Imagineering Inc., and it felt like a lot of licensed games from that era; it tried to capture the show's humor but had its own strange, sometimes frustrating, identity. You could tell they wanted to make something ambitious with the property, even if the hardware limited what was possible.

You control Bart Simpson through several side scrolling levels set in Springfield. Your main goal is to stop an alien invasion, which involves completing specific tasks in each stage. In the first level, for example, you have to find and spray paint every purple object, like fire hydrants or balloons, to prevent the aliens from using them. Later, you use firecrackers to stun enemies or collect and throw rocks. The game is notoriously difficult, with awkward jumps and enemies that seem to come from nowhere. Playing it feels like a constant battle against the controls as much as the mutants, but there's a strange charm in its stubborn, messy design.