Hardest Simpsons Games, Ranked

It should come as no surprise that there have been a plethora of Simpsons games which have been released over the years, especially when taking into consideration how incredibly popular the tv show is. In fact, the very first game based on the iconic family was actually released by Konami for the arcades back in 1991, but since then, there have been plenty of new and exciting titles for fans of the source material to jump into and enjoy.

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Just like with the show itself, most of the Simpsons games are easy to pick up and play, allowing anyone, regardless of their prior gaming experience, to have a fun time playing their favorite characters. On the other hand though, there have been a few games which are often considered to be a bit more brutal and unforgiving in how they play, and it’s these challenging titles that this list is going to take a closer look at today.

8 The Simpsons: Hit & Run

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 2.99

• Release Date: September 2003
• Developer: Radical Entertainment
• Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC

Often touted by fans as the best Simpsons game ever made, Hit & Run gives players the freedom to explore some of the show’s most iconic areas at their own leisure, completing quests and speaking to NPCs as they go. The game clearly took a lot of its inspiration from the Grand Theft Auto series, and though it’s considered a classic nowadays, the gameplay itself can still be pretty difficult when it wants to be.

Most of the challenge comes in the form of missions, which will often come with a unique gimmick that can make them much harder to complete. Missions like Set To Kill, for example, will task the player with destroying a certain number of objects within a very tight time limit, while others, such as Alien Autopsy Part 3, will have numerous objectives that need to be completed all in one go. Though Hit & Run is far from impossible to beat, players should still be aware that it’s no walk in the park.

7 The Simpsons Skateboarding

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.09

• Release Date: November 2002
• Developer: The Code Monkeys
• Platform: PlayStation 2

Released for the PlayStation 2 in late 2002, The Simpsons Skateboarding takes place during the Annual Skate Tour, where the entire city of Springfield has been turned into one giant skating arena. Though it’s quite easy to pick up the basic controls and mechanics of the game, the difficulty comes from trying to ramp up the high score by pulling off flashy moves and techniques while cruising around the environment.

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Because each of the nine playable characters comes with forty unique moves, it can sometimes feel like looking at a Tekken character move list, considering how much there is to learn. The game even offers a Skillz School mode where players are able to test out their skating skills before jumping into the real thing, so it’s heavily encouraged to make as much use of this as possible to be fully prepared.

6 The Simpsons Arcade Game

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.29

• Release Date: March 1991
• Developer: Konami
• Platform: Arcade, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Commodore 64

The Simpsons Arcade Game is a classic beat-em-up title where players must duke it out with a range of different enemies as they try to make their way through the town of Springfield in one piece. The truth is, though, despite the game being very nice to look at thanks to its quirky visual style, it’s incredibly unfair in how it plays, primarily because of how gung-ho a lot of the enemies can be.

Many of the thugs that players come up against throughout the game will possess plenty of hard-hitting attacks that can keep characters suspended in the air for several seconds while they are forced to receive an insane amount of damage. This is only the tip of the iceberg, though, as once they get their hands on some weapons, they can make quick work of the player’s character in barely any time at all. Considering the game was originally designed for arcades, the relentless challenge is most probably to try and make people spend more money to acquire extra lives, but it ends up making the whole experience very difficult to get through as a result.

5 The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.83

• Release Date: December 1992
• Developer: Imagineering
• Platforms: NES, Game Gear

During the early to late 90s, there were a lot of Simpsons games that centered entirely around Bart, who had quickly become a fan favorite thanks to his rebellious personality and infectious charisma. An example of this is Bartman Meets Radioactive Man, a 2D side-scroller where Bart must do all he can to reach Radioactive Man, who has had his powers stolen by a group of evil supervillains. Even though Bart is able to punch and kick his way through enemies, players are encouraged to keep a close eye out for the Lightning power-up, which can allow him to fire projectiles, making it much easier to deal with the swarms of foes who stand in his way.

There may only be four chapters in total, but each one ends with a pretty grueling encounter against a villain who will use their stolen power to try and keep Bart at bay. Bart’s limited attack options and low health mean each of these fights can be pretty grueling, so even though the game is fairly short, it more than makes up for this with the unforgiving challenge that lasts from beginning to end.

4 The Simpsons: Night Of The Living Treehouse Of Horror

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.85

• Release Date: March 2001
• Developer: Software Creations
• Platform: GameBoy Color

Anyone who has ever watched the Treehouse of Horror Simpsons episodes will know things can get pretty weird and creepy once these words crop up in the title, and that most certainly applies to this GBA game, too. As players try to survive the nightmare, they will need to guide each of the five family members through their own unique levels, which only get harder as they go along. Bart’s sections, for example, will start off like a traditional 2D platformer, but once players get a bit further and reach the sewer section, the game will gradually make its platforming sections much more difficult while also introducing plenty of new enemy types.

During Marge’s sections, which are often considered to be some of the hardest, players will need to try and guide her to safety by blasting away hordes of flesh-hungry zombies who can take off chunks of health with just a single bite. Needless to say, this game doesn’t pull any of its punches, but the level variety mixed with the charming horror-inspired level designs still makes it well worth trying out.

3 The Simpsons: Bart VS The World

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.86

• Release Date: December 1991
• Developer: Imagineering
• Platforms: Atari ST, Game Gear, NES, Master System

Bart VS The World came out at a time when difficult platformers were the norm, and as a result, it didn’t shy away from making the experience as unforgiving as possible. The core platforming gameplay can be agonizingly tricky because of how far apart a lot of the platforms are, requiring players to have fully mastered the movement to even stand a chance of making it through each area without seeing a Game Over screen.

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Bart is only able to take five hits until he eventually gives up, but considering how hard it can be to find any Squishees to restore some of his HP, it means a single lick of damage can prove to be costly in the long run. If players do somehow manage to reach the end but haven’t collected all the Krusty artifacts, they’ll be told by Krusty the Klown that they must go back and find every single one before they can unlock the Itchy & Scratchy mission, which is not what anyone wants to hear.

2 The Simpsons: Bart’s Nightmare

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.93

• Release Date: October 1992
• Developer: Sculptured Software
• Platforms: SNES, Sega Genesis

Admittedly, people often go back and forth on which is harder between Bart’s Nightmare and Bart vs The World, but the former is usually considered to be the most challenging because of the sheer number of minigames it contains. Each time Bart finds a page of his homework in the real world, he will then need to complete a particular minigame in order to keep the page in his possession, but actually doing this is far easier said than done. In the Bartman minigame, for example, players must fly over Springfield while also taking out numerous bosses along the way, all while also avoiding clouds of radioactive gas, which are constantly popping up to drain Bart’s stamina.

By far the worst of them all, though, is the infamous Temple of Maggie, a level that truly deserves all the criticism it gets online due to how infuriating it can be. Bart can only hop between specific blocks in this level, but because of how many enemies, environmental hazards and projectiles start flying across the screen as it goes along, it means taking damage is more or less a guarantee. There’s still a lot to love about Bart’s Nightmare, such as the whimsical humor and extensive amount of gameplay variety, but it’s definitely not a game for the faint of heart.

1 The Simpsons: Bart VS The Space Mutants

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 4.07

• Release Date: April 1991
• Developer: Imagineering
• Platforms: NES, Amiga, Atari ST, Game Gear

Bart VS The Super Mutants is considered by many to be one of the hardest games ever released for the NES, which is certainly saying something given the console’s reputation. The game makes it crystal clear right from the get-go that players are going to be in for a pretty brutal ride, primarily because of how little is actually explained. Bart will only be able to jump onto certain parts of his environment to pick up key items and avoid enemy attacks, but there’s no way to tell where this applies and where it doesn’t.

The game also enjoys packing enemies as close together as possible, meaning that getting past them without taking damage requires a superhuman amount of patience since even the tiniest mistake can result in a game over. The staggering amount of enemy types can also make it hard to predict how each one is going to act, and since their attacks deal so much damage, it makes it all too easy to jump at the wrong time, only for an enemy to randomly bounce up and snatch away some of Bart’s health.

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