Submission #1312: VANDAL's SNES Simpsons, The: Bart's Nightmare in 15:22.40

Emulator Settings:

All settings should be set already with SNES9X V1.43+ V9.

"Here you D'OH!" The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare was a game developed by Sculptured Software (which makes sense because, much like Mortal Kombat II, this game suffers in the sound department with SNES9X) in 1992 and is based on the television show, The Simpsons. With this little intro. out of the way, I'll try my best to explain what may catch your eye.

It starts off on the Streets where you must look for your lost papers (if you watch the intro before the movie you'll know why). On the way you'll find many weird things that only a nightmare could create (not that anything is particularly scary). I start off walking in the streets, to the right, and find one paper fairly shortly. I decided that the 'Bloodstream' level would be a better choice since I need to save the levels that carry two pages, rather than one, near the end to shorten the time it takes to find the papers (it becomes increasingly time consuming after every page you find).

The 'Bloodstream' level is pretty simple; you find a germ-like creature and you pump him fool of something?! and pop 'em until the 'Smilin' Joe Fission' guy appears in which then you are to collect him five times. To get him to appear, I believe, you must pop five germs, at the minimum. There is some luck manipulation involved to get the germs to appear in convenient places and the 'Smilin' Joe Fission' guy as well, so I'm able to keep momentum in a certain direction, as needed. That's pretty much it for this level.

Back on the Streets, you'll see that it takes longer to find the page. I choose the 'Itchy and Scratchy' level next from here.

The 'Itchy and Scratchy' level has different controls than the 'Bloodstream', it has different physics, it has different goals, and you are given a life gauge and lives. You're there to destroy all of the opposition to progress further. Well since I could have typically just been an android and killed everything boringly but I decided to do more WOBBLING! It isn't the kind where I'm waiting, it's the kind where I'm running from one point to the other (I do it rather sparingly so don't worry). I chose to mix up the weapons so that I don't just use the same one and that allows you see them all with their strengths and weaknesses. It's necessary to run back and forth to have the enemy appear quicker. In the kitchen area, I run to right and then to left when I kill Itchy (the mouse) so that I don't have to wait for him to throw the knife and then run after the knife and physically appear to be knocked off. That pretty much sums up this level, on to the street.

The Streets, again, but now it takes much longer to find the paper. I come across a mud puddle and if you jump in it it splatters everywere on you (if you are wearing the suit that Skinner is carrying, jumping in the mud puddle reverts you back to normal), I decided to jump on the last possible frame, although I would really call it jumping. You'll see a T.V. that bugs the crap out of you but don't worry, later on I... I chose the 'Bartman' level, which I feel is the most difficult one to manipulate.

The 'Bartman' level is where you are Bartman and you fly around with a slingshot and you destroy rockets, balloons, and hangliders. This level uses the same life gauge and lives as the 'Itchy and Scratchy' level does but it has much different gameplay/physics. What I tried to do, as I progressed in the level, was destroy everything as I went along without slowing down (you'll see I skip some stuff because it was either out of the way or unreachable). This level is pretty boring, to me, because it is repetitive and probably the longest level. The boss fights are pretty good, they're optimal. I skip Smithers because it takes longer to destroy him, and by skip I mean I let him waste his projectiles and he leaves, unharmed (I'm forced to wait for the 'boss' gauge to disappear before I can move on). Burns was probably the most time consuming since you can only hit him so much as he flies by. This level also had some weird occurances in which some obstacles appeared either on top of eachother or doublly (the krusty balloons are the ones on top of eachother and the rockets are the doubled ones) so I skip some of the rockets because if I destroy one I'll most likely be hit by the other one and also it would create a lot of lag to destroy them. That's it for that level, I guess.

On the Streets, I would have taken the skateboard (by jumping over the basketball you're given a skateboard) but it was always facing the wrong direction. I am forced to endure the jebidiah heads (I don't know anyone who has been able to jump over them countless number of times in succession until they leave you alone). The paper is even more time consuming than ever to find. I choose the 'Indiana Bart' level this time around because I'm at the point in which either level would be fine to pick (By the way, this level is a double page level meaning I'll get two pages for this one level).

The 'Indiana Bart' level is quite unique. You are Bart and he is like 'Indiana Jones' only less action-E. The controls are X, B, A, Y swing the whip in the direction of the button (X is up, B is down, A is right, and Y is left), R and L move the screen right and left respectively, and you move with the directional pad, in the direction that you want. I used the most optimal path I could find and tried to zip on through these levels (yes, there is another one right after this one) and some backtracking is necessary because when you step on some platforms it raises other platforms. There is a devil that appears but he doesn't do anything to me (he tries to poke you which makes you jump uncontrolablly in the direction he pokes you, usually toward a platform in which is ready to sink in and kill you). You, most of the time, have to progress the screen with R so you don't get hit by Maggie's pacifier while jumping and sometimes that forces me to wait a couple of frames. In the second part of this level, sometimes a green devil appears in which you cannot kill because if you try he lowers your current platform, killing you (he acts just like the blue devil, though). Oh yeah, the eggs you see are extra lives and since I don't die, I don't need them. That's all for this level, apparently.

Streets, Streets, Streets! Enough With The Streets! (I actually have to go through the streets one more time after this). I'm at the point in which I can start using certain techniques to make the paper magically appear (You can either pop a bubble-gum bubble on someones' head, works best with the old lady, or you can destroy the T.V. in the streets with a Watermelon seed. You can only do these once though). I chose to destroy the T.V. because it was faster (the bubble-gum bubble one proved to be much more time consuming) and in doing so I chose the level of 'Itchy and Scratchy'.

The 'Itchy and Scratchy' level, again, is different this time around. it is much harder because there are more traps like the giant Itchy (the mouse, again) who flings mousetraps at you and the giant Scratchy (the cat) who uses his tongue to trip you up. I use the plunger gun the whole way through this time because it is faster and more effective in the end situation. In this 'Itchy and Scratchy' level they introduce another enemy which is a soap bubble who grabs you and harms you. Lastly the boss is a furnace (I think) that spews fireballs at you but I don't let it do so. And that's the end of that level.

For the last time, I'm on the Streets and here I use the bubble-gum bubble because it was very fast this time. I also get to show you some effects, the kiss being blown (it turns from a frog back to human but if you're not a frog it just stops makes you spit. It doesn't slow me down because I have to wait for the paper to appear anyway) and the saxaphone's music note which makes you walk backwards. The level is 'Bartzilla' and is the last level I enter.

The 'Bartzilla' level is where Bart is Godzilla basicly. You possess the power to zap things with your eyes (A, B, and X buttons), burn things with a fireball from your mouth (Directionals of Up, Forward, and Down), and you can just stop by pressing and holding back. I tried to destroy everything that wouldn't slow me down and when it did I spread it as far as I could, you'll see where and when. There are Choppers, Tanks, and Jets that attack you and all of them require a different way to destroy them (Forward for the Chopper, B for the Tanks, and X for the Jets). At the end I am zapped to a relatively small size and that starts the other segement of this two page level. Here I am supposed to climb a tall building while avoiding all the stuff that the people are chucking out the windows. I also have to avoid a Butterfly Marge and by doing so I am to climb up the drainage-pipe of the building (when climbing up the drainage pipe you climb slower and if you stay there too long you'll either get zapped by a UFO or the screen will progress too far and end the level). At the top I face a Gorilla Homer (King Kong apparently) and I have to shock him with the left over juice I have from when I was large (If you use it too much you run out and won't have the ability to complete the level). After that the movie is brought to an end.

In the end I don't get the best possible ending because my score wasn't high enough, apparently. You'll just have to watch the movie to see what grade I get.

Again I was helped out by nitsuja with the movie settings, before it desynced while fast-forwarding, so thank you nitsuja. I'd also like to thank those who take/took interest in this movie: OgreSlayeR, Joe, and hero of the day. And then: Too_Bored, atro city, KaitouKid, and Rick even though they weren't apparent, I just want to thank them for wanting a run of this game. Also I'd like to thank those who viewed the WIPs but didn't comment on them, just because. Well, I guess that's all.

Suggested frames: 7254, 19777, 26964, 43647, or 46189.

adelikat: Good optimizations, and positive feedback. Accepting for publication.