Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: Audiogenic

Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment

Release Date (NA): September 1992

Genre: Platforming, Puzzle/Maze

Nerd Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

The Simpson’s meets Nintendo. Boom. What a brilliant combination, and one that just makes sense on so many levels. It didn’t take long for The Simpson’s to become one of the hottest cartoons on the block, and boy did they capitalize. Merch, merch, and more merch. But their branding didn’t stop there. By my count, between the first Simpson’s game (Bart vs. the Space Mutants) in 1991 and Krusty’s Fun House in 1992, gamers were graced with SIX Simpson’s games (Eight if you count the two aforementioned titles). SIX! And there have been 18 released after Krusty’s Fun House. The Simpson’s is a household name, but with so many games in such a short period of time, where does this titular game stand in the pecking order?

How Did We Get Here?

I recently had the pleasure of putting the final touches on this shed in my backyard. The shed is for work – and my employees to clock in and out of work, so it’s not really designed for gaming. But after seeing a pristine flatscreen CRT full-screen 4:3 TV sitting on the curb with a “free” sign on it… I knew it was destiny. Now, an entire section of the shed is fully dedicated to the TV and a small couple handfuls of games.

I dug into the attic to find just 5 – “no more than 5” I told myself – NES games to compliment the shed. Of the 100+ NES games, I pulled TMNT, SMB/Duck Hunt, 1943, Cybernoid, and Krusty’s Fun House (KFH). Why KFH? I honestly don’t know. It just seemed good at the time. And boy was I right! After rolling in blind, and a few moments of running around aimlessly with no clue what to do, I settled in and started to have some real old-school fun.

Is the Fun House Actually Fun?

Krusty’s Fun House sees Krusty running around the lab (I think it’s a lab) helping exterminate mice. The gamer controls Krusty the Clown as he traverses the lab trying to guide mice to Bart’s mouse-destroying machine. It’s kinda brutal, actually, but it’s all in good Simpsonsesque fun. While most sites are listing this as a puzzle game, which I wholeheartedly agree with, I would also argue that it is a platformer. Part of the platforming-genre qualities require jumping on moving platforms, stationary ones, traversing around enemies, etc. It has all the makings of a platformer, but is much less linear as your goal is not to get from A to B, but instead to murder tiny mouse souls.

When you start playing Krusty’s Fun House, your first reaction is: “Hell yes. The Simpson’s!” Not everyone is necessarily a “big fan” of the show, but for anyone who grew up in the ’90s, there’s no denying the formidable nostalgia associated with it. This show was an absolute behemoth. So having the chance to play a Simpson’s game that was released early in the show’s life summons the warm fuzzies in my heart.

After a little more time running the clown around the place, you’ll find yourself with sheer awe and surprise. Krusty moves with tight precision at the touch of a directional button. He jumps with ease and even has a really nice (and thoughtfully designed) glide/float that he does at the top of his jump. It’s very welcomed. And once you’re done enjoying the controls, you’ll marvel at the quality animation.

Conclusion

From top to bottom, Krusty’s Fun House is actually a pretty damn fun game, and a shining example of the NES’s diverse portfolio of titles! The controls are absolutely rock solid, the music is right on point, and the graphics and animation are as good as they come for an 8-bit system. Where I find Krusty’s Fun House to be lacking, however, is that the game doesn’t have much of a “Simpson’s” feel to it. Sure, we have Krusty and we have Bart and some others, but aside from the characters you know, there’s nothing about it that feels like you’re in Springfield. That is because the game is actually Rat Trap, an Amiga game, and received some sprite and minor art changes to fit the Simpson’s universe.

Although released on the NES late at least a year after the release of Nintendo’s then newest system, the Super Nintendo, Krusty’s Fun House was popular enough to see ports (and upgrades) to other systems. In fact, the NES version is a port, itself, as the game originated on the Commodore Amiga (as the game Rat Trap). Krusty’s Fun House saw releases on the Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, Game Boy, DOS, and the Super Nintendo where it went under the name Krusty’s Super Fun House… Because… Ya know… Everything on the SNES was “Super.”

Although far from perfect, Krusty’s Fun House is what happens when good companies know how to properly utilize a brand. This game is fun, it’s enjoyable, it’s easy on the eyes, and it oozes with nostalgic gameplay. It does get a little frustrating further in the game, but nothing unexpected for an NES game, and not at a fault to the developers considering how new gaming was at the time. I can’t recommend Krusty’s Fun House enough, and I look forward to picking up the sticks… Er, um… the ol’ gamepad to give this one another run-through.

Nerd Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry