The Simpsons Hit and Run: The Best Simpsons Game?

The Simpsons franchise has amassed 27 video games since the 1991 arcade release. While several have been celebrated, if we had to crown one as the best, it would likely be The Simpsons: Hit and Run. Developed by Radical Entertainment, Hit and Run draws from a classic like GTA III and presents Springfield and its residents from a completely new angle.

We've seen it time and again: a series or film is turned into a video game, and the result is disappointing from every angle. But there are certain exceptions to that rule, and one of their main characteristics is that they hold up remarkably well over time. For instance, GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 is the best game derived from a movie, one of the best for that console, and sits comfortably in the top 10 FPS.

What about TV series? Without a doubt, one of the most interesting cases is The Simpsons. Its relationship with video games began in 1991 with The Simpsons, a beat 'em up created by Konami for arcades, followed closely by Bart vs. The Space Mutants, remembered for its brutal difficulty. However, if there's one title that stands out across the entire franchise, it's definitely The Simpsons: Hit and Run, considered by many players as the best of them all.

The Simpsons Hit and Run: Crazy Taxi and GTA III Have a Date in Springfield…

Technically, the story begins with Radical Entertainment receiving the rights after presenting a prototype, and the release of The Simpsons: Road Rage in 2001 for PS2, GameCube, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance. The game's reception wasn't particularly good, and reviews didn't hesitate to point out its collision problems and framerate drops.

But Road Rage and its developer (as well as Fox and Electronic Arts) faced an even more serious issue in the form of a lawsuit by Sega in 2003. The Japanese giant concluded that Road Rage was too similar to its Crazy Taxi series, and all parties involved reached a private settlement for an amount that never came to light.

The development of Simpsons Hit and Run began in 2002, and from the start, the team at Radical understood they needed to take a different creative direction. In fact, the only thing they kept from Road Rage was vehicle driving, focusing on an open world with extensive exploration elements and much more polished AI. GTA III (which had taken the market by storm in October 2001) became the main source of inspiration, to the point that Hit and Run was dubbed “the GTA for kids”.

With the Entire Simpsons Team

The development team scored a major win by including some of Springfield's most important locations. Players can visit Apu's Kwik-E-Mart, Moe's Tavern, Springfield Elementary School, and the Android's Dungeon (the comic book store), to name just a few.

In old interviews, producers confirmed that Fox, Gracie Films, and Matt Groening himself worked closely with Radical to make the 2D to 3D transition as complete as possible. Finally, the brightest jewel in Hit and Run's crown was the participation of the original voice cast. All the voices are there, and the show's own writers took part in the story and dialogue of the game.

17 years later, fans still celebrate The Simpsons: Hit and Run, and as expected, there are some mods. One of the most important manages to connect the entire map (originally divided into three parts), turning Springfield into a gigantic city. The real problem with Simpsons Hit and Run? It's impossible to obtain on digital stores. Radical Entertainment disappeared, Vivendi is now Activision Blizzard, and Fox is part of Disney, so the rights are a mess. The only options are to find a physical copy or follow the eyepatch route...