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The Simpsons Bowling |
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The Simpsons Bowling is a 3-D trackball arcade game, which features characters from The Simpsons. This game was developed and published by Konami and released on October 16, 2000. In 2021, Arcade1Up announced that it would be releasing a 30th anniversary edition home arcade cabinet which includes this game, and The Simpsons Arcade Game.
The opening for the game features the inside of Sector 7G of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant with a sign on Homer's chair saying "Gone Bowling" as alarms are blaring warning of a core breach.
Gameplay[]
The game features nine bowlers; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa (later revealed to be Kang in disguise), Mr. Burns, Apu, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, and Abe (Grandpa) Simpson. Each bowler has different strengths and weaknesses. Mr. Burns' specialty is to throw a ball with a good hook, Willie has the most power and shares the best accuracy with Homer. Abe has nearly perfect stats.
Endings[]
The game has nine ending cinematics, each depending on the character used for a full game. The endings may slightly vary to include gold coins and moneybags in the background:
Apu - Apu celebrates over getting the trophy saying, “Who dares to change me now?” Suddenly, Mr. Burns drops down while tied to a rope from a helicopter ride by Smithers and holds Apu up at gunpoint demanding for his trophy. Burns then escapes while grabbing the trophy, leaving Apu dejected over his short-lived victory.
Krusty - Krusty picks up a trophy, which then has a jack in the box spring pop up from the trophy cup. Krusty then kicks it away, only to clutch his chest and fall over in pain from his pacemaker.
Homer - Homer celebrates by taunting his audience and shaking his butt at them, and then dodging a bowling shoe thrown at him. Homer claims himself “invincible” before being knocked out by the trophy being thrown at him.
Mr. Burns - Mr. Burns attempts to lift the trophy but is too weak, so he barely manages to move it an inch. Maggie then pops up and offers Mr. Burns a lollipop, startling Burns into falling over and proceeding to beg for mercy before Maggie throws her lollipop at Mr. Burns' head, knocking him out.
Lisa - Lisa proceeds to chuckle evilly before revealing she’s really Kang in disguise, who plans to rule “today this bowling alley, tomorrow the world!”
Marge - Marge picks up the trophy and proceeds to inspect it. She notices the trophy is “Made in USA”, leading her to rejects it.
Bart - Bart tilts the trophy to burp inside the bowl, and the burp echoes out, and he says “Cool, man!”.
Groundskeeper Willie - Briefly celebrates his victory with the trophy, and then decide to use it as a wash bucket to mop with.
Abe Simpson - Abe proceeds to celebrate, only for his fake teeth to fall out.
Behind the Laughter[]
- This is technically the first game to have as part of its opening the nuclear power plant undergoing a meltdown. This would later be repeated with The Simpsons: Minutes to Meltdown, and also The Simpsons: Tapped Out.