Simpsons Arcade
Image: @ray_castello

When it comes to The Simpsons video games, The Simpsons Arcade by Konami was always one of the better adaptations, but for whatever reason, it never received a release on 16-bit consoles. So, if you wanted to play the licensed beat 'em up at home, you needed to grab a copy for either the Commodore 64 or MS-DOS.

Now, a fan named Ray Castello is setting out to correct that error, developing his own port of the game for the 16-bit console, over thirty years later. We wanted to find out why.

"The main object is the smile of all the kids who entered an arcade in the 90s and went home dreaming of being able to play the game on a 16-bit console," says Castello. "But what I thought would be a challenge has become a pleasure, the Sega Genesis' ability is incredible."

According to Castello, he has the intro of the game and the first level almost feature complete, with the second and third in production. Recently, for instance, he was working on the elevator, which is found at the end of the game's third level. He tells us that the team is small, but it is adding new people all the time. A new person recently joined to help with the soundtrack, for example, giving them a much-needed push.

Castello believes that given the way the port is progressing it will be ready by the end of this year or the start of 2023. Interestingly, this isn't the only Simpsons Arcade project in the works, as recently we also came across an 8-bit port of the game in development for the NES. That port is being worked on by @bitinkstudios, and also looks promising, though the project is still early days.

If you can't wait to hear more about either project, we recommend following the creators at the links provided. They've been posting updates of their work, which will help ease the wait until you're able to play them on your preferred method of emulation.

What do you think of this news? Are you excited to see The Simpsons Arcade coming to consoles? Let us know!