Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The Simpsons: Skateboarding places players in the skate shoes of Springfield’s most iconic residents, from Bart and Lisa to Otto and Krusty the Clown. You’ll navigate ten distinct locations around town—Moe’s Tavern rooftop, Krustyland, and even the Kwik-E-Mart—each populated with rails, ramps, and hazards. The variety of skating spots keeps the experience fresh, encouraging exploration to discover hidden gaps and secret areas.

Mechanically, the game leans heavily on the tried-and-true formula popularized by the Tony Hawk series, but with a Simpsons twist. Tricks are executed via button combinations and Street-Fighter–style quarter-roll inputs on the D-pad. This blend of straightforward grabs, flips, and grinds with more elaborate moves adds both accessibility for newcomers and depth for seasoned players. Mastering combos becomes a rewarding challenge, especially when you string together a trick spree around Springfield Elementary’s lockers or along the Springfield Gorge.

Each level is structured around three main objective types. Skillz School mode introduces you to character-specific tricks and ramps up difficulty as you progress, acting as both a tutorial and a skill test. Skatefest mode tasks you with five diverse challenges—spelling words, collecting donuts or nuclear rods, racing through checkpoint clocks, and tackling two miscellaneous goals like combo quotas or specific trick sequences. Finally, the timed Trick Contest mode demands you hit a target score under the clock, pushing your mastery of the control scheme.

Completing objectives earns you Springfield dollars, which you can pour back into character upgrades—faster ollies, longer grinds, tighter flicks, and more. This RPG-like progression adds a layer of customization, letting you tailor each character’s strengths to your playstyle. Additionally, secret items and hidden characters unlock through diligent exploration and meeting hidden criteria, rewarding completionists with extra content and bragging rights.

Graphics

The Simpsons: Skateboarding faithfully captures the look and feel of its cartoon source material. Character models are instantly recognizable, sporting the bright, flat-shaded colors and exaggerated proportions that fans expect. Environments burst with familiar details: the Rusty Barnacle sign swinging in the wind, Barney’s dilapidated keg storage, and the chaotic energy of Krustyland’s arcade zone. These visual callbacks immerse players in the world of Springfield.

Textures are crisp and bold, though some environments can feel slightly repetitive after multiple runs. The draw distance is solid, ensuring you can spot ramps and rails from afar, but occasional pop-in of background props breaks immersion. Character animations are fluid for the most part, with satisfying weight to grinds and jumps. However, minor clipping issues occur when characters brush past props in tight spaces, reminding you that the game was released in the early days of 3D skating titles.

Lighting effects strike a balance between realism and cartoon stylization. Neon signs flicker in the evening levels, and midday sun casts dynamic shadows that shift as you carve around town. Particle effects—skater dust when landing, sparks on metal rails—add polish and excitement to successful runs. While it doesn’t push the hardware envelope, the game’s visuals remain charming and functional, ensuring you never lose sight of ramps or hazards during high-speed combos.

Overall, the graphic presentation excels at conveying the Simpsons’ trademark aesthetic. Whether you’re grinding down the side of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant or leaping off Pimento Grove’s boardwalk, the game consistently delivers vibrant backdrops that enhance your skate sessions without distracting from the action.

Story

Unlike narrative-driven titles, The Simpsons: Skateboarding opts to incorporate story through character banter and themed environments rather than a linear plot. Each level opens with a quick quip or cutscene that reflects the chosen character’s personality—Homer grumbles about donuts rolling away, Lisa laments the lack of educational value, and Bart mocks local bullies as he zips past. These lighthearted moments set the tone and remind you why you love spending time in Springfield.

Objectives themselves are often framed in humorous contexts: Chief Wiggum tasks you with collecting stolen hot dogs, Professor Frink challenges you to test new spring-loaded skate shoes, and Krusty the Clown demands you gather unruly audience members scattered across Krustyland. This variety keeps even repetitive tasks feeling fresh, as each goal is sprinkled with Simpsons-style satire and one-liners.

While there is no overarching story arc tying every level together, the game’s loose narrative provides enough motivation to care about progression. Unlocking cutscenes of the Simpsons family reacting to your skateboarding exploits adds a layer of charm. For fans of the series, these small narrative beats are delightful easter eggs; for newcomers, they simply offer context to your skating missions.

In the end, the story serves as a comedic thread rather than the main attraction. It underpins the gameplay with familiar personalities and jokes, ensuring that each skate session feels like another zany episode set to board physics.

Overall Experience

The Simpsons: Skateboarding delivers a solid, entertaining skate game wrapped in Springfield’s unforgettable humor. Its tight controls and variety of modes make for addictive pick-up-and-play sessions, while deeper combo systems offer challenges for those seeking mastery. Character upgrades and hidden collectibles add replay value, encouraging you to revisit levels to perfect every trick and uncover every secret.

Though the graphics show their age, they remain charming and true to Matt Groening’s vision. Animations are punchy, environments are loaded with references, and the overall presentation captures the essence of the long-running animated series. Occasional technical hiccups—clipping, minor texture pop-in—are forgivable given the game’s ambition and the era of its release.

If you’re a fan of skateboarding games or The Simpsons franchise, this title offers a unique crossover that’s hard to resist. It won’t redefine the genre, but it cleverly adapts proven mechanics and layers on Springfield-style comedy, making for an engaging experience. Whether you’re aiming for the high score in a timed trick contest or simply cruising through Moe’s Tavern rooftop, The Simpsons: Skateboarding provides a fun, nostalgic ride through America’s favorite cartoon town.

For potential buyers seeking a lighthearted skate title with familiar faces and varied challenges, The Simpsons: Skateboarding is a worthwhile addition to your collection. Its blend of humor, tight gameplay, and character-driven charm ensures you’ll keep coming back to Springfield’s streets, rails, and rooftops for one more stunt—and one more laugh.

Retro Replay Score

4.6/10