Bootleg copy of The Simpsons: Hit and Run was seemingly dubbed into Russian by one person
You have to admire their dedication
The next best thing to the Simpsons: Hit and Run remake we're all waiting for is this bootleg version that redubs everyone into Russian with a single voice actor.
The bizarre find was dug up by Twitter user emi fisher, who found the bootleg copy of the game online - which you should know is definitely an unauthorized version, before you try to download it yourself. Aside from the voice acting, another break from the original PC version was the decision to put all the button inputs on left click (except for the brake key, which was apparently found to be extraneous and simply not included).
Without a doubt, the biggest change is that herculean re-dubbing effort.
holy shit. downloaded a bootleg russian copy of the simpsons hit and run and amongst other features (no brake key bound for cars, left mouse click does everything) im pretty sure the bootlegger has personally dubbed every character in every cutscene. im crying pic.twitter.com/Cn27KueksCDecember 26, 2021
The majority of lines emi fisher encountered were redubbed by the bootlegger, who truly does put in the character work: they give Marge a more nasal sound and Homer more bassy resonance, though their crowning achievement must be their take on Milhouse. Certain trademark vocalizations - such as Homer's "d'oh!" or Barney's drunken groaning - are left in their original state, while some lines were seemingly just forgotten.
Minor quibbles aside, if 20th Television ever wants to bring The Simpsons to Russia, they could do a lot worse than putting whoever the hell made this thing in the vocal booth.
The Simpsons: Hit and Run 2 got far enough along to have a gameplay prototype, although it never saw the light of day, and The Simpsons producer Matt Selman has said he "would love" to see a remaster of the original.
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I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.