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The Three Stooges

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The Three Stooges, fully titled as The Three Stooges in Brides is Brides on the title screen, is a 1984 arcade game by Mylstar Electronics. It is based on the comedy act of the same name. The game features digital voice samples. At the start of the game, up to three players control Moe Howard,...

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Developer
Mylstar Electronics

Released on
1984

Size
1–3 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Action

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Cooperative
Yes

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Description

The Three Stooges, fully titled as The Three Stooges in Brides is Brides on the title screen, is a 1984 arcade game by Mylstar Electronics. It is based on the comedy act of the same name.

The game features digital voice samples. At the start of the game, up to three players control Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard. Players must help the Three Stooges find their fiancees, Cora, Nora and Dora, who were kidnapped by the Mad Scientist. In all rooms, players must find the three hidden keys that unlock the exit. Interfering socialites and cops are dealt within typical Stooges-style: face slaps, hammer hits, and the ever-dependable cream pie throws. In the bonus rounds, players must avoid the sour notes of the opera singer, as well as cops, while collecting the three keys to the exit. In the Mad Scientist’s laboratory, the players will be able to save only one fiancee, before players must find the other two fiancees. After all fiancees are saved, the game starts over.

The Three Stooges

Overview & History

Developed by Cinemaware and released to arcades in 1984 by Gottlieb, *The Three Stooges* successfully translated the chaotic, slapstick brilliance of Moe, Larry, and Curly into an interactive medium long before licensed arcade games became mainstream. The storyline draws inspiration directly from the iconic Columbia Pictures shorts, charging the trio with a noble yet utterly disastrous mission: raise $500 in a matter of days to save an orphanage run by the sweet Widow Murthe from being foreclosed on by the greedy banker, Mr. Smiler. Despite arcade hardware limitations of the era, the developers captured the unmistakable likenesses, voice samples, and trademark audio cues of the slapstick icons, immersing players in a vibrant 1930s cinematic universe complete with black-and-white title card aesthetics and frantic pacing.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard beat-’em-ups, the gameplay is structured as a frantic series of mini-games and hazard-avoidance trials that mirror the boys' cinematic blunders. Players must navigate iconic scenarios, such as dodging flying pies in a high-speed bakery riot, playing a high-stakes game of hospital patient roulette, or boxing in a rigged ring where blocking and landing eye-pokes are mandatory for survival. Character moves are delightfully rudimentary yet faithful to their personas: Moe acts as the stern taskmaster who can dish out slaps to keep Larry and Curly focused, Curly relies on frantic spinning attacks and frantic dodging, and Larry uses his mop or violin to distract enemies. Each mini-game demands razor-sharp reflexes and memorization, punishing players with hilariously animated failure sequences if they fail to meet the cash-gathering quotas before time expires.