SimCity
System: SNES
Release Date: August 23rd, 1991
Developer: Maxis/Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation
Build the town of your dreams in SimCity! Nothing makes me happier than loading up SimCity on the Super Nintendo and just basking in the glory of what I’m about to enjoy. This was my first SNES game and it definitely shaped my tastes in video games. There are a number of scenarios that you can take part in, as well as 2000 maps for you to build until your heart is content. Can you bring the size of your city up to a megalopolis and show your skills?
When you begin, you can try the practice map, pick a regular map, or try out one of the scenarios. I began with the practice map. This is a small island map and you’re expected to get 30,000 people, but if you’re good (like me) can get it up to a metropolis. You begin by plopping down a power plant. The two choices are the heavily polluting coal plant and the non-polluting, but more expensive nuclear plant. I play on easy mode, so there’s no chance of nuclear meltdown, so I spend the extra dough. After that, the goal is to plop down residential, industrial, and commercial zones for people to live, work, and shop at. There is an RCI meter in the upper right corner that shows the demand for each of these zones. It will rise and fall over time and based on needs, such as stadiums, seaports, or airports.
Don’t go just placing these zones all Willy Nelson. Make sure that you’re following a plan. Successful cities require planning. If you look at the scenario cities, none of these have been planned very well. Each city has a problem. Whether it’s a disaster, like a Bowser attack, that threatens to destroy the town, or horrible traffic, or even the high crime of Detroit Rock City. This was the hardest scenario, taking me multiple tries to get it all under control. After completing the six default scenarios, you unlock Las Vegas and have to deal with UFO attacks and Freeland, which is a mass without water. This isn’t as good as it sounds, because the scenarios don’t give gifts.
Gifts are special zones that increase the value of the land around it and may also give a yearly dividend come tax time. I’m particularly a fan of the casino or amusement park. The mayor’s house grows along with your city. I like to use the donut block method of surrounding gifts with zones to take advantage of the land value increase. There are many levels your sim city will experience, starting with village. A few well placed zones connected to power and transit will quickly grow into a town. This is followed by a city, capital, metropolis, and the ultimate goal, a megalopolis. It may have taken me over 80 game years, but I made it and got to place my Mario statue. Just look at all those Residential and Commercial tops!
When starting out your main city, there are 2000 maps you can choose from, but because each map preview takes 15 seconds to load, just pick map 061 and get to playing. You will need to place dozens of police stations to keep crime low. You’ll want to keep polluting industrial zones away from where people live… for the most part. It’s best to use more expensive mass transit lines instead of cheaper, polluting road squares. It will be a constant battle keeping hospitals and schools from taking over your town. Make sure each zone is touching a road or it will be capped at very low growth. Make your money through yearly taxes, and when you’re rich, lower the tax rate to increase demand for your zones. If you’re having trouble figuring out what the issues are with your city, check in with Dr. Wright for some words of encouragement. With this advice and so much more, you can create your very own megalopolis!
Graphics: 2.0
The graphics get things done. They don’t use any special tricks like the other games we’ve seen so far.
Sound: 4.0
This music is generally the most mellow, awesome music that exists. Then you hit metropolis and it’s kicked into high gear.
Gameplay: 3.5
The systems are really well done, but there is definitely room for improvement, like with hospitals and schools.
Difficulty: 4.0
The systems are the systems. When you learn how they work, you can use them to your advantage. There’s a bit of randomness with the RCI meter, but it evens out over time.
Fun Factor: 4.0
I’ve played this game, by far, more than any other game so far. And I want to play more. That should say it all.
Overall Rating: 3.5
SimCity earns a A-. This is one of my favorite games of all time. There is nothing more that I can recommend if you like simulation games. This is the gold standard.