Start with an underdeveloped city (you name it yourself) and turn it into a metropolis. Or take on the challenge of rescuing a city overwhelmed by trouble. Either way, taxes, zoning, crime, transportation, education, fire control, and other critical issues are in your hands.
Time passes and every decision you make has a future consequence. His assistant, Dr. Wright, can help you make the right decisions. Just ask! Surprising catastrophes also threaten your growing city like fires, earthquakes, plane crashes, even a giant Koopa that has a nose for industrial pollution!
Will you build the ideal city? Or will the disgruntled citizens leave you with a ghost town?
SimCity was released for the Super Nintendo in 1991, being one of the first games released, right after the initial three (Mario World, F-Zero, and Pilotwings). There really isn’t much to say about the story; You have been elected mayor of an arid land (plus some water) and your goal is to turn it into a megalopolis of 500,000 inhabitants. It sounds easy? It’s not.
Game graphics:
The graphics fit the game well and by themselves are really above average. The music is just great as the game fits perfectly within the structure of the game. Making everything blend very well, making it very nice to play.
This game was not a showcase for the graphical capabilities of the SNES, nor was it intended to be. However, there were some very interesting effects here, such as when the seasons change every three months, thus changing the color of the forests from green to brown to white. The ”zones” don’t look like they would in real life, especially when first built.
Airports and seaports look great. It’s also pretty easy to tell what’s going on, which is always a plus, for example, when a zone needs power, you’ll see lightning flash on and off. Some structures are also animated, the Industrial Zones in particular.
Sound effects:
To be honest, until you get to Metropolis (100,000 citizens), the music is a bit annoying, but before then, the Disaster theme will be one of the best you’ll hear. Music seems to fit whatever stage of development your city is in. Of course, when the music gets annoying, it doesn’t really help.
As for the sound effects, there is a very small selection, apart from clicking on the icons and the location of the zones. Sometimes you have a wagon starting, or a plane taking off (or crashing, just before that great disaster music). Other than that, there isn’t much to the sound effects throughout the game.
While it’s true that the game would really benefit from a mouse device, this game predates the SNES mouse by a year or so, so that wasn’t an option. Despite this, the game controls really well, and there’s a lot to do, even in light of the sequels to this game, Simcity 2000 and 3000. You can set the speed of the game, wreak havoc on your city at will (though you can’t summon the all-powerful Nuclear Meltdown…), or ask Dr. Wright for advice.
Of course, to achieve your goal, you will have to listen to your citizens and give them what they want. The Icon interface allows you to access this information whenever you need it. As for building your city, it’s really simple: just click on the structure you want to build, find a spot for it, press a button, and “BAM” there’s your structure.
Argument:
While not really a story, the basic premise was very original for its time. You are the mayor of a city that you must guide to Megalopolisdom. Keep in mind that Story wasn’t a very big part of video games in 1991, not that the premise would have been any different. But let’s be real, it’s not the story that will keep you playing this game.
Overall challenge:
Honestly, I think pulling off a Megalopolis the right way is the hardest feat in all of video games. And the Big Money Code you probably already know doesn’t make it any easier. As with any game of this type, you need to go slow and build a strong financial base before you can build at a decent rate (as such, you spend a lot of time with Game Speed set to Fast, just waiting around). Big Money’s code can make this faster, but not easier, believe me.
Play Value:
It is true that there is not much to do after winning this game. Of course, you’ll probably never win the game, in the Megalopolis sense. If you get bored, you can challenge one of 6 scenarios, in which you are presented with a city with a problem ranging from the mundane (traffic, crime) to the near catastrophic (nuclear meltdown). You have a set time period of 5 or 10 years to fix the situation.
It is quite a challenge to stay within your budget during this time, since you will probably lose several hundred dollars a year, in addition to having to improve the city. Before you beat them, it’s fun to play a lot, but after that you really get tired.
Final thoughts:
This was truly the first Sim game that spawned all the others, and it’s still one of the best. The functional graphics, the ”unique” soundtrack, the great control, and of course the disasters, make this a game you’ll want to have in your collection if you’re a fan of the simulation genre.
You won’t be disappointed. Overall, this is just another classic game that beats on several levels. While it’s not a terribly rare game like “Final Fantasy III” or “Mega Man X3,” it’s not terribly common either. (Though, thankfully, at least their price range is generally reasonable.) Its sequels may be bigger, but the original title is still going strong…