SimCity
Main game
3.68 average rating based on 427 ratings
- Developers
- Maxis
- Publishers
- Fujitsu Interactive, Imagineer, Infogrames, Krisalis Software, Maxis, Superior Interactive
- Franchises
- Sim, SimCity
- Series
- SimCity
- Platforms
- Acorn Archimedes, Acorn Electron, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST/STE, BBC Microcomputer System, Commodore C64/128/MAX, DOS, FM Towns, Mac, PC (Microsoft Windows), PC-9800 Series, Sharp X68000, ZX Spectrum
- Genres
- Simulator, Strategy
- Themes
- Business, Sandbox
Release Dates
User Stats
How Long Is SimCity?
Related Content
Shows it's age but still Quality Game.
This review is for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System version
I didn't play this game as my Introduction to Simcity. that award goes to Simcity 3000.
However, I always loved old games and gaming history and I respect old games. the DOS port feels like a complete bones with no meet but it's seasoned for some reason (sorry about that).
The game is very simple in everything and becomes very dull in about 5 minutes.
The SNES port on the other hand is an absolute Chiller.
it's so relaxing, very colorful, decent music, makes you feel like your important, it's very relaxing and engaging.
Tbh I would recommend the SNES port over any other of the first game, it's nice to play and relaxing despite showing Age in some places.
Review / Playthrough
Gameplay, Story and Value:
Simcity is a very hard game to rate objectively, but I'm going to try my best...
What do you do in Simcity? I can't imagine anyone who hasn't heard of some form of this game, but, in Simcity you build and maintain a city! You'll manage everything from power and transportation to civics and municipalities. You'll be responsible for keeping your growing population safe and happy for as long as it takes you to get bored and do something else, or unleash a slew of natural disasters (like Bowser!) on your city and start over.
Is there variety? Well yes and no. In terms of actual city-building you're limited to a very small number of options and very little control over those options once they're placed in your map. That said, the game does include some very difficult scenarios to play through, such as restoring a large city after a massive earthquake or fixing an even larger city's traffic problems. Additionally there are several different maps to choose from when building your own city, so the chance to challenge yourself is there for sure.
Does it control well? YES! Of all the problems I may have …
Gameplay, Story and Value:
Simcity is a very hard game to rate objectively, but I'm going to try my best...
What do you do in Simcity? I can't imagine anyone who hasn't heard of some form of this game, but, in Simcity you build and maintain a city! You'll manage everything from power and transportation to civics and municipalities. You'll be responsible for keeping your growing population safe and happy for as long as it takes you to get bored and do something else, or unleash a slew of natural disasters (like Bowser!) on your city and start over.
Is there variety? Well yes and no. In terms of actual city-building you're limited to a very small number of options and very little control over those options once they're placed in your map. That said, the game does include some very difficult scenarios to play through, such as restoring a large city after a massive earthquake or fixing an even larger city's traffic problems. Additionally there are several different maps to choose from when building your own city, so the chance to challenge yourself is there for sure.
Does it control well? YES! Of all the problems I may have with the game controls are surprisingly not among them. It's extremely refreshing to see all the proper steps were taken to ensure that, despite being an early PC title, controls are as intuitive as they possibly can be with a controller.
Problems? Well, only a couple really, but they're enough. The first is that despite being a cartridge game, Simcity has some serious load times. These wouldn't be a huge issue except that they're long and frequent. Load time between game mode menus, load times when flipping between maps. So many load times. The other issue I have is the aforementioned lack of variety when it comes to building. I know it's not a fair comparison, but going from something like Cities Skylines on the PC to playing this, and it's hard to consider Simcity on the SNES to be considered a "game" at all! There's very little to do, and it takes forever to get to not doing it!
Presentation, Music and Sound:
But it looks and sounds okay, right? Sure, I guess. It looks just like how I remember it looking on the PC but with a few minor tweaks to make it more controller friendly. I can't really complain about the visuals because it looks as good as one would expect a SNES port of the original Simcity to look. The music and sound are fine, too. I mean, they're there anyway. There's no real variety in the music but it's subdued enough that it won't bother you when you remember it's playing.
Afterthoughts:
But you had fun, right? No, not really. Not at all. It was really boring.
Okay, but it's the best city building game you've played on the SNES? Nope. That would be Soul Blazer...
Review:
Gameplay:
Reached Megalopolis on 12/10/2024. Plus all scenarioc completed (Detroit and LV were a pain)
As much as I wanted to play the later DOS version, since it has more compelling colors and the sounds I remember, I played what--according to the developer Will Wright--was the original version--the b&w Mac version. It still was immediately hooking, surprisingly intuitive for such a complex game, and such a cool concept. I wish there were sound and I wish I had that same drive I had as a kid to play for SimCity and Sim Theme Park etc etc, but it's just not the same anymore. Honorary 3 star tho it really gets a 2 star, because of the nostalgia and its starting a series important to me.
Okay, I brought out my SNES for one last hurrah. Y'all, I have set up a beautiful city. I even resorted to using the debug mode to get rid of all the water to build more things. And I cannot for the life of me get from 400k to 500k people. I have virtually no crime. Taxes are literally 0. I have a ring of industries around the edge of the map. Pollution is my big problem, but I have max demand for more industry zones. I could probably get rid of a few power plants, I have more than enough to power everything, but I still get zones losing power for no reason once in a while. I also have some residential zones that are really struggling to develop. Any advice?
I used to own the cartridge back in the day and played it extensively. It is difficult to say whether I played this or Sim Earth more, but once I got Sim City 2000 I never touched this game again. I also loaned the cartridge to a cousin and never got it back! Who knows where that is now.
I barely remember the game, I think because the memories have been supplanted by Sim City 2000. The only thing I really remember is that R, C and I can only be placed in 9 x 9 squares rather than individually as in 2000. I probably beat all the scenarios and played a lot of freeform. It might be fun to play it again for a little bit but it is hard to imagine spending any significant time on it when I have barely played 3 and have not touched 4 yet.