Review of Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic

You know how there are some games you just can’t resist playing, even if you’re not exactly a pro at them? For me, that’s totally RollerCoaster Tycoon. I’ve spent countless hours immersed in the original game and its legendary sequel. But let’s be honest, I’ve never really mastered the art of coaster building or park management. Instead, I’ve always found joy in watching those tiny, pixelated people scurry around my overly complex and sometimes chaotic creations. For many players, the original games are sacred, and the often criticized sequels never quite managed to capture that special magic. That’s why the unexpected announcement and sudden release of RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic, a lovingly crafted port of the fantastic mobile version, was such a delightful shock. While it takes a bit of adjustment, it’s a wonderful way to dive back into the peak of park management simulations.

RollerCoaster Tycoon is quintessential management simulation at its best. You step into the shoes of a park overlord, aiming to conquer a series of challenges in various locations within a set timeframe. The objectives are diverse: you might simply need to attract a certain number of guests while maintaining a positive rating by a particular date, or maybe you need to hit a target profit. The path you choose is entirely up to your own ingenuity. There’s a rich array of maps, each throwing different challenges at you. From a desert setting with a costly, intricate ride to a lake that requires imaginative use of waterborne attractions. There are even existing parks, like Six Flags, to manage or tackle unique, theme-based scenarios. The range of rides is impressive, with most allowing for custom designs—letting you decide on track placement and decoration. All this, while ensuring you don’t blow your budget, keep paths tidy, and guests safe from harm.

What truly hooks you into RollerCoaster Tycoon is its endlessly satisfying core gameplay loop. Crafting and refining my less-than-perfect rollercoasters and rides, then observing and enhancing them based on guest reactions never gets old. While a number of tutorials exist, I’m not entirely convinced they fully equip newcomers with the knowledge needed to grasp the game’s deeper mechanics. However, a lot can be learned by testing rides, listening to guest feedback, and exploring the myriad menus. The level of customization is incredible, especially with options for terraforming, underground pathways, and scenery crafting. No two parks ever end up the same, and as you get better at understanding the mechanics, you’ll see this reflected in your revenue and guest numbers. For those wanting unrestricted creativity, designer mode lets you craft full rides with scenery ready for future use. Sadly, the ‘scenario editor’—which offered a sandbox-like playground for limitless creativity—is missing in this version. It’s a real shame, as that mode was a blast for freely expressing your ideas with unlimited cash and without worrying about park ratings.

The visuals have made the transition from the original PC release almost flawlessly. There’s a timeless appeal to the sound effects, music, and the sight of guests bustling around like tiny ant colonies. It’s a game that looks beautiful in both motion and still frames, which is lucky, considering how much time you’ll spend lost within these worlds. However, I was a bit taken aback by some performance hiccups, especially when zooming out on the map. The Switch struggles with this view, which is odd considering RCT Classic’s origin as a mobile game. Unfortunately, this brings us to the control issues.

Given that RollerCoaster Tycoon was originally designed for a mouse and keyboard, adapting its controls to a console controller was bound to be tricky. For the most part, they’ve done a decent job. Building rides or setting paths works reasonably well, with the A-button for confirming new sections and directional buttons for choosing directions. Camera movement is handled by the right stick, with ZL and ZR enabling zoom and rotation. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s manageable. The main hiccup is with the cursor movement. Its speed isn’t adjustable, which can be frustrating when navigating from park management options at the top to construction tools at the bottom. Though shortcuts exist on the X and Y buttons, they merely snap the cursor to menus without opening them. Fully customizable controls, particularly for viewing different world layers or accessing quick menus, would have been ideal. Tasks like laying pathways feel unnecessarily time-consuming. Laying down bridges, crucial for creating paths over existing ones, involves opening and closing different menus repeatedly. Playing mostly in handheld mode, I was quite disappointed to find there’s no touch support, especially since this game builds on the mobile RCT Classic designed for touch interaction.

In summary, RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is about as authentic of a tribute to the original management masterpiece as you can get. Although it stumbles in control adaptation and faces some performance challenges, it’s one of the richest and most detailed versions of RCT available. While die-hard fans might prefer Open RCT2 on PC, for casual players seeking a nostalgic thrill, this Switch version is a fantastic way to relive the experience. Newcomers might face a steep learning curve, but with the myriad of challenges, creative freedom, and innovative ideas packed into this game, it’s well worth the entrance fee. Maybe this time around, I’ll actually become adept at crafting the perfect coasters and finally create one of the dream parks I’ve always envisioned from the title screen.