One of the earliest games for the SNES, this version of SimCity holds up well against its PC counterparts.
The basic premise is simple; build a city. What kind of city is up to the player, as SimCity encourages both critical and imaginative thought. In order to build the largest, most successful megalopolis, players must take taxes, proximity to public services and a balance of residential, commercial and industrial zoning all into account. Zone too many residential areas and not enough commercial and industrial, there will be plenty of homes, but the unemployment rate will skyrocket. Similarly, sections of city that lack the presence of a police or fire department are at risk for greater crime rates or the inability to put out fires that result from natural disasters. Players that learn to take these and other issues into account are most likely to succeed in building large, thriving cities.
As a city grows and thrives, the player will be rewarded with numerous gifts from Dr. Wright, a helpful character always ready to give advice at the click of an icon. Such gifts include special mayor's house, police and fire department headquarters, and even a large statue of Mario. Each of these gifts has the ability to boost the value of their surrounding neighborhoods, bring in more residents, and make the city even more successful.
However, as said before, building a large city isn't the only goal of the game. Players that feel the need to spice up the lives of their SimCitizens can do so very easily by triggering natural disasters to cause widespread havoc and devastation across the land. Fires, tornadoes, plane crashes and floods are all ready and waiting at the click of an icon, with a bonus appearance by Bowser, Mario's eternal archnemesis, who will stomp through the city like Godzilla, spreading destruction wherever he goes.
Extra content includes a collection of pre-built scenarios that challenge players to help a city recover from a given disaster in a given amount of time. Some examples include repairing Tokyo after a Bowser attack, helping San Francisco following an earthquake, and rebuilding Boston after a nuclear meltdown. These are the only truly goal-oriented portions of the game, and they provide an excellent challenge for experienced city builders to overcome.
The graphics and sound in SimCity are obviously very dated by today's standards, but even so, they still hold up remarkably well. The music may not be the most memorable, but it changes to reflect the in-game seasons, and the various sound effects add to the game's atmosphere with the sounds of passing trains, planes, and the disasters. The game is viewed from a high, overhead perspective that doesn't demand the most detailed graphics, and this approach works in the game's favor because the game's simple look retains a clean feel that's pleasant to view and still displays the game's occasionally comic tone.
SimCity is one of the most unique games from the earliest days of the SNES. With the impending release of the Nintendo Revolution, it's possible that it may be included among the catalogue of games that Nintendo has published over the years, and if that is the case, it's definitely recommended that it be checked out. What it lacks in the depth and detail of its sequels, it more than makes up for with its accessibility and charm.