Table of Contents
Rollercoaster of Love
- Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic is a game that combines Roller Coaster Tycoon and Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 into one mobile game.
- Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic is a park building game.
Game Review Information
Roller Coaster Tycoon was one of the early computer games I have played. I used to play the game all day.
Roller Coaster Tycoon was one of the few games that could run on one of the first computers I owned.
For this current review I beat the first few park scenarios in Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic.
Roller Coaster Tycoon Is an Old Game
Roller Coaster Tycoon was originally made by Chris Sawyer in 1999.
It is important to have this in mind when reading this review. Roller Coaster Tycoon is an old game, and it has been ported to mobile devices.
Gameplay Review
The Goal of the Game
There are multiple goals for the game. But the most common goal is to have a certain number of guests in the park after so many in-game years and keep the guests happy.
The game is quite open-ended, and you beat levels pretty much however you want.
You build rides and park necessitates. The game can be quite a micro-manage, but it depends on how much you want to do.
There Are Many Levels to Play
There are many levels or scenarios to complete, and the harder levels have unique and different goals. There is enough here to keep most players happy for quite a while.
The Game Has Good Controls
Everything in the game feels natural. I don’t know how the developers ported such an old game into a touchscreen interface.
Nothing in the game feels too complex to do, and you can figure things out without much effort.
There was only one thing that confused me. I forgot how to create paths as platforms. I had to Google search this.
Sometimes touching buttons can be a bit hard because things are small. But I have this issue with other mobile games as well.
When you type to name things, you are using some sort of odd in-game keyboard. I would have preferred to use the normal Android keyboard. This game keyboard feels unnatural to use.
The Game Is Easy to Get Into but Has a Lot of Depth
You can get quite detailed with how you run your park. Or you can ignore this information and build whatever you think is cool.
In the past, I often gambled big on one roller coaster. Hoping it would bring in guests. I would take out loans and put everything into it.
Turns out this strategy is not so good.
You Even Have to Deal With Death
I started to take out my frustration in the game by purposely building rides that would kill guests. Or turn the ground under guests into water and watch them drown.
Dealing with accidental deaths is a part of the game as well. I remember the first time it happened, and it surprised me.
People won’t be too happy to get back on a roller coaster where people died (Silly realism getting in the way in my roller coaster game).”
But you can mitigate this somewhat. If you repaint a ride and change the name, people seem to more accepting to ride it again. People forget quickly.
Creating a death coaster is somewhat hard. You have to go out of your way to make a ride fly off tracks or fail safe guards. The game will try to make sure rides won’t fail.
You Can Make the Game Faster
There is also one feature not in the original game. You can fast forward the game!
Speeding up the game sounds simple, but it is quite a big deal. If you know you will win a level and don’t care what happens, you can fast-forward to victory.
This feature reminds me of the fast-forward you can find in some video game emulators.
How Hard Is This Game?
If you just want to have fun, you can play however you want.
But if you want to be more serious and beat levels, you have to put in more effort.
I would say the game can be quite hard sometimes. I was only ever able to beat the first few levels myself.
I also eventually goof around and mess around with the guests as well, though.
Presentation Review
How the Game Looks
For being an old game, Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic looks pretty decent.
The game does not look as detailed as modern games. But I think it looks good enough and you can tell what everything is supposed to be. Some modern games still try to replicate this retro look as well anyway.
How the Game Sounds
The sounds are pretty basic. But they work and sound decent.
The game surprisingly has some good music. You normally don’t hear any music. But you can enable multiple songs on rides if you want to.
The main menu song is very good, as well.
How Does This Game Get You to Spend Money?
You Buy the Game
The game costs $6 (USD). That might be priced high for some Android gamers. But to, me the price is fair.
You get the complete game, and it is ported well. $6 (USD) is about what I would want to pay for a one time purchase for a game.
You Can Buy Add-Ons
You can also buy the expansions the game had. If you love playing the game, these would be worth the money.
There is also a park creator. If you are creative and like making things, you might like this.
The price might seem high for some. But I think this is fair as you can play the game for a very long time without them.
How Does This Game Annoy You?
There is nothing. You buy the game, and you play it.
Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic lets you focus on the game and have some fun.
My Overall Thoughts About Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic
Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic is a perfect example of how to port an older game and update it to work on a more accessible platform.
Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic is a product of the past. You buy the game and some extra content. Sadly in the mobile space, you see this less and less for multiple reasons.
I wish more games could be like Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic.
Do I Recommend People Play Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic?
Of course, I do! Play this game!
I suppose if you already did not like Roller Coaster Tycoon or these types of games, you might want to pass.
Will I Keep Playing This Game?
I don’t play Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic too often. But I may play it more in the future.