Ever had a game that you just love to pieces, even though you know you’re not quite a pro at it? For me, that’s RollerCoaster Tycoon. I’ve spent endless hours on the original and its sequel, totally immersed despite my less-than-stellar skills at crafting coasters and managing parks. Instead, my joy comes from watching tiny virtual visitors explore my intricate, albeit somewhat chaotic, park creations. The original RollerCoaster Tycoon games have a sacred place in many gamers’ hearts, and unfortunately, the later sequels never quite captured that magic. So, imagine my delight when RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic was surprise-announced and launched—a dedicated port of the excellent mobile version. It takes a little adjustment, but it’s a fantastic way to revisit the pinnacle of park management sims.
In RollerCoaster Tycoon, you step into the shoes of a deity-like park manager with one mission: meet specific challenges under a tight deadline while designing your dream parks in diverse locales. Whether you’re tasked with attracting a certain number of guests by a deadline or hitting profitability targets, your approach is up to your unique creativity. With a broad array of maps, each tossing its own test your way—ranging from deserts featuring costly rides to lakes requiring over-water constructions—no park feels the same. You can even manage existing parks like Six Flags, or take on parks themed around quirky challenges. The ride options are abundant, allowing plenty of room for custom designs where you decide track placement and decorations—all while keeping an eye on budgets, cleanliness, and guest safety.
There’s something so incredibly satisfying about the core gameplay loop of RCT. Watching how guests react to my admittedly subpar rollercoasters and rides and then tweaking them, or even redesigning parts of my park, is a constant delight. But, I have to admit, despite some tutorials, I’m not entirely sure new players are given enough guidance on some of the deeper game mechanics. You learn a lot from testing rides, listening to guest feedback, and tinkering with menus. The potential for customization is immense—master land construction, underground pathways, and scenery design, and no two parks will ever look alike. Your grasp of mechanics grows along with your income and ability to draw more visitors. For freedom-loving experimenters, there’s a designer mode to create and save ride designs, though it’s disappointing that the ‘scenario editor’ where you could play in sandbox mode is absent. This absence limits the creative freedom to create your own scenarios with endless money and no pressure to maintain park ratings.
Visually, the game translates the original PC experience almost perfectly. There’s an everlasting charm in those classic sound effects, music, and the way guests scatter like ants across the map. The game is just as gorgeous in motion as in still shots—a bonus since you’ll likely spend hours on these views. I did notice some performance hiccups when zooming out on the map, which is a bit surprising given that RCT Classic was originally intended for smartphones. And this brings me to my issues with the controls.
Originally made for mouse and keyboard, RCT’s control scheme has had to adapt to a controller, which couldn’t have been easy. For the most part, I think the controls are alright. Building rides or paths can be done easily enough with the A-button, and you can steer direction with the directional buttons. You use the right stick to move the camera around, combining it with ZL and ZR for zooming and rotating. While it takes practice, it’s manageable. However, cursor movement leaves something to be desired. It can’t be sped up, making it tedious to move from park management features at the top of the screen to construction options at the bottom. There are shortcuts, but they merely snap the cursor to menus rather than opening them. Fully customizable controls, with shortcuts for viewing layers or a quick menu for certain tasks, would have been perfect. Building bridges, for example, involves closing and reopening the path menu repeatedly. Plus, as someone who often plays in handheld mode, I was disappointed by the absence of touch controls, particularly since the mobile version of RCT Classic was designed for that.
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is a highly faithful rendition of the beloved original management sim. While it faces some control and performance stumbling blocks, it stands as one of the most extensive editions of RCT out there. Diehard fans might stick with OpenRCT2 on PC, but for casual players craving a bit of nostalgia, the Switch version serves up a delightful experience. Newcomers might find the learning curve steep, yet the wealth of challenges, creative freedom, and thoughtful design make the immersion worthwhile. Maybe, just maybe, this time I’ll finally master my coaster design skills and create the dream park that the title screen always stirred in my imagination.
