Review of Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic

We’ve all got those games we adore but aren’t necessarily experts at, right? For me, that game has always been RollerCoaster Tycoon. I’ve poured countless hours into the original and its iconic sequel over the years. Yet, I’ve never really mastered the art of creating my own roller coasters or managing the park effectively. Instead, I find joy in simply watching the tiny, bustling figures navigate my chaotic creations. The original games hold a special place in many hearts, and unfortunately, the subsequent installments have often fallen short of capturing that unique charm. That’s why the unexpected announcement and release of RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic, a direct port of an excellent mobile version, felt like a wonderful surprise. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s a brilliant way to climb to the heights of park management simulations once more.

RollerCoaster Tycoon at its core is a traditional management simulation. You step into the shoes of an all-powerful park manager and aim to tackle a series of challenges on a tight schedule while designing your parks across various terrains. Sometimes, the objective is simply to attract a certain number of guests with a positive rating before a deadline. Other times, it’s about achieving specific profit goals. How you choose to meet these goals is entirely up to your imagination. With a broad choice of maps, each posing its own unique challenge, you can find yourself managing everything from a single, costly ride in a desert setting to constructing water-based attractions at a lakeside park. There are even scenarios where you take over running established parks like those of Six Flags, or ones with their own quirky themes. The range of rides is vast, and many give you the freedom to design your own track configurations and decor, keeping in mind your budget, cleanliness, and, of course, the safety of your guests.

There’s something incredibly rewarding about the core gameplay loop of RCT. I find immense satisfaction in building and then revamping my, admittedly lackluster, coasters and rides. Observing guest reactions and then tweaking setups to improve experiences or reworking entire sections of my park over time is particularly enjoyable. While the game does include a few tutorials, I wonder if newcomers get enough guidance on its complex mechanics. Experimenting with ride tests, guest feedback, and trying out all the menus reveals an intense level of customization—especially once you dive into land alterations, underground paths, and scenic designs. No two parks will ever look the same as you learn and grow, with your progression mirrored in your ability to generate income and entice more visitors. For those eager to experiment without restrictions, there’s a designer mode where you can craft entire rides with scenery and save them for later. However, this version lacks the ‘scenario editor’ akin to playing in a sandbox environment, a feature I miss dearly as it offered unlimited creativity without constraints like finances or park ratings.

Visually, the game captures the spirit of the original PC version almost perfectly. There’s a timeless allure to the sounds, the music, and the sight of guests spreading across your screen like tiny worker ants. It’s the kind of game that looks captivating both in motion and in still frames, which is great since you’ll likely spend endless hours exploring these worlds. On a slightly less positive note, I was surprised by some performance hiccups when zoomed out on the map—the Switch seems to struggle a bit with this high-level view. Additionally, while the game was designed for mobile devices, I encountered some frustrations with the controls.

Adapting RCT’s original mouse-and-keyboard control scheme to a console controller must have been quite the challenge. In most cases, the controls work adequately. When you’re building rides or laying paths, using the A-button for confirmation and the directional buttons for direction change feels natural. Moving around the park with the right stick, combined with the ZL and ZR for zoom and rotation, takes some getting used to but eventually feels okay. The real challenge arises with cursor navigation. Its unadjustable speed can make navigating from the top management features to the construction options at the bottom of the screen feel slow. While X and Y buttons offer shortcuts by snapping the cursor to menu areas, they don’t actually open those menus, which is a missed opportunity for more seamless management. Customizable controls—especially quick access to specific layers or a radial menu for tasks—could have significantly improved the experience. Tasks like laying pathways are particularly cumbersome. The bridges menu, crucial for creating queues that cross over other paths, requires closing and reopening menus to switch locations—making what should be straightforward rather cumbersome. Imagine my disappointment, then, playing the Switch in handheld mode and discovering the absence of touch input—a fundamental feature of the mobile RCT Classic designed specifically for touch controls.

In the end, RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic on the Switch is one of the most dedicated translations of the classic management game you can find, despite some control quirks and performance issues. While hardcore fans might prefer sticking with Open RCT2 on PC, casual players ready for a nostalgic ride will find the Switch version a delightful throwback. It may present a bit of a learning curve for newcomers, but the design choices and a wealth of challenges paired with the boundless creativity options make it well worth diving in. Perhaps this time, I’ll finally master designing coasters and create a dream park that once only existed in the fantasies sparked by the title screen.