Genre: Simulation
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo

Much like what would be called today an "HD remake", Nintendo took the core art work from the computer versions of SimCity-- the cute little buildings, abstract traffic representations, grassy atolls-- and wrapped them in gorgeous colors, which even surrealistically palette swap their way between the four seasons. The clunky and ugly interface is gone, replaced with a simple-yet-charming menu system that works perfectly on era interlaced CRTs.

The original computer title was an almost totally silent affair, so imagine this reviewer's surprise when he first started up this Super Nintendo port, which is bursting with music! "A visit to grandma's house, with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk" sums up the game's personality, and home-cooked delight is accentuated with charming sound effects, like the gentle patter-patter put out by the city's trains.

Fitting a full-on simulation title, complete with graphs, a configurable heat map, and tool bars full of icons on a video game controller is impossible to do correctly, right? Wrong! Pressing either the start or select buttons toggles the cursor between either of the tool bars and its previous position-- brilliant. Holding a button locks the map into scrolling mode, and the sensitivity is just right. The cursor vaguely snaps to interface icons, but not enough to be annoying. The devil is in the details, and Nintendo's nuanced approach really pays off here.

The computer version is an all-time classic title from a core mechanic standpoint, but it was the total pits aesthetically. And that's where Nintendo stepped in, applying their usual "Seal of Quality" touch. Like the food that only grandma used to make, it's impossible to take just one bite of this title-- "just one more year, just one more zone", but don't look now, because it may just be 3:00am!