SimCity

Plot

You are the mayor of a brand new city. You have to manage it from it's first day as a village to the day it becomes a Megatropolis - and beyond. There are no limits. You must build, tax, and handle natural disasters such as tornados, flash floods, nuclear meltdowns, and monster attacks in the form of Bowser Koopa!

The game that skyrocketed the whole series of Sim(ulation) games. SimTower, SimCopter, SimSafari, The Sims, and others all have their roots with this game. Unlike most of it's counterparts, SimCity managed to break the system barrier of PC-only and made it's way to the fledgeling Super NES. Nintendo managed to get two of their mascots into the game. Bowser, in the form of a city-attacking monster (i.e., Godzilla), can ransack your city. You can even attempt to rescue and rebuild 1961 Tokyo after a Bowser rampage. Mario makes an appearance as a high-class award. If the population of your city reaches 500,000, you will be awarded a Mario statue (which can be used to boost property taxes if placed correctly).

Overview

Graphics aren't bad. The game is more or less 3-D, and although the sprites are a little blocky, it works pretty well. But in a game like this, graphics aren't a high point. Sound effects are minimal, limited to Bowser's roaring and the thud of a newly placed building. Pleasent tunes play in the background and change to reflect the size of your city, from the peaceful village stage to the hustling city stage, and so on. The gameplay was revolutionary to the simulation market. This game pioneered the engine that famous games such as Caeser III and SimCity 2000 are famous for. Building, city upkeep, managing money, earning gifts as you go along, this game combines construction with strategy with excellent results.

I highly recommend playing this game. Replay value is high, and there's no set limit to what you can do.