RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition

 Switch
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition Image
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

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  • Summary: Build the park of a lifetime and rediscover the critically acclaimed rollercoaster simulation bestseller. Brought to life in this new Complete Edition, relive the full RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 experience or dive in for the first time and feel the thrill of a genre-defining classic, completeBuild the park of a lifetime and rediscover the critically acclaimed rollercoaster simulation bestseller. Brought to life in this new Complete Edition, relive the full RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 experience or dive in for the first time and feel the thrill of a genre-defining classic, complete with both Soaked! and Wild! expansion packs. Your Park. Your Way. Whatever you want to create, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 gives you the tools and freedom to build the amusement park of your dreams. Manage like a tycoon and make your way to the top
    Control park finances, shops, services and staff to succeed in dozens of scenarios. Become a true tycoon and embark on your promising new career, or create your ideal park without money woes in sandbox mode. Satisfy your guests’ needs and keep your park running smoothly to succeed. Get ready to get ‘Soaked!’ and venture into the ‘Wild!’
    This complete edition includes all content from both Soaked! and Wild! expansion packs. Relish the added challenge of creating and managing exhilarating waterparks and spectacular animal habitats. Reimagined for Nintendo Switch. Experience a reimagined interface on the go with intuitive new controls designed to help you build the ultimate theme park anytime, anywhere. Ride the Rides. Ride your creations with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3’s signature coaster cam.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. TheGamer
    Sep 24, 2020
    100
    Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 is often considered a genre-defining title and it's an accolade that's well-deserved. Even after 16 years and several successors, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 is still fun, engaging, and addictive. If you want a theme park simulator that's diverse without being too overwhelming or intricate, then this title is sure to fill that coaster shaped hole in your soul. Showcasing Frontier's development team at its best, there was no need to remake this title simply because it was built to last, unlike some of the coasters you're sure to build along the way.
  2. Nintendo Enthusiast
    Sep 25, 2020
    85
    RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition on Nintendo Switch is the game you know in all of its classic glory. The additional expansions make for a fun (but aged) experience.
  3. Impulsegamer
    Oct 5, 2020
    80
    Like any good theme park, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition has some ups and downs, but the depth of gameplay and wealth of content make it well worth the price of admission. This was my first experience with the series in many, many years but it’s refreshing to see that it still holds up quite well. It’s a crash course in capitalism with addictive elements, but the complicated toolkit and sluggish controls may be off-putting. Despite some minor setbacks, the price is right- Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 is a bargain on Switch, and a gem to play if you’ve got the time and patience.
  4. 3DJuegos
    Sep 25, 2020
    70
    Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition looks old fashioned but it has a lot of content to play and fantastic controls. If you want to create the roller coaster of your dreams, here you can achieve your ambition.
  5. Digitally Downloaded
    Sep 30, 2020
    70
    RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is a delight on Nintendo Switch. It's the ideal pick-up-and-play game for those commutes, it's also the kind of game that you can play while also doing something else, like watching a movie or TV show. And it's the kind of game that, if you want it to, can occupy hour upon hour of your time. The Nintendo Switch is steadily building up a library of excellent simulators, but even among them, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 might be the most playable, blissfully entertaining of them all.
  6. NintendoWorldReport
    Sep 24, 2020
    65
    At the end of the day I don’t know if I can think of any reason to buy Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 on Switch outside of if you are just really that desperate to get your nostalgia trip in. In a world where games like Planet Coaster exist as a more modern take on the exact same formula with many of the same features, I don’t even know if nostalgia is a justifiable position on this one. If all you’re really interested in is the idea of a portable park management sim this one is still a pretty alright entry into the genre, but it definitely still feels and looks like a game that came out in 2004. Add to that the clunky gamepad controls and I can say for sure that if you’re dead set on buying Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, the Switch is probably not the place to do it.
  7. Game Rant
    Sep 30, 2020
    50
    RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition is in no way a bad experience, but it isn't a particularly great one either. Though veteran players may find great joy in returning to this classic, new players will probably have a completely different experience. The game's expansive Career Mode and in-depth mechanics are undermined by its failure to teach players and the overly complicated control scheme.

See all 18 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. Dinsok
    Jan 2, 2022
    10
    The game is a great way to introduce someone to the rct franchise and has a wide variety of things to do. The games interface is not tooThe game is a great way to introduce someone to the rct franchise and has a wide variety of things to do. The games interface is not too complicated and easy to explore. And the fact you can do it anywhere makes it 10 times better… Expand
  2. jreviewsgames
    Sep 28, 2020
    9
    took a bit to get used to the detailed menus/controls but once you do, maaaaaan it’s so good. and then you think about the fact that thistook a bit to get used to the detailed menus/controls but once you do, maaaaaan it’s so good. and then you think about the fact that this fantastic classic pc game is now playable on your switch in handheld or docked mode and it makes it even better! just old school sim joy!… Expand
  4. KyoshiLoneheart
    Sep 25, 2020
    9
    This port of RCT3 is phenomenal and Frontier should be commended. The game runs perfectly on Switch, I've experienced zero issues on theThis port of RCT3 is phenomenal and Frontier should be commended. The game runs perfectly on Switch, I've experienced zero issues on the technical side. The control scheme here was one that was clearly thoroughly thought about and tested. Every button is used effectively and with a clear function that makes is very easy to get to what you want. Doing this with a game that was made for a PC is no easy task but Frontier knows what they are doing. The controls will of course take a bit of time to get used to, but already I am accustomed to it in every way. Besides the game running very well, the control was the single most important thing to get right with this port and they went above and beyond in that aspect.

    Everything else is exactly what you love about RCT3. It is still a fantastic theme park simulator with a very fun sandbox mode for stress-free building. The expansions are of course included here as well. This is all why there isn't a whole lot to say about the game itself because it is the RCT3 that we all love but now it is on console and friggin' portable! The only issues are simply the quirks that are part of RCT3's DNA. There are some camera issues at times, terrain adjustments can be incredibly tricky and even finnicky at times, and there can be some slight visual hiccups like some decorations popping in and out. This stuff is what prevents it from being a 10, but like I said, these are basically engrained issues in 16 year old game.

    Everything else is what you know and love and I am so very happy that Frontier put this game on the Switch for millions of people to enjoy and discover. We all know the Switch cannot handle the almighty Planet Coaster so this game is the absolute next best thing and I couldn't be happier. This is how you port a PC game over to a console. This is how you make a well thought out control scheme. Hopefully if this is successful, maybe we could get the original 2 games or the classic edition to have all of the greatest RCT experiences on the go. If you love theme parks or tycoon games of this nature, do not pass it up.    … Expand
  5. BrutalSlayer93
    Oct 21, 2020
    8
    I love the game, brings back alot of memories from my childhood. It's just missing one thing, where is the SCENARIO EDITOR!!? Please add itI love the game, brings back alot of memories from my childhood. It's just missing one thing, where is the SCENARIO EDITOR!!? Please add it back to the game, the sandbox parks are to small, not anof land.… Expand
  6. dig_up_stupid
    Oct 7, 2020
    7
    RCT3 is an entertaining and engaging game, ailed only by its disappointing limitations. The 'complete addition' has both an incrediblyRCT3 is an entertaining and engaging game, ailed only by its disappointing limitations. The 'complete addition' has both an incredibly playable story mode and classic offering-of-the-obtuse sandbox mode but has, for some reason, removed the opportunity for the player to create their own custom scenarios.

    Before you shout 'pedant', yes I know, most playing RCT3 on the Switch either don't notice or don't care about this missing feature. At least they don't right now. Admittedly when I downloaded my copy at launch, I was relatively unphased by the lack of custom scenarios when the ever-inviting sandbox mode caught my eye, and I was once again eleven years old and building death coasters. Here is the attraction for many newcomers, a commonly shared sadistic urge akin to the infamous 'trapped sims in a burning building' scene. Much like that impulse, the enjoyment wears thin quick.

    So what do you do?

    You head to the story mode, that's what you do. An impressive amount of levels featuring different themed parks, all with independent three-tiered objectives that consist of anything from impressing a specific VIP guest with the cleanliness of your park to making enough moolah to pay off a significant debt you have inherited. The story mode is a substantial offering, managing to show players how to craft an intelligently designed park while still letting them go off the rails (as-it-were) now and then. There is, as with any simulation game, some moments of tedium in the park maintenance such as planning queue lengths and (sigh) managing employees. The latter is incredibly annoying when it comes to animal keepers, and they essentially need constant supervision. Even still, the story mode is addictive and often rewarding. To meet the requirements for level completion, you will have to turn your park into a lucrative business, and in doing so, you will see the transformation from flailing one-ride-wonder into powerhouse super-park. Unfortunately, much like sandbox mode's super-giga-mega-coaster approach, story mode eventually becomes passe and ultimately unchallenging once a player has completed ten or more other scenarios.

    So what do you do?

    You go to the custom scenario mode. At least, I thought you went to custom scenario mode. Evidently, as a couple of reviewers who seemingly don't kiss their mothers with those mouths have already pointed out, this mode is missing. Annoyingly, to even notice that mode is missing, you have to love the game, or at least want to play a lot more of it. It is in the custom scenario mode that you can really put your theme park management chops to the test on a constricted budget with awful terrain and a debt problem—what a dream.

    But the dream is not alive. I still love RCT3 for Switch; the sandbox mode is a laugh and a blank canvas for any budding coaster designer, and the story mode is there for us geeks who want to get into the minutiae of ride servicing times and the price of cheese(burgers). However, that next level of potential geekery that I can still visualise back on my Packard Bell in 2005 with my most rose-tinted glasses has not managed to make it through to 2020, and that's kind of disappointing.

    TLDR; they didn't include an old feature, and I'm mad as hell, still a good game tho.    … Expand
  7. JohnnyFun
    Jan 21, 2021
    4
    A pretty **** game.
    This may be the worst game I have ever played and I’ve played some really bad games.
    I’ve played plenty of rollercoaster    A pretty **** game.
    This may be the worst game I have ever played and I’ve played some really bad games.
    I’ve played plenty of rollercoaster tycoons but this one is probably the worst out of them all.
    If you got it free from the epic store then good job but if you paid for it like how I did....try your best to get a refund.
    The only reason it would be worth buying is it’s nostalgic factor but other than that it’s a game you’ll play a hand full of times and forget about
    You’d be better off saving a couple more dollars and buying planet coaster    … Expand

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