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jp's Thrillville: Off the Rails (DS)

[July 15, 2025 05:10:16 PM]

I haven't played any of the Thrillville games (I assume there's at least two because I think this one's a sequel) nor am I a huge fan of what I think are related games like "Rollercoaster Tycoon". But, I was impressed with this one - somewhat. It started when I saw that it was published by LucasArts! That was unexpected and, weirdly, whenever I see that I assume developed by them but that's obviously not the case. There must be a fair amount of years in which LucasArts was publishing all sorts of things that have no relation to anything by Lucas...or their own IP either.

Anyways, what I've thought most interesting in the game is how it really eases the often overwhelming experience of many of these simulation games - especially those on the DS where you have a touchscreen but you can't expect the same fidelity and interaction resolution as you had on the PC. It's just more clunky and slow so some stuff doesn't work as well. So, I've been playing the campaign and was able to quickly figure stuff out - and you start with a park template for which you sort of fill in blanks as told by different goals (build a this kind of ride). There's enough flexibility that I've gone off-piste and it's been fine...but I liked how it has really leaned into the story (rival amusement park is trying to sabotage you and steal your amazing ride designs) - and as I meet objectives more parks have opened up (there's a nice rotating globe to select them as a menu). The missions are short, pretty easy and I've been able to appreciate all of stuff in this game.

Strangely, at least so far, a lot of if it is playing carnival-style mini-games. I'm either playing park visitors (if you beat them, they'll do something you want/give you info) or my own employees (same as visitors, though there are some games to play to train them to be better employees). So far the management part of these kinds of games has been downplayed significantly - I generally have enough money to pay for whatever new thing I put in the park, and happiness hasn't been an issue either.

I've played enough to get to the point where you build rollercoasters - and there's a new interface "gimmick" the game uses here (and elsewhere, but it makes the most sense thematically here).

So, you pick the coaster and it shows you (on bottom screen) a generic layout/outline. You trace it with the stylus and go to the next step. Here the generic layout has a few sections highlighted and you can design those specific sections (e.g. make a loop). You're essentially picking from available options - but you have to draw them with the stylus (draw one of the possible shapes). Then the highlighted section is replaced with a track section embodying the change (e.g. shows a loop). It's pretty neat and I preferred it over the typical "pick the thing you want" that then turns into a drag/drop nightmare of trying to slot/fit/orientate the section into the track you're making (things don't line up, etc.). Very elegant and works really well for the DS and it's screens!

THe same idea (draw a shape from a few pre-approved ones) is also used in the game-y conversation interface. Here you need to convince an NPC about something - and must choose from a few response options. Instead of just tapping the option you want, you have to draw the shape that corresponds to that option. Thematically it makes no sense - but I guess it's part of this games interaction vocabulary for some reason. I wonder if it will appear in other parts of the game as well?