Nice promo.

Rollercoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon are good titles too.

I'd say Bullfrog was outdone within a year from Theme Park's release by Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon and later specifically in amusement parks by the same developer's RollerCoaster Tycoons. The original Theme Park just doesn't have very many moving parts.

I'd agree on Transport Tycoon being more complex, but it's not a small-scale simulation, same reason I didn't mention Sim City. As for Rollercoaster Tycoon, meh it's a matter of taste, I think while they did have more moving parts Bullfrog simulations had more personality and charm in the design, which is something that's necessary because managerial games can become mundane.

Example: All the unique illnesses from patients in Theme Hospital

Nice promo.

I'd say that Rollercoaster Tycoon is the superior game, to be honest. As Selderij said, the UI in Theme Park is absolutely dreadful, and the micromanagement is a pain in the ass. It seems to be more reminiscent at times of those Facebook click-a-thons than of a proper management sim. Theme Park World and Theme Park Inc. carved their niche much better than the first game did.

I used to love Theme Park as a kid, I really did, but with age comes wisdom.

The game is in my wishlist but I think I won't buy it this time (open to trade though, if you're interested... see Classifed topic for more info): I have a few games in my backlog and I have not yet beater Themo Hospital. i don't know if I will ever as it is a bit frustrating for me to build a hospital during one hour and yet lose. It quickly become too difficult for me (level 4 or 5 I think).

I am a bit afraid that Theme Park could do the same to me.

Instabought. :)

I'm honestly kind of tired of hearing this kind of argument. "Theme Park is worthless because RCT exists". I mean, yeah, the latter game may be more refined in certain ways, which may have something to do with the fact that it came out 5 whole years after Theme Park. It's not like TP comes across as the shoddy prototype of RCT, since there's a big difference in intent between those games. As Crosmando mentioned, the greatest thing Theme Park has going for it is its personality. It's brightly cartoonish and humorous, whereas RCT feels rather cold and mathematical.

And let's not pretend that RCT has a great UI, either. It basically just smothers you with a whole bunch of charts and nearly everything you do opens its own little window, cluttering the screen.
Personally, I never had a big problem with TP's micromanagement aspects, because, while they were indeed kind of clunky (it was still 1994, after all), they were also presented with the same personality as the rest of the game. Let's take, for example, the screen for ordering supplies: It could have been just a simple list of items and numbers, but instead they actually gave it a graphical representation in the form of a warehouse and containers being slowly delivered to the same. That's what makes the difference. Sure, you might say that stuff like that, the union negotiations or the research screen are just needless busywork. Maybe you'd be right about that, but to me, it always just reinforced my investment in the parks I would build.

Make no mistake, I love both games. I really do, but for vastly different reasons. When I want a clear cut, complex and sober simulation, I play Rollercoaster Tycoon, but when I want something that's "just" fun gameplay, visually interesting and with a sense of humour, I play Theme Park.

Still waiting for Theme Park World. Make it happen, GOG. :)

Interesting but I had bought it on DS and I still have a backlog of rollercoaster tycoons, so... :P

On my wishlist since I created my wishlist? Half price? Bought.

Edit: And only then did I realize... no manual?

Theme Park isn't really based around scenarios like Theme Hospital. It's much more of a free-form kind of game. At the beginning, you're presented with a world map full of locations, although you can only choose the UK at first. Your goal is then to simply build a profitable park. Pretty much all shops, rides and such are available at the very beginning, after they have been researched, of course. Once your park is worth enough, you can sell it, which provides you with money to buy a plot of land in another location. While these locations differ in various ways, the basic goal (build park, then sell park) and your "tools" to achieve it remain the same. I am not sure, but I think you can "beat" the game by going through every location, but that's not really the rewarding element about it.
After all, it's essentially just about building fun parks. I think it works in its favour, as well. While the linear scenario structure made Theme Hospital (or the similar Dungeon Keeper) engaging, it might be too restrictive in a game like this.

For the Amiga and typed rather than a scan but better than nothing. http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/docs.php?id=1634

There must be legal issues or something because there's no bloody bonus content at all, not even an avatar. (I thought the little world picture would be pretty cool as one.)

I assume the PC version actually came with a manual, right?