YOOT TOWER (A.K.A. THE TOWER II)

You Build It, You Deal With It!

Control a metropolis with the simulation/strategy sequel to Sim Tower

• Build your own community amidst the cascading serenity of Kegon Falls, the frenzy of Downtown Tokyo – or beaches of Waikiki with special tower Location Module included free!*
• Plan every detail of your tenants' lives–from the infrastructure of the subway to the menus at the restaurants and the movies at the theaters.
• Fail to plan, maintain, and protect your facilities–and stressed-out residents will boycott your lousy service, empty out your hotels, and take their yachts to another boat-dock.
• Provide top service, protect your residents from fires, terrorists, and traffic jams–and soon rock stars will be arriving in limos.
• Simple rules make it easy to play–so you can make your towers as complex as you want.

~ from the back of the box

Yoot Tower, a 1998 sequel to SimTower, confused a lot of people on release. In a lot of respects, it is the same as its predecessor in all but name. Maxis owned the 'Sim' brand at the time but it was Sega who put up the money to publish this game and therefore named it after the game designer, Yutaka "Yoot" Saitō.

Despite looking very much like its predecessor (a flaw many reviewers liked to point out), it adds a lot to the game-play including different locations, extra rooms and multiple towers. You start the game with the option to choose between Hawaii, Tokyo and Kegan Falls with each have their own set of difficulties. For example, Kegan Falls require you to build underground, while Tokyo presents a fast-paced metropolis where all of your skills are necessary. There were extensions planned for the game to add up to eight new scenarios, however, three were cancelled and the remaining saw only a limited run in Japan where its sales were more favourable.

While looking very much alike, all these additions changes the focus of the game, giving a greater emphasis on the tower's inhabitants. This was very much by design as Saito, who had worked on SimTower, felt the original did not feel like a true simulated tower. He therefore retooled some of the dynamics in the game to try and fix this; directing people has been given greater emphasis and the happiness of the residents and visitors have become crucial to success.

To this end it plays much more like Theme Park than it used to and is all the more fun for it. The only downfall that I'd like to point out is the graphics and interface design. At first glance it is easy to confuse the game for an application. The toolbars can be hidden using the familiar menu bar that all windows have, and each toolbar operates in its own window, not fixed to the game screen. If I took a screenshot of something like MicroSoft paint, you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference.

Saito himself has become something of a legend amongst game designers. This was perhaps his last game that could be confined within a single easily named genre. His next game, Seaman for the Dreamcast, features a fully interactive, human-faced fish that you can converse with using a microphone and he would later introduce us to the voice controlled strategy-pinball genre (population: 1) - Odama for the GameCube. His latest, a 3DS e-Shop release called Aero Port focuses on the joys of airport baggage handling. Needless to say it's an eclectic career.

Yoot Tower is certainly the least weird on his game-making resumé. It is also the most accessible. It is easy to learn, yet hard to master and like all good management strategy games can take hours from your life. Why not give it a try yourself, at the very least to understand why a review post such as this can be a day late.

** UPDATE. The Japanese version of Yoot Tower, called The Tower II is now included. While it is mostly the same game, it has some interesting additions not found in the western release. It has some new and differing rooms and shops, but the biggest reason to play is that it actually got the DLC. Unfortunately, these addons aren't compatible with Yoot Tower, so they remain region locked. I have translated some of the Japanese text into English though this is mostly kept to the drop-down menus. Still, if you like Yoot Tower, it's worth a play. Just make sure to read the Chamber Notes for more info.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber runs natively under Windows using Qres to assist with resolution management. The Japanese-exclusive The Tower II also uses Locale Emulator to resolve regional incompatibilities.  Manual and Japan-exclusive DLC included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.
  07.12.2015 - Version 2 - Improved installer.
  03.03.2026 - Version 3 - Added Qres for option to play in 800x600 or 1024x768 resolutions.

                                          Added The Tower II Japanese version with region-exclusive addons.

                                          Manually edited The Tower II files to translate some of the Japanese text.

                                          Uses Locale Emulator to play The Tower II.

                                          Added Yoot Tower Manual.

                                          Fleshed out ChamberNotes to reflect changes

File Size: 258 Mb.  Install Size: 631 Mb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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Yoot Tower (aka The Tower II) is © SEGA of America & OPeNBooK9003 inc.
 Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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