SimCity Classic for DOS dropped in 1989 and straight-up redefined what a “computer game” could be—you weren’t blasting aliens, you were running a whole city from scratch. You laid down roads, juggled residential, commercial, and industrial zones, and prayed disasters like fires or Godzilla didn’t wreck your hard work. Maxis kept it alive with updates like SimCity Classic in 1993, which polished the original mechanics and graphics for DOS and Windows. No hand-holding, no tutorials—just you, your budget, and every mistake turning into a learning curve that made building that thriving metropolis feel legendary.