Don't let the color of the medal fool you; this might be a new standard in the RCT world. An astounding example in synthesizing the world outside of RCT into quarter-tile building blocks and tentacle stalls, In:Cities' Ivalice is a stunning recreation, but, maybe not the kind you're thinking of.

Ivalice is In:Cities first accolade here at NE, but not his first completed park. He's had a few topics in the AD showing off a unique RCT2 building style, and recently made a bit of a splash with some waterpark screens. Tellingly, his low-key July release Lotus was good enough for some to call it accolade-worthy. It seems that all In:Cities needed to put all the elements together were two things, time and inspiration.

It seems he found them both, and the result is Ivalice.

The park is a bit of an oddball when taken solely as a concept, a recreation of a fantasy video-game universe in RCT2 seems a little out there compared to some recent NE headliners. The result is a sort of genre-bending park that is hard to lump in with realism, semi-realism, or full-on fantasy, but the best part is that you don't have to care. All you need to do to enjoy the park is take it in.

Well, that and have played a lot of Final Fantasy.

It's really a shame that Ivalice's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. In:Cities has taken a world imagined and realized outstandingly in another medium and translated the idiomatic style to RCT2. Coasters based on the game universe's heroes, villains, and mythical creatures populate the park, each residing in surroundings seemingly plucked from Playstation level editors. The iconic Chocobo -giant two-legged birds that resemble ostriches and are used as mounts in the games- are well represented with the "Chocobo Racers" launched coasters. "Belias," a wooden coaster modeled after one of FFXII's lead characters and guest-built by Kumba, looms over an entrance area masquerading as the main town and market. The far reaches of the park house more character-based coasters- on one side a B&M flyer represents the Viera, a race of willowy female deer-people, and a floating island on the opposite edge of the map is home to a Sky Pirate duel. Cleverly named and themed rides like "Curaga Falls" and the "Quickener" round out the park and add depth, immersing the viewer in the universe of Final Fantasy to the best of In:Cities ability.

There are limits to that ability, though. Ivalice is by no means the greatest technical achievement ever to grace the NE frontpage. While unique, the architectural style is probably not as refined as it could have been. The foliage is questionable at best in parts and the ride design isn't stellar. A floating island obscures a good portion of the corner of the park. The path layout switches abruptly between labyrinthine market paths and long stretches of straight path leading to awkwardly placed lone attractions. While the rides are all brilliantly picked and named, In:Cities hasn't gone nearly as far with stalls or employees. The way encountering "Hot-Dog Stall 1" while marveling at the Viera village absolutely ruins the sense of theme envelopment is like watching a gang shooting unfold while in line for Splash Mountain.

Despite this, Ivalice is still noteworthy for the sheer amount of atmosphere it has carried over from the Final Fantasy games. In:Cities park looks almost exactly like certain locales in the game world, particularly if you've ever played one of the Final Fantasy Tactics series. The Tactics games all take place entirely in the same isometric perspective that the first two RCT games use, so looking through the park is almost as though In:cities has ripped open your GameBoy and stuffed a few rollercoasters in before handily closing it up and handing it back to you, saying "here, try it now!"

Admittedly, if you aren't familiar with the games this will probably just be another park for you. However, one of the strongest arguments for RCT as an artistic medium is that when you open a quality park you gain a sort of insight into the thoughts of the parkmaker. If you know the source material, this release won't be a theme park; it will be a distillation of In:Cities' hundreds of gameplay hours presented for you in a sort of highlight reel. The events and places in the game that most influenced In:Cities' are those that he replicated in the park, allowing you to view through his eyes. If that isn't effective parkmaking, what is? This park won't be for everyone, but hopefully even if you've never played a Final Fantasy game you can appreciate the background integration that makes this park special.