A lot of sim games up to this point had been focused in some way on a military campaign and as a result usually had a singular goal: defeat the enemy. Sure the way you controlled your troops would provide some variety, but the objective was always the same.
Pirates! feels like a sibling of Elite, where you set off into the world and do whatever you feel like. There are still things you can accomplish, if you choose to, but you can also set your own tasks and goals which create that "one more turn" dopamine hit that Meier's Civilizations games would go on to refine. This freedom to choose, coupled with a plethora of simple choices you can make about the game's parameters allows each pirate's life to feel unique, and provides a sense of replayability that just didn't exist with the 34th WWII campaign released by SSI.
Pirates! feels like a sibling of Elite, where you set off into the world and do whatever you feel like. There are still things you can accomplish, if you choose to, but you can also set your own tasks and goals which create that "one more turn" dopamine hit that Meier's Civilizations games would go on to refine. This freedom to choose, coupled with a plethora of simple choices you can make about the game's parameters allows each pirate's life to feel unique, and provides a sense of replayability that just didn't exist with the 34th WWII campaign released by SSI.
I am still surprised how well this game works on the NES.
The souls I sent to the briny deep still haunt me now. I'll kill you all again, you dogs!