You are a loner; one who is moving to a mysterious land for no apparent
reason whatsoever. You have nothing with you, no one to accompany you,
and no past to speak of. While daydreaming of what awaits you at your
upcoming destination, a mild mannered creature sits in the booth in
front of you. Curious at where this poor creature could be heading to,
the cat named Rover, asks where you are heading. You adequately reply
that you are moving, but have no home to look forward to when you get
there. Shocked by the poor fool’s response, he offers to lend you a
favor in the means of a job. A little inspired, you look forward to a
bizarre land that may offer something unique and intriguing, something
that you have never experienced before.
Welcome to the world of Animal Crossing.
It is definitely a strange title that only the people of Nintendo could
bring to America. It is also as far away from a “real” life simulation
as possible, despite the fact that it plays like one. Borrowing from
similar genre-related titles such as Harvest Moon, this game puts you
in the shoes of someone just trying to make a living. Your mission is
to get situated into a new house of your choosing, get a job going, and
keep the money flowing. Things do not start off easy for you though, as
you come in as a homeless bum. However, help does arrive in the form of
a raccoon. Yes, the odd little mammal named Tom Nook starts you off
with a job to get you situated. As with other titles in the genre,
patience is required to play a game like this, so do not expect action
right off the bat. There is much to do, and even more time to do it,
which brings around a plethora of angles in which to approach this game.
Interactivity abounds, in ways that you will both love and despise.
Unlike past simulations with their own time management system, Animal
Crossing does not have a stop-and-go style. This game has a real time
clock; which means that if it is 12:00 AM on October 12, 2006, then
that is the time on both sides of the coin. It is ever flowing, and you
will see other town members going about their day, doing their own
thing. Though it is fun to stalk your computerized friends for hours on
end, there is a slight problem to this design. Say you have a daytime
job and can only get on at night. Well, you will find that most of your
village pals are asleep and unable to help you put that money in your
pocket. It can be frustrating, especially if you had a set task to do
for that day. So, to sum it up in a simple phrase . . . you need to
have a lot of free time to play Animal Crossing.
With that said, there are some convenient positives about this time
clock. Holidays and special events like Christmas and Halloween all
occur on their respective dates. That way you will be able to do all
the special events of the game without forgetting the day you can play
them. However, that leads you to a new thought, ”Lets see, go out with
my blind date to the Halloween party, or stay home and get that cool
looking jack-o-lantern.” Well, unless you are really desperate for
companionship, park yourself in your room and get that rare collectors
item, just don’t tell anyone.
Speaking of which, the town members themselves make the game what it
truly is. They each have their own personalities, and depending on how
you act toward them, will affect the way they act toward you. One such
way of earning their trust is doing errands for them. You will find
yourself running from house to house trying to return game boys, pieces
of clothing, or missing pieces of furniture. At times you will even
swear that you are some sort of vassal to these slave drivers. Anyway,
while it does not sound very intriguing, it is surprisingly engaging,
pulling you in closer to the virtual community. As you make friends you
will get letters and sometimes invitations to special events. If you
act like a jerk to them they will not talk to you and probably ignore
you most of the time. So, basically how you act will affect the flow of
the game, for better or for worse. From the thought of a large
community, you must be thinking about the implementation of a marriage
system. Well, unfortunately since you are a human surrounded by talking
animals, there is none. Despite this, the town system is effective in
the fact that it is constantly interactive, providing a much more
enjoyable experience.
As you are playing along, you will no doubt be aware of the simple
control scheme going on. Also, the main menu gives you a chance to play
around with a varied amount of options. You have your pack; where you
can carry and hold a certain number of items. There is also the wallet,
which displays how many bells (money) you currently have on you.
However, it is the interchangeable character model system that turns
out to be the most interesting of the features. Using the menu you can
switch your sexy outfits, choose different tools, and select different
items to give or drop. Now if you are familiar with Harvest Moon 64,
then you will be glad to know that you control the main character just
like that. No quibbles or distorted camera motions to speak of either,
which provides a major sigh of relief, as it is usually the antagonist
in this genre.
Yet another option Animal Crossing sports is the handheld to console
connectivity. Connecting the Game Boy Advance with the Gamecube, you
can make design patterns on your clothes, unlock special items, and
even access a new island. The most thrilling element though is the town
song variance system. You can keep the lively little default theme or
even create your own town song. Feeling particularly demiurgic, I put
together a version of “Saria’s Song” from the Ocarina of Time. Ah, you
got to love it. And even if your’ inventive spirit is a little doused;
there are plenty of catchy songs the game provides, that you can use to
make your own customizable theme. There is so much to do here, and the
sheer amount of secrets the game hides is immeasurable.
Suddenly feeling a bit nostalgic?
Well be sure to check out the many classic NES titles hidden within.
Games like Balloon Fighter, Tennis, and Pinball have made great
transitions over to the cube and are a great break from a long day of
errand running. You, of course, have to earn them by finding them in
special shops and events. There are a lot more available old school
games than the ones listed, and all of them provide more of that
delicious, old-school experience. Well, if anything it prevents the
couch potatoes from having to switch systems.
The visuals of the game are dated, seeing as this was originally a 64
bit title; easily noticeable due to the simple environment, blocky
displays, and occasional blurry textures. Alternatively, the sprites
are cute, and the backgrounds blend well with this style, but they just
do not take advantage of the system’s graphical texturing. Going a
little more into character models, there is plenty of expressionism to
be found, and the emotions of the characters are very light hearted and
funny. If a character is sad, he or she will frown, and there will be a
little rain cloud above their head. If you make them happy, they will
laugh, and little "Ha Ha Ha" symbols will circle around their body. It
is just the simple humor and rambunctious critters that increase the
charm and provide a flipside view from the norm.
Improvement definitely occurs in the audio department. Character
discussions involve familiar mumble tones, as the text displays what
they are really saying. The sound effects of the game themselves are
right on as well. Throwing random items in the lake and banging an axe
against a tree all sound like they should. Musically present are some
traditional chimes and, of course, the changeable town song that pops
in here and there when you enter a certain area. As said earlier, there
are plenty of great tunes that come along later in the game, so good
things come to those who wait.
Repetition occurs in all sims and it will come early to some folks,
which is my only small irk. One such example would be the flow of the
game. Since this game is in real time, it can definitely be hard to get
certain items or meet particular people. There is also only so many
times that you will want to fish, do odd jobs, and search for that one
unobtainable treasure. Neighbors will also often bug you with familiar
tasks again and again; providing frustrating moments that will make you
wish you were the only person living there. Though the traditional
reoccurring style of simulations may turn off some folks, there is
still some hope. Using unique codes corresponding to certain items, you
can trade these sequences with people from the Internet. By doing this
you can snag that obscure trinket or hidden piece of furniture you have
been wanting for so long, motivating you to continue along.
At the end of the day, you are exhausted and ready to crash, knowing
you have another engaging day ahead of you. It is bizarre Japanese
style simulating at its finest, and provides enough twists and turns to
keep the “Average Joe” comfortable for a while. There just happens to
be something in simulations that puts you in the shoes of your
character, more so than most role-playing titles do. Take that unique
character creation and put it in an ever moving land, and you have
something remarkable. This distinct world is ever moving, and it is
this factor that can make or break it for those full time workers.
Nevertheless, time is always progressing, and even if you are
constantly occupied in life, your virtual world awaits you on the other
side.
