Preview: Animal Crossing
Posted 05 Nov 2002 at 08:37 by Javid
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If ever a game was to be focused on game play more than anything else, it would be this, Animal Crossing from a master of gaming at Nintendo, Takashi Tezuka. You have only to look back a mere short time to see such incredibly innovative titles from Nintendo such as Luigis Mansion and Pikmin to realise that game play is where the key to gaming is, and Nintendo and this man right here hold the key. The whole point of this is to try and shed some light on this marvel and to give you an insight into just some of the things you can do. Although I haven't played the game, I hope to help you vision how you will relate to this game as you will find out later on.
The game was released in Japan in December '01 for the 'Cube and previously on the n64 before then. Despite the game being almost an exact port of the n64 version, the game has sold bucket loads already and looks set to make its mark on the American scene very soon to spread the joy. Those of you who are already familiar with the game will realise it has had a name change from Animal Forest in the land of the rising sun, to Animal Crossing for us Europeans and Americans. 'Animal Crossing' is believed to be the name of the village in which you live in. What I hope to show you is that this game is soon to be a big part of your lives, and no I'm not being corny, I'm being serious!! This game will take chunks out of your life as you play through what will soon become your 'second' life. Add an interesting GBA-GC link up option as well, and you're set to reach into this 'communication' game that will both involve and amaze you. First off, the basics of the whole thing:
Right at the start of the game you will be greeted by a singing dog called Totakeke playing guitar. Strange? Yes, but enjoyable all the same. Basically, you are a cutesy character in a forest of other cute animals. You have no money, no house and no job. Damn. But don't worry, soon after you start your life here, a very friendly, erm racoon called Tanuki will approach you and be very willing to lend you a bit cash, nice of him!
However, generosity has a price; you didn't think he was going to let you have free money did you? With his money you can buy yourself a nice little house, well a hut anyway. So, now you have somewhere to live and a bit of money, wow, you're doing great and you haven't done anything yet! Well, not quite, now you have to pay the racoon back, but he is also willing to give you odd jobs to do for him in which he will pay towards your debt to him. His money won't be enough to get you on your feet though, so you will have to find alternative ways of finding and earning money to pay off the loan. Once paid off, you can start saving your hard earned notes in the local post office, and eventually you will be able to take out a bigger loan and purchase yourself a more upgraded and all round better house.
Good old Tanuki is always on hand to give you little jobs as well as to try and sell you furniture as well as other little extras. Already you can see how this game resembles life that we live, yet it's a lot more fun and exciting as you progress and become more successful in life, but this is just the simple ropes of it all.
From here, where you have a better house, a bit of cash and a zest for life in the village, you can start to have some more fun, whether that be decorating your house or just getting down to some pure recreation, or both! .You can do whatever you want, (within the bounds of your disposable income that is), you can fish, dig, socialise and even play these classic NES titles! - Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr Math, Donkey Kong 3, Tennis, Baseball, Ice Climber, Pinball, Golf, Clu Clu Land, and Balloon Fight.
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Of course you will need to buy the console first, or not as the case may seem. You see the thing with this game is that it is based on 'communication'; you can talk to absolutely everyone in the forest, and by doing so you will create actual relationships with them, be them friends or enemies. This is basically done through your replies to their questions and your general responses towards them. Hit them with a fishing rod all the time and they will soon hate you and spread the word, but be nice and friendly then you'll soon be the guy everyone loves. How is this going to bag you a NES though? Well, the game is intriguingly based on a real time, built in clock within the GameCube itself, you set the time and date the first time you play, and if you are clever enough to tell your neighbours and inhabitants of your birth date, you will be sure to find some special little pressies at your door come your birthday, maybe even a NES! If you are not so lucky to receive the NES, it will surely be delivered to your mailbox come Christmas, don't worry! How cool.
It's these little touches that will make the game so involving and absorbing to you, and it will help you feel as if you are actually living this life as you set it to resemble your own. The whole clock setting thing is quite possibly the heart and soul of the games ingenuity, it means you will experience day, night, spring, summer, autumn and winter. It all really portrays life in a nutshell. In spring, showers will drizzle down, in summer the sun will blaze in all its glory, in autumn the trees leaves will descend and collect on the ground and in winter, yes, it will snow! It's the first ever game that has actually tried to do something as inventive as this. The game should be localized to its released location though, hopefully having the necessary season changes for Australia, holidays and such It's not only the scenery that will change though, attitudes of people and events will occur depending on the time of day and year, there's always something new happening. Obviously if you decide to play at about 1am, your friends will be tucked tightly in bed, fast asleep, but other than that, they are always about getting up to something and you should expect to see festivals, celebrations and parties going on throughout the year. I'm sure you will all look forward to the Christmas celebrations, and hopefully the game will help you enjoy the 'real' life Christmas that little bit more and possibly make it feel more special in a way. What other game can say that eh?!
Of course, with the game resembling life, you will need to earn your money to enjoy more pleasurable events and to spend on more improved and desired items. This isn't a dull and dreary thing though, after all this is a game, working is fun, and as a result the extra cash you have in your pocket can mean many, many things. Maybe you will want to buy yourself a radio, a CD player, a TV all of which you can enjoy in your lovely house, which you will no doubt be wanting to re-design and decorate after you see what it starts out to look like! Depending on how you feel, you can either buy some furniture, or for the more risky ones amongst you, maybe you can find a way to steal it!
If you can locate the Rubbish Dumps, you will be able to find all kinds of goodies left by your neighbours. It scavenging, but it's a tough life! What you find there will vary from clothes, wallpaper, you may even be lucky enough to find something more valuable, but furniture is sure to be lying around after a while. Other items you don't want can then be sold to Tanuki, ha-ha, sucker. The game simply plans to allow freedom as to what you want to do.
Another little event so far experienced is the chance to get your name put up in a museum. I see you are gazed with excitement already, but don't knock it, it may sound a little dull on paper but to do it will surely feel good. It happens like this: You can either donate simple things like bugs and the like that you catch in your spare time to them, but that's hardly going to cause a stir in the museum, they want something rarer, say some fossils. If you dig around a little you may be lucky enough to find some fossils, but dirty scabby fossils wont be accepted, so you'll have to clean it up a bit. The good old curator of the museum will be sure to examine the fossil for you, and he will no doubt get excited about your special find. The museum will clean up your rocks if you send it to them by post which, after a few days will arrive in your mailbox nice and shiny. You can be selfish and keep them for yourself in your house or you can re-visit the museum and donate it to them to put on show.
Delighted with your generosity, they will display your find and put a lovely little plaque with your name on under it. It may not sound riveting now, but I'm sure that once that is your name in the museum, you will feel just a tad proud of yourself. Events like this that you perform are very momentous, that task there will take a few days in the game, and likewise for you in real life. Whether you feel that is a good thing or not is entirely up to you, but it sure is amazing to feel this resemblance with time occurring in the game. Of course this is just the icing on what is sure to be an enormous delight, filled with many, many more of these tasks and events for you to indulge in.
The game does allow you to have four houses in the game in the same village so you and your family can all enjoy the game, and communicate with each other through the game. You can send each other letters and even exchange goods. You character will be saved onto a Memory card in which all your items and money will be saved onto. You can visit these other houses and see what they have been getting up to, better yet, take your memory card to a friend's house and take a look around their village! Here you will most likely find rare goodies not found in your village as well as meet and greet you friend's character and the animals living there. This all adds to the 'communication' type style of the game and is a very welcome feature, plus the items you find there can be transferred on to your memory card and back to your own village. You little thief!
Of course, what I have revealed to you is barely a patch on what the game offers. Multiple tasks like these are sure to be found popping up all over the place in a Nintendo masterpiece such as this. Be sure to be participating in many more strings of events like this, and expect the whole socialising element of the game to take large time lapses from your day. Imagine the feel you have from just reading about it, to actually doing it. Fun is an understatement!
Yes, this wondrous game also links to your sweet little GBA. It is an encouraging bonus if you have a GBA, and the good thing is it isn't necessary to have the game for your GBA. What this basically does is open up the world in which you can explore. Once your GBA is connected to the Cube, head down south in the great little village to find a harbour. Switch on your GBA and a toad, (no not the Toad we all know and love!) but a toad called Kappei will appear out of thin air. He will let you use his rickety old boat to sail across to an island, which you yourself can actually name. Nice of him isn't it, though you will want to smack him as the boat ride will take a while, and he will sing, oh how he will sing!
Once on your island you are free to explore wherever the wind may take you, only on the island that is. Apparently, there isn't much to do here, apart from maybe changing the islands flag, checking out you second home and shaking a load of trees to find fruit called Kumquats. This fruit will be of value to you though back at the village. There is one inhabitant on this island however, a blue little bird called Michiru. He doesn't do much though, you can have a little chat with him, but that's about it. Boredom is sure to arise here, and no doubt you will be trekking off back to Kappei and his boat, but don't get disheartened yet, tell Kappei that you want to continue play on the GBA and more things to do open up.
The island will be re-created on your diddy GBA after a small time of downloading, and it will look pretty impressive too. That bird Michiru will now actually play with you becoming your 'virtual pet' if you will. Get his attention with the cursor, guide him to a tree and he will knock out some more delicious fruit for you, the crazy animal that he is. His 'mood' will vary from what you do with him, making him attack trees makes him very happy, and when you decide to leave the GBA island, his 'mood' will mimic itself in the GameCube game. When you make the little bird happy, he will drop money bags for you. Nice doing business with you little dude! If you direct him to eat tropical fruit not familiar or native with this island, the money bags he drops will be significantly larger. Strangely, items or fruit will 'float' over the island, and though you can control the bird to an extent, he has got a will of his own, and it will be your task to get his attention diverted to the floating item to grasp its goodies before it floats over.
Another feature the GBA expands for you is the ability to design and create clothes and other textures that can be used and placed in your house, on the floor, on the wall, on signs, basically anywhere you wish on the GameCube game. Visit the hedgehogs known as the Abele Sisters with your GBA plugged in and switched on, and they will allow you to design your own clothes and the like on a nifty little art programme. A very nice touch, the only downfall is that you have to buy the product you make off them. The cheek! Your GBA can hold 8 slots worth of 16 colour, 32x32 bit resolution textures; these will be saved on your GBA with no cart required. However, turn off the GBA before downloading your creations to the Cube game, and they will be lost. Not a nice thought, though Nintendo do plan to release a small RAM chip for the GBA which will be able to save your well created products and generally make things a lot more convenient.
Love those NES titles mentioned above? Well quite amazingly these can be played back on your GBA! They will be saved onto the GBAs flash memory, again which will be lost once the GBA is turned off, but it's a tantalising thought to be playing these games on the hand-held wonder non-the-less.
That pretty much sums up what the GBA connection can offer, but don't count this down as all you can do as there may well be other surprises that Nintendo hasn't revealed yet, though don't get your hopes up too high.
You may have seen this, if not it's basically an add-on to the GBA which can read data on swipe cards. Sometime in the future you will be able to buy these little cards specifically designed for the e-card reader for Animal Crossing which when used will provide all sorts of specials that we have come to expect from Nintendo. Things like special furniture, characters, accessories, clothes and other neat textures will become available through these cards. 'Nintendo difference'? I think so.
Animal Crossing isn't going to win any awards for graphical splendour. You could say it looks rather shabby, but that would be a bit harsh. What it does have is very cute and colourful animation and lively environments. It is barely an improvement on the graphics for the original N64 game only released in Japan. Do you care? Should we care? Not really. The way it looks is hardly going to influence or degrade the experience that the game offers game play wise. It's that simple. If you pride yourself only on games graphics then you should be appalled by your narrow mind.
What is good about Animal Crossings graphics though is the smooth frame rate of 60fps. This will account for trees falling when cut down for example, it will all occur smoothly and efficiently. It will no doubt go highly unappreciated, but it's something that we should acknowledge for sure. I'll leave it to the man in the know to tell you what he thinks of this; “The realistic thing with Animal Crossing is that you feel like you are in a real world. The main theme throughout development was that I wanted this game to feel real, not look real.” Well said Takashi!
Since being released in Japan it has sold unbelievably well. Only good things have been said about the inventive and original nature of the game and the anticipation is noticeably rising. The GBA connectivity sure has people excited but the real time experience has caused most of the stir. It sure is a game that desires and deserves attention, and by sure it is getting it already. Being the only ever game of its style, its ingenuity means the attention is greatly earned.
Unfortunately, being such a relaxed and un-demanding style of game, some of you will soon tire and find the game getting dusty in its box. This may be a little extreme and too harsh an opinion by me but how you relate and enjoy this game totally depends on your attitude.
Animal Crossing holds no goal, there is no end, whilst this will be the games peak for so many of you, if will surely be the downfall for others. No goal means no point in playing to some and it reduces the games pull factor. Why bother playing this when you can play something more exciting or more adventurous? I am not taking a dig at the game as I am totally hyped for it and can't wait for its release. I am trying to help you envision how you will take to the game.
There are 2 paths so to say as to how you will take to the game. Do you have a lot of spare time on your hands? If not, then you will quite possibly race down the path of critically abandoning the game at an early stage. A very disappointing prospect as there will be so much that you will miss out on. The other path consists of you enjoying the game through all of its aspects and ending up with an enticing experience that has the potential to last a very, very long time, quite possibly holding the longest longevity ever seen offered by a game. It's up to you. I expect the game to deliver what it promises, and it certainly offers more than any other game ever has and at an original level to say the least.
So, it comes down to your decision. What we have on its way is an incredibly innovative, inventive, ingenious and a down right beautifully created game with interesting GBA link up extras. It could last forever, but it could last but a few days. I hope I haven't scared you off by warning you of this, but it needs to be said. However, if you feel that you are one that wont have that much time to play or the drive to play it, don't get too down on the game yet. The great thing about it is that some time along the line you will pick the game back up to see how things have evolved over time and especially to see the changes through the seasons. In particular you may notice if you have neglected the game then cockroaches and all sorts of bugs will have spawned in your house. Ewww…your fault for leaving it!
The most likely scenario though is somewhere between the paths I described, and this way I believe the game is very much deserving of your money. It will be worth it, that's for sure. Takashi has got another special title under the name of Nintendo just waiting to make its way to our shores. The game is set to be released in America some time in September this year. Hotly anticipated, this game should have you very excited, and hopefully it will be out here as soon as possible. Be prepared.
© Copyright 2002 by GameCube Europe
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