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What's the big deal over Animal Crossing?

Buy a 3DS and Animal Crossing to my daughter last December ... Try the game for a few minutes .... I have 4 months playing every day for at least 1 hour .. It is so addictive.
 

Dee Dee

Member
When I started it, I made the mistake of entering the actual time. As I'm mostly nocturnal, I ended up having a different experience than what the game intended.
At first it was frustrating.
I never met the Stalk Market Cow.
I always missed the store opening hours.
Villagers are all asleep.

Eventually I adapted, and so did the game.

I made a town order so shops would stay open longer.
The nocturnal villagers loved me, the early birds eventually moved away and made space for more night owls.
I went night fishing for hours, then watched my fishies in the museum aquarium.

You make the game yours - that's the magic of Animal Crossing.
(At least to me.)

I got very different things out of the game, and that's okay. Eventually it became a chore to log on daily to look for fossils, check the shops for new stuff, and make sure everyone still likes me. If you avoid that point, and just make sure to keep playing for fun without intense collector's guilt, I think you'll basically keep playing this game until eternity.
It's beautiful, and the most chill I've ever been playing a game.
 
The way I remember it (Gamecube):

- You get scammed into a purchasing a decrepit home that need serious repairs.
- You lose your crap job and are left with a mortgage to pay and a loaner who jokes about breaking your legs if you don't pay.
- You end in long term unemployment, rummaging through trash for something that can be sold so that you can make a living.


Pretty much real life. Then the nice neighbours leaving and getting replaced by assholes, until the day one of them scammed me out of my money. That day I deleted the savegame and I felt like a god obliterating Sodom and Gomorrah.
 
You get to live in a village with a bunch of happy animal people and chill out and catch bugs and fish and dig up dinosaur bones and furnish a house and god dammit I need one on Switch yesterday.
 
My god people if you are going to quote that long ass comic at least remove it from your quote lol

New Leaf was my first game in the series and it was just so damn relaxing and fun. I played it for months and finally stopped after finishing most of the progression. It's hard to explain why I found it so fun, just couldn't put it down. Really hope we get a title for the Switch.
 

XandBosch

Member
I can't explain it, and I don't think there's anyone who really can in a way that'll make it sound appealing to someone who's never played it.

I remember renting the first one back in the day and bringing it home, and my brother was like "why the hell would you rent this lame-ass game?" - and from the second we tried it, we were both addicted. I can't tell you why, other than to say it's just relaxing, has an addictive gameplay loop, and the real-time-ness of it is pretty unique. It's charming as fuck too, that helps.

You'd just have to try it. The moment you have your little avatar in a town you named and you have neighbours, have little chores to do etc., I'd put money on you (OP) being addicted too. It's not a matter of having a special objective or task, it's a bunch of little things that you can do that revolve around the real world clock. Want to make money fast? Fish. The types of fish you catch (vary in value for selling, etc.) depend on the time of year, time of day, weather, etc. Want to try and catch a super rare fish or bug? Get ready to strap in and be in your town for an evening, because things like Scorpions or Tarantulas aren't easy to catch, but when you do it's so damn fulfilling - and they're worth a ton of bells (in-game currency) too. You can do little mini-games with the animal neighbours, do chores for them, try and find certain things for them, etc. The most addicting thing is using money to expand your house, and collect furniture to make your house your own. You get graded on how well your house is decorated too, but you don't even have to pay attention to that. Hell, you don't have to pay attention to anything I've mentioned and there's still stuff to do.

Every day you "login" to the game there'll be something unique to that day happening. Whether it's a special animal visitor, something dope on sale at the store, a holiday event, whatever. There's always a reason to start playing and they make it hard to miss a day of playing.

My favourite is still the Gamecube version, the atmosphere was especially chilled out (music is a big one on that) and it was simpler - really hoping those rumours of it being on Switch virtual console turn out to be true - I'm certainly excited for a new entry as well though!
 

The Dude

Member
Straight off the bat, I will fully concede to GAF that I have never played any Animal Crossing game. Not a single one. The most I have seen of it at all was the Game Grumps playthrough in 2012 that lasted about 6 episodes. I think I got the general gist of it, that you join this little town where you buy your own house and start living amongst its population of unique and charming characters. It came across as a sort of Sims-lite, but I'm happy to be corrected on that point.

Is that really all it is? Because just going on off hand experience, that feels like it could get boring pretty quickly. What is the one element that keeps people glued to the game? Is there ever any special objective or task that you can or have to do?

Always looked so kiddie to me, just never had interest so I'm with ya.
 
All I play are super-weeb parry-FTW dark fantasy action games like Soulsyouknow and Nioh and I played the mother-fucking shit out of New Leaf.

Kabuki was my boy and to this day I'd still marry Ankha. I bow down before you, oh sassy bitch-face cat queen who lives in a sarcophagus shaped like a cabin.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
 
I played the GCN version a ton back in the day for a good 6-12 months. I'd login at least daily to play around a bit. Eventually I got City Folk for the Wii but was left pretty disappointed. It felt like the exact same game with the addition of the little city you could visit... but that just wasn't enough to renew my interest. I really felt like they dropped the ball on the Wii version which left me relatively uninterested in it going forward.

However, the time I did spend with it was great. It's really just a very chill, relaxing game.
 
I'll put it this way:

Animal Crossing is a game set in a world where you can pay off your mortgage and attain your desired quality of life without needing a soul-crushing job simply by going for a walk and making friends with your neighbors.
 

Eccocid

Member
When i visit my parents who moved to a coastal town near seaside i ifeel like i am in an Animal Crossing game. They both have daily routines about shopping, gardening and doing some handcrafting for decorating the house, visiting other retired people in town etc..

I just realised that AC is a simulation of retired life!
 

wedca

Member
It is really a design/collection game, not a life-sim since your character doesn't have mandated needs. You design your outfits, homes, town, etc. by collecting tons of items. It is funny and charming, lots of memorable characters.

I don't think I'd play it nearly as much without the online component, it was really fun to me to visit other people's towns and have them visit mine. It took a long time to acquire all that furniture but eventually my house was so styling, haha.
 

BiggNife

Member
Animal Crossing is one of those games where for the longest time it bewildered me but one day it finally all clicked

Having a group of friends or a community like gaf playing with you helps immensely. AC is a very social game, and I feel like visiting other towns to play games, trade items, sell turnips, etc adds a lot to the enjoyment.

The other thing is that Animal Crossing is relaxing in a way very few other games are. There's absolutely no pressure to do anything. If you don't want to fish, that's fine! You can dig for fossils instead. Not interested in the turnip market?Cool! No one's forcing you to do it.

It's the perfect game to just unwind and goof off in after a stressful day. It is exceedingly pleasant, and sometimes I just need a little more pleasantness.
 
The town is sparse at first, you have to build it up. Look at some of the dream journal videos on YouTube, people with the time and creativity pull off some amazing work.

As for storage, you can re-but anything from the catalog with the exception of the limited items or stuff you get from coins, which you can store away pretty easily without feeling like you're running out of space.

I'm not saying you played it wrong, but your assessments seem pretty off from my experience.
I checked out some of the dreams myself, and they were super impressive, but I was expecting a stronger foundation. I think I was expecting something more Harvest Moonish.

Also, I don't want to have to rebuy things. Where's the fun in collecting if you can't sort and distribute everything you collect?
 

Qassim

Member
The only Animal Crossing game I've played is New Leaf (3DS), I didn't get it before I bought it and I still don't really know if I get it now - despite spending 50 hours or so in it. It's my most played 3DS game and probably my most played handheld game in the last decade or so, I got really into it and I can't really explain why.
 

Poppy

Member
has anyone been the party ender and mentioned that the moms character was auto sending form letters and random junk gifts because thats how the game works yet

of course, there is meaning in believing what you want
 

Mediking

Member
Very cute game that is very fun and engrossing for when you first start. It's definitely a game you want to have downloaded and not physical so you can easily jump in.
 

Fancolors

Member
It's cute and the game is constantly giving you small tasks for the player. People like cute things and there is an instant sense of gratification for doing them because the characters react positively to your actions.

There's just enough variety on those small jobs for people to get stuck into a cycle of interacting with the villagers, running the town and expanding your collection of goodies. It's kinda like a virtual hug machine that is constantly sayin, "Good job!"
 

ChrisD

Member
Fishing
Decorating your own house
Fishing
Taking care of virtual gardens
Fishing
Catching bugs that alternate throughout the year
Fishing for fish that alternate throughout the year
Hanging with friends in a virtual space while talking over chat programs
Fishing
Crafting your own little world on your handheld
Fishing
Making your own shirts and stuff with freehand tools!
Fishing
 
I was coming off an acid trip the morning Animal Corssing came out on 3DS. Had never played the series but it felt perfect given the circumstances.

Ended up playing the hell out of that game all day and for weeks to come. The only game I've ever regretted selling :(
 

yunbuns

Member
I've only played New Leaf but I grew to really dislike it. It was very repetitive and despite how it's supposed to be simple and relaxing I grew annoyed with the lack of control you had over your town despite being the mayor.
 

Peléo

Member
Wild World is my favourite. So many great memories from that game. The multiplayer aspect was actually really fun.

There are so many small things that make the game brilliant OP. Even activies as imple as gardening are rewarding to do. In City Folk, I was all for harvesting Hybrid Flowers (if you plant flowers from the same type close to each other, there is a chance they will create a rare unique colour not available in shops e.g. Two Red Roses next to each other might originate a Black Rose). Every morning I would wake up, water my flowers and check if I got a new one.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
Peléo;234802102 said:
Wild World is my favourite. So many great memories from that game. The multiplayer aspect was actually really fun.

There are so many small things that make the game brilliant OP. Even activies as imple as gardening are rewarding to do. In City Folk, I was all for harvesting Hybrid Flowers (if you plant flowers from the same type close to each other, there is a chance they will create a rare unique colour not available in shops e.g. Two Red Roses next to each other might originate a Black Rose). Every morning I would wake up, water my flowers and check if I got a new one.

Sounds like you haven't checked out New Leaf. If that's the case, why not?
 

Neiteio

Member
For me, Animal Crossing is ultimately about making your town and home as cool as can be, and about enjoying the chill atmosphere, fun little discoveries, and charming character interactions along the way. It's a game you can dip into for five minutes or five hours and you'll get as much out of it as you put in.

Some of the player-made towns you can tour in the Dream Suite (or whatever it was called) show that the sky's limit in terms of creative design; some towns are absolutely spectacular with their custom-made tile-work creating roads and courtyards, surrounded by intricate gardens and orchards.

But even if you don't create anything nearly as ambitious, it's satisfying just pulling together funding for a new public works project (i.e. bridges, etc), or landscaping one corner of town to yield a steady supply of fruit you can sell for money. Collecting fossils, fish and insects to max out the museum and attract more guests to town is another favorite past-time. It's also worth checking in each day just to see who might've moved in, or moved out, or what merchants or other curious characters might be stopping by — not to mention the special events that might only happen once a year, complete with their own unique rewards.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to the house — fulfilling odd jobs for neighbors and finding treasure to pay off your loan and expand your place with even more rooms to furnish with even more stuff. Lots of potential for self-expression there, too.

It's a nice game to play between other games. They even have features in place now that can keep your town in a relatively tidy state while you're away. :)
 
It's like trimming a bonzai tree.

It's a tiny, manageable task, that engages your mind, but isn't chaotic enough to cause any stress.

It's also a nice escape to a world where being nice to everybody is a key strategy. Even the guys you don't like that much.

And the music is dope as fuck.

I lost interest eventually, because I need some goals/objectives, but the ride was fun for the few months in which I played New Leaf.

I've seen this story many times before but was always confused about the ending. Were the letters and gifts from the person's mom, or the mom charcater in the game?

I'm 100% sure that it's the mom character in-game, and nobody had the heart to let the poor guy know.
 

Piggus

Member
New Leaf got me through a pretty rough time. Just play it, OP. It's one of those games where you can't really describe the appeal. You just just have to experience it for yourself.

A new Animal Crossing on Switch is what I'm looking forward to more than any other potential game on the system. I still don't understand why that studio is wasting their time with Splatoon 2. AC is a perfect fit on the Switch.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Thinking about how animal crossing will get in app dlc shit makes me sick to my stomach.

Thankfully animal crossing gamecube is safe from that shit.

And you can collect nes games.
And gba island connectivity.

Best animal crossing.
 

woopWOOP

Member
Atmopshere is super chill, animal people are cute, it's a nice calm game to relax with.

To be honest the first AC game I played was the Gamecube one and I don't think I got further than a month, shit bored me to tears. Atleast the NES games I got with Action Replay were fun.

I really liked New Leaf for the 3DS tho. That entry also had town customisation options so you could shape your town the way you wanted, well, partly. Online play and dream adresses meant you could easily show off your town and homes to other people. That entertained me enough to play it for a year atleast. In fact, if they drop the mayor aspect in future titles then I'm not sure if I can get into it again...
 
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Plus, it's fun.
 

Metroxed

Member
I only owned Wild Word for DS. It was a cool game, and as others are saying it was mostly about collecting, decorating your house and taking care of the garden. I remember trying to collect all the songs for the radio (you could only get one by talking to a certain character a certain hour on Saturdays). I would always have my DS with me during the New Year countdown to see the fireworks.

I also remember connecting with some friends via wireless, playing hide and seek and stuff like that. Good times.
 

Peléo

Member
Sounds like you haven't checked out New Leaf. If that's the case, why not?

Precisely. Only heard good things about it, but never ended up buying. I think I was a bit burnt out from the series after playing so much Wild World and City Folk. I consider buying it one year ago but by the time I didn't own a 3DS. Now I will wait for the Switch version.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
Peléo;234804730 said:
Precisely. Only heard good things about it, but never ended up buying. I think I was a bit burnt out from the series after playing so much Wild World and City Folk. I consider buying it one year ago but by the time I didn't own a 3DS. Now I will wait for the Switch version.

Oh man, you're missing out. New Leaf makes the rest of the series look downright primitive by comparison. If you've got a friend or family member that can loan you a 2DS or 3DS I'd say check it out; it's only $20 at retail these days.
 
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