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GC

North America

Animal Crossing

by Mike Orlando - October 12, 2002, 6:49 pm EDT

8.5

Is Animal Crossing’s addictive nature an acceptable supplement for a relatively hollow gameplay experience? One of the most detailed and comprehensive reviews you’ll find anywhere.

Though the prospect of playing a game where you repeatedly attempt to complete multiple types of monotonous daily tasks doesn’t exactly scream ‘video game concept’, Nintendo decided to walk a route parallel to Natsume and beat a slightly different path. The result was Animal Forest, an N64 title that borrowed and enhanced a few core elements from the unique Harvest Moon series, altered the perspective in relation to the player’s short- and long-term goals, and sprinkled in some trademark Nintendo brand originality and innovation. Nintendo later released a slightly upgraded port for the GameCube, dubbed Animal Forest +, which was mainly inserted into the lineup to help fill a barren release schedule and temporarily spur sales of the console.

Even though Animal Forest + was a very quirky title with seemingly little mass appeal, Nintendo of America eventually decided to bring the title overseas to North American consumers. And what a great decision that was. Though decisive sales info has yet to surface, thus rendering the title’s American conversion continually questionable from a business standpoint, GameCube owners in North America willing to give Animal Crossing a chance will most likely be pleasantly surprised.

Though the previous attempt to sum up Animal Crossing could be viewed as an adequate effort, there truly is no way to describe the game within one sentence, barring the use of the longest run-on sentence ever created. The premise of AC is a simple one: live in a village at your own pace while collecting items at your own pace and (initially) paying off a debt, once again, at your own pace. Players control a human character moving to a small village inhabited by walking and talking animals. On the train ride to the village, you experience the very first encounter of customization in Animal Crossing, as you are asked to give your character and town a name.

Once you arrive at the designated town, you are soon greeted by Tom Nook, one of the few universal characters (more on that later) featured in the game. Tom Nook is the resident shopkeeper, who will offer you one of four very basic, empty houses and a job. The purpose of the job is not only to help you begin paying off the mortgage on your tiny house, but also to orient you with the principals of how the game of Animal Crossing is played. After completing only a few jobs for Nook, you’ll be well acquainted with the basics of item management, communication with your local villagers, and using your bells, which act as the currency in the game. Once you’re through familiarizing yourself with essentials of the game, your employment by Mr. Nook ends, and the small world of Animal Crossing is fully accessible.

Would you prefer to shake some identifiable fruit trees to attain their valuable possessions, or begin speaking to the people who live in your village to find out what they’re like? Does the prospect of buying a shovel and digging any fruit you can find sound prospective, or does the notion of buying a fishing rod and putting it to use sound more profitable? Perhaps you don’t even want to begin paying off your debt to Mr. Nook, and would prefer to catch insects with a net, sell them for profit, and purchase more items for yourself. Animal Crossing gives the player a bevy of choices and decisions, which will leave you ecstatic at the overwhelming amount of freedom you are given within merely the first hour of gameplay.

Unfortunately, Animal Crossing falls quite short when it comes to graphical prowess. As Nintendo wanted a quick port from Animal Forest to boost the GameCube’s performance in Japan, there were very few visual enhancements added to AF+. Thanks to the tremendous amount of text that resides in the game, the team that converted Animal Crossing over to North American undoubtedly spent the majority of their efforts on translating the text into English. As a result, the game practically looks like a very clean and sharp N64 title. Polygonal edges are blatantly visible on practically everything, be it characters, objects, the environment, everything. Additionally, many objects that would normally be modeled using polygons are instead realized as two-dimensional textures. Even if you were to focus purely on the outdoor environment, numerous 2D objects like trees, fruit, fences, seashells, flowers, grass, and more ever apparent to the naked eye.

Yet despite all of the technical shortcomings Animal Crossing showcases, the game is still quite nice to look at. Thanks to a wonderfully distinct art style and a practical approach, AC presents a visually sound package. The majority of objects that aren’t specifically textured with a realistic design are decorated with a basic palette consisting of multiple hues of similar colors. Brown tree trunks, which are layered with light brown and yellow swirls, extend to leaves that have been masked with multiple shades of green. Simple effects like streaks of rain splashing against the ground, shadows pivoting around objects as the day progresses, and the color of trees and grass changing with the seasons really lend to the cozy nature of the game.

Many animations featured within the game are quite pleasing to witness as well. When watching multiple textures overlap and fade in with varying degrees of opacity as the ocean waves meet the beach shore, you will be surprised as to how a simple technique can make for such a pleasing effect. Another great demonstration of a simplistic yet effective visual aid is demonstrated through the village animals that reside in your town. As emotions can quite often be difficult to translate through text, Nintendo has assisted the player by adding small icons or objects above the animals at specific times in order to exhibit said character’s current feelings. Should an animal be depressed, tiny little storm clouds will hover around his head, indicating that they don’t want to talk to anyone at the moment. At other times, you may observe an animal singing to him or herself, an indication that they are in a great mood, and would be more than happy enough to speak to you. The dozen or so of these little identifiers are not only helpful, but they prolong the jovial disposition that Animal Crossing so often conveys.

The diverse cast of villagers you’ll meet also contain a great amount of variety in their design. It’s very possible that you’ll have four types of the same species of animal living in your town at once, and none will look the same in practically any regard. Animal Crossing is truly a mixed bag when it comes to the graphical side of things, as gamers who prefer quirky art styles to technical achievements will grow fond of the game’s imagery, whereas those who can’t look past the pointy objects and rough edged textures will most likely struggle when it comes to appreciating or even adapting to the visuals.

Aurally, the game is once again simplistic in nature, thanks to its N64 heritage. While booming orchestrated scores may not have fit the Animal Crossing universe, the game certainly could have used some advanced instrumental methods. Nearly every song, be it the overworld music (which changes every hour or so), your town jingle, or the collectable music is compromised with the most basic notes imaginable. Fortunately, the majority of songs and jingles are catchy and fit the mood perfectly. Whether you customize your town song so that it plays the Super Mario Brothers theme every hour, or are listening to one of the 52 available songs by K.K. Slider, a musician that appears in your town every Saturday night, there are virtually no songs that will annoy the player.

One of the most subtle, unique effects residing in Animal Crossing is the way voices are portrayed. Considering the massive amount of text that the game offers, looking to voice actors was a non-existent option. Instead, Nintendo has taken the effect used in the Banjo (Kazooie) titles, and applied an odd technique which reproduces multiple prime sounds. For example, if an animal were to use the word ‘skate’, you would most likely hear the phonetic sound of the letter ‘S’ and ‘K’ put together, followed by what would most likely be the literal saying of the letter ‘A’. This is by no means a replacement to voice acting, but it’s quite an ingenious implementation that will go unnoticed by many. Aside from music and the previously mentioned quasi-voice acting technique, the game is littered with sufficient sound effects. Different noises will emit from your shoes depending on what type of ground you’re walking on, doors will creek as they open and close, and so on. The sound gets the basic job done, but similarly to the graphical realm of Animal Crossing, it’s barely adequate for a GameCube title.

As if the similarities between Nintendo’s latest release and Harvest Moon 64 in regards to graphical display and aural offerings were not enough to link the two through comparisons, Animal Crossing’s control further cements it. Players control their self titled character from a raised, isometric view in all situations, be it when dashing next to undersized houses outdoors, or moving around prized possessions indoors. Though every button on the GameCube controller is used at one point or another, the majority of the game is primarily designed around the context sensitive A button, and to a lesser degree, the B button. Players can swing an axe, dig holes, cast a lure, shake trees, talk to people, pull out weeds, decline options, and much more simply by pressing one of the two colored face buttons. The lesser-used gray (face) buttons are primarily used to enter the two main menus featured in the game, which harbor a map of your town and your current inventory, while the shoulder buttons are just used for running.

While there are virtually no problems with Animal Crossing’s control setup (it’s actually quite liberating to not have to hold down the same button for extended periods of time just to move faster), it’s the execution in regards to the menus and text options that quickly become exceedingly cumbersome. Your character can only hold a certain amount of bells before they are forced to place any extra money they receive into one of the fifteen inventory slots. Often times players will find themselves carrying around multiple sacks of money, and when the time comes to add it to your wallet (or deposit it), there is no available function to combine the bags. Instead, you are forced to tediously select each item, grab it, and move it to the desired location one by one. After repeating this wearisome process for the fifth time in one day, it really begins to take its toll on the game’s excitement level.

So now that you know what Animal Crossing feels, sounds, and looks like, you’re most likely curious as to what separates the title from games like Harvest Moon and The Sims. The most original function in the game actually dwells within the GameCube itself, as the title uses the system’s built in clock for many uses. In Animal Crossing, if you are playing the game at 5:12pm, you will be doing activities in your town at 5:12pm. Instead of wasting this innovative element on rudimentary effects such as how bright it is in your village, or other inconsequential aspects, Nintendo has truly taken advantage of the idea and designed the majority of the game around it. For instance, many stores, like Tom Nook’s, are only open during certain times of the day, thus making it mandatory that you play the game within a specific time period if you wish to use their services. Your villagers will have differing sleeping patterns, so you may find one of your horses is in bed (and thus unapproachable) by 9pm, whereas the crocodile that resides in your village will stay up past 3am. Not only does the time play a major role in the game, but the dates are a huge factor as well. Many holidays, such as the upcoming Halloween, are celebrated in the game, and you are often rewarded for playing the game during those specific dates. Whether you’re looking to get a gift on your birthday or for Christmas, or perhaps you just want a special medal for participating in a sporting event or harvesting night, the game offers special perks for playing pretty much every day.

So what is the point to Animal Crossing? While there are numerous tasks and objectives featured within the game, an ending is not one of them. As I touched on earlier, players arrive in their town and begin working off a debt to Tom Nook. Once you pay off your first mortgage, the small house you live in is expanded, and a new mortgage for that expansion appears. After a solid week or so of playing, you will most likely have gone through the four eventual renovations (thus abolishing your debt), filled the town with as many villagers as possible, and completed any other preliminary objectives. While this certainly does not mean the game has nothing left to offer, the only true assignment remaining will be to decorate your house the way you see fit. With what, you ask? Animal Crossing allows you to garnish your house with furniture, wallpaper, and carpeting. And I’m not talking a couple different beds, a few chairs, and maybe a lamp, no. There are literally hundreds of different items to be found in the game, and even after you happen upon your first 300 pieces of furniture, the diversity will continue to overwhelm. Players can decorate their houses with objects like widescreen TVs, statues, totem poles, paintings, and much more. Animal Crossing even has a slew of NES games available for collection, including Excitebike, Donkey Kong, Balloon Fight, and more! While each game takes up one section of room in your house, you’ll definitely find yourself cramming every game you obtain into an unoccupied space.

Thankfully, the game offers multiple methods to attain your imminent décor. While purchasing items from Tom Nook is a process that is available from day one, players can actually receive items from anyone who owns the game without having to go online. By getting another player’s info (town and character name), you can go to Mr. Nook and send a player practically any item by giving that information to the store manager. The game then generates a code based off of the item you’re sending, the town name, and the character name, which you then repeat to whomever you’re sending the item to. This is simply an ingenious idea that has spurred countless gaming boards to create entire sections designated to not only the game, but even to this one feature itself.

But if you’re not one to frequent message boards, a simpler way to receive items is by talking to your fellow villagers. By walking up and speaking to an animal, you can either request a job or leave the conversation open for them to respond (which regularly leads to free items). The jobs themselves are simple, mainly involving you running from one villager to another, and they quickly become tiresome. In fact, that is exactly Animal Crossing’s main hindrance; the actual playing of the game is monotonously dull. Everything about Animal Crossing initially feels refreshing and fun, but after a couple days of doing the exact same things over and over, you find yourself questioning why you’re waking up early to pull out weeds, dig for fossils, plant flowers, and complete all of the other one-dimensional daily errands. Anticipating a festival dubbed ‘Sports Day’ thanks to hearing your villagers tell you how great it will be participating in a tug of war, only to find out that you can do nothing but [b]watch[/b] them have fun is an experience that often portrays Animal Crossing’s key weakness.

Yet despite these (should be) fatal flaws in the game, Animal Crossing remains one of the most original and inventive titles on the GameCube. The plethora of little customizable trinkets and features helps add to the established charm the game offers, and it ends up winning you over. As Animal Crossing allows the player to tailor a multitude of facets of the game, you’ll find yourself creating more than just a town and character name for yourself. First, all towns in the game are randomly generated, so if you were to play your friend’s copy of the game, you’d immediately notice that the placement of many entities in their town, be it rivers or houses, will be drastically different from your own. After chatting with your villagers for a while, you’ll be given the option to offer them a catchphrase. You could technically have your feline neighbor proclaim ‘Xbox rules!’ at the end of each sentence. The game allows the player to edit so many cool things, be it textures (to map onto clothes, umbrellas, signs, wallpaper, and more) or your town jingle, that you really start to enjoy being in your village more, and thus, enjoy playing the game.

Nintendo has also implemented interactivity exterior to the title, which is the Game Boy Advance. By connecting your GBA to the GameCube (using a link cable), a flock of options become available, such as creating textures for free, or playing the aforementioned NES games on the handheld. However, the (arguably) most important feature unlocked with the GBA and link cable is the island that resides in the game. Once the portable system is hooked up, your character is able to take a trip on an island where an animal lives. Once you’ve finished visiting the islander, you can save the island on your GBA and manipulate the character on the GBA’s screen in a Tamagotchi-esque kind of way. Whether you’re getting the animal to dig up your old items and replace them with new ones, catching floating presents with a net, or just feeding it fruit in exchange for money, no title takes advantage of the Game Boy Advance’s link capabilities with the GameCube more than Animal Crossing. Furthering this conclusion, Nintendo has released a device titled the ‘e-Reader’, which connects to the slot in your GBA. Through purchasing cards, players can not only obtain NES games, but also items like furniture, some that will undoubtedly be exclusive to the e-Reader. Like the N64’s Transfer Pak, it’s an expensive little gadget, but it is something that adds even more to Animal Crossing’s innovative nature and replay value.

Finally, if you have a sibling, roommate, or perhaps a parental figure suffering through his or her mid-life crisis, the opportunity for multiple people to live in the same village is there. Up to four players can live in the same village (though they must play one at a time), which will most likely produce some interesting results. You may start playing the game one morning only to find a signboard with a texture of a middle finger propped up right in front of your house. You could retaliate by writing a nasty poem about your sister on the town’s bulletin board for all to see, or perhaps you may feel like sending one of the village animals a letter describing why your mother is a failure, in order to have that animal show her the letter later that evening. While Animal Crossing both encourages and discourages people living in the same town, should the opportunity arise, it’s definitely a unique experience you wouldn’t want to miss.

Animal Crossing is a great game and lends itself to the overused comparison to ‘crack’ more so than any game before. While the game is addictive to no end, it remains addictive while containing very little compelling gameplay or basic substance. Despite not being able to play any mini-games, fight, jump, or do much of anything, the urge to play each day so that you might happen upon a rare item that a friend doesn’t have remains as vibrant as ever. As shallow and unappealing wading through text just to collect virtual furniture may sound, it’s an overall enjoyable experience. Should Nintendo have created a game using the very basic mechanics and design of the title, it most definitely would have resulted in an absurdly boring creation, but thanks to the diversity, originality, and charm featured in Animal Crossing, the game will have many coming back for more every single day and enjoying every moment.

Score

Graphics Sound Control Gameplay Lastability Final
7 6.5 7 7 9 8.5
Graphics
7

Animal Crossing looks like a slightly enhanced N64 game, because it is. Some will look at the beautiful art style and adore its beauty, while others won’t be able to look past the blocky models and rough textures. It’s very subjective.

Sound
6.5

Just like its graphical characteristics, the game’s audio was implemented on older hardware, and since it hasn’t been reworked for a system with infinitely better audio capabilities, the music suffers. Thankfully the incredible amount of original songs and the dozen or so overworld themes add to the title’s attractive vibe.

Control
7

While controlling the character and executing his respective actions is simply well done, the multiple menu systems really need more work. Whether you’re forced to type out dozens of words one letter at a time or select five different presents from five different letters individually, there’s a lot of time wasted in the menus.

Gameplay
7

Animal Crossing’s core gameplay is, simply put, very tedious. When dribbling a soccer ball from one point of the town to another features more action than the past few hours of playtime combined, you know something’s wrong. However, the game's addictive nature negates many of these damaging characteristics. Other small facets, such as the emulated NES games and interactivity with other players, help contribute to an overall enjoyable experience.

Lastability
9

While you may eventually often find yourself playing the title for merely twenty minutes a day, Animal Crossing offers very long-term appeal that will keep you playing for months, if not years. If you don’t check back on your town every day, weeds will start growing, you’ll miss out on buried treasure, and villagers will begin moving away. If you don’t play for a few weeks, your town will grow even more bare, and you may miss important holidays. If the addictive nature of the game itself isn’t enough to draw you in, updates in the form of cards are available for those who own an e-Reader.

Final
8.5

Despite earning merely acceptable marks in 4 of the 5 categories, Animal Crossing is still one of the best games I’ve played in years. It’s the kind of title that perfectly compliments action games like Super Mario Sunshine or Star Fox Adventures, something many hold in high regard. The game is riddled with classic NES games, a trading feature that you’d swear would need a modem, numerous events and celebrations exclusive to certain days and times, and much more. Animal Crossing is a combination of multiple inventive concepts merged together successfully, which not only makes for a great achievement, but more importantly, a great game.

Summary

Pros
  • A certain allure that will allow you to look past the dated graphics and sound
  • A unique game like no other on the system that will hook you in and won’t let go
  • Takes advantage of the GBA-GC connection like none other
  • Tremendous replay value thanks in part to the built-in clock
Cons
  • Actual gameplay offers very little
  • Menu systems are incredibly tedious and partially poorly designed
  • Visuals and sound are technically sub-par for the a GameCube game
Review Page 2: Conclusion

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Genre Simulation
Developer Nintendo
Players1 - 4

Worldwide Releases

na: Animal Crossing
Release Sep 15, 2002
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Doubutsu no Mori Plus
Release Dec 14, 2001
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: Animal Crossing
Release Sep 24, 2004
PublisherNintendo
Rating3+
aus: Animal Crossing
Release Oct 17, 2003
PublisherNintendo
RatingGeneral

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