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Animal Crossing returns with a vengance!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 554 / 583
Date: December 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Animal Crossing was always a sleeper hit on the gamecube. I hope you at least know about it, but the premise is simple: you're moving into a new town inhabited by animals. You have no money, and get a new place with a hefty mortgage. Now that you have shelter, you have to live life by exploring your town.

How you do that is up to you. You can run errands for your animal friends, communicate with them by way of post, fish, catch bugs, shop for furniture, spend hours creating your own outfits or wallpapers, find/buy them, meet the random guests who show up in your town, work on landscaping, collect fossils and other pieces for a museum, it just never seems to end.

Does this sound boring to you? Well, then, maybe this game isn't for you. It's slower than most games, and meant to be played maybe half an hour a day once you get in the groove of things. There's no action, just a lot of talking and exploring the ins and outs of this complex little game from nintendo. So consider yourself forewarned, but also know that this is a fan-favorite for a reason. If you approach with an open mind, you could easily be just as hooked as the massive fan base.

Wild World, the DS update of the Gamecube original, takes this premise and expands upon it to create a similar but richer experience. The town is basically the same, but the animals have been revamped to be smarter, more complex, and new types are available in your town. The items are changed to include a larger number, with some similar ones and some completely new ones. Storage in your house has increased, and you can make your house much bigger than the original.

In addition, you can now have hats and accessories to alter your character beyond the simple clothing. There's even a barber shop at Nooks (the town store) that you can eventually unlock.

In terms of multiplayer, now if more than one person lives in the town, they will share the same house with separate beds, and each will split the mortgage on the house. The increased storage space per character (up to 96 items of storage) helps keep this from causing too much clutter, and it increases the cooperation aspect. Cooperation and communication have always been the main point of Animal Crossing, and now with Wild World, it becomes even more important.

With the stylus, typing messages is much easier and faster than selecting letters by moving the cursor with the analog stick in the gamecube version. Designing fabrics is now just a matter of drawing them, easier and more intuitive than in the original. In fact, the whole game can be controlled easily with the stylus, making for a more fluid and intuitive experience.

One of the biggest additions is the online aspect. Yes, Wild World is online via NIntendo's WiFi connection, just like Mario Kart. Animal Crossing is a bit more limited in that you need to have friend codes to go online, but it isn't hard to find these on any video game board (nintendo runs their own forums that do this, though I'd suggest GameFAQs.com or one of the many specialty Animal Crossing sites). This allows you to go to their town, and you go to theirs, and even interact together on the same screen. It's much bigger and more ambitious, especially if you know plenty of people with the game. While the idea of friend codes might be limiting, it keeps you from having random malicious gamers run in and ruin your town, helping you control the flow of visitors into your town in a respectful way.

The complaints that the previous reviews seem to have are about the holidays being changed. I don't see why this is an issue? This has become a worldwide game, and it would be impossible to include all the major world holidays, and so instead of making the game based on Japanese holidays (which might be expected) or American ones (which would have no point) Nintendo decided to give the world a universal set of unique holidays that would make sense to people in Australia or Korea or Russia or Germany just as much as it would the people here. It's a pretty narrow view to think that the whole world would enjoy a Christmas or Thanksgiving themed day and items when they might not even fully grasp the concept of the holiday. This is a more mature, wider-reaching game, and requires those changes to make it accessable to the world-wide audience.

Simply-put, Animal Crossing Wild World is a vast improvement on the first game, if only because of the stylus control. But with all the new features, it's the kind of game that will encourage you to play it every day for a year or more, growing more and more involved with it. It's worth a look at, to see if it's for you. If it is, you won't be disappointed.

Great Immersive Gameplay for All Ages

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 196 / 206
Date: January 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'm a huge fan of the original Animal Crossing game. It's like a Sims game, but with more of an anime / fun style to it. Animal Crossing Wild World takes the same fun on your handheld.

You're playing on a relatively small town map, so it's really easy to get to know where all of the residents' houses are located. You start with just 3 residents, and new ones join in slowly. Each resident is a different kind of animal, with a name, personality, likes, dislikes and more.

As the game progresses, they give you presents, you write them letters, you trade compliments and they really do begin to seem like friends. But this is only the beginning. You set up a whole trade system with the local shop. You can buy and sell turnips on the "stalk market", learning to time your trades to make the most money. You can harvest the local tree fruit and sell that. You can go fishing and either donate the fish to the local aquarium or sell the extras.

You can design a town song that plays in the background, design your own clothing, even breed new types of flowers. You can learn songs from the local guitar player, look at the constellations in the sky, and much more. The game is incredibly immersive, and is just as much fun if you only have say 1/2 hr a day to play while you're riding the bus. That's plenty of time to catch up with your virtual friends and keep the town tidy.

The wi-fi capabilities are neat if you have online friends - as long as you give your secret code, you can visit each other. That of course is critical - the last thing you'd want is some unwelcome visitor able to leap into your town and chop down your trees!

I do have some complaints with the game. First, I do think the day-night cycle is neat, that it's timed with your actual clock. However, I am a night owl. I work very hard in the day and the only time I have to play is in the early morning hours, say 2am - 5am. The stores and everything are closed in the game!! I finally had to actually change my DS clock to be able to sell some stuff but I *hate* having to do that. Why couldn't the store have a "night shift" so that those of us who are night owls could still enjoy the game?

Also, some of the conversation gets redundant. You have to sit through certain greetings - say at the store - every single time. Surely they could either think of something new to say or just let me get about my business. Also, when I am dropping off full loads at the store, it'd be REALLY nice to have a "select all" button instead of having to drag every single little thing one by one.

Still, those are relatively minor complaints with the game. It is really quite relaxing and fun, and since you customize your little world by planting flowers, decorating your home, thinking up nicknames and quotes and even designing your own clothes, it is just so "comfy" to be there. There are tons of little touches that add great delight to the game. If you drop a rose on yourself, you carry it around in your teeth :)

Highly recommended!

Animal Crossing: Wild World

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 49 / 49
Date: June 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First of all, if you haven't heard of this game, you have been missing out on one of the most interesting and fun gaming experiences of all time!

Animal Crossing is a game with a unique plot. That is to say, no plot. But, surprisingly, that is a good thing. A VERY good thing! It gives you a lot of free reign. Basically, it's a 'Slice of Life'. Okay, enough with my ramblings (I'm boring you, aren't I?)

When you first start the game, you are in a taxi. It's a rainy day, and the taxi driver, (a turtle/kappa named Kapp'n) is asking you questions. First, he asks your name, and where you're going. (You don't have a preset name or anything, you make it up!)

Then, when the annoy turtle stops talking, the sky clears up, and you begin your new life in town! But before long, you discover that your new house comes with a price. 19,000 bells! (bells are the currency) In order to help pay off your huge debt, you must work for the racoon Tom Nook.

As you have (hopefully) noticed, you aret he only human. The rest of the townsfolk are animals!And so, your new life officially begins! You can chat the day away with your animal neighbors, buy hats and other attire at the local clothing shop, buy furniture for your home at Tom Nook's store, go fishing, bug catching, UFO-hunting (No, seriously. There are UFO's in the game. Their driven by a seagull named Gulliver)

There are so many things in this game, it's IMPOSSIBLE to get bored! Not to mention Holidays, Wishing Stars to...er...wish upon, Fishing Tournies, Bug Hunting Competitions too!

The best part of this game are the townsfolk, in my opinion. There's an ENOURMOUS variety of animals that come and go. Some you'll really get attached too, and other you'll be begging tha they leave! For example, Two of my favorite neighbors, Alice the Koala, and Marina the Octopus moved away. I miss them. I also have two annoyign neighbors, an annoyign squirrel who's name I dare not remember, and a moody oenguin name Hopper!

You can write letters to villagers, and even become best friends. Once, I had a very funny coversation with Marina the Octopus

Marina: You know, latwly I've really been getting into seafood. That's a bit odd, considering I AM seafood...

Animal Crossing: Wild World will never fail to surprise you! The graohics are a HUGE step up from the Gamecube version. But the music, I wish was the same as the Gamecube's.

Well, there's so much about Animal Crossing: Wild World, I can't posible list it all. So, buy this game and expirience the most charming expetience you've ever seen! Thank you.

PS: In Japan, an Animal Crossing Anime Movie is being made! Hooray!

Enjoyable for all, a must have for Animal Crossing Fans, not without flaws

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 35 / 46
Date: December 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It's really hard to say how much I will like this new Animal Crossing until a year or so has gone by, as that's the nature of the game---you have to live in it as you would live in your own life to really know it! However, since a lot of people might be thinking about whether or not to get this for Christmas, I thought I'd give my early impressions!

This version of AC is a lot like the Gamecube version--with a very similar beginning---work for Nook for a while, pay off your house, etc. Even the dollar amounts are the same. The animals at least in my town are new to me, but along the same lines of the old animals! The main differences are the controls--it's SO much easier to walk around with the DS, and to fish and especiall to design clothes. However, the small screen is annoying to me in that I can design some great outfit and then you can barely see it on your character, as they are so darn small! I wish the upper screen was used much more, as it would be fun to see things enlarged there, or to have it give more extra information.

The wireless connectivity aspect of the game appeared to me, but I haven't yet been able to get it to work---I do have wireless internet, but the DS seems to be having trouble getting a good enough signal. I do think I'll work that out, but you have to know a friend code to use this feature---you can't just look around randomly for towns to visit. I don't know that many other people (especially my age!) into AC, so I don't know how that will work! I did do a DS to DS connection with my son's town, and that was fairly fun.

For big AC fans, it's just so exciting to have a new game to play! I'm not sure this will grab that many new fans, though. The bigger screen of the Gamecube seemed more suited for the game to me. I'm not complaining about the game---I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a non-violent, fairly educational (lots of reading and writing) and fun game for their kids, and for anyone who loved the original!

Animal Crossing was MADE for the Handheld

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 21
Date: December 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

On the Gamecube, Animal Crossing was a hit. It was addictive, different, and a game that anyone could get into. Despite how grand it was on the Gamecube, you just couldn't help but admit the console was not a place for a game like Animal Crossing. Well, Nintendo obviously knew it because they released it on the DS. This isn't a port. It's more of a revamp of what Animal Crossing really is. And with it being taken on the go, it's just all out better that way.

You begin the game as a human talking with Kapp'n. He'll ask you a series of questions and depending on how you answer them determines what you'll look like. As a human you've just moved to this new little town. Kapp'n has helped you find a place of your own, and now you have to do what you can to repay him. You'll be given several job tasks that you can do for this, and they'll all earn you lots of money in the long run.

The task you can do are simple little task. You're able to catch fish, run errands for townfolk and dig up fossils. No different than what you did in the Gamecube version. In these task there aren't very many changes. The only noteable change is how much easier it is to identify fossils. Other than that, the only other difference is the abundance of these items.

The new task in Wild World aren't much. You now you can maintain a garden and shoot floating presents out of the sky with a slingshot. They're not very satisfying, and just don't make you feel like you're getting much of anything done like the other task do.

Of course, no one plays Animal Crossing just to do those mundane tasks for nothing. Aside from paying back your debt to Kapp'n and other debts that'll come along, you can go to the shop and buy items to pimp out your house! This is, believe it or not, the most exciting feature in Animal Crossing. It's fun to show your friends what your house is sporting. It gives you bragging rights, and the items sold in the shops change daily, meaning you'll check in constantly.

There's more to its complexity. The game uses the DS's internal clock to move about in real time. And yes, it does recognize holidays, and therefore a theme comes from them. Every Saturday there is also a flea market where you can pick up lots of goodies for your house. Again, this is what makes Animal Crossing work.

One disappointment I did have with the game... no NES goodness. One of the funnest parts of the original on Gamecube was buying an NES and playing classic games right on the spot. You can't do that here and that's pretty sad.

Like any simulator type of game, Animal Crossing has an array of characters to talk with. It's nice to see that when you talk to other characters they don't say the same old mundane and boring things over and over. They always have something else to say, and at times it's funny. And just like real life, people will move in and out of town constantly. This adds a lot to the game's value as far as being a different experience each and every time. The game, for the most part, never gets old.

Despite how fun Animal Crossing is, it's a game that should only be played in small sips. This is because of the day to day basis in it. It's a pain sometimes, but it also makes sure you check back everyday. This was what killed the Gamecube version of the game. You had to load up a game everyday and check on your town. If you left the game unattended for too long, your town began to decay and look less appealing, becoming clustered with weeds and the like. This alone, made the Gamecube version frustrating, and is why it is better suited for a handheld than anything else. Since you can carry your DS with you whereever you go, you can also load it up on the go daily and take care of your daily task. Say you go to a friends house... take your DS. This is much better than picking up your Gamecube and going (if your friend didn't have one).

The game does have touch screen controls. You can guide your character and whatnot, but it's a whole lot easier to use the D-Pad for that kind of stuff. It makes writing letters easier, but for other tasks like fishing and gardening, the touch screen will slow you down more than anything. It's not really a waste of what the touch screen could do. It's just not easy to use the touch screen.

Multiplayer in Wild World is a little different. You can still hook up with up to four people and do the methodology from the first game. You'll just be sharing the debt in the same house this time. Likewise, you can use the wireless DS capability to visit a friends town. You can also go online with Nintendo wi-fi and visit someone's town. It is kind of strange that all the residents will go indoors though. You can easily find them and everything, but the atmosphere just feels weird.

Going online sounds like a lot of fun--and it can be--but there are ridiculous restrictions. For one, you have to have a friend code in order to visit their town. You can't just walk in and explore anyone's town. This is great for keeping out jerks and the people who like to do nothing but flame you online, but it also sucks because it adds no real innovation. It limits you severely. Why not just create a feature where you can ban those jerks? The only interesting thing you can do is the message in a bottle in tag mode. You write a letter or something and put it in a bottle. The next time your friend is in tag mode, the message will wash up on shore. It almost feels like forwarding emails or something to a friend, but it has its moments.

Another bit that plagued the Gamecube verison of Animal Crossing were the graphics. They were not up to the standard of the Gamecube, and looked like a reject N64 title. For the Gamecube the graphics aren't acceptable. For the Nintendo DS? They look fantastic. Characters still maintain that cartoony look, and the game still runs very well. The music is nothing to get excited about, but it works.

Yes, Animal Crossing was made for the handheld. If you've spent mad hours with it on the Gamecube, get it on the DS and spend mad hours with it again.

The Good
+Animal Crossing belongs on the handheld
+Addictive Gameplay
+Brings back what made the Gamecube version good
+More of those same Gamecube items in abundance
+I'll just say it here, it's fun to pimp out your house
+The graphics are great on the DS
+Online Play

The Bad
-Online play isn't as extraordinary as they could be
-The touch screen controls aren't good
-The new tasks are nothing to get excited about
-The music isn't much to get excited about either

Wow..

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 20
Date: December 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is superb, i just got it on wednesday, but i love it so far! All the animals have brand-new dialauge, which is VERY funny. Once you get through the hassle with freind codes, the wifi rocks too... Your house starts out with 2 floors, but you cant place anything on the top floor, gona are the NES games. The graphics and their style i think are better then the GC's
instead of the animals tasks being like "deliver this, return that, deliver this and so on" instead they have tasks more specific to their personalitys, for some girls its all about clothes, some boys its working out or fishing and so on, the dialauge is well written and funny (unlike this review) and ever wonder what goes on when animals are having a conversation and perhaps one walks away really angry or happy? well now you can listen in, and somrtimes theyll ask you to contribute so you can have a 3 way discussion. Its a very fun game, you can play it in a quick short burst, or for 3 hours in a row..whatever you prefer (no these arent like perset things..im just giving examples....) so i would highly recommend this game here is overall
Graphics compared to other games 3/10 for an animal crossing game 10/10
Sound (what can you expect, HELLOOO its animal crossing..) 4/10
Gameplay 9/10
replayability: with an infinite number of things to do 10/10
Overall: 9/10
For moms, this is the PERFECT game to get your younger kids..or older ones...i have a freind whos 17 and he loves this game.

Gotta love the little villagers...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: November 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I had always heard that Animal Crossing was a great game. I had never played it though. I bought it for my DS, and it rocks! It has absolutly no plot and very little point. But it is a highly addictive game. Selling fruit, paying off your house, getting it bigger and bigger, gathering items you can buy, collecting fish, fossils, paintings and bugs to put in your museum; its all a blast!

The optional wifi also gives a whole new dimension to the game. You can travel to other real people's towns and they can travel to yours. It makes it fun to meet people from all over the world. You can play games and have bug catching and fishing contests.

I'd say one of the downsides (but certainly no reason to not buy the game) is the fact that if anyone else wants to play your game (say a sister or brother), you have to all live in the same house. It is annoying enough to live in the same town, but living in the same house and not being able to have your own house to decorate is rather irritaing. But being as no one plays on my game, I personally don't have that problem.

Yea, so I'm pretty much obsessed...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: November 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I first got Animal Crossing: Wild World on Christmas 2005, I was immediately hooked. The game has no real point, yet still has you playing for hours. It may seem a little pointless to buy the game, but once you play it, you see there is so much flexibility in the game. There are so many ways to play.

I told one of my friends about it and and at first, he completely detested the idea of buying a game such as this. But as soon as he played it, he wouldn't put it down so much as to wash his hands for dinner.

There is so much to do and explore and that's what makes the game your own. You can collet items and make the HRA love your house, dig for fossils, run errends and trade with neighboors, and much much more.

WiFi adds a whole new demention to the game when you invited other Animal Crossing: Wild World players into your town. My friends and I always play hide-and-seek in our towns. One of us hides and gives everyone else clues via the message option in the game menu.

There's basically no right or wrong way to play. It's really fun and I'm sure you and your friends will love it.

A+ - a really wonderful little game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 17
Date: August 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

As a mother, I looked askance at my children spending ANY time on gaming. However, I am married to a complete computer techie who will not allow the kids to be luddites and he assured me I would not object to this game. He was right.

As others have noted, you become a character in a town, you get a job, buy a house, earn money, pay it off, make friends, write letters, do favors, and experience the steady pace of day to day life (the game runs real-time).

These are the benefits I've seen for my 1st and 2nd graders:

1. Strategizing - how to earn money to pay off their loans and buy things they are interested in; how to decorate their home, where to plant fruit and flowers;

2. Patience and the ability to work towards long-term goals, like earning a golden fishing rod or a bigger house.

3. Interest in written communication - they send each other notes and gifts. (NOTE - you can also write to the townspeople, but they do not provide personalized responses)

4. They've gained some familiarity with a variety of bugs and fishes.

5. Up to four people can Animal Crossing (although not at the same time). So I play one character with them, and it is quite fun to send them stuff (I learned a couple of codes). The other character is reserved as a "guest" character, so when other friends come over they can play that one.

While this game was addictive, the kids would still be in a good mood when they were done playing, and I never had any trouble getting them to stop playing when their 30 minutes were up. I recently allowed them to play "Sonic Heroes", which is a chase/quest game, and that game gets their adrenaline (sp) pumping and it is difficult for them to transition to other activities after Sonic Heroes.

So I recommend this game as being one of the best handheld games for children. No violence, no dating, just making friends and earning a living and enjoying day to day life in a virtual world.

Paws-itively Great - from an 11-year old DS Fan in No. CA

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: November 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

In Nintendo's whimsical simulation game, Animal Crossing:Wild World, the adventure starts on a rainy day in a cab driven by the craziest pirate "Kap'nn" you've ever seen. With a colorful character to match your personality, you set off on a journey to a new town, where everything is normal until you meet your neighbors. Animals! Making a meager earning in Nook's shop, you must work your way from fixer-upper cottage to a Donald Trump monster house, while making friends with your crazy animal neighbors, from curmudgeon hippos to pants-on-fire peppy cats. And once Nook kicks you out, who knows? With the right stuff you could become a budding fashion designer or archaelogist...the choices are endless in the Wild World!

PROS: This unique and eccentric game beats the others...paws down! A very cute game of dazzling and charming animation with special holidays for the town you create, and wild visitors who give you everything from comic relief to fashion tips! With a wide array of tools for fishing and bug catching, even a shopping center and clothing headquarters to design your own clothing line, this game expands creativity...and mischief. You really never know what your crazy animal friends will do next!

CONS: Everyday play is fun, but the game can get very repetitive and annoying, like rude lazy neighbors throwing insults at you pell-mell, weeds all over the place, a certain wild-eyed mole who yells at you if you even dare to accidentally switch off the game without saving (earning you a very painful lecture). But the very worst you shall ever see is the EXTREMELY annoying song the female animals sing constantly about puppies and candy...but other than that the game is pretty great!

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