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Animal Crossing, the sequel to the Nintendo 64 game Animal Forest which never made it to the United States, brings real-life simulation to the Gamecube with an odd twist: you live and interact with animals instead of humans.
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You start off on a train trip to your new town. The actions you choose will affect the look and name of your character, including gender and general facial expression. Upon arrival, the local store owner, Tom Nook, will grant you with a new house. Unfortunately, he expects payment, and you don’t have much money, so you wind up in debt.
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After the introduction, your life is up to you. You can visit with neighbors, go fishing, garden, decorate your house and so on. On holidays, you can join in the celebration. Everything is done in real-time, meaning Halloween on Animal Crossing is Halloween in real life.
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Animal Crossing won’t be a quick game to master. In fact, it could potentially take years. Certain items can only be attained at certain events and times during the year. Fish are seasonal, meaning some can be caught during any given season, but you’ll have to wait to catch them all. Bugs have varying patterns, some coming out at night, some hiding in rocks, and so forth. The item catalog itself, which keeps a record of all the items you attained, boasts several hundred different items.
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Included in those items are over a dozen different classic Nintendo games, complete and playable. Rather than being glorified mini-games, all are as playable as their NES counterparts, able to stand alone on their own merits. Games range from Donkey Kong to Punch-Out!, and yes, even the original Zelda and Super Mario Bros. are hidden away in the game.
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The Gameboy Advance adds a lot to the game. Simply connecting and powering up your GBA when it’s connected to your Gamecube via the GCN-GBA cable will give you access to a tropical island that you can visit, complete with a new tropical neighbor and large hut that you can decorate (or just use for storage). Four sets of 60+ Animal Crossing e-reader cards will soon be available (two currently are). Utilizing the GBA e-card Reader, scanning the AC e-Reader cards will earn you new items, clothing patterns, and town toons.
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This is where the game’s biggest flaw comes into play. Right off the bat, the game costs $50. A GBA and a GBA/GCN connector will cost around $80. The e-Reader costs about $30, and each pack of cards runs around four bucks. If you want to experience the game to the maximum, it can easily run you a few hundred bucks.
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Luckily, the GBA and the e-Reader are not necessary to enjoy the game. While what they add is significant, the game is solid and completely enjoyable without all the extras.
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Don’t let it fool you: despite it’s cutesy appearance, Animal Crossing is a fun game with enough content to keep you coming back for months or even years. Anyone with an interest in simulation games should check out Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing has enough depth and content that casual and hardcore gamers alike will find themselves pulled in. The added costs of all the extras may turn some away, but be assured, the game is powerful on it’s own and well worth a look.
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Pros
- Lots of replay value
- eCards add to replay
- Hundreds of different items to collect, including playable NES games
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