Since its first iteration on the GameCube I had become a fond follower of Animal Crossing.
When I first heard of that game back then, I was told it was a side project for the N64 but then because of that console becoming end of life, Nintendo decided to move it as a launch title for the GameCube.
I bought a few games at launch for the GameCube – Super Smash Brothers Melee, Wave Racer, Star Wars Roque Squadron, Zelda Wind Waker and Animal Crossing. While Smash Brothers and Wave Racer were great multiplayer games that I played in my College room with my friends, and Wind Waker was a great adventure, it was Animal Crossing that kept me turning my GameCube on all the time despite being onslaught by the unstoppable PS2 at that time.
At first I did not understand Animal Crossing when I first read about it. But then eventually I was hooked to those quirky animals with quirky dialogues and how Nintendo crafted a world that is virtual but tied in to the world that you live in. With the game linked to the internal clock of the GameCube, Animal Crossing displayed real time hours of days and seasons. There are things you can only do during the day or at night, animals in your town will wonder why you are not sleeping late at night or why you are up so early in the morning, your town’s scenery changes over the year from cherry blossoms in spring to snowing in winter, while at the same time displayed different weather patterns that could trigger intriguing events or fauna.
Animal Crossing had a few iterations since my first nearly 2 yearlong on-going relationship and another few years of on and off relationship with him on the GameCube. Every time without a miss I was hooked back into it. Even with Animal Crossing Pocket Camp on mobile, I downloaded the game on day 1 back in 2017 and even today in 2020 I have been logging in everyday and the game had expanded quite a bit.
With a very busy work life and time I needed for Final Fantasy XIV, I have put off buying a Switch for the longest time. I always said I will only buy a Switch when Nintendo releases another flagship Animal Crossing game. In 2019, the announcement happened. Then it was another year of wait before I finally got my hands on the Animal Crossing edition Switch and the game (the special edition console does not come with the game, WTH Nintendo?). I didn’t wait a beat to set up the console and booted up the game. Since then I have become a juggler – between Animal Crossing and Final Fantasy XIV. The good thing with the Switch is it can be used as a portable, so when I am waiting for queues in Final Fantasy XIV, I can continue to fish or catching bugs. The beauty of this hybrid console.
The concept of the game hasn’t changed much but you can see Nintendo had built on the success of the previous games and implemented a number of successful concepts from Pocket Camp. The first seasonal event will drop in April in time for Easter with special crafting (something Pocket Camp had expanded exponentially) available during this period. New Horizons feels like an expanded universe of Pocket Camp and it was nothing but satisfying. The subtle things that Nintendo put in made the experience so much more rewarding and richer that it is no longer about realistic graphics but the experience you get from the game. Apart from smoother character and environmental models, Animal Crossing’s aesthetics has not changed. It is still the cutesy world since it first established in the GameCube era. That proves again that a good game does not equate to ultra-realistic graphics.
New characters were added to the mix but Nook, Timmy and Tommy are still there. Nook has become more outlandish with his announcements and comments but the fact that he still managed to make a profit out of his self-proclaimed ‘extremely lax loan repayment program’ made it ridiculously enjoyable to check on him from time to time. Timmy and Tommy have no doubt moved up in the business world as they are running their own shows now.
Some people may say that activities in Animal Crossing are quite repetitive – how much time can you spend on fishing, catching bugs, planting and talking to talking animals? However, as I mentioned previously, it is not about the activities but the experience. Nintendo had made this experience inexplicably intriguing, enjoyable and addictive. That’s the charm of the game. And with the advance of technology, the fact that now you can play online with your friends, use your phone app to voice or text chat in the game (without relying on the in game keyboard), have live and special events on the island, and even set your orientation to northern or southern hemisphere etc., who knows what else Nintendo has up its sleeves to keep the game evolving and staying fresh?
My virtual life on this virtual island has just started and I am looking forward to find what other things I can discover. In this time of self-isolation, Animal Crossing New Horizons could be one of the best ways to stay sane, stay socialised and stay entertained.
