I downloaded New Leaf off the Nintendo eShop on release day, June 9th, 2013 (downloading games may be another topic I go into greater detail on in a future blog post). To that point I had not spent much time in an Animal Crossing game. I owned Wild World for the DS and played a few minutes before Mario Kart DS was calling my name again. I also owned City Folk for the Wii and just never got into it, maybe this series wasn't for me, was I just the wrong age range for something like this? Is this the "Pokemon syndrome" all over again?
I went into New Leaf with the same attitude I go into a session of World of Warcraft with; just buckle down, get a beer (or 3) and focus. Well, I did, and much like when I do a quick 12-hour WoW session, I fell into New Leaf and never looked back. While I am still a relative newbie at all the mechanics, here is why I love Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
I have always been someone who wanted (and preferred) to have objective laid out for me so I knew exactly what to accomplish, which is why games like Minecraft and The Sims have always been sort of lost on me. (Though I am trying to do a Sims 3 let's play over at my YouTube channel which you can find HERE). So the idea of "Here's your town, go nuts" may be why I never got into the Animal Crossing series before the 3DS incarnation. However, this series has always intrigued me the most since there was a devout following and, being it was a Nintendo product, how hard could it be to get in and get hooked? Plus, I was at the gaming age where I just wanted to try it all.
(Side note: When The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker came out for Gamecube, I was one of those guys that went 'WTF did they do to Link? I don't wanna play this game...UGHHHH' only to then realize it's one of the best Zelda games out there and the HD version on WiiU is fantastic.)
First day in town (I, of course, name it Gotham) and I get the mayoral treatment. I get my own office, my own house (and accompanying loan I need to pay off) and my own tree-planting ceremony. I had arrived and was leading the good citizens of Gotham.
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| Obviously not me, but you get the idea. |
I spent the next few days shaking every tree (avoiding any bees that came at me), digging up every 'X' on the ground I could find, assessing fossils, fishing, planting fruit and making fruit trees, pulling weeds, and a whole lot more. That alone makes this game addictive, but it's the way the game feels like a living, breathing world that really gets me.
Since the game goes off the system clock, the day/night cycle and holidays are all reflected, as well as specific dates for specific events (fishing contests, new visitors, etc.) which adds to the addiction to the point where you write that on your own physical calendar, or set a reminder on your phone.
It's also really easy to start making "bells" (currency). I end up just picking up shells off the beach, selling fish and bugs I catch, smacking rocks with a shovel to get coins, and selling any extra fossils that the museum already has, you can rack up a lot of bells that way and can repay your loans in no time.
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| Good thing they're not a werewolf. |
Of course, one of the biggest draws of the game is getting stuff, whether it's buying from the shops or finding them randomly, and decorating your house. The absurdity of the items is a nice hook as well, I have a very nice electronic eye-chart in my house, because why not? The game is also full of Nintendo nostalgia. If you would like to see an example of the extent to which you can deck out your house....HERE is the Regginator himself.
It's the little quirks that get you hooked, the fossils you dig up every day, the weeds you pull to make your citizens approval rating go up, the wilting flowers you need to water, the trees you can plant to make a nice little apple orchard (it's cute, what?), the random presents that can fall out of a shaken tree or floating on a balloon, the list goes on. It's that "I wonder what's happening today" mentality that keeps me coming back.
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| Your soul is mine, butterfly! |
Then the unthinkable happened; I stopped playing, like for a long time. Much like World of Warcraft, I end up playing for a long time, then stepping away for a long time, before coming back and wondering what the hell I was doing. When I come back, however, and get reacclimated to what's going on, I get hooked all over again. I had a lot of catching up to do in my town, a lot of cleaning up and talking to my citizens letting them know I was still alive and here for them. Also a bad case of bedhead that I need to get taken care of. Luckily I ended up buying a pretty sweet chef hat to help cover up some of the mess on my head for the time being.
Now that I am back in the game, I see all along what the catch is, and what keeps me coming back for more. Also, there are parts of the game I haven't experienced yet, island tours, diving for fish, who knows what else? I have to find out. Some mornings I like to get my coffee, and sit down with my 3DS ready to do my duties as Mayor of Gotham.
If you have never played an Animal Crossing game before, you owe it to yourself to get involved, if you give it the honest chance it deserves, you will see why there is a big following, and why it's becoming a staple in the Nintendo lineup.
Now if you'll excuse me, I must go, my people need me.
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