Animal Crossing: Wild World Game by Nintendo Reviewed by Mikaa robbin12388@bellsouth.net Size: One DS Game Card Save: One Town, up to 4 characters Released: November 2005 Works with: Nintendo DS Price: USD$35 Fast Thoughts: Buy this. Don't even think about it; Just buy it. **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: I never played the original Animal Crossing. Yes, I never did play that one. I heard how addicting it was, I read how crazy and insane it could be, I heard of the multitudes of options, and I still never played it. Why? Simple: I would be forced to sit in front of my TV for hours, and I would not be able to take it with me. So, what do I do when I hear the release date for Animal Crossing: Wide World? I think you can guess, eh? Now, to THE best reason to buy a DS, and why you should pass up a PSP... **************************************************************************** Gameplay Descripion: You make a character. You play as said character. You design clothes and flags, customize your house. You dig up fossils and weird, musical statues. You mail letters and deliver packages. You drink coffee and collect music tapes. You shop at honest and dishonest shops. You thwart or get had by insurance scams. You roll snow into snowballs. You trade in your real life for one you can control. You meet other people. You talk to cute chipmunks and fish with gorrilas. Yes, all of the above are in Animal Crossing: Wide World. Well, not the "trade your life in" bit, but that does sort of apply to it. Heck, right now, as I write this, I am keeping an eye on the clock to know when it is 7PM. Because at that time, K.K., a dog with a flair for music (and for giving you music tapes once each Saturday), shows up at the Cafe in the Museum. And tomorrow, I have to go to Tom Nook's to see what wallpaper and rugs are on sale, and to see if any more Robo-type furnature is on sale. Then I have to collect more fossils for the museum, go fishing, and maybe invest in some Radishes to raise and then sell to Tom Nook when the price is right. And then I have to debate on whether or not to design a new shirt, or... Ahem. See, it is really hard to describe Animal Crossing: Wild World, as there is so much to do, yet what you do is almost the same as you do in real life. Yet they are fun! Why they are fun, why they are addicting, and why I find myself being thrilled at hosting guests in my house just cannot be put into words. There are scores of characters, up to four other players (or characters, if you want multiple characters to act as) can live in one house, and with free Wi-Fi internet access (provided both you and a buddy are on at the same time AND if you have each other's Friend Code. Yes, that takes some effort to set-up, but on the flip-side of the coin, it keeps people from running into issues with vulgar language (which, while censored for the most part, can still be accessed), inappropriate town flags, foreign languages, and just meeting someone you might have problems with. On the upside, even if you take away the multiplayer aspects, the game is still the best game overall on the DS, and the game play more than makes it worth selling your life. Or shelling up USD$35 and a few hours each day... Liked: Variety of options, Character customizations, custom images and town tunes, variety of interactable characters, loosing hours of my life and not caring one bit Hated: Realizing that you have to choose whether or not you want to miss out on a special sale at Tom Nook's to to watch that big game on TV, or to skip a date just to host others to your house. Talk about choices... **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: There's no denying that the DS lacks the sheer graphical power of the PSP or Cube, yet there is something about the art style that just reels you in. Yes, it is very archaic compared next to the PSP or newer DS games (such as Tony Hawk's American Sk8teland DS), but it just...works. And better yet, despite being on a system with less sheer power than the Cube, many touches such as water on the beach, foot prints in leaves, snow, or sand, character animations, the subtle differences as a snow ball grows as you roll it around, the emotions of the characters, everything is just beautiful. Yes, it is simple, but it gets the job done, and you cannot resist the smile when Lyle (the scamming partner of Crazy Redd) goes nuts when he realizes you have no money to scam. Liked: Nice art style, variety of art styles for wallpaper and rugs, details on every object and clothing item Hated: The fact that I cannot find a real, true flaw in the graphics **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: There are a few basic themes in-game, and while sounding pleasing yet basic (think 16-bit or 8-bit for the GBC), the true gem of the music department is the town theme. Once you set a theme (which can be anything from nothing to a beep to a remix of the Star Trek theme or the Item-get theme of Metroid), talking to a character, entering and leaving buildings, and musical instraments all make variations of the theme. It's subtle at times, but if you have a musical flair (or if you find and/or make a theme that is dear to you, playing it on the variety of musical instraments is a trick that cannot be beat. Especially since you can go talk to a character and always hear a different variation between each character. One side note - various items you can find and buy have special effects, including sounds. Such sounds include (and are in no way limited to) that irritating dial-up sound from a PC, a TV that has sound effects for its near- dozen or so shows, Zelda's Master Sword that makes a sound from a Zelda game, and countless others that I have yet to find. Someone went out of their way here, and it shows. Liked: Sheer variety of sounds, custom theme appears in many variations Hated: Not being able to download custom soundtracks from your PC to DS, but that is just a pipedream... **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Holy Elements, a DS game that has touch controls that can be used effectively WITHOUT THE STANDARD BUTTONS!!! Ok, sarcasm aside, the game does support both standard buttons and touch screen controls, and you can rotate between the two with a double tap of the screen or pressing a button twice. Each has their pros and cons, such as moving with the D-pad, talking, pulling weeds, or digging with the buttons, and managing items (either by selling or storing) with the touch screen. You can manage everything in the game with both control schemes, or you can mix and match. My only true beef is that the B-button is mapped for both running AND picking up items. While not really a true flaw, it does become annoying when you start to run and accidentally pick up a custom image you put on the floor, or pick a flower. Liked: Perfect, save one minor flaw... Hated: ...that can be overcome with alternate buttons. **************************************************************************** Improve: More items, next time include NES games, more retro Nintendo items, longer town themes, ability to save more custom designs RIYL: Other than Animal Crossing for the Cube, the only series that comes even close to matching the game design of AC is the Sims, specifically, Sims 2 (any platform) **************************************************************************** Final Words: And here I thought that Castlevania DS was the best game for the system. Single handedly, this is the best DS game at the time I am writing this, and only a handful of announced titles can even come close to the scope of this title. If you have a DS, get this; there are very few games that have THIS much replay value. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: ***** (Five Stars) Graphics: ***** (Five Stars) Sound/Music: ***** (Five Stars) Play Control/Game Design: ***** (Five Stars) Personal Opinion: ***** (Five Stars) Total: * X 25 (Twenty-five) Final Score: 100% **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: - There are a series of golden versions of the tools. The easiest to get is the Golden Shovel, which is obtained via burying a shovel, waiting a day, then digging it up. Note that selling these special items is pretty pointless, as Tom Nook gives squat for them. - The more you spend at Nooks, the more you earn, in more ways than one. For starters, the point system, where you gain points based on how much you spend per item, earns you discounts as you go up in levels. On the other hand, every so often, Nook will close down to upgrade his store. The first two upgrades are easy to get, but the final requires you to have a friend purchase something in your store. While a bit hard to do if you do not have anyone else to perform this with, obtaining this store nets you a hairstyle store. - Make sure your dates are right on your DS when you start this game for the first time: key dates such as Christmas, New Years, Easter, and other big days are celebrated. Not to mention that special day known as your birthday. - Want some music to play in that sterio that sits in your house? Saturdays, from either 7 or 8 p.m. (I cannot recall right now) till midnight, K.K. will play music and/or take requests. Once the credits finish rolling, he gives you a copy of the music he played, and it can be used on that stereo. - Don't know what musics you can request from K.K.? A quick way to try out musics in-game and get their names is to visit the various houses in town, as some have their music tapes playing a song, and you can catch the name by checking the item. - Dozens of secrets still await you, but you must eek them out yourself...