Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii) Review

Posted by Drew Robbins on 01.09.2009

Meet the new Animal Crossing...same as the old Animal Crossing...



Title: Animal Crossing: City Folk
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Developer: Nintendo of America
Genre: Simulation
Players: 1 (Up to 4 online)
Rated: E for Everyone
Also available on: DS, Gamecube N/A

In the early years of the sadly reviled Gamecube, Nintendo began to pump out quite a few must-have exclusives. Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and what other game would stand astride the purple cube as one of the top exclusives? Animal Crossing, a game where you talk to animals, pay debt, and decorate a house. Despite how mind-numbingly boring the game sounds, it actually turned out to be quite enjoyable. Something about living among these creatures was, I don’t know…charming. The game was launched in 2002 with somewhat surprising success, and naturally owners of Nintendo consoles were ripe with anticipation for the next adventure into an animal infested village. Only three years later, and they were gifted with Animal Crossing Wild World for the Nintendo DS. In porting from Gamecube to DS, some of the charm and great features were lost. Gone were NES games, gyroids to protect your house, and that little block of houses in the middle of town. In its place? Just about nothing, though Wild World did mark the series debut in the online world. Even though most fans lapped up Wild World like candy, I couldn’t help but feel angered by this game’s transformation, but my passion was rekindled with the announcement of Animal Crossing: City Folk. Awesome, an Animal Crossing game with an extra area to explore, this can’t possibly go wrong! If only I knew how wrong I was back then, as Animal Crossing has now lost just about all of its magic with this new release.

Gameplay - We’ll start from the beginning, aboard a bus where you are greeted by…oh no, please tell me you are kidding. Rover the cat?!



This game certainly hasn’t got off to a very good start. As per usual (a phrase you will probably see quite often in relation to City Folk), Rover solicits, like some creepy internet stalker, all of your personal information. Name, where you live, social security number…well okay, he doesn’t go that far, but this cat certainly has a habit of getting into your personal business.

Upon departure from the bus, you get your first glimpse of the character that was just moments ago being tortured by Rover. Don’t like him? Too bad, unless you want to start over, you are stuck with him. Serving as one of the few changes of pace in this game, you are asked to go to the town hall as your first mission. They fill you in on where to find houses, which are now spread all across the map. Maybe I’m alone in this thought, but I always found the block of houses to be rather charming. I could display pictures in my window, I had my gyroid there to take voicemail, that place was great! Now you are just thrust into the wilderness with the other animals, which I suppose is more realistic but, who cares, you are already talking to animals. The realism ship sailed a long time ago.

After carefully picking out a house, Tom Nook (who seems less charmed with the game as well, no longer cracking jokes at every opportunity) informs you of debt. Ah, debt, the backbone of the Animal Crossing franchise. Debt becomes the sole force which you base your playing of Animal Crossing around, going to go talk to Bob? Better try to get a job from him; you certainly want to pay that debt. Going to the Town Hall? There is a river on your way, better stop to fish. Filling up the museum? Why are you doing that, you should be selling it, there is debt to be paid! In case you can’t tell, debt is a tremendous pain in the neck, but it is, as I mentioned, the most important part of the game. It is the final boss, so to speak.

Nook informs you that because your character, like always, is a poor (Zero bells, why is he moving out, in the first place?) man, you must work for Nook at his humble shop. Being a part-time employee, you are forced to do all of the tedious rubbish that Nook is clearly too lazy to do himself. You must plant flowers, deliver packages, send and write mail, and post a lovely message on the bulletin board. Sound familiar? Yes, indeed, Nook’s chores have not changed a single bit since the Gamecube game, and through this process you will get the same reactions from Animals that you got six years ago. They will still “love your letter” no matter how many nasty names you call Rosie, and they will always be so glad that you brought them a watering can, because those animals sure do love taking care of the environment. By that I mean leaving it up to the only human in town, these animals are really whipping this poor guy around.

You have finished Nook’s work, and can now retire peacefully to a life of paying off debt, and there you have it, the gameplay portion of Animal Crossing. The same old song and dance as the past few games, minus a lot of the charm and the NES games (seriously, come on Nintendo, that was my main incentive back in the day). What do I mean by “charm?” The original Animal Crossing had a very special feeling to it, I’ve already delved into the block of houses scenario, so I’ll focus the light somewhere else for now. The much talked about city add-on, where Animal Crossing: City Folk ruins many things I found to be sacred about the franchise. Remember that special feeling, when Crazy Redd would come and visit your town? Or when Gracie’s car would stop in the middle of town? Gone, all of it. No, those characters haven’t been wiped; you can now visit them every day of the week in the convenient little city. This is all nice and pleasant, but how special will it feel to own one of Gracie’s shirts, or have bought an extremely expensive item from Redd? It won’t be special in the least, it will be like owning an axe in the game, everyone has one so nobody cares.

This is the gameplay portion so I’m obligated to mention the online play. It is, there, that is for sure. You can hang out with your friends in a village, and now with the magic of WiiSpeak, you can even talk to them. I’m assuming this is for people who have no idea what Skype is? Without NES games, what is there really to do online with a friend in Animal Crossing? (Protip: The answer is nothing).



Graphics - I’m a fair man so I shall give credit where it is partially due, Animal Crossing: City Folk does in fact look better than the past games. That in mind though, remember that both Animal Crossing’s were originally made with 64-bit capabilities in mind (Animal Crossing GCN was a port of the Japanese game Animal Forest for the N64). While maintaining that same globetrotting feel of Wild World, City Folk also incorporates some of the special terrain that the original featured, with cliffs making a very welcome return to the game. Hey, I guess if you gut a fish, you might as well bring back some of his organs that made him a special creature!



Sound - You probably won’t be surprised to know that City Folk sounds the same as the Gamecube version, right down to just about every tiny detail. In all fairness, the game sounds fine, nothing special, but it does the job.

Fun Factor - How much fun you have with Animal Crossing is dependent on many factors. For starters, do your friends play Animal Crossing? While I said the Wi-Fi is nothing special, having friends playing the game does give you a little incentive to clean your town and perfect your house. Another factor is age, this game will easily entertain young children, but hardcore gamers might be less than amused with the latest Animal Crossing’s output. Last of all, have you played any other Animal Crossing games? You probably won’t be very amused if you spend $50 on a game you already own, in that case.

Lasting Appeal - Animal Crossing can last either one week or many months, depending on the situation. Though many will be compelled to pay off debt and collect furniture, odds are that most will tire of the game’s charm (or lack thereof) rather quickly.

The 411 - Throughout this whole review I have been condemning Animal Crossing: City Folk has some horrible monstrosity, but fear not, this review was written entirely from the perspective of a man familiar with the franchise. To newcomers, City Folk will certainly captivate you for a decent chunk of time, but franchise mainstays may be better off sitting this one out.

Graphics	7.0	Decent, the globe perspective does look fairly nice on a large TV.
Gameplay	6.0	Animal Crossing for the Gamecube minus the charm.
Sound	6.0	Practically unchanged, animal chatter makes a return though.
Lasting Appeal	7.0	For those that enjoy Animal Crossing, it could have you for quite some time.
Fun Factor	6.0	For the first time, I can honestly say that I didn't find too much enjoyment in an Animal Crossing game. Newcomes will enjoy it, however.
Overall	6.5   [ Average ]