Joystiq impressions: Animal Crossing: City Folk
by Zack Stern 
{ Oct 6th 2008 at 11:00AM }
From what we saw at the Nintendo Media Summit, the city is just another place to go. Instead of Tom Nook's shop in your own town, you can buy from an upscale store. Instead of waiting for the fortune teller to visit, you can see her in the city. A few minor additions include a city-based auction house and theater where you see shows.
The rest of the updates seem equally subtle. You can play with your Mii face. Up to four players can meet in one of their towns or the city. Gamer can talk over the WiiSpeak microphone (sold separately). You can type messages by plugging in any USB HID keyboard. Otherwise, it's Animal Crossing again.
Gallery: Animal Crossing: City Folk (10-6-08)
If you've kept up with the DS game, you'll be able to import that character into City Folk. Your catalog of items will transfer over, enabling you to buy them again. (Huh, that sounds familiar somehow. We can't quite place it.) But you'll still begin as Tom Nook's indentured servant, since the bell currency doesn't get copied. The DS will also act as a "suitcase" to carry your character to a friend's Wii, but you won't be able to make progress in the DS Wide World and Wii at the same time; moving on up to City Folk is a one-way trip.
Four-player interactions still require Friend Codes, although you'll be able to meet new people through a mutual friend in that person's town. City Folk won't update you when friends sign on, however. Instead, you need to open the gate to your town and manually check for friends at that point. We were hoping to visit our friends' towns when they weren't home or meet with larger groups. (This isn't an MMO.) At least players can meet worldwide, instead of being limited to their own regions.
If you haven't been bitten by the Animal Crossing bug – and felt a compulsive need to catch them all again – we don't see much reason to grab the new version. But Animal Crossing fans will get another edition of the game they like. Look for City Folk in November or December of 2008.
Gallery: Animal Crossing: City Folk
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Morisato @ Oct 6th 2008 11:05AM
Any animal crossing related news always reminds me of this:
http://animalcrossingtragedy.ytmnd.com/
baby sea tuna @ Oct 6th 2008 11:22AM
Wow, I think that was the first time I've ever seen YTMND used for good, instead of evil!
Frohike @ Oct 6th 2008 1:15PM
Thanks for making me cry, ass.
KrazyIan @ Oct 6th 2008 1:27PM
Wow, I wasnt expecting that from YTMND.
aristokrat @ Oct 6th 2008 2:08PM
Wow, that's the saddest thing I'll see all day. At least I hope so. Also, it's a good thing I'm a decent speed reader, 'cause those screens flew by pretty quickly.
Arnon @ Oct 6th 2008 4:04PM
=
Lionbacker @ Oct 6th 2008 5:11PM
I [+]'d you(of course)
All I had to watch was the first frame and the music and I closed the tab.
After I had completely managed to forget that.
It's like a sweet, thoughtful version of a goatse.
DG10050 @ Oct 6th 2008 8:19PM
@Lionbacker:
Same thing happened to me. :(
Vidikron @ Oct 6th 2008 11:06AM
I've never understood the appeal of this game. As a game it seems utterly boring. I can see the game having potential from a social standpoint, but the Wii's online stucture with the friend codes and such seems to ruin that part of the game.
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 6th 2008 11:56AM
It's boring in the same sense that Harvest Moon is boring. For some reason when you play it you can't stop, even though all you're doing is mundane tasks. On paper it seems like it would never work but it just does somehow.
343 Guilty Fart @ Oct 6th 2008 12:22PM
I used to have the DS version but sold it after new playing it more than a few times. I just didn't get the appeal at all. When I last turned it on (to erase the data before I took it into Gamestop) everyone in my town had died or moved away and the place was full of weeds. It was like Fallout in cute animal form.
Superstar90 @ Oct 6th 2008 2:17PM
I like it because it's one of those weird, looks-boring-but-is-actually-really-addictive games. Like Harvest Moon or The Sims.
TheOverlord#2 @ Oct 6th 2008 4:16PM
Get a few friends on online play, it's fun to chat and play games. Especially if you have some hacking friends who can get some cool things for you.(Though stay away from sketchy ones who might seed you)
Mr Khan @ Oct 6th 2008 11:12AM
Its not really a game that needs to change in leaps and bounds like, say, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Starfox, it's more a game that moves along incrementally, like Pokemon or Fire Emblem.
Although they certainly could have afforded to give it a graphical overhaul.
Cheesecake Jones @ Oct 6th 2008 11:39AM
Are you sure those aren't DS screen shots? I don't mean to be a troll, but holy cow that game needs some help in the visuals department. Wii Sports looks better than this!
Nintendo could just take one million of those billions they have laying around and make this game look NEW in some way. I'd bet $20 that it doesn't even support 16:9.
If it only looked a little bit NEW, then people wouldn't be so dismissive.
Cheesecake Jones @ Oct 6th 2008 11:48AM
I guess I just lost $20 (to myself). It looks like the screen shots themselves are in 16:9.
Whoops!
Zack Stern @ Oct 6th 2008 11:50AM
Ummm, riiight. The game looks fine. Not a high or low point, so not emphasized. At this point, it's news when a Wii game /doesn't/ support 16:9; this one does. Those screenshots are even 16:9. I'm starting to think you don't have $20.
Bigfoot @ Oct 6th 2008 1:11PM
You're kidding right? Because Animal Crossing has always been about the graphics.
Anyway, looking at this and coming from Animal Crossing: WW, this looks great.
Cheesecake Jones @ Oct 6th 2008 1:28PM
No, it's not about the graphics. But it is about creating an art style that compliments the hardware it was developed for. It seems like they haven't made any new art design decisions since 2001. It's not just the cutesy/blocky character and the simple environments... It's the lack of animation, the bland textures, the nonexistent lighting...
What if they took City Folk and created it using the engine designed for Wind Waker? Wouldn't you be thrilled if the characters were as well animated as Link was in Wind Waker?
This is the kind of thing they could do to City Folk to make it NEW, while still keeping the simple and cute aesthetic.
Snowblind @ Oct 6th 2008 11:50AM
I would have been more interested if this were more different. Why not set the whole game in the city, instead of just being able to travel there. Living in a little apartment block would have been far more interesting.
As it is, this is just the DS game. I'm glad the holidays are back, but that isn't enough for me. There seems to be very little new content, even the graphics have just been stretched from the DS version to fit on the Wii.
Even as an Animal Crossing fan there's no way I could justify giving Nintendo money for such a lazy job. This is just really pathetic.
Orenthol @ Oct 6th 2008 11:53AM
and what could have been a good online experience is once again ruined. Not surprised at all there.
Now let's wait till we got the bafoons who defend it by saying "DAHHH WHO WOULD WANT SUM STRANGER MESSIN WITH YOUR TOWN DURRRR"
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 6th 2008 11:58AM
That's exactly what I was saying when this was announced. Listen, if Fable 2 can pull off online co-op even though there's a risk of someone coming in and butchering your family then there's no excuse for this game to not have it.
TheOverlord#2 @ Oct 6th 2008 12:56PM
I would love for this game to have co-op or MMO like gameplay, but if you can transfer over items from ACWW, i'm kind of a afraid. It sucks to get seeded and you have to spend even more money just cause some a-hole decided to mess with you.
mkernan @ Oct 6th 2008 12:23PM
I really wasn't planning on buying this, just seems like more of the same, with *barely* anything added in. However, my daughter had a good time with the DS version for a short while. Now that she's a year or two older and can actually read, she might actually enjoy this now.
As for me, I can't see myself devoting a whole lot of time to it. I traded in the DS version after a year or so because I simply had no desire to play it anymore.
DancnDude @ Oct 6th 2008 3:07PM
I loved the original Animal Crossing. I liked the DS version ok but it felt just like more of the same. This seems even worse. There's just not enough new stuff here.
How about adding in action-based minigames? Or even motion-sensitive tree-chopping or shovel-digging. Maybe every Tuesday is Trivia Night in the game. Something. It just seems like they added on a little city area and that's it. They didn't even bother to change the graphics.
I'm just disappointed. I really liked the game but it just doesn't seem worth the cost of buying the same game for a third time.
Matt @ Oct 7th 2008 8:34AM
I don't think that 'one hit wonder' means what you think it does. I think you might have meant, 'one trick pony' perhaps?