Released originally as Dobutsu no Mori on the N64 in Japan, Animal Crossing would see release on US shores as enhanced port for the Nintendo GameCube on September 15th, 2002. It was quite a unique simulation series for its time and still to this day, where players take control of a villager who moves into a new town full of animals as neighbors and shopkeepers. With little but the clothes on your back, you start with a humble shack and a hefty debt to pay off as you then play the game of life, earning the currency of bells through means of selling various goods, fruits, fish, and more. But there is no urgency in which to pay off this debt. In fact, the only goal in this game is what you decide is your prerogative. You can befriend other animals, dig for fossils, go fishing in rivers and oceans, decorate your house, design shirt fashions, and so much more. It's a game that can be enjoyed in short spurts or long sessions, but however you play, it's a game that is designed to be a relaxing and personal experience.
One of the key and novel innovations of Animal Crossing was its use of the GameCube's internal clock to run the game in real time. That meant whenever you hopped into the game world, the date and time of the game world reflected that of when you are actually playing as well. This made the world feel that much more connected and incredibly alive. Animals had certain sleeping schedules in which they would awake and retreat to their abodes. New goods would stock store shelves on a real daily basis. Special visitors would come to towns on certain days of the week, such as weekly concerts with a certain guitar-playing dog on Saturday nights (attending these gigs would earn players these tunes to play in their own digs). Bugs and fish would appear not only at certain times of day, but were also seasonal and weather dependent (making the hunt for a complete encyclopedia of caught specimen all the more challenging and triumphant to accomplish). And speaking of seasons, there is the joy of special holidays, fishing tourneys and the like to always look forward to. More than that though, Animal Crossing offers the simple pleasures that come from slow, continual play: The changing of the leaves or the first snow of the season can create such quiet but memorable moments of awe and happiness.
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| Weekly concerts with this groovin' dog made every Saturday night that much more special. |
The series continued with three more main entries (and a few spin-offs), the first being Animal Crossing: Wild World, releasing in the US on December 5th, 2005, for the Nintendo DS. Thanks to its home on the handheld, it was that much easier now to play on the whim and otherwise opportune hours. Also thanks to the inclusion of Wi-Fi capabilities, players could now visit each other's towns online like never before. Next to follow-up was Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii in 2008, and then more notably Animal Crossing: New Leaf in 2012, which gave players more control in how to shape and build up their town as they took the role of mayor. As mentioned before, part of the joy of the series is the slow continual changes to be observed, and the same can be said for the little changes from game to game. Watching the characters grow and mature, like the hard-working, penny-pinching Tom Nook become a vest-wearing, tired but proud father of two sons who inherit his family business. Or how K.K. Slider, the singing dog, starting his music playing career on the streets to releasing his own custom albums playing gigs at a local coffee joint. It's such a pleasure and touching experience to grow and take part in.
With the recent release of the first mobile game in the series, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, fans wait with baited breath for the next installment to release for the Nintendo Switch, which seems like the perfect platform for this game given its flexible design to be enjoyed anywhere in any form. While the mobile game introduced some intriguing concepts like crafting and leveling mechanics, it ultimately missed the mark with the inclusion of frequent timers and quests that turned what should be a relaxing experience into an anxious one. As Nintendo has been using the Switch to reexamine many of their series, such as with Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and even the upcoming Super Mario Party, it will be interesting to see where they take this series next and how it will continue to grow. Let's hope it remembers the simple joys of slowing down to smell and water the roses.
Fun Fact: In Animal Crossing: City Folk and New Leaf, natural dirt paths will form from where players most often run across across in their towns, giving your town that much more of a personal touch that can only be enjoyed from slow, continual play.
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