There seems to be two distinct camps when it comes to Nintendo’s lifestyle video game series Animal Crossing. The first is made up of people who think it’s cool but tend to not entirely 'get it' and don’t quite see the fun in a game where you just complete mundane tasks like having a part time job and paying off debt. Which is absolutely understandable. However this other camp are the hardcore Animal Crossing addicts that will have no problems erasing you from existence should you have anything negative to say about Dotty the rabbit. Needless to say it is a very divisive series and doesn’t seem to have a lot of casual fans. For the most part you’re either you’re Animal Crossing ride or die or you’re not. And if I tasked you with guessing, I’m sure you could figure out which side I happen to be on. The shockingly poor battery life of my now worn out DS Lite would tell you everything you need to know. Hello I’m Pauly and I’m dangerously addicted to Animal Crossing. I adore this series but understand there’s this barrier of entry when it comes to moving into this very wholesome town. So this video is primarily addressed to those who are either new to the series or those that can’t possibly see what’s so fun about living amongst anthropomorphic animals whilst in crippling debt. In other words, from my own perspective, detailing my favorite elements of the series, I’m going to attempt to explain the appeal of Animal Crossing. So should you be a dirty outsider to the series I’m sure the activities available in Animal Crossing at first glance don’t seem all that appealing. A typical day in game would often involve planting flowers, catching fish, gossiping with villagers, admittedly it can seem a little bare bones in the gameplay department. But personally as much fun as I have doing these activities, I view them as secondary to what I consider to be the actual reason people play these games, that being the sense of community it creates. Despite originally being a game that you play by yourself, Animal Crossing has always been incredible at creating this perception of belonging. Between you as the player, and the town that your character lives in. And while I’ll explore this idea a little more in-depth later I think it’s important we start here as for creator Katsuya Eguchi, this idea was at the core of Animal Crossing’s initial design and what I consider to be one of the primary reasons the series became so successful. In interviews when asked how Animal Crossing came to be, Eguchi recounts the story of how at the age of just 21, he was made to move from Chiba where he grew up to Kyoto to begin work at Nintendo Headquarters. Because he was leaving everything behind he found that starting anew in this unfamiliar city was intimidating, and he was almost immediately met by feelings of loneliness. And it was while directing other games such as Star Fox, Wave Race and Yoshi’s story that the idea struck him to create a new kind of game. Away from friends and family he developed a new game concept that was built around the very things his life was lacking at the time. So in 2001 the Japan saw the release of Animal Forest, for the Nintendo 64. A life simulation game that saw the player completing easy going tasks for the sole purpose of fun. Unlike what came before it, Animal Forest noticeably lacked the game mechanics commonly associated with the life sim genre. Surprisingly, it chose to focus on its themes of friends, family and community, and contained activities that removed any feelings of urgency or pressure and in turn, created feelings of cosy escapism. This life sim game was different in that there was no life bar, no hunger meter, and certainly no way to give or receive damage that could result in the player dying. Unless of course you mean on the inside knowing you’re forever indebted to Tom Noo- Without any real objective, it begged the question, what was there to actually do in the game? And when it was eventually released worldwide on the Gamecube as Animal Crossing a few years later, it was here where the west was able to realize just how well these themes were integrated into the gameplay. Animal Crossing begins with you rolling into town, and without a place to stay; you’re immediately given a home by the general store owner, Tom Nook. (Who you are then quickly indebted to) However that’s all we get story wise as it’s from this point, that where you choose to go and what you choose to do is ultimately decided by how you’re feeling. And it’s here where I think the player first experiences what’s at the crux of this series, and is perhaps subconsciously where you decide whether this is for you or not. That being when you sit down to play Animal Crossing, your session will rest entirely on your emotional state at the time. Those looking to be told an engrossing story with exciting action are going to be left frustrated. To get the most out of the series; you need to be okay with things rolling at an easy going pace. While there’s no enormous boss battles to be found here, you can kick back and participate in the town’s fishing tournaments. You could also renovate your room for 20 minutes until everything’s millimeter perfect only to decide you in fact hate it and tear down the whole thing. You can even send friendly letters to Mallary because she stepped on your meticulously designed flower arrangement and how many times do I have to tell you to back of— Understandably, it’s here where some people may start to lose interest in Animal Crossing, and at the idea of having to make your own fun. I mean the only real objective you can work towards, the most conventional goal the game gives you, is paying off the debt for your house, which is a tedious process to say the least. Even then, once completed there’s no true ending in this game. Sure completionists might go further trying to catch every fish and net every bug and dig up every fossil and donate every painting but I think the reason for doing these activities extends beyond just the satisfaction of 100%-ing the game. The reason, at least for myself, as to why I’d stick around was because I was invested in my town and the lives of the villagers in it. Bringing it back to what I was touching on earlier I felt a sense of belonging and commitment to my town, a place I felt I was actively contributing to. A little world I knew I could jump into whenever I was having a rough day. I know this will sound bizarre to those who aren’t up to their necks in all things Animal Crossing, but at times there was this feeling of legitimate friendship between my dude and some of the villagers he would converse with. And I think the reason I’ve ended up feeling so passionately about this is because at the beginning of the game, this feeling wasn’t the case at all. Once you initially arrive and are given your first home, your town layout, and the villagers that inhabit it, is randomly generated. Meaning that when you move in it accurately captures the feeling of being lost and completely overwhelmed in a new town. In the beginning you’ll be constantly referring to the map, but eventually after familiarizing yourself, this figurative and literal sense of direction emerges. Soon enough you’ll know your town back to front and there’s benefit in exploring it every time you play. As more villagers move in and the seasons change in real time, there’s a satisfying feeling that accompanies watching this society develop and evolve. One that you helped craft when cutting down trees and planting flowers. Suddenly there’s care in where things go and how they look, forever budding future plans to continue to build your dream town and home. Before you know it there’s this sense of pride and attachment to the place you reside. It’s very much one of those games that gives back to the player, further rewarding you the more you play it. When Wild World had first come out, my siblings and I actually received multiple copies of the game for Christmas as we were incapable of sharing anything ever. But we quickly began using the single copy swapping it back and forth as we just preferred living in the one town and investing in it together. The extra pair of hands making our design jobs easier, and our little community more social. What was once a daunting environment ended up becoming a place only made more familiar by the fact you began to contribute. Animal Crossing chooses to reward players via this slow progression, rather than instant gratification. And having this system in place allows for gameplay to flow far more naturally. Perhaps best represented when growing friendships with the villagers that inhabit your town. These villagers are absolutely the stars of the show. Probably the primary reason that I kept coming back. Endlessly expressive with their plethora of dialogue and accompanying music tracks that play when spoken to, these villagers are exaggerated yet accurate depictions of people you’ve met in your own life. Such as the forever angry Mr. Resetti or the helpful and polite Pelly, the relationships you form with these villagers can almost serve as surrogate friendships when there aren’t people like that for you in real life. Not to get sad on you but I distinctly remember as a child playing Animal Crossing for the first time when I was staying with my grandparents over the summer, away from my parents and friends, and I guess were there for me at a time when others couldn’t be. And I still understand how insane that sounds, to place even a shred of emotional attachment to a collection of polygons that looks like this, but that is just how good this game is at characterizing these villagers. They all have unique personalities, with many having their own catchphrase and like in real life, the more you talk to them the more they open about themselves, eventually gifting you hard to get items for being so nice to them. All living in these cleverly designed homes that give further insight as to what kind of hobbies and passions these characters have. Which is what makes it so difficult when one will decide to up and leave town. And while these villagers don’t have these grandiose and emotional character arcs over the course of their stay in town, their presence alone in your daily life and in the many annual events go a long way in communicating that sense of substantial society. There habitation in this living, breathing town arguably being just as important as yours. What I mean is that your character acts as what I consider to be the perfect player surrogate for this kind of game. When you step off that train in the beginning, you’re merely an every person. You’re not playing as this game’s hero here to save the town from peril, or here to rebuild it from the ground up post apocalypse, you’re here solely to live in this peaceful, quiet town just like everyone else. The town functioning in such a way that it seems it would just exist, regardless of whether you’re there or not. Lending itself perfectly to the much desired player fantasy of a fresh start. Somewhere you can run away to, to escape all the struggles and responsibilities of your old life, and try again. Luckily for the player, the atmosphere that these games provide is that of an endlessly accommodating one. Whilst filled with relaxing activities to perform and charming characters to meet, the real essence of the series comes in the form of just walking around town, and purely existing in this comfortable space. A place that feels real and lived in. It’s something I wish I could just show here as visual evidence but I really think it’s something you need to experience yourself. It’s a friendly, warm kind of ambience, made only better by the series fantastic soundtrack. If I was to describe the music of Animal Crossing in a word, it would be calming. Pulling from multiple cultural influences using mellow piano, accordion and acoustic guitar and it’s a soundtrack that feels whimsical and childlike, that kind of music that evokes feelings of nostalgia even if you’ve never heard it before. Simply, the tracks couldn’t be more complimentary in the way they somehow add the feeling of even more serenity to whatever already chill activity you’re choosing to do today. It seems no matter the situation in game, the music is always able to keep things from ever getting too intense, and serves a constant reminder that what we’re doing here is light and breezy. However while I thoroughly enjoy the background music played throughout the games, I think I prefer the soft sounds of this game’s mellow pooch just that little bit more. Probably my favorite villager, KK Slider is a traveling musician that comes into town on Saturday nights, in real time and in Animal Crossing Wild World and City Folk can be found performing live in the café. In the other games he can be found elsewhere but I’ve always preferred him in this setting. As here you can take a seat, request songs and just hang out as he strums out one of 90 different acoustic tunes that have been recorded throughout the series, all with their own unique sound, complete with Animal Crossing "meep mop" lyrics. *MUSIC PLAYING* The reason I mention him because while this now iconic character and his weekly event remains one of the highlights of this game series to me, he also helps enrich Animal Crossing with that feeling of homeliness that I keep referring to. And I know it might sound baffling to newcomers that I’ve said up until now that all best parts of these games are essentially doing a whole lot of nothing, but I have to stress, to me that’s the point. As it’s this café where KK Slider performs, that happens to be my favorite area in the games to visit. In a series made entirely of small cozy areas, The Roost stands out to me as far and away the best and remains a place I wish was real, someone please make it happen. Because not only is it an enclosed sanctum of acoustic amazement it’s also home to perhaps the defining activity where the themes of Animal Crossing were hammered home to me. As The Roost is also home to Brewster, who for just 200 bells will make you a coffee. Once prepared your character will just shotgun their scalding hot beverage and couldn’t be having more fun doing so. The end result being… nothing. No perks, no buff there’s seemingly no reason for this exchange to exist as an asset to the player. However what I think it does do is, in a single moment, perfectly encapsulate what I’m trying to get at. In that I think to fully immerse yourself in a game like this, a degree of imagination is required. What you’re doing in game is solely because that’s what you imagine you would do, should you ever actually be in that situation in real life. In the games you can take advantage of these circumstances unlikely to happen in your life and use it to live out fantasies of a laid back lifestyle. Offering a joyous fictional community you can become a part of, full of the best parts of adulthood with none of the responsibility. And I can see how gameplay that revolves around creativity can sound unattractive, but should you buy into the immersion I think you’ll have a whale of a time amongst your animal village pals. This being one of the many reasons that Animal Crossing has such a dedicated following. While perhaps unintentional, what the themes of Animal Crossing have created is a real life community, compiled of passionate players online that all have these same feelings regarding this series. Enthusiastic fans who come together to appreciate and uphold the games that provides them with the escape that they’re so fond of. A community that you can immerse yourself in right now, as they all wait for the upcoming Switch release with baited breath. Much like the games they so adore, these pockets of people generally appear to be very kind and supportive, so maybe it’s something to consider joining should you want to take your Animal Crossing fandom to the next level. I swear it’s not a cult. As strange as this sounds, I think it’s a series that finds you when you need it, rather than the other way around. More often than not escapist media tends to be most effective to those going through some pretty rough circumstances in their actual life. So if you do happen to know someone in your life that’s addicted to the series I’d definitely ask them what they enjoy about it, as this video is admittedly very personal to me, as I’m sure the reasons will be different for everyone. Just be sure to pry the 3DS out of their cold hands before doing so. And while I can’t promise this series will leave an impact on you should you actually decide to play it, I can say with confidence that the series certainly impacted the gaming landscape forever. The legacy that the original Animal Crossing left was an enormous one. Spawning a whole new genre of game, it existed as further proof that video games could be more than just high scores and mindless fun, providing a little community that players could constantly return to. Reaching a whole new audience it instantly cemented itself as another killer IP for Nintendo who was then quickly expected to have follow-up releases on all their new consoles alongside the other big boy Nintendo series. And if by chance you’re someone who’s either looking to jump back into animal crossing or have never touched it before, I think there’s never been a better time to get into the series than right now. For those who can’t wait, the last game in the series Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS is currently really cheap as part of Nintendo’s selects range, and is probably the friendliest for new comers. But if you’re still not interested, that’s okay too. I’m certainly not here to sell you on it and I'm aware it’s a very niche series and as much as it pains me to say, there’s nothing wrong with not liking Animal Crossing. All I hope is that in this video I was able to shed some light on a criminally under rated game series, but one that is probably niche for a reason. I tried my best to list off some of my favorite things about the series but there’s no denying it is for a very specific type of person. It’s not going to capture everyone, and you’ll probably know by now whether it’s for you or not. Even if it hasn’t grabbed your attention in any real way, I hope you’ve at least gained some further knowledge or appreciation for this incredible series, as I attempted to explain the appeal of Animal Crossing. Thanks for watching! :) And for those that are proper into the series already, and just came along for the ride because you need more Animal Crossing content in your veins well, I’ll see you at the next meeting, brethren.
the appeal is progression.
start with little, try and get more. pay off your debt. get the collectibles.
it's ark or Conan exiles without the survival elements.