Corvid's Corner - August 2023

Animal Crossing: One of the World’s First Cozy Video Games

Welcome to Corvid’s Corner! This is a place for me to geek out about whatever video game I’m playing or music I’m listening to, and write about it in a longer form than a staff pick, which is only a few sentences. If you try any games or albums on for size, please let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Animal Crossing is a Nintendo video game series that has been releasing new titles every few years since 2001. Each game is a little different, but all have the same premise: you play as the only human in a village full of charming animal neighbors. You can write letters, catch bugs or fish, and run errands for your fellow villagers, among other simple tasks. It is truly the epitome of “cozy gaming,” and is one of the earliest examples of the genre. I have played it on most platforms. It was originally released in Japan on the Nintendo 64, and the latest iteration to the mainline series was released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. In between, there were versions for the GameCube, the DS, the Wii, and the 3DS. There are also a couple spin-offs, like Amiibo Festival for the Wii U, and Happy Home Designer for the 3DS, which were not as widely acclaimed as the mainline installments. As a whole, it is a bit reading heavy, so if you do want to introduce a young child to the franchise, it may be necessary to help them along until they get the hang of things. I know many young ones who enjoy the game series!

My first game was Animal Crossing: Wild World, the 2005 DS game. I was eight when the game came out, and my dear friends gifted me a copy after my father passed away. It gave me an immense amount of comfort in those early days of my grieving, and my love for the game has persisted through the rest of my life thus far. You first meet Kapp’n, a cab driver taking you to your new town. He asks your name, your style, and your village name. I relied on an internet blogger named jvgsjeff to determine the way my face looked, because you were not able to choose your facial features in early games. Kapp’n drops you off in your new village, and you navigate to the town hall to receive a map and instructions to find Tom Nook. Once you find him, he tells you to pick a plot for your new home. Much of the early game is getting to know your animal neighbors by completing tasks for Mr. Nook, and earning Bells (the in-game currency) to help pay off your home loan and decorate your humble abode.

Most of my friends growing up had a Nintendo DS, and a few of them had AC:WW, which was a multiplayer game at the time. Hijinks ensued. A player could design shirts to wear and display for other villages, so some time was spent making silly designs like shirts boasting “Ethan Stinks.” Suddenly, all your NPC animal friends were wearing shirts calling you stinky! You could plant flowers, talk to neighbors, cut down trees, or visit the museum and coffee shop in your friend’s town. Unfortunately, Nintendo discontinued internet support for the DS, the Wii, and the DSi in 2014. When I played Wild World, I didn’t decorate my village very much, but that was an option. It’s much more incentivized in New Leaf and New Horizons, but I still don’t make my village as intricate as other players!

In my opinion, the best game of the series was Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012) for the Nintendo 3DS. It introduced a ton of new features, like swimming, outdoor decorations, new furniture, and a Main Street area with new stores! This game also introduced us to our new role as Mayor of the village, instead of just a villager. Isabelle, your mayoral assistant, teaches you how to set ordinances, build bridges and sculptures, and change the town flag. My favorite feature in every game is catching bugs and fish, and AC:NL added swimming and catching deep sea creatures, which added a challenge to finishing your museum.

The museum is my absolute favorite feature of all the games. I’m still working on completing the collection in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020), but I did complete it in AC:WW. In some versions, there is a conservatory where you can view the stars with an owl named Celeste. In AC:WW, she lets you design constellations that are visible in your night sky! There is also a cafe called The Roost, which is the best way to spend time. A shy pigeon barista named Brewster serves coffee for 200 Bells a cup. On Saturday nights, K.K. Slider would come and play on the stage in the basement coffee shop. There are also different exhibits for each type of collectible item: bugs, fish, deep sea creatures, fossils, and art. Art is definitely the most difficult collection to complete.

Some players sell every creature, art piece, or fossil they come across. There is nothing wrong with this approach, especially since Bells are hard to come by in the early stages of the game, but as a completionist, I much prefer collecting and donating to the museum. Blathers, the neurotic owl curator, is always eager to share details about your donations. As a young child, I was always amazed at how many facts he knew, and even as an adult, I am impressed by the accuracy and volume of information Blathers is able to share.

For a low cost gaming experience, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a mobile game available for free on your smart phone’s app store. Be warned: there are micro-transactions, so if a child plays this, have parental controls in place so they cannot purchase Leaf Tickets without your permission. (Leaf tickets are in-game special currency.) The game does not require real money to function and be fun, so it’s a good way to play if you don’t have a Nintendo gaming console! If you do have a Nintendo console, come to the library and see if we have a copy of the game made for your system!

For a relaxing experience with sweet music, funny neighbors, and shenanigans with your friends, try it on for size! Just don’t get bit by a tarantula.