animal crossing: wild world review

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Average Ratings

Addiction Level	9.7/10
Graphics	9.2/10
Value for Money	9.6/10
Reviewer Rating	9.6/10
Overall Rating	9.5/10

95% Recommended18 out of 19 Reviews

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By Takahiro on 30th Aug 2006

Takahiro's Ratings

Addiction Level	10/10
Graphics	7/10
Multi-player	Yes
Value for money	9/10
Overall value	9/10
Takahiro's recommendation

Good Points

Just completely takes over your life
Visit friends anywhere in the world using Wi-Fi
So many things to collect

Bad Points

Essentially, it is very similar to the older Gamecube and N64 versions
It takes a while to earn enough money for a decent sized house

General Comments

Animal Crossing has turned out to be one of the most popular games on the DS so far. It was only released on the N64 in Japan, and it was not a huge seller on the Gamecube, yet Wild World has stormed the DS charts and the multi-format charts. What's all the fuss about you say? I'll tell you.

The differences between the 3 version of Animal Crossing aren't huge, and they're essentially the same, but Wild World stands out from the others because it's handheld, so you can dive into your virtual life when and where-ever you please, and it introduced a local, and online multiplayer mode.

But basically, the idea is you're leaving home to a new, weird place populated with an assortment of insane-looking animals. Upon arriving you realise you have nowhere to live, so the local shop-keeper Tom Nook hooks you up in a pretty shabby house, then he has you work for him to pay off some debt. This section is short, but it introduces you to your animal neighbours and gives you some idea of how to make money. Once Nook lets you go, you still owe him for the house, but you never have to pay if you don't want to, but once you pay it off Nook will upgrade your house, making it bigger, and once you pay that off he'll upgrade again and so on. But without Nook ordering you around you're free to make money however you please. You can make small amounts by shaking trees and finding money (don't ask why money is in trees, animal crossing is a wonderfully weird place), but the real money is gained from selling stuff to Nook. You can collect Bugs, Fish and Fossils to give to the local museum or sell. You can play the turnip market (Nook changes his prices every day, so you've got to wait for the best price, but wait too long and your turnips will go rotten, and you've wasted your money. You will also find a ton of other things to sell.

Aside from paying off Nook, you will find plenty of stuff to do. I mentioned that you can donate items to the local museum and build up a gallery. You will constantly be greeted by new locals and old ones moving away. There are a variety of events on a number of days each month, and you can design your own clothes using the touch screen or just sit by the sea at night watching the stars. Whatever you want to do, it's entirely your choice, but the thing that will get you most addicted is the furniture collecting. There are hundreds of items for your home, as well as clothing and accessories, such as hats and sunglasses. You will have a long road to go to find them all, but you will furnish your home with your favourite pieces, and each new addition to your home brings a smile to your face, and your animal crossing home will soon go from a run-down shed to a place you can really make into a homely little spot.

You may find it confusing, but there isn't really a point to the game at all. There's no ending. There's no objective, and it's how you make it. It might be familiar to any of you who have played The Sims.

So once you've got going, got a decent home and some sweet new clothes, you will want to show them off. You can go visit any friends who have the game, buy some stuff from Nook's store at their town, but you will notice they will likely have different fruit trees to you, at which point you will gleefully 'borrow' some to take home and plant into your own trees, and if you know any friends online or want to visit your friends when they're at home, you can go online and visit anyone that knows you (you need a friend code to visit anyone online).

It's not to everyone's tastes. There's not a gun to be found, and no, you can't harm the locals with your axe, so of course gamers mad about shooters and grand theft auto may not take to it, but it's a charming game that everyone can enjoy. And if you really must play psycho there is a hockey mask in the game, and if you design some prisoner clothes you could run about swinging an axe like a nutcase. Then you can don some shades and a tux and head towards the local pub, where you can grab an umbrella and start running around in the rain. You can do whatever it is you please, and that laid-back sense of freedom is what will grab you, and keep you coming back.

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