Animal Crossing: Lets Go to the City Review

I can’t remember when I first got hooked on Animal Crossing… it must have been not long after the DS version came out (“Animal Crossing: Wild World“) because I’d never heard of it back when I spent weekends hard-wired in to the GameCube. I know that I’d read online that it was similar to Harvest Moon, and as a fan of Harvest Moon: AWL (<- review) I must have bought in to the series then.

In reality, Animal Crossing is not that much like Harvest Moon at all. Sure, you have a little person that you control, and you can talk to people, but that’s where the similarity ends. Where Harvest Moon is about growing crops and making money, Animal Crossing is about planting flowers and making friends. The DS version of Animal Crossing is almost dependant on you logging in every day, because failure to do so causes flowers to die and cockroaches to take over your house.

When you’re not prettifying your town, entertainment can be found in shopping; fishing; hunting bugs; and digging up fossils. Relationships with townies are quite important and get you all-important ‘pictures’ which both decorate your house and increase your Happy Room Academy score, a means of testing how well you lay out your furniture (amongst other things).

Animal Crossing: Lets Go to the City is not really that different from Wild World (DS). Everything is bigger — obviously, you’re viewing on a much bigger screen — and the town layout allows for more landscape features… multiple levels, a second smaller waterfall, more space for houses; but the games are nonetheless identical in game play. The graphics are bold and colourful, and surprisingly ‘crisp’ (I’m not sure what I expected though).

When you first start the game, you’re on a bus with Rover, and you’re asked if you want to move a Wild World town over to the Wii. I’d be interested in trying this out eventually (I like my “Faraway”) but picked ‘new town’ to get a basic grasp on things. After giving Rover your name, the time/date, and choosing your gender, Kapp’n informs you that your bus has arrived. Cue an introductory period of about an hour, which you’ll spend working away for Tom Nook, meeting your new neighbours, buying your first tools, etc. All probably sounds very familiar to DS players, but there’s one key difference: you get to choose your own house. From a choice of four houses in different locations, with slightly different décor, you are able to begin the process of making a mark on your town.

Given that the game is so similar to the DS version, I can see me liking it just as much. There are some old annoyances around still (like having to talk to go through the same conversation every time you visit Nook’s, or every time you donate a fossil) but others are removed (after you identified all of your fossils at the museum, Blathers doesn’t ask you if you have any more to identify, the conversation takes you back to the main menu).

I need to play it more to give a more detailed review, but first impressions are good, and I’d suggest Wild World owners buy it despite the similarities just for the sake of owning another piece of cute Animal Crossing merchandise.

16 Comments

  1. Interesting. I may have to give it a try. I’ve played Harvest Moon a bit a few years ago (one of the girls I babysat was OBSESSED) and enjoyed it. It’s been so long since I’ve played a new game. I usually just stick to my favorites and call it a day. =)

  2. That might seem like a very silly question, but how bad are the bugs? If I take good care of my town, visiting daily and whatnot, will I see any? Are they all crawly and detailed? Do they make the horrible sprtch sound game creators so much love to make them do?

  3. Jem

    04 Dec at 9:28 pm

    @Julie: bugs in the game (DS version, not got this far for the Wii yet) are normally cute flying things, or things that sit on trees, and you catch them with your net and sell them or give them to the museum.

    The only creepy one is the tarantula :S

  4. Actually, I love tarantulas. :P I’ll give the game a try…The Sims: Castaway gave me nightmares because of the bugs.

  5. Ohmigosh I didn’t know this was out. But I kind of don’t want to go get a Wii just for this. :| Guuh. Jem, you should buy me a Wii (preferably with this game and Wii Fit included) and mail it to me. I’ll pay for postage. :D

  6. So, Jem is officially lame in my book.. ;)

  7. Jem

    04 Dec at 10:13 pm

    WHY? :|

  8. The being able to pick from a choice of houses is an option on the GameCube version (which I don’t enjoy as much as the DS version). Sadly, I don’t have a Wii and won’t be trying out the new Animal Crossing.

    As for the DS Animal Crossing… don’t forget the joy of having your house expanded against your will, and having to pay a few million bells worth of “mortgage.” Ugh. I’ve had the game for 7 months and haven’t finished paying it off yet.

  9. Can I borrow your Wii, Jem? Please? I’ll tell you allll about the game when I’m done with it…! ;)

  10. I don’t have a Wii (yet?), but perhaps I should buy the DS game. It sounds really fun, and I always liked games where you can play “house” or play God.

  11. I loved the GameCube version of Animal Crossing and it sounds like the Wii version is pretty much the same :) I definitely want to get it sometime.

  12. Jem you evil, I want my own copy now :'(

  13. how do u get bells on animal crossing lets go to the city please e-mail me at chlogang@hotmail.co.uk i have no idea at all thanx

  14. My DS town is overrun by weeds because I stopped playing for a long time :( I’m kind of sad that I sold my Wii cause I really want to play the new one!

  15. If you play Animal Crossing Wild World, Let’s Go to The City, Then i have a cheat for you:
    Go on the 12th Of April, And get as Many eggs from digging the ground (on the spot’s where it look’s like X’S). Try to get as many as possible! Then change your ”Wii’ date to 2 Of febuary 2008, (Monday) There will be a Viva Festival, and there will be a bird who shakes her but while dancing, Talk to her, she feels no good and wants candy, then give her all the candy she wants, and she will give you Pavé Furniture, m(Pavé is her name!)
    I HOPE I HELLPED getting you guys a cool room for the Happy Room Accademy!
    P.S you can aswell sell the furniture for really much money/bell’S!!!!!!!!!#
    <33<3<3<3<3<3<33<3

  16. It’s City Folk over here in the States, and I just got it earlier this week. Soon as I get a reliable wireless connection, I’m going to generate a Friend Code–would you be interested in exchanging towns then, so our people can visit? :)