Animal Crossing was originally developed for the Nintendo 64 under the title Animal Forest. The game never saw release outside of Japan. However, Nintendo saw the potential and appeal in the title and therefore re-released the game in America with enhanced graphics and added content for the Nintendo GameCube. Since then, Japan has seen various remixes of the game and also a connectivity spin-off with the Game Boy e-Reader.
A few months prior to the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Nintendo announced it was creating an Animal Crossing II. Nintendo has divulged zero information besides the obvious, that it will be a sequel.
The following is what I envision for the world of Animal Crossing II.
Dream Game: Animal Crossing II
Customization is the key word here. When you start-up a new game, you'll be taken to a screen where you can create your own character - from the color of his hair all the way down to the size of his big toe.
With the Game Boy Camera (if Nintendo were to ever release it), players will have the ability to map their face directly onto their Animal Crossing character. This would be similar to what Nintendo has done with its Stage Debut game - using the e-Reader to warp-in Nintendo related characters and personnel. Players will have the option of choosing from a list of hundreds of characters from the Nintendo Universe. Imagine playing as the gentle Zelda, the courageous Samus, a flowery Pikmin, or even the jolly Satoru Iwata.
In addition, enabling the game to be online will open up a wealth of constantly updated skins. In the situation that the game is online capable, players could use a simple digital camera, upload the image to the internet and download it into the game for use. You want to be George Bush? No problem, just download the image, add a little flair and welcome to Animal Crossing II.
The original Animal Crossing allowed up to four character saves on a single memory card. Despite this, no more than one player at a time was permitted to play. For Animal Crossing II, up to four players can play on screen at the same time or up to eight when connecting GameCubes by LAN. This will allow people to interact in the town directly. In addition, this will allow multiplayer NES games or whatever other multiplayer mini-games Nintendo could potentially include.
Animal Crossing II will not fall into the footsteps of being a life-simulating game like the Electronic Arts' The Sims. Rather at heart, the game will be free-spirited and not feature the Hunger Meter, Happiness Meter and so on that are crucial to the gameplay in The Sims. Many agree, a fantasy element to video games is necessary.
The Hiz-ouse
The home is where the action is at. In our fantasy world, we can decorate our home in whichever manner we prefer. We can follow in the footsteps of Martha Stuart. Whether your home has pink wall-paper or a shag carpet is totally up to you. In Animal Crossing II the house is going to be a world of its own. Not only will you be able to upgrade your house more than 5 times, the items you can place in your house will be as diverse as the colors in a rainbow.
There will be a wide assortment of decorations including curtains, shades, wallpaper, pictures and artwork to hang on walls. There will be more floors including rugs, tile, etc. And no house is complete without a disco ball and lava lamp. Why not take it back to the 80s and recreate the roller skating rink? On a more serious note, players should have the ability to section off rooms inside the house, thereby splitting a single room into seperate distinct rooms.
Every house has a radio and television. What better way to find out the weather for the day than to turn on the radio or TV? The radio will feature various Nintendo themed stations such as the 101.3 Donkey Kong Gangsta Rap, or the 104.1 Mario Smooth Jazz. In addition, your television will re-run episodes of the old Mario and Donkey Kong cartoons.
To bring the Harvest Moon to the world of Animal Crossing requires the inclusion of pets. A cat is necessary to keep your house clear of pests, or a dog to ward off burglars (which in an online universe, is a real possibility).
Backyard Lounge
You can't have a house without a backyard. The backyard should be big enough for a lawn and your personal tree house (which can be used for storage). You can decorate your patio with furniture and tiki torches. As such, the furniture needs to be more interactive. The fountains and sprinkler in the original Animal Crossing were nice and all, but for a backyard, we're going to need a barbecue that spits fire.
Weather effects in Animal Crossing II should be much more diverse. It'd be neat to have an occasional thunderstorm. Perhaps even a hurricane that would occassionally flood the banks of the town washing away the Able Sister's ugly house.
The Gyroids in the original Animal Crossing were pretty bland. For those who don't remember, Gyroids are the odd fire-hydrant esque robots that made all sorts of freaky sounds. Nintendo needs to do something to spice them up. Nintendo is a master of cross-marketing games. Why not throw in a bunch of Nintendo themed characters? Imagine a cluster of Pikmin Gyroids all "brrp", "urrp", and "ting"ing away in unison. If you collect enough of them, these Nintendo themed Gyroids will play theme songs from their original games.
Finally, there should be more critters other than just fish and bugs to catch. How about rodents? Birds? Rabbits?
Small Town to Big City
The town itself doesn't necessarily have to be much larger than the original game. However, there is no reason not to include different town environments. Why not have a mountain town? Or a beach town? Or a town stuck in the Mojave desert?
No town is complete without villagers. The number of villagers should be heightened so that the number of people who live in the town will actually have an effect on the town's health. If people love your town so much, filling up every acre, pollution will become a problem. As a result, the trees will start dying and the garbage dump will hit its capacity. You will be encouraged then to keep your town at an equilibrium. If you lack people, the local businesses won't be able to offer as much merchandise to you. If you have a surplus of people, your town will become a ghetto.
Now, lets get back to the topic of villagers. How you act in front of villagers will actually affect how they like you. It's a simple concept. If you tell them mean things such as "You smell", they will hate you. If you give them presents, they will like you.
For example, when I smack Tortimor upside the head with a net for trampling my flowers, I want to see tears flowing from his eyes. Or when Nook makes fun of me for getting stung in the eye by a bee, I want to be able spread a nasty rumor about him "wetting his bed" to the other townsfolk.
The original game's townsfolk consisted of animals such as cats, cows, horses, elephants, frogs, etc. In Animal Crossing II there will be even more animals. How about a dolphin who lives in the lake next to your house? (More about this later) Or how about a bird that lives in the town tree?
Okay, enough about animals. Now lets explore the rest of the town. To do this we could use a vehicle. Traveling these days can't be done without a car, bicycle, boat, or even submarine. In fact, I'll take one of each.
After hopping on my bicycle, I'd casually ride to the local Nook's Extraordinary Mall. While progressing through the game, I had assisted in Nook's upgrading of his business from a simple gas station convenience store to the current juggernaut that is a mall.
Nook's Mall contains various places to shop. There is a Home Depot type store where you can buy items to remodel your home and yard. In addition, there's a music store to buy the latest radio hit. As well, there's the requisite clothing outlet where you can purchase the latest fashion or hat (sweaters, t-shirts, dresses, etc.). And finally there is an electronics store where you can buy a TV, your favorite NES video game, or a brand new cell phone to call your town buddies (writing letters is so yesterday). Oh, and no mall is complete without a salon. Be sure to drop by and get yourself a manicure or a new hairdo.
After our pleasant day at the mall, it's time to go outside and get some fresh air. In Animal Crossing II there will be more things to do besides the usual fishing, bug catching, etc. Perhaps swimming and scuba diving? The ability to scuba dive would give the player the perfect opportunity to visit the dolphin who lives in the lake. In addition there should be sports such as Tennis or Basketball. Oh, and one cannot forget skiing. The winter months can become quite boring. Sleds are a necessity as well.
No town is complete without a garbage dump. Afterall, you'll need to keep your town clean if you hope to attract new townsfolk. Speaking of which, the garbage man (a skunk) picks up the garbage from your town every Wednesday. If you wake up early enough, you can catch a ride on the truck and go to the actual Garbage Dump. The Garbage Dump is a huge maze of junk. Here you can find various interesting and hard to find items.
Everything in the Animal Crossing universe is up to the player. Nevertheless, an occasional scripted story-mode action wouldn't hurt. Lets say one day Mrs. WobbleTooth loses her car keys. It's your job to do a little detective work around the town, asking questions, and looking for clues to find her keys.
On another occasion, Mr. SmellsWorth is craving a particular flower that can only be acquired from the botanist living in another town. It's time for you to hop on the train and travel to your neighboring town.
Indeed, your town scenery will become drab after a while. This is where the ability to travel to other towns - and more specifically online play - will come in handy.
The Road Less Travelled
Leaving your town requires access to the internet. In order to travel to another town, you must visit the Downtown Hub. Here you will have access to anyone's town who is currently online. This is why it's necessary to have a guard dog to protect your house and keep out anyone trying to loot your goods. If your town police catches anyone vandalizing your town, that individual will be taken to jail. The criminal will be required to pay a certain amount of Bells before being freed (which, if they don't have enough, can be worked off by repairing the town). And no, resetting your GameCube isn't going to get you out of this situation. In Animal Crossing II, Mr. Resetti knows Karate and won't be hesitant to Kung Foo your ass.
While you're downtown, you'll find a map/town directory with hundreds of towns listed. Once you decide where you'd like to go, you must purchase a bus ticket, and after a short cutscene, you'll arrive in the brand spankin' new town.
Here's another added online bonus. By using your new computer that you bought at Nook's Mall, you'll have the ability to trade items with other people on the Animal Crossing II server. It will be set up in an eBay style, where you must bid on auctions using Bells. This will compliment the already existing password system that the original game introduced.
Occupational Slavery
Jobs are an optional part of Animal Crossing II. No one likes to work, so it's best that Nintendo keeps jobs optional. Those players looking for an additional Bell or two can get a job at the local Mall. This is in addition to chores the various townsfolk may have you perform (washing windows, cutting grass, etc.)
Technicalities
The ideas presented are ambitious and likely too complex to be accomplished on the GameCube. Nintendo should instead wait and create Animal Crossing II for its next-generation home console, which will hopefully feature online capabilities and a built-in hard drive. Here are a few additional must-have features:
- shorter save times
- fully 3D graphics (cel-shading?)
- keyboard support
- LAN support
As we're all bound to have our own conceptions of Animal Crossing II, N-Sider would like to hear your ideas. Please send your Animal Crossing II Dream Game ideas to glen@n-sider.com
*saves file to avoid the wrath of Mr. Resetti*
End.
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