Like many of you out there, I played the first Animal Crossing pretty obsessively when it first came out for the GameCube in the Fall of 2002. While it did resemble The Sims in many ways, AC was still a remarkably fresh and relaxing console game--and at that point, there wasn't much else like it. Back in those days, talk of an online Animal Crossing sequel was the stuff of dreams; until, of course, a glorified 2005 DS port which featured limited online functionality. But there was always the feeling that Animal Crossing had a limitless potential that was being held back by technology.
So now that a relatively next-gen Animal Crossing is on the verge of release, will Nintendo finally give this series the scope it's always deserved? I'll let a single sentence from 1UP's Giancarlo Varanini field this one:
City Folk seems like a missed opportunity to improve and enhance the series in almost every possible way.
If you've been following the development of City Folk, this should really come as no surprise. The N64-era graphics made it clear from the very beginning: we've got another glorified port on our hands, here. This is tremendously disappointing to me as a fan of the original game; since my 2002 obsession, I've learned the hard way that Animal Crossing is something you just can't get into again. I picked up the DS version a few years ago, only to find it held none of the magic or surprise of the original, since it was essentially the same game. And a series meant to slowly spoon-feed you a barrel of content isn't exactly appetizing once you've already consumed that entire barrel.
I would probably be far less irritated with City Folk if Nintendo did the impossible and actually included the dozen-or-so playable NES games that were included with the original Animal Crossing for the GameCube. But, in the interests of Virtual Console sales, these have been gone since the DS game. Yes, I realize that they'd like to make more money when the opportunity arises, but back in 2002, Nintendo was also selling old NES games for the abominable e-Reader at five bucks a pop--and later on individual GBA carts for 20 friggin' bucks--yet these products were somehow allowed to co-exist with Animal Crossing, which allowed you to find them in the game for free.
At least the upcoming enhanced Wii ports of Pikmin, Metroid Prime, etc. have the decency to not identify themselves as new games. Now, as long as they're not more than 20 bucks...
Related Links:
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