The Animal Crossing phenomenon
Animal Crossing, everyone talks about it but what is it actually? It all started in 2001 on the Nintendo 64. Though the original game never made it to the west, at least in 2004 you were allowed to revamp it Gamecube Port look forward. Right public the game was only named in 2005 with the sequel Animal Crossing: Wild World, which is for the Nintendo DS 12 million Times sold. This was followed by other successful parts and offshoots and with Animal Crossing: New Horizons a new part of the main series for Nintendo Switch appears for the first time in 7 years.
But what are these games all about? Animal Crossing falls into the genre “life simulation”. Means: You just do it in the games, was you want. The setting changes a little with every game. In the latest offshoot you can move to a desert island, build your own house there, make friends with your neighbors and do daily tasks. You decide which they are, because after all this is your virtual life!
Your own island life
It all starts with that you are not just yourself alter ego put together, but must also choose from one of four islands. If you have done both, the journey starts and the new relaxed life begins. But it quickly becomes clear that this is not yet as relaxing as one would have liked. Because first you have to choose a place for your own tent. When this is done, the two neighbors are also helped to find a place. Even after that, it doesn’t get any more relaxed, because for the inauguration party you have to collect branches. These are scattered around the island and can be stored in the virtual bag. Are the branches the real owner of the island – Tom Nook – given, you can look forward to a small celebrationn, um then to end the first day. But this was just the beginning of a beautiful but sometimes with a lot job connected new life.
Is the resident himself
The next day we not only get to know our new home, but also all of thems, wThere is work to be done there and that is not necessarily little. The island is teeming with life. Whether insects, fish or plants, there is a lot to discover on the new island and it quickly becomes clear that there are many activities like for example fishing or Chop wood needs a specific tool. Fortunately, Tom shows us Nook how to put something together without further ado. In a small tutorial we get our first tool: The Angel!
Armed with it, we storm to the sear, um our first attempts at fishing and after a short Check out the quite simple fishing mechanism, we catch our first fish. We do this until our fishing rod suddenly turns to dust in front of our eyes. Ohh non:/ – fortunately got us Tom Nook but shownt, wie one New tinker and with a look at our handicraft instructions it quickly becomes clear that we only need 5 branches for this. Fortunately, as we found out on the first evening, they are scattered all over the place, so we go looking. Shortly afterwards we have all the branches together and make a new rod. We gradually receive new instructions and thus expand ours repertoire on tools. About an ax to cut down trees and thereby gain wood. A shovel to hit rocks so that we can get stones and ore or a fishing netz, um to catch insects. Tools make it possible for us Variety of activitiesn, um to collect new itemsn / Awhat do you do with all that stuff?
I build it the way I like it
Not only we have settled the island, but also Tom Nook and his two helpers are at home here. These offer different services, such as a small shop where we can not only buy different goods every day, but also get rid of our hard-earned belongings. For just about everything – including weeds – we are using so-called Sternies rewarded, which enable us to buy something in the store. There is, among other things, things theree, dOtherwise there is hardly to be found. It means all kinds of furnishings that are used to beautify either the island or our home. No matter whether a new wardrobe, a new wallpaper or floor. There is almost no limitn, um to design his new home like thisn, wyou want it. Of course we find new handicraft instructions here and theren, um to produce furniture myself – The instructions can be found, for example, in a message in a bottle, in a gift or by interacting with the neighbors. So you constantly expand your handicraft knowledge and get more and more possibilitiesn, nto create something new.
But you can not only adapt your surroundings to your wishes, you can also be alter ego you can go to Heart’s content clothe. Cap, pants, shirt, shoes and even socks can be chosen – provided you have new clothinge, dhe can also be found or bought. The most creative minds can even create their own designs and then share them with other players. Do you have more than just a shirt? Hang it on the wall in your house or give it to a neighbor and see zu, whe may be wearing it himself. The world is lively and interactive – we like it!
Small island, many options
Your own island has a lot to offer and is very similarh, wAs you do there – you will be rewarded. Not just with possible itemsn, die you pick up, but also with so-called miles. Miles are another currency alongside Sternieswhich you can only use for the mileage shop. There you can do useful things like one enlargement buy your bag or mileage tickets for that Travel mysterious islands. Miles are available for almost everything you do. Selling weeds, fishing for fish, talking to neighbors or whatever plants new trees. The mileage program can also be used as one Art Trophy system are viewed, your milestones are recorded there at the same time. The miles system is a nice new feature that motivates you to do certain activities on the island. At the same time, it rewards hardworking players. At some point, however, the time will comet, awith his miles only a little New can buy.
Collect, build, talk to neighbors. That sounds good, but let’s be honest. That gets monotonous over time. That is exactly what runs Animal Crossing a little different than some other game because the simulation uses the same Time system like in the real world. If we have March 1st, it is also in Animal Crossing the first of March dawned. The same applies to the time. If we play at night, we also explore our island at night. The game uses the system time your switch. But why is that so important? Very simple: Every day in the game is quasi unique and you can count on itn, dyou always eat something New discovered. New neighbors move in, your house is enlarged, new shops are built or a museum is opened to catalog any living thing or fossil with your help. The concept works and leaves a lot of anticipation for the next days. In addition, the island of every single player is unique and, apart from a few predetermined events, everything there too fortuitously happens.
Together is not always a good thing
You can even experience what happens on the islands of the players – there are several options. On the one hand you can receive visitors and invite them to come to your island. Only players from your friends list or owners of a temporary Dodo code are allowed, which you can share with others. You can also travel to other islands but only with the criteria mentioned above. No matter whether you are traveling to someone or yourself Visitor gets that common activities are very limited. Chat a little, be Belongings present and make the island unsafe are almost all possibilitiesn, dyou have. Gifting items is also subject to certain conditions restrictions. You can fish, insects and fossils for example do not give away. This is probably because Nintendo wants you to discover every single living being yourself.
It gets even worse when you play together on a console. If you believe that you can have your own island on the same console with a different player account, you are deceiving. All other players just move up the same Island of the first player and act as neighbors there. In addition, the wisdom that counts “who comes firstt, mchoose first ”- because if all trees have been felled, all stones looted, this is also the case for all other players. The island’s resources are shared with the other players, making it more of an ordeal for more players than a leisurely stay on the island. If you want to own your own island, you must own another console including a game. It is unknown whether Nintendo will address this issue in an update.
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