The Shrine

Well, it's less than two weeks away now, IGN has a nice 12 minute video of the localization team demonstrating some of the features of the game. That can be found here; http://media.ds.ign.com/media/682/682878/vids_1.html

Essentially, it looks like everything has been expanded upon from the video game, but the NES titles have been removed from the game; the feature they used to replace it is a much larger focus on events; they existed in the first one, but in this version they have been improved upon drastically. In the original Animal Crossing events were fixed around the cultures of the places where the game was released; so Japanese holidays would be different from US holidays for example. Now the events are universal due to the WiFi AC world.

There seem to be a lot more design features in the game, and the existing ones from the previous game have been improved upon. Letters are MUCH easier to type, and the interesting thing is that now with the Wifi connection, it is easy for letters to spread throughout the world from DS to DS.

As for the DS as a format, with the touch screen, the portability, etc.. The developers agree that the game is much more suited to the DS than it was to the Gamecube.

Famitsu gave the game the score of 37/40 (9, 9, 9, 10).

The game was just released in Japan today, so there will be more information coming in shortly.

I am interested to see how well this game stacks up to the new Mario Kart (which is among the most addictive games I have ever played. I haven't even played Civilization 4 since I picked up Mario Kart). This might mean 3 HIGHLY addictive high-quality games in a very short period of time.

The game sold 350,000 copies during its first week which might be a DS record so far (unless Nintendogs beat it). Pushing DS sales that same week to 160,000.

Its Famitsu score is higher than Mario Kart's (36).

AC & Mario Kart - getting both as soon as I get my DS from freegamingsystems.com.

I just got Animal Crossing. It seems to have been released early. I am not complaining =)

More info as soon as I get some play time into it.

If it has the sharing-elements-between-towns thing I may pick it up. I was sad to have missed that all with you guys first time around.

So far the game seems quite a bit like the original. The navigation, writing, designing elements are WAY easier though. Fishing on the DS has become incredibly easy due to the ability to aim with the touchpad. Controls have been drastically improved.

I have noticed characters making returns, Bluebear and Bizkit are in my town. The museum is expanded, there is an observatory upstairs and a bar downstairs (I am not sure what sort of functions go on here yet, but there is a piano and what appears to be a dance floor). There is also more to do at the gate, and apparently there are other locations, I was told about the Boondox, and how it is possible to donate money to help the people there out.

When the top screen is not being used, it displays the sky, and you can see constellations that you're able to make (of course I made a swastika =P).

On fishing, I caught three Tuna, donated one to the museum, and sold two for 14,000 which nearly paid off my house.

As housing goes, the first player who plays is able to select on the map where the house is located (I located mine conveniently between town hall, Tom Nook's, and the Sewing shop. Speaking of Nook's, there seems to be a point level system, I have 66 of 251 so far (I bought out the store today); 251 being the next level. I assume it is just that Nook will upgrade his shop once it reaches 251 points after I spend enough money.

Yesterday seemed to be the last day of autumn, it began to snow today.

Definitely, the best feature of this gameis the portability of it; it REALLY benefits from being portable, in fact, now it almost seems silly that they even released it for Console originally. As for the online function, I haven't tested it, I know one other person who bought the game, but she has gone home to Toronto for the winter break and I didn't get her contact info; and I can't be bothered right now as I am still exploring the game, maybe in a few days or so. I want to make some more tunes.

I do really hope they develop the website for this game as good as they had the first one (with the daily news and features, etc...).

Overall, this game is at least my second favourite of the year, I am finding it to be a lot of fun. First is still Civilization 4 but Mario Kart and Animal Crossing are both definitely right up there.

I'll have a lot more on the game over the next few weeks.

I have been playing quite a bit as well. My first loan is paid off now, and I am more than half done with the second. Key notes.

1) The point system does NOT have any effect on Nook remodeling. I am at 209 points and about 82 points to becoming a member, and he has already upgraded to the Nook n' Go.

2) The bar is used to catch K. K. Slider on Saturday nights. Also you can find Phyliss or Pelly there waiting to go on their shift about 30 minutes before they start, and in fact for 10 minutes or so (kinda a guess) they are each working together. Also I ran into Rover, the cat you met on the train in the original AC, once down there.

3) The constilations are seasonal, meaning you can set some for winter, and then when the time comes, you will be able to set spring, summer, and fall. To me this is actually kinda cool, because after I set my first constilations, my viligers actually talk about em sometimes at night.

4) You can get 3 new tools, a watering can, a stopwatch, and a slingshot. The slingshot is used to shoot down presents that float across the top screen. The watering can is to help wilted flowers, and the timer is for contests when you have friends over to visit.

5) One thing I dont like is how everyone shares one house and one loan in this game. Kinda takes some of the fun out of it for me personally, part of the fun for me was seeing how everyone else in the town decorated their houses. Oh well, the people in my house are going to move out once they get their own games.

Oh yeah, and watch out for Redd's fake paintings and his friends insurance scam. Just a word of warning.

This game will probably force me to get a DS. Sigh.

I already fell for the insurance scam, I think, only 3,000 bells, no big deal when I haul in a few Tuna daily =)

I haven't been paying for my house lately, I have been buying out the store lately, and I bought out Redd as well today.

Another thing I will add.

They now use Red Turnips, it is a kind of turnip that you can actually plant and grow and sell to Nook. The only catch is you have to water them once daily or else they will die. When I tried to buy some, they were sold out, I guess there won't be any on sale until spring. That adds a farming element into the game, they must have taken a hint from Harvest Moon =)

There's a lot more accessories and stuff, you can get monacles, glasses, fake mustaches, etc... Along with different types of hats, something that is small, but added.

I haven't gone to the bar many times, but I have living in my town: Kody (the Richard Simmons wannabe bear), Bluebear (the ditzy bear), Biskit (the rapper stoner dog), Maelle (a strange duck woman), Wolfgang (a nazi wolf), Lily (frog woman who just moved in), Chow (a big fat pink Panda I think, just moved in today).

It began to snow about 3 days ago, and yesterday the snow started staying on the ground.

I found out about the red turnips myself. As for my vilagers, I have Patty, a cow who loves fossils, Chow, whom you just got, he is quite fun. Monique is an extremly fasion concious cat who loves pink. Jeremiah is a frog who is kinda hoity-toity. Samson is a mouse, havent really talked to him. Aurora is my fave, she is an extremly sweet penguin. I just talked her out of moving away, made my day. Lucky is a dog wraped up like a mummy, and Rocco is a hippo. Having a blast so far ^_^

PS you can only get coffee once a day.

http://www.animalxing.com/hairstyles.php

I'm going to get spikey white hair =)

lol yeah that would be interesting. Are you getting on Wi-Fi at all? If you are I will have to get you my friend code. Also I did a bit of reaserch, it looks like there are 9 house loans this time, and when you are finished you will have 4 rooms downstairs, an upstairs, and the attic where your characters stay. Pretty sweet if you ask me. So in the end even if you have more than one person living in your town they can ultimatly have their own rooms.

Hey Mac, if you've got turnips to sell, they're going for 300 today at my place.


Just be forewarned that my town is certainly not the place for people who are easily offended or have beliefs; particularly dealing with certain 20th century iconic symbolism =P

300!!! Wowza! Are you on Wi-Fi? If you are I will see if I can hook up with you tonight and sell mine ^_^ Damn 300 is nice ^_^ I bought for 87. My friend code is 330773574287. My town name is Calhoun and my character is, surprise, M'k'n'zy.

M'k'n'zy wrote:300!!! Wowza! Are you on Wi-Fi? If you are I will see if I can hook up with you tonight and sell mine ^_^ Damn 300 is nice ^_^ I bought for 87. My friend code is 330773574287. My town name is Calhoun and my character is, surprise, M'k'n'zy.

Alright, I am putting it on right now. You're added to my list.

This is my information:

2191-0452-6123
Town: Damerung
Name: James

Please, I warn you, the town is littered with Nazi and Soviet symbolism, I am not a Nazi nor do I condone anything they ever did, I'm just a guy with a very bad sense of humour and style =)

The gate is opened. I'm just going to leave my DS in standby for now; I assume you can still enter, though I am entirely not sure.

My favourite piece of art is the Che Guevara portrait (which you will see surrounding my house on the outside).

lol well I just got freed up, I am going to run to a friends place where I can access the wi-fi and connect to you in a minute here. Mabye you will be playing then ^_^

I have important work to complete tonight, so I won't be able to play. The gate is still open though. Just post when you're finished.

I am home and finished, though for me they were only 157 bells, not 300. Oh well, I still made a good profit ^_^ Thanks man.

M'k'n'zy wrote:I am home and finished, though for me they were only 157 bells, not 300. Oh well, I still made a good profit ^_^ Thanks man.

You're right. This is strange. This morning they were 300, I SWEAR! =)

Hmmmm, this might mean that prices change at different time intervals than just overnight.

I'm going to have to visit your town now. I am sure it is a much less offensive place than mine =)

lol, I have lots of friends here who play that can use the Wi-Fi. We will figure something out.

Tortolia wrote:This game will probably force me to get a DS. Sigh.

Once you take a look around and try some other games I think you'll find at least 3 or 4 more that'll be great purchases. Castlevania, Kirby, Wario Ware, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Mario and Luigi 2 are just ones off the top of my head. That's what finally forced me to get one a month ago, too many good things on it I wanted to play.

Well, that and the 43% discount from the idiots at EB :-)

I have sooooo many DS games I want to play. There are more on the DS than the consoles or PSP.

AC
WW:Touched
Ace: Attorney whatever
Mario 64 DS
Mario Kart
Mario and Luigi 2
Kirby
Harvest Moon-when it comes out
Nintendogs

Soooooo many.

Zeus wrote:

Tortolia wrote:This game will probably force me to get a DS. Sigh.

Once you take a look around and try some other games I think you'll find at least 3 or 4 more that'll be great purchases. Castlevania, Kirby, Wario Ware, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Mario and Luigi 2 are just ones off the top of my head. That's what finally forced me to get one a month ago, too many good things on it I wanted to play.

Well, that and the 43% discount from the idiots at EB :-)

Advance Wars Duel Strike is definately up there. I also really like Phoenix Wright and Sonic Rush. Then there is Mario 64DS, but I haven't really played that one.

Back to Animal Crossing for a bit - is the Wi-Fi stuff easy to use? I.E., can I use my already-set-up wireless network at home and just hop on and interact with you all, in whatever sense that's meant?

Also, is the game really top-notch?

If so, I might be able to justify $100 for the used DS and $40 for the game. It seems like something that might be very very fun. Otherwise, I'm gonna save the cash...

Mental wrote:Back to Animal Crossing for a bit - is the Wi-Fi stuff easy to use? I.E., can I use my already-set-up wireless network at home and just hop on and interact with you all, in whatever sense that's meant?

Also, is the game really top-notch?

If so, I might be able to justify $100 for the used DS and $40 for the game. It seems like something that might be very very fun. Otherwise, I'm gonna save the cash...

Well, it depends if you are into games like this or not. The Wifi is easy to use, and if you're in a city then you can almost connect anywhere. I'm in the upper North East corner of the continent and I can connect almost everywhere (no one protects their connection. Yeah, the Wifi is very easy to use and you can connect using your own router VERY easily; if you don't have one, the adaptors are fairly cheap. Mario Kart is the other major online game right now, another one I highly recommend (I am more into AC though).


Speaking of Animal Crossing, in its third week in Japan the game has topped 600K, also, witht he debut of Mario Kart (sold 220K copies) DS units surged forth to 300K sales last week. Not bad, looks like handheld gaming is really taking over =)

I was surprised how easy it was to connect with the wi-fi. Animal Crosssing is WAY too much fun, and you cant lose with mario kart either. Also, the new DS Tony Hawk game is wi-fi as well.

Hmmmm, you're like the news of the hour in my town. They all seem to think you're a millionaire =P

Well I did end up leaving your town with over 100000 bells. Mabye that has something to do with it? We will have to arange for you to visit my town sometime. Mabye later tonight (Monday)

Well, it would have to be soon tonight, I am busy after 9:00 my time (which is 8:00 Eastern). Also, on Wednesday I am going to Central America until after Christmas. I should be free most of tommorow though if you can't make it tonight.

Tomorrow night will most likely be what to aim for. I have to work early, and I just have too much to do today. We will see what happens.

I might be able to get online from Honduras, I am staying at a friends place and I am sure she has Wifi connections and all of that stuff there.

My DS order is being processed and shipped so I should have it within the next week or so and then I will be available to join you guys.

Do you play all at once, or one at a time in your town?

All at once, up to 4 players. We haven't done more than 2 yet though.

That's pretty funny.

By the way, if you're planning on picking up AC, Seraph, you might want to start checking around. I had to call 5 stores before I found a copy. I just ran over to the Gamestop near my work and picked it up (along with MK DS). Now I just have to wait for my DS to be delivered.

Oh, we dont have a DS....I just got AC for the gamecube recently (Happy bday to me!)

I like it, but its seeming really slow to start.

Oh yeah, this Sunday was the fishing tourney. Every time you beat your own record, the mayor will give you a new prize. I got a computer and a tall cactus out of it. In the end I won with a 45.6 inch sea bass and got a trophy for my troubles =)

Nook has upgraded to Nookington's Department store. I got my white spikey hair =)

I also bought a Hitler stache at the clothing store, along with a military uniform =)

Also, in the DS version (of course), it does seem that Turnip prices change about halfway through the day. For me it seems to be around 2:00 PM.

I have noticed that about the turnip prices. I also won my fishing contest, 38.4 inch red snapper. Sorry I wasnt able to get online last night, but my friend Erich decided he wanted to go out last night, so we ended up going out to a bar and then to see Narnia.

Hey Mac, turnips selling for 394 in my town this afternoon.

(I'm now a millionaire! =P)

damn. My nook is stingy, I havent seen him ever get above 120 for turnips. Unfortunatly I dont have any right now so it doesnt do me much good, I was busy Christmas Morning, so I couldnt see Joan.

I need to get that for our DS so I can play with yous guys (I got a DS for Sine for xmas )

Seraphina wrote:I need to get that for our DS so I can play with yous guys (I got a DS for Sine for xmas )

You did get him the Mario Kart one, yes?

Seraphina wrote:I need to get that for our DS so I can play with yous guys (I got a DS for Sine for xmas )

I really like Animal Crossing DS, the online feature and spreading of culture really gives a national community feeling to places. I think my town is the evilest town out there right now =D


But it isn't different from the Gamecube version, it is more like the Gamecube version + Expansion Set. That's the best way to describe it. So you might not want to buy it right away, or at all unless this type of game appeals to you.

Zeus wrote:

Seraphina wrote:I need to get that for our DS so I can play with yous guys (I got a DS for Sine for xmas )

You did get him the Mario Kart one, yes?

Well I had to buy it from best buy..had a 100 dollar return from a holiday party, and they were out of the mario kart bundle. Besides, he wouldnt play mario kart. So I got him Dawn of Sorrow

The Seeker wrote: I really like Animal Crossing DS, the online feature and spreading of culture really gives a national community feeling to places. I think my town is the evilest town out there right now =D


But it isn't different from the Gamecube version, it is more like the Gamecube version + Expansion Set. That's the best way to describe it. So you might not want to buy it right away, or at all unless this type of game appeals to you.

Well, being able to travel to friends towns easier would make it more fun. I am enjoying the gamecube version, though I only play for about an hour or so a day.

I wanna get mario kart as well, that should make for some fun online shrine competition!

Seraphina wrote:

Zeus wrote:

Seraphina wrote:I need to get that for our DS so I can play with yous guys (I got a DS for Sine for xmas )

You did get him the Mario Kart one, yes?

Well I had to buy it from best buy..had a 100 dollar return from a holiday party, and they were out of the mario kart bundle. Besides, he wouldnt play mario kart. So I got him Dawn of Sorrow

Ah, ya shoulda mentioned it. I would have told you about Walmart's VERY liberal return policy (ie. "I lost my receipt..."). $10 for Mario Kart is a great deal.

When I get a wireless router, I'd love to do some karting with you guys.

Zeus wrote:

Seraphina wrote:

Zeus wrote: You did get him the Mario Kart one, yes?

Well I had to buy it from best buy..had a 100 dollar return from a holiday party, and they were out of the mario kart bundle. Besides, he wouldnt play mario kart. So I got him Dawn of Sorrow

Ah, ya shoulda mentioned it. I would have told you about Walmart's VERY liberal return policy (ie. "I lost my receipt..."). $10 for Mario Kart is a great deal.

When I get a wireless router, I'd love to do some karting with you guys.

You don't have any connections floating around? You live in Toronto right? The whole city is like one giant wifi hotspot.

I live in Kitchener-Waterloo.....