#20: Animal Crossing

Platform: Nintendo GameCube
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release: 15/09/2002

We open with a game that captured my imagination, got me hooked, and made me feel responsible for the fortunes of a small village and its people. Back when I heard about the game being developed for the N64, I thought it seemed kind of odd.

After being in the works for what felt like a decade, it hit the GameCube, complete with underwhelming N64-style visuals. Despite this, I was encouraged by reviews, and when it finally came to Australia in 2004, I was happy to have it in my possession.

What delighted me about Animal Crossing was the game's unique personality. You don't have that many goals to accomplish, and you can do them whenever you like. Or not. Tom Nook may hassle you about paying off the loan, but if you never ever do, you won't suffer much more than a cramped living space.

Me personally, I wanted to go fishing instead, and hang out with a bitchy mouse named Limberg. It's definitely a pop in and play game; talk to the townspeople, do a favour here and there, then pop out. Dedicate as much or as little time as you want.


When I first slacked off in my playing duties, I felt dismayed that my house was infested with cockroaches, the town had been overrun with weeds, and all of my animal friends had been wondering where I was. I had to work hard to fix all this!!

So I spent hours fixing the decrepit condition of Überg. After I had cleared my conscience, it occurred to me: none of these creatures exist. Why in the hell should I care that they were unhappy with me?

That's the kind of thing Animal Crossing can do to you. Even though there are only six different personalities the animals can feature, you begin imagining extra quirks that make them feel different, even though they're just random occurrences. The sporty frog, Costeau, was often out and about and hard to locate. Goldie the dog lived next door and was always my first visit in the morning. And my boy, Alfonso the crocodile, he had an appetite like no other. The characters are limited, but nevertheless charming.

My friends and I would often try to outdo each other by furnishing our houses with the best gear, making the animals like us best with letters and gifts, and race to pay off the loan first. These small aspects of an actual community made the game even more fun.

The sequels, Wild World on the DS and Let's Go to the City on Wii, really didn't wow me much. They were minor improvements on the original without ever feeling much different. I had already invested my time and emotion on Überg, how could I forge that much interest in Calicove and Kamooka? I didn't. I simply stuck with my GameCube, and played my NES games, next to my completed skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex. And that suited me just fine.