It all started with a clock. As game consoles entered the fifth and sixth generation, what they were capable of grew as well. Nintendo looked to the internal workings and to see if a game could be built around it. The result was one of the most beloved titles that Nintendo had created. Animal Crossing, a casual game about life in a village, came to America 17 years ago.
You are the new person in town. After getting a loan from Tom Nook, you move into your house. The goal is to grow your house,but only if you wanted to. The joy of Animal Crossing is meeting your neighbors and just living your life in the village. You can visit any of the 15 houses and participate in daily activities. There is no real end game. Casual game is a genre now, but it was this game that put it on the map.
Back to the clock. The GameCube had an internal clock which tracked the time and days of the year. The developers made this a huge part of the game. Everything happened in real time, from holidays and time cycles. This made Animal Crossing more lifelike and real then other games. The loss of progress was so important that if a gamer turned off the game without resetting, a character named Mr. Resetti would actually scold the player for doing so.
Friends could get into the fun of Animal Crossing. If another player had created a village, it could be visited. This was before online gaming, so the use of a memory card had to be used. Players could even play in the same village on different consoles. Things were different in every town, down to the different items stocked in the store. A player could move to a friend’s town if they wished.
Animal Crossing was celebrated for creating a world that was real and fun for everyone. From the competitions to the hidden NES games that could be played, life in the village was pretty sweet. It took awhile, but the fifth game is coming next year. Animal Crossing is one of the few retro games that can be played now and still be just as fun.
