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| From: Nintendo
List Price: $34.99
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New (21) Used (29) from $19.75
Rating:  373 reviews
Sales Rank: 166
Platform: Nintendo Ds
Genre: strategy_games;action_games
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.9 x 0.8
MPN: 100730
Model: 73592
UPC: 045496735920
EAN: 0045496735920
ASIN: B0009Z3MQK
Release Date: December 5, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Barely touched, perfect condition!! Ready to go!!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Animal Crossing was MADE for the Handheld December 13, 2005
Sean A. Rhodes (Aurora, Colorado)
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
On the Gamecube, Animal Crossing was a hit. It was addictive, different, and a game that anyone could get into. Despite how grand it was on the Gamecube, you just couldn't help but admit the console was not a place for a game like Animal Crossing. Well, Nintendo obviously knew it because they released it on the DS. This isn't a port. It's more of a revamp of what Animal Crossing really is. And with it being taken on the go, it's just all out better that way.
You begin the game as a human talking with Kapp'n. He'll ask you a series of questions and depending on how you answer them determines what you'll look like. As a human you've just moved to this new little town. Kapp'n has helped you find a place of your own, and now you have to do what you can to repay him. You'll be given several job tasks that you can do for this, and they'll all earn you lots of money in the long run.
The task you can do are simple little task. You're able to catch fish, run errands for townfolk and dig up fossils. No different than what you did in the Gamecube version. In these task there aren't very many changes. The only noteable change is how much easier it is to identify fossils. Other than that, the only other difference is the abundance of these items.
The new task in Wild World aren't much. You now you can maintain a garden and shoot floating presents out of the sky with a slingshot. They're not very satisfying, and just don't make you feel like you're getting much of anything done like the other task do.
Of course, no one plays Animal Crossing just to do those mundane tasks for nothing. Aside from paying back your debt to Kapp'n and other debts that'll come along, you can go to the shop and buy items to pimp out your house! This is, believe it or not, the most exciting feature in Animal Crossing. It's fun to show your friends what your house is sporting. It gives you bragging rights, and the items sold in the shops change daily, meaning you'll check in constantly.
There's more to its complexity. The game uses the DS's internal clock to move about in real time. And yes, it does recognize holidays, and therefore a theme comes from them. Every Saturday there is also a flea market where you can pick up lots of goodies for your house. Again, this is what makes Animal Crossing work.
One disappointment I did have with the game... no NES goodness. One of the funnest parts of the original on Gamecube was buying an NES and playing classic games right on the spot. You can't do that here and that's pretty sad.
Like any simulator type of game, Animal Crossing has an array of characters to talk with. It's nice to see that when you talk to other characters they don't say the same old mundane and boring things over and over. They always have something else to say, and at times it's funny. And just like real life, people will move in and out of town constantly. This adds a lot to the game's value as far as being a different experience each and every time. The game, for the most part, never gets old.
Despite how fun Animal Crossing is, it's a game that should only be played in small sips. This is because of the day to day basis in it. It's a pain sometimes, but it also makes sure you check back everyday. This was what killed the Gamecube version of the game. You had to load up a game everyday and check on your town. If you left the game unattended for too long, your town began to decay and look less appealing, becoming clustered with weeds and the like. This alone, made the Gamecube version frustrating, and is why it is better suited for a handheld than anything else. Since you can carry your DS with you whereever you go, you can also load it up on the go daily and take care of your daily task. Say you go to a friends house... take your DS. This is much better than picking up your Gamecube and going (if your friend didn't have one).
The game does have touch screen controls. You can guide your character and whatnot, but it's a whole lot easier to use the D-Pad for that kind of stuff. It makes writing letters easier, but for other tasks like fishing and gardening, the touch screen will slow you down more than anything. It's not really a waste of what the touch screen could do. It's just not easy to use the touch screen.
Multiplayer in Wild World is a little different. You can still hook up with up to four people and do the methodology from the first game. You'll just be sharing the debt in the same house this time. Likewise, you can use the wireless DS capability to visit a friends town. You can also go online with Nintendo wi-fi and visit someone's town. It is kind of strange that all the residents will go indoors though. You can easily find them and everything, but the atmosphere just feels weird.
Going online sounds like a lot of fun--and it can be--but there are ridiculous restrictions. For one, you have to have a friend code in order to visit their town. You can't just walk in and explore anyone's town. This is great for keeping out jerks and the people who like to do nothing but flame you online, but it also sucks because it adds no real innovation. It limits you severely. Why not just create a feature where you can ban those jerks? The only interesting thing you can do is the message in a bottle in tag mode. You write a letter or something and put it in a bottle. The next time your friend is in tag mode, the message will wash up on shore. It almost feels like forwarding emails or something to a friend, but it has its moments.
Another bit that plagued the Gamecube verison of Animal Crossing were the graphics. They were not up to the standard of the Gamecube, and looked like a reject N64 title. For the Gamecube the graphics aren't acceptable. For the Nintendo DS? They look fantastic. Characters still maintain that cartoony look, and the game still runs very well. The music is nothing to get excited about, but it works.
Yes, Animal Crossing was made for the handheld. If you've spent mad hours with it on the Gamecube, get it on the DS and spend mad hours with it again.
The Good
+Animal Crossing belongs on the handheld
+Addictive Gameplay
+Brings back what made the Gamecube version good
+More of those same Gamecube items in abundance
+I'll just say it here, it's fun to pimp out your house
+The graphics are great on the DS
+Online Play
The Bad
-Online play isn't as extraordinary as they could be
-The touch screen controls aren't good
-The new tasks are nothing to get excited about
-The music isn't much to get excited about either
Wow.. December 9, 2005
the thief
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
This game is superb, i just got it on wednesday, but i love it so far! All the animals have brand-new dialauge, which is VERY funny. Once you get through the hassle with freind codes, the wifi rocks too... Your house starts out with 2 floors, but you cant place anything on the top floor, gona are the NES games. The graphics and their style i think are better then the GC's
instead of the animals tasks being like "deliver this, return that, deliver this and so on" instead they have tasks more specific to their personalitys, for some girls its all about clothes, some boys its working out or fishing and so on, the dialauge is well written and funny (unlike this review) and ever wonder what goes on when animals are having a conversation and perhaps one walks away really angry or happy? well now you can listen in, and somrtimes theyll ask you to contribute so you can have a 3 way discussion. Its a very fun game, you can play it in a quick short burst, or for 3 hours in a row..whatever you prefer (no these arent like perset things..im just giving examples....) so i would highly recommend this game here is overall
Graphics compared to other games 3/10 for an animal crossing game 10/10
Sound (what can you expect, HELLOOO its animal crossing..) 4/10
Gameplay 9/10
replayability: with an infinite number of things to do 10/10
Overall: 9/10
For moms, this is the PERFECT game to get your younger kids..or older ones...i have a freind whos 17 and he loves this game.
 Hey- who took all the fun parts out? July 24, 2006
A.N. Roman (Hillsboro, OR)
18 out of 30 found this review helpful
Animal Crossing for GameCube is one of my favorite games ever. I still play it on a regular basis, enjoy visiting the neighbors, catching fish and bugs, seeing the special monthly events, and helping out in making the town look good. I bought it last May, and it's been over a year and 2 months. How many games can you say that for? When Animal Crossing: Wild World was announced, I didn't know what to think. Sure, an online Animal Crossing was a great idea, but why wasn't that made for the GC version in the first place (let's not forget that the GC -did- have an internet adapter)? Plus, would the super gimmicky touch screen help or ruin the gameplay? Of course, like most DS games in the first year or so, the touch screen element was a gimmick, and something unnecessary. In fact, there's no reason that the non-online portion of Wild World couldn't have been done on the GBA. Playing Wild World was a big disappointment for me, a huge fan of the original. Things were taken out, villagers no longer had 2 options in talking, there are tons of petty events that don't matter, your town is a lot smaller, and there's just plain less to do. Simply put- unless you have AT LEAST 3 friends who have DSes and Wild World to play with online, you shouldn't get this game. And if you have the GC version? Stick with that, and wait until the one for Wii comes out. At least then, things won't feel as rushed as they did here. No, I'm not trying to seem like I hate the DS, Nintendo or Animal Crossing, but quite frankly, Wild World could've used more time in development.
If you haven't played Animal Crossing before, it's hard to summarize the gameplay. There's no objective to complete. You move into a town inhabited with animals, and work to pay off your debt to Tom Nook, the one who sets you up with your house. You repay him via selling fish and bugs you catch in the town, selling items villagers give you as rewards for favors, play in the stock market, and do some harvesting with foreign fruit. It's a lot of work to pay off the debt, but you don't exactly HAVE to pay it. In fact, you could just sit around and do nothing for months and it wouldn't matter. When you're not doing things for money, you can enjoy shopping for new furniture for your house, designing patterns for clothing and floor tiles, donating fish and bugs to the museum, checking out the stars from an observatory, getting new hair styles, and a little more. But the key selling feature in this game is the online/Wi-Fi play. Using the DS' built-in...whatever it has...you can go online with a friend and visit their town or have them visit yours, seeing how their place is going. Doing this helps you get things not available in your town, like new kinds of fruit. At first, there's not much to the Wi-Fi thing aside from the novelty of playing with a friend. But you soon realize that there's not much to really play, and will probably get bored after a while. Again, if you don't have friends with the game, you're going to be having limited fun with Wild World. It'll be like a half-assed version of the GC version when you look at the big picture.
So what's wrong with this game, the sequel to what I originally gave 5 stars? A lot, that's what. For starters, being on the DS really hurts the game. Yes, there are 2 screens, but that doesn't mean that both have to be used at once in order for a game to work. When you're not in a menu or building, the top screen will show *gasp* the sky. Yes, that's all. Very rarely will a present on a balloon or something else fly by, giving you the option to shoot it down with your slingshot (an otherwise useless item on its own). Aside from that, there's no point in seeing the sky. It's a waste of a screen, and precious battery time. Sure, the touch screen aspect -can- be useful, but it's not always the case. The only times it's really helpful is when you decide to write a letter, name a star system, or organize your inventory menu. Using it to move around is a bit of a pain. Opening doors will take a few tries, and trying to pick something up while holding the shovel will usually result in you digging a hole instead of nabbing said item. In the original Animal Crossing, when you'd talk to an animal resident, they'd give you two options in conversations: continuing talking about life, or seeing if they need a favor done. That's no longer the case in Wild World- all you can do is talk about little things, rarely getting to do any favors. Why take this out? Why the sudden need to talk constantly to a resident until they eventually have a favor? And when they do have something for you to do, it's usually a waste. I'd often spend 5,000+ bells (AC's currency) on something they'd want, only to get 300 bells as a reward. Great. 'good to see that I wasn't wasting my time at all. The new museum is a bit bigger in some ways from the original, but it's lacking variety. I didn't feel motivated to fill up the museum at all this time around, and it's not because I completed it on the GC version either. It just seemed so...pointless. But this museum also features a cafe where you can buy coffee. There's no benefit to doing so, but it adds a bit of flair (I guess), and also serves as a new location for K.K. Slider to play his music. There are many more cons, like less residents being allowed in your town, them having a more random chance of moving out, only being allowed to put so much furniture in your home, pointless events (La-di-da Day??), a pointless charity option, and more, but it's too long to go over. I should mention that Wi-Fi play isn't as easy as many would make you believe, for some at least. If you have a firewall, or a friend does, good luck finding a way around that.
Visually, the game looks worse than the GC version. It has lots of jaggies, some slowdown once in a while, and it's hard to make out some things like when you design a shirt. It's actually pointless to do that since it won't look anything like how you designed it. The game does have the same style to it as the original- simple and nothing fancy, so you'd think they would've had more time and effort to at least make things look as good as they could. As for the sound, this is what really gets me- there's hardly any variety in the music. At least in the GC version, the music would change by the hour or weather. Here, there's maybe 6 tracks that play when you're out and about, and then each building's respective theme. They're all pretty weak. There's no real vocal work here aside from noises that the animals make, some being pretty creepy like the more macho characters.
As you can tell, I was disappointed with Wild World. In fact, I don't see how it's "wild" at all. It's a dumbed-down version of the GC version, and makes me lose faith in how Nintendo's treating what could've been an outstanding franchise. I'll give them one more shot though with the upcoming Wii version. If you absolutely loved Animal Crossing for GC and would love to take it with you anywhere you go then this is obviously your [only] best choice. But just be careful not to give your hopes up. Like the GC version, you'll play it in small doses, but given that there's less to do here if you don't have friends to play with, you'll see it collecting dust in no time.
 Gotta love the little villagers... November 15, 2006
Sage
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I had always heard that Animal Crossing was a great game. I had never played it though. I bought it for my DS, and it rocks! It has absolutly no plot and very little point. But it is a highly addictive game. Selling fruit, paying off your house, getting it bigger and bigger, gathering items you can buy, collecting fish, fossils, paintings and bugs to put in your museum; its all a blast!
The optional wifi also gives a whole new dimension to the game. You can travel to other real people's towns and they can travel to yours. It makes it fun to meet people from all over the world. You can play games and have bug catching and fishing contests.
I'd say one of the downsides (but certainly no reason to not buy the game) is the fact that if anyone else wants to play your game (say a sister or brother), you have to all live in the same house. It is annoying enough to live in the same town, but living in the same house and not being able to have your own house to decorate is rather irritaing. But being as no one plays on my game, I personally don't have that problem.
Come on..... December 6, 2005
14 out of 23 found this review helpful
Alrighty now, fist off im not a kid i just clicked the kids review button so i wouldn't have to sign in...
Okay first of all, i doubt any of you have played through the entire game yet seeing that it only came out YESTERDAY. How can you review such a massive game without giving it time,
Second of all who cares that REAL holidays have been eliminated. If you want your real holidays, live them in real life. But the point of animal crossing in the first place is to live in a pseudo-world. Its not supposed to be real. And in fact, the holidays that i have seen in animal crossing sre just as enjoyable as the real ones in the ds.
Third, dont complain that some of the old charactors from the gamecube arnt in this one. If you wasn the old gamecube charactors, then play your gamecube.
Wild World offers new and enjoyable experiences with plenty of suprises. The graphics are very reminicent of the gamecube predacessor yet different in many ways as well i.e. The rolling landscape.
The music is basically the same as the gamecube with minor alterations and some new songs
The touch screen tricks are top notch.
Well the final word one this game.....I have to admit it isn't quite as good as the gamecube version but it definatly met and exceded my expectations (thus far since ive only played it for 2 days....)
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