LogFAQs > #932953086

#27





Years of release: 2012 (3DS, Japan), 2013 (3DS, worldwide), 2016 (Amiibo update)
Beaten?: LOL, what does that mean

I was a fool for thinking I would ever be able to resist being caught up in Animal Crossing's magnetic pull. I remember when the first one came out for the Gamecube and I thought, like an idiot, that this game was going to be boring, that it wasn't for me. I mean, it's a game without any gameplay! You don't do anything except own a house and walk around town helping the villagers! And yet, here we are, now, with New Leaf, with 300 hours played, and the title of #1 most-played game on my 3DS. It is not particularly close. (A few Steam games do eclipse this mark, though.)

Animal Crossing is pure escapism. Once I'm in this cute little town with cute little animals leading cute little lives, I pretty much never want to leave. I want to live in this world. I will do anything to lengthen my stay in this world for as long as I can. Fishing? I'll catch all the fish. Collecting shells on the beach? The beach is going to be pristine. Rearranging all the furniture in my house over and over again? Listen, I'll do anything, just as long as I don't have to shut off the game right now. Just let me stay a little bit longer.

My teenager's notion of the idea of no gameplay was, of course, completely misguided. There's a lot to do here, as long as you like collecting things and doing a lot of chores. Turns out, I do. There's an addictive quality to turning on this game every day, sweeping through the village, finding new fossils, seeing how your fruit trees are doing, helping villagers with tasks, seeing what's new in the shops, etc etc. Filling out the list of every fish, every bug, every fossil. Waiting for real time to pass so you can find new things that appear each season.

There isn't really a lot to do, yet I'm always kept busy, and I never really entirely feel bored. I don't know how to explain it. It's just a sort of magic this game has. Or it's a curse. I'm not sure which. Whatever it is, the spell did eventually lift on me after about a year, and I haven't been back to this game in a very long time. Typing about it though made me realize how much I miss it. I want to go back to Animal Crossing. I guess there's a new one coming out, right on cue, as I think wistfully back on my time with New Leaf. I could go back to New Leaf, but I feel sad thinking about how completely unloved my town will be after a good 6 years of neglect. Weeds everywhere! Everyone's moved away! There is a sort of frustration to the way this game makes you feel like you HAVE to play every day, like you've done something wrong. Ugh, maybe that's why I eventually had to put this game down. Will I pick up the new one? I guess it depends on if it has Isabelle. If it has Isabelle then they've got me by the balls. She is the best girl and I will do anything for her. If Isabelle is not in the new Animal Crossing I will start a riot.

You would not believe how hard it is to find images or screenshots of this game.