Day 159, Game 159 - Animal Crossing: City Folk

Right off the bat, let me explain to you that there is one soul reason I played this game today. Animal Crossing: City Folk was the last addition to the uber-popular Nintendo franchise, but as I write this, the newest game in the series is currently downloading on my 3DS - Animal Crossing: New Leaf. So the soul reason for playing the older version is simple: I wanted a comparison for the two games, so I can truly appreciate the changes made to the series. 

When this game came out a few years back, I received it for my birthday from the family. I hadn't played an Animal Crossing game since the GameCube version, as I completely passed on the DS game. With the Wii version, I was hooked from day one. I knew the moment I started playing that I would be investing lots and lots of time into the game, for better or for worse. 

And I was completely right, too.

I played that game every single day for well over a year. Every single day. The game itself is set up to punish you for missing days, such as weeds growing all over your town and people in town moving out because they are sad that you aren't around as much as they would like. So when you don't play the game, it is a chore and half to get back into normal operation of your town once you get back to playing. 

The game is hard to describe to people that don't already know about it. I've tried explaining it to my buddy a few times, and it just doesn't sound right ever. The premise is simple, though. It's like the Sims, but with less realism and more chores. I know, it doesn't sound like a game that the more hardcore gamer crowd would ever be into, but oddly enough, there is enough charm and entertainment to win over even the biggest of "hardcore" players. 

Because the game runs hand-in-hand with real time, every holiday and special day of the year is celebrated in game. Also, the seasons are highlighted, with certain fish and bugs to catch and collect only available in certain seasons. This led to many people "time traveling," or setting their internal clocks on their Wiis to whatever season or holiday they wanted to check out. I am purist, however, and never once time traveled, for the sake of playing the way it was intended. 

After playing it day after day, like a ritual or addiction, all of a sudden, I stopped. One day went by. Two days. A week. And I always meant to go back and get back in it, but I didn't. My town turned into a ghost town. When I opened it up today, I was sad and embarrassed. It is the exact reason why I could never drag myself back to town.

With that being said, I am excited to embark on this new Animal Crossing adventure. I don't know how long it will last, how much time I will put into it, but I am looking forward to the daily chores. Hopefully, I can keep it going like a certain other daily commitment I have. 

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