Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City Review
A Review - By Gaetano Prestia
When Animal Crossing hit the Gamecube last generation, it was met with high critical acclaim and commercial success. It’s casual and extremely accessible interactive gameplay made it one of the best titles available on a console with a fantastic line-up. Ever since that title was released, Nintendo have – in their typical teasing fashion – left hints about a “sequel” for the Wii. We never got that. Instead, what gamers have received is a re-imagining - or improvement if you will - of Wild World, the first DS version of the franchise. That’s a good and bad thing. Good, because Wii owners get to play a solid Animal Crossing title with new controls and a few new features. Bad because technically, it’s not a full blown sequel. It doesn’t feel like one. It has too many similarities to Wild World to be considered one, which is an incredible letdown. However, if you can look beyond that, Let’s Go To The City is still a worthwhile experience on the Wii.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Animal Crossing franchise, here’s a basic run-down of the series: Your main goal is to live the best and most fulfilling life as possible. There’s no end to this game or final boss fight. Animal Crossing has and always will be a game that can technically never end. You can buy property, do chores and make friends, all in a cute world that is void of any of the major problems affecting the real world today.
As the title begins you’ll be given an enjoyable tutorial-like walkthrough by the ingame labourer Tom Nook. After you answer a few questions, you’ll be asked to go perform some of the game’s most basic tasks like gardening and delivering. Once you complete these, you’re an official resident of the town and are now free to do whatever you want.
Let’s Go To The City has a money system known as Bells, which are earned through performing tasks and then selling off the earned items, such as fruit grown in your garden or items you’ve come across in the world. As you first begin, most of the Bells will go directly to Nook as you pay of the mortgage for the house he so kindly sold to you. Thankfully, this game was released after the interest rate hike and just in time for rate drops. We’re curious to know how much a barrel of oil costs in this cute and trouble-free town.
Bells can also be discovered randomly throughout the world, even by shaking trees and knocking some down onto the ground. If only we had one of these money-growing trees in our backyards.
The monetary system definitely works well in the game, but it’s nothing new from previous Animal Crossing titles. You’ll still be earning money the same way with the same difficulty and through the same sort of people. This system is where the games inability to feel like a true sequel shines through, as veterans of the series will have to re-live the somewhat repetitive nature of buying, earning and selling. Unless you’re totally new to the franchise, don’t expect anything new in Let’s Go To The City.
The village in Let’s Go To The City works on real-time, with realistic changes in weather, animal patterns and chore requirements. Animals move and migrate depending on the weather and most of the action occurs during the day before the sunsets. As you progress and become more accustomed to the lifestyle, they’ll be more to do and you’ll soon feel like you’re being bombarded with chores and activities in the town. This is not a bad thing at all, as it makes the town feel genuinely alive and happening. It’s an aspect that made that first Animal Crossing so enjoyable and charming and it’s the exact same feeling this time round.
The online play in Let’s Go To The City is practically exactly the same as the DS version, with your friends scattered around the village doing their own thing as time goes by (after you all input each other’s 12-digit codes, of course). The only difference is that they may be playing on a different clock with different weather patterns. So while you may have a clear day that is perfect for harvesting, your friends might be stuck inside during a thunderstorm with nothing to do, even though they are clearly visible to you. It’s still a much better system than the GameCube friend system that didn’t have online integrated and just like the DS version, the Wii version is expanded with the addition of online play. You also have the new WiiSpeak, which allows you to communicate verbally with your friends as you explore the village together.
One of the incredibly cool aspects of the online play is that whatever item you pass onto villages – be it a household item or piece of clothing – they take it with them when they move to another village. So if they appear in another gamers world, they’ll be using or wearing your items. It adds a whole new level of interactivity to the gameplay and in a way makes you feel obligated to pass things on to your neighbours.
There are several other improvements in the Wii version that are worth nothing, such as the Wii-motion control for fishing, some new creatures and a new art system that allows for better shirt texture designs. You can also bring over your DS character and all of their traits over from Wild World, but this doesn’t unlock anything new so there’s little incentive besides continuing on with that character and whatever they own.
Animal Crossing Let’s Go To The City will let gamers down in the visual department. Everyone knows that the Wii isn’t the most powerful console on the market, but it can do a hell of a lot better. Besides sharp and bright colours, there’s nothing that really stands out in the visual side of things. The sound is also a letdown, with a soundtrack that sounds identical to the DS version. The music changes as you play, but it’s practically the same. It fits in with the tone of the title, but it just seems lazy to not incorporate a new soundtrack and effects.
The Final Verdict
Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City is a great title for those unfamiliar with the series. The experience is thoroughly enjoyable and practically endless. You can play with friends and create a living and vibrant lifestyle. However, if you played the first Animal Crossing to death and even remotely played the DS version, you’ll probably be disappointed in this title. It offers no major changes and doesn’t feel like a sequel. The visuals are almost the same as the GameCube version, the gameplay doesn’t change a whole much and ultimately, it’s the exact same experience as in previous titles.
Gameplay
8.0/10
You’d think that chores such as gardening and writing letters are boring, but Animal Crossing actually makes them fun. Still, we’ve done it before. Nothings changed.
Graphics
5.5/10
GameCube visuals. The Wii can do a hell of a lot better than this. There’s full widescreen support, but it won’t improve anything. The colours are bright and vibrant and match the feel of the title, but that’s the only noteworthy positive.
Sound
6.5/10
Just like before. The sounds compliment the feeling of the game, but we’ve heard it all before.
Value
9.5/10
Virtually endless gameplay. Let’s Go To The City can never really end. You can play this until your heart’s content and let your character live a fulfilling and purpose filled life.
Overall
7.3/10