Animal Crossing New Leaf is the latest in the Animal Crossing series of games. This time around customization and connectivity appear to be the focus as you now have customization options that extend to the town itself and also more ways to connect with fellow Animal Crossing players. I’ve been impatiently waiting to play this game since it was first announced.



I began my town roughly one month ago. The game starts off similarly to other Animal Crossing games where you basically start with nothing and have to build up every part of your character’s life. The twist this time is that as soon as you step off the train you are recognized as the town’s mayor. This plays an important role throughout the game. Not only do you have to earn bells for the various shirts, furniture and house upgrades now you must help create your town by adding Public Works to the town.



As you progress in the game, different buildings will begin to appear on Main Street. Main Street is the new shopping district in New Leaf. You start off the game with just Able’s, Nookling’s, Nooks Houses, the Post Office and the Museum. Other businesses will open up when certain conditions are met. Gone are the days of working for Tom Nook and the tedium that came with it. Remember, you are the mayor not some person who just happened to move into town.



The currency system is back with “bells” on. This time it is much easier to earn bells. The main reason is because of Tortimer’s Island. The old mayor from previous games has retired and moved to a tropical island. It is summer time year round there and along with that come the very profitable bugs and fish. Spending a couple hours a day fishing and bug cathcing can net you well over 200,000 bells. This comes in handy as there is a steady stream of house improvements, house expansions and public works projects. Many of these town improvements come directly from your town’s animal villagers.



The villagers are just as quirky as ever. They have you running the regular errands and various item request as before but this time they have much more personality. There are a lot of little touches that Nintendo added here to help fully immerse the player. The villagers are aware of current events. For example, I won my first fishing tournament and a few villagers commented on my victory. Another thing that happened when I was visiting a villager in their house was them clapping after I clicked on a guitar they had to play a few notes. Another instance that caught me off guard was when I used my first emotion in the game and got a reaction out of the villagers. Shrunk makes a return but this time he is running a club and gives you emotions if you feed him lunch during the afternoon.



New to the series are badges. You can earn various badges for meeting certain in-game requirements. These are displayed on the back of your in-game ID card. This ID is exchanged with people you identify as a Best Friend. You take your picture in a Photo Booth that is on Main Street. This photo appears along with a button to flip to the badge page, the date your town was established and eventually your Dream Code.



Connectivity is also another area where the game shines. Nintendo included the Dream Suite where people from around the around the world can “dream” about other people’s towns. This is a nice feature that really brings the community together. During my time in the Dream Suite I was able to visit a few towns and bring some custom patterns back home with me. The game also have wifi over the internet and local play. There is a way to limit the type of person entering your town. You now have the option of tagging people as Best Friends which then gives you the option of having only Best Friends over.



Another big change is the depth that Nintendo has added to customization. Not only can you create your own patterns, and store more of them, you can customize select pieces of furniture and even the outside of your house. The Pro designs return once again at Able’s but this time the color pallets are much more varied and can be customized. I customized a Green Table by changing the color and also adding a K.K. Slider pattern that I picked up while visiting a town using the Dream Suite.



Visually things are wonderful. The colors of houses, flowers and even the animal villagers are vibrant. The 3D effect is also a nice touch that makes the game pop. Sound is used to full effect. The ambient music in your town changes on the hour and plays softly in the background never intruding on your conversations with your villagers, the various bugs or the occasional floating balloon. And K.K. Slider returns on Saturday nights with guitar. The controls handle well. The thumbstick is used for walking while the face buttons perform various functions such as opening up a menu or talking to townies. The shoulder buttons are used for taking pictures. These photos are stored in a folder on your SD card and can easily be uploaded to a PC and then can be easily shared with others.



During my month with the game I’ve had a great time filled with anticipation, exploration, calmness and joy. I look forward to each new day in the game. I fully recommend Animal Crossing New Leaf to returning players and whole-heartedly recommend the game to families looking for entertainment that the they and their children can enjoy together.



I give the game a 9/10.

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