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Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)

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Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)

It’s often said the most impactful fiction is that which hits closest to home. So rather than blasting Nazi Zombies why not try making friends, completing little jobs about town and paying off your mortgage. Animal Crossing Wild World is a game about all these things, more than these things and none of them…

You start the game by taking a taxi to your new village home. Like any good cabbie many questions are asked about you and where you are going, so you can customise yourself a little and plant a name on your new town. Once you arrive gainful employment is provided in Tom Nooks corner shop as his new Granville. It’s not mentioned what happened to his previous assistant, we can only gather they “Dilly Dallied” a little too much for the Racoons liking. With a few errands out the way, serving as a nice introduction to the folks and important locations about the town, you’re on your own. With your only real formative goal, to pay off the mortgage on the house provided to you by Mr Nook. Although, no pressure, pay it off when you like, a suspicious eyebrow is raised this side of the DS screen.

Side tasks and objectives come thick and fast as you wonder about, talk to the other inhabitants, go fishing, try and run away from bees and donate fossils to a pompous Owl. Sometimes these errands are paid for, some can be tracked, but most are to be completed, just because you can. And for me this appears the real objective of the game. Perhaps a somewhat niche category in gaming but a successful one for Nintendo, a game for just…. relaxing and hanging out with your animal friends. You’ll learn their names, habits and likes & dislikes and use this knowledge to get closer to them and progressively unlock more tasks. More anthropomorphic animals appear every day, swelling the most unequalled dialogue you’ll find in gaming today.

Not everything is quite perfect in this idyllic little world. Controls can be fiddly, especially when hunting for critters that require you to switch from shovel to net, and it could just be me, but fishing feels impossible. You could feel dejected at the seeming lack of progress you make on some tasks and catches. What is the point of finding blue furniture for my neurotic badger/elf friend? Well, perhaps the point is the point, the journey is better than the holiday, half a glass of bees is worth 3 in the bush…or something. The point of the game is nothing really, just hang out in this charming world, talk to your fuzzy chums, collect shells, or don’t, pay off the mortgage or don’t. Just sit back and become absorbed in a big warm fluffy Nintendo charm hug.


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