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  • Jillian Caulfield

Looking Beyond Nintendo Fans' Current Dissatisfaction to Examine Animal Crossing's Recent Releases

Updated: Apr 22, 2021


Muffy, the only black sheep villager to appear in an Animal Crossing game

Over the past year, Nintendo fans have become increasingly disgruntled with recent and upcoming additions to its most beloved franchises, labeling them weak cash-grabs that aren't "real" additions to their respective lines, with some even going so far as to disavow the company as a whole. Metroid and Paper Mario have seen the bulk of the negativity, but that doesn't mean the carnage has stopped there. Despite its cheerful and bright nature, Animal Crossing hasn't escaped the community's dissatisfaction -- though the series only has one literal black sheep, in the eyes of the gaming world it has one, if not two, of the metaphorical kind.

Since its E3 2015 announcement, Amiibo Festival has been heavily criticized as a boring, severely watered down Mario Party with the Animal Crossing brand slapped on in an attempt to rake in fans' money, and quickly found itself designated the franchise's punching bag. Happy Home Designer, another new member of the Animal Crossing family, was much more well-received, but still drew the ire of many for its spin-off status. Fans were hoping for another core Animal Crossing game, and that's not what they got in either case. Put simply, one reason both games got so much negative attention was that they were not what consumers were looking for. If you remove this context (and the grumpiness that comes with it), are they really that bad of games?

The board game as seen in October

The biggest part of Animal Crossing's most negatively thought-of game is also its most criticized element, so Amiibo Festival's board game mode is the most important thing to cover in an examination like this. Within minutes of its announcement, my social media feeds were full of comparisons to Mario Party and stuck-up remarks about how bad Amiibo Festival would inevitably be because of how comparable it was to the wildly popular Mario spin-off series. These comments did not stop even after the game's release. It's not hard to see similarities. Amiibo Festival and the average Mario Party game share a number of major mechanics:

  • Game board setting

  • Dice determination of turn order and player advancement

  • Landing space content, special events/characters, and item use affecting gameplay

  • Currency (bells and coins respectively) as a means to affect gameplay

  • Point totals (happy points and stars respectively) as a winning factor

The majority of the commentary I've run into, however, is so rigidly unhappy that it offers the Wii U title no wiggle room. It is bitter and stubborn dislike embodied, without nuance or compromise. None of it seems to acknowledge that these aren't inherently bad elements to share (there's only so much you can deviate from a standard board game format before it scoots its way out of the genre or becomes downright terrible), and that there are some neat ways Amiibo Festival deviates from other virtual board games.

For one, Amiibo Festival doesn't have minigames in board game mode (though they do exist). The game is strictly more mellow than Mario Party, and each turn ends with a short scene that would fit within any other Animal Crossing game. They're pretty cute and creative, but admittedly not the most exciting.

The creative application of Animal Crossing's "passage of time" mechanic as progression through a month lends itself well to fun and varied experiences. At the beginning of a round, players select a month to play through, each with its own events and seasonally-themed appearance. The variety in visuals is a nice touch, making good use of the stunning graphics. Holidays, tourneys, and special villager visitations based on the calendar mix things up in Amiibo Festival just as they do in the core games of the series, altering gameplay briefly for every player. Sow Joan's weekly visit in particular brings a competitive twist to the game. Long-time Animal Crossing players will be familiar with the new layer she brings to the table -- just as in every other installment, the sow allows players to purchase bundles of turnips every Sunday to be sold within the week, hopefully for more than their buying price. Selling prices fluctuate pretty wildly with the use of items, special events, and random changes in the market. It's creative special events like this that spice up Amiibo Festival and make it more than just a boring Mario Party with Animal Crossing characters.

It's worth discussing, too, that the relative calm of Amiibo Festival does not necessarily limit the competition between players. Even if it is markedly slower than a Mario Party game, I've seen plenty of players get feisty during gameplay, flaring up when the stalk market is bad and gloating to high heaven when they land first place, especially if only by a slight edge. It certainly makes for a good party game.

Outside the main game, there are 8 minigames -- assuming you have the patience and the Amiibo cards to try them -- accessible via the bright and colorful plaza that acts as a central hub for the game. They aren't nearly as good as party games as the board game is, and all vary widely in terms of concept, difficulty, player number, Amiibo card requirement, and, unfortunately, quality. I found some of the minigames kind of enjoyable, but found that all of them, barring my personal favorite, Desert Island Escape, had some considerable problems.

Amiibo Festival's main plaza

Some of the games seemed based entirely on chance, which would be fine if they were not meant to stand alone and be played multiple times in one sitting; if they were placed in the main game, Fruit Path and Balloon Island would feel more exciting and less dissatisfying. My sister and I have been playing Fruit Path since Amiibo Festival came out and still don't know how the game determines if it's your time to fall victim to a pitfall or not. Balloon Island is mostly about hoping and praying. The spontaneity in these minigames does not work as well in practice as it sounds on paper.

Some games, on the other hand, are based on brain power -- Quiz Show and Mystery Campers require strong deduction skills and knowledge of the Animal Crossing franchise respectively -- but feel very out of place with the laidback mood of the rest of the games. They're fun, but not suited to the casual gameplay you would expect from Animal Crossing. Perhaps Amiibo Card Battle belongs on the list of wittier Amiibo Festival minigames, but I really could not figure it out, nor could anyone that tried to play it with me. I'm sure there's a trick to it, but Amiibo Card Battle is a confusing, seemingly-random mess that I'd like to avoid for the rest of my life if I can help it.

I have a bone to pick with two other minigames: Acorn Chase and Resetti Bop. Acorn Chase is actually a pretty fun game! Players lead the villagers around obstacles to pick up acorns as fast as they can while avoiding being struck by the lawnmower that also made an appearance in the hammer game in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and now happens to be chasing the player. While being run down by a vengeful lawnmower may be a little dark for Animal Crossing's usual atmosphere, that's not the part of the minigame that makes it almost unplayable.

There's just too much going on in Acorn Chase. Players must decide what direction to go, determine what card is required, shuffle through a set of 3 cards, and scan in the correct card in a very timely fashion. It's stressful, but can be done. Resetti Bop suffers from a more severe version of this dilemma. It requires players to shuffle just as much as in Acorn Chase, but forces them to keep track of three times as much action. I became overwhelmed incredibly quickly, unable to keep track of so much while sorting cards, and ended up just trying to scan in the Amiibo cards in random order in the hopes that one of the villagers would somehow successfully whack the mole. I couldn't bear to play Resetti Bop more than a few times. To put it bluntly, it's terrible.

Escaping the island succesfully

In comparison to to the other minigames, Desert Island Escape feels like a godsend. It's more polished, with clear and attainable goals. It incorporates the unique skills of each selected villager and requires the player to manage each turn wisely, adding a layer of strategy that is absent from the other minigames. It actually lets players play without forcing them to panic the entire time, and because the end is reached by real, yet fun work and meaningful thought, rather than random chance or utter terror, escaping the island in time is very rewarding, at least in comparison to the other disappointing minigames.

Selecting Amiibo cards to use

While we're on the topic of the minigames, there is a bit of a thorny subject I can't leave untouched. This investigation is meant to examine the game without the clouded lens of the community's bitterness and mob mentality, but there is one complaint that is being hurled at Nintendo as a whole that can be applied to Amiibo Festival in particular: it's not completely playable without pouring extra money toward the company by purchasing Amiibo cards.

In general, I do not object to game companies attempting to make money off their consumers; after all, they require at least some money to continue developing games, and, in more general terms, companies exist to generate capital. I am understanding, too, about downloadable content (this may yet prove to be a controversial statement, with the state of the gaming industry), fairly small bonus content becoming accessible by connecting related extras, and the requirement of additional peripherals to play certain minigames. I can even live with the fact that the game was clearly made to push a set of new Amiibo because you don't have to buy more Amiibo than are provided to play the game. But Amiibo Festival crosses the line for me when it comes to Amiibo cards. Two of the minigames cannot be played unless players buy or happen to already have more Amiibo cards than those that come with the game, and cards are fairly easy to lose or damage, so if your card gets messed up, you're out of luck in most cases unless you buy another pack. All the minigames are viewable and presented as fully playable elements of the game, but remain tantalizingly out of reach (not that players are missing much). Amiibo cards are fairly cheap, I suppose (they average $5 per pack on Amazon), but Amiibo Festival is a supposedly complete game with its own steep price, and a chunk of its features are rendered unplayable without easily-destroyed extras. This is major content in a game players have already paid for. Whether or not it's fun major content is beside the point -- Amiibo Festival's requirement for extras is annoying and poorly exectued.

Is the same criticism applicable to Happy Home Designer? In short, no. The game is still fully playable even for players who do not have access to Amiibo cards or a way to connect them to the 3DS they are playing the game on. It's true that the bonus features are pretty dang cool. I mean, look at this video! Who doesn't want to have fun with their favorite villagers!

I'll be the first to admit that missing out on these cool bonus features is a drag; I've been dying to try them out since they were announced. But even if I can't invite K.K. Slider over for an impromptu concert, I still absolutely adore the game and don't feel that I've been ripped off because my 3DS is just slightly too outdated. It's all about how the content fits into the game. When it comes to Amiibo card connectivity, I'm reminded of the original Animal Crossing's treatment of GBA connectivity, e-Reader cards, and town visits, and by following in its predecessor's footsteps so closely, Happy Home Designer avoids Amiibo Festival's blunders. In both the original Animal Crossing and Happy Home it's made clear that bonus content is available if players have the compatible equipment, but it's not advertised as something they should theoretically be able to access no matter what they own, and players are not missing a huge chunk from the game that they were promised they would get on the basis of whether or not they own the right things. It helps that just as its GameCube-era grandparent, Happy Home really delivers with its base content.

A newly finished home

So what exactly does Happy Home Designer bring to the series? In a nutshell, it's a game that takes one aspect of core Animal Crossing games, home design, and proceeds to expand and improve upon it.

Players take the role of a Nook's Homes employee, tackling design jobs from both villagers and the town itself. The player has free access to a wide catalog of furnishings and, in most cases, the choice of any location, blueprint, and outward appearance they feel is right for the job, and can carry out their assignment fairly unhindered by restrictions. Villagers demand two to three specific pieces be present in or around their new homes, and facilities require that certain types of furniture find their way into the building, but other than that, the fate of the project is completely in the new hire's hands. There's not even a Happy Home Academy (known as the Happy Room Academy prior to New Leaf) to judge your handiwork, either. The game simply suggests a theme, and you can fulfill it in any way you would like -- and believe me, there are a very wide variety of themes to take on. The lack of direction might be intimidating to some, but to me and many other creative types I've spoken to, the ability to make something you like and can be proud of without choking guidelines and the threat of poor reception is fun and rewarding, even in a silly video game about interior decoration.

Sitting with a client

The appeal of designing homes is only bolstered by how much easier it is to decorate in Happy Home Designer than it was in previous Animal Crossing games. Gone are the days of lugging furniture across homes square by square, trying to keep your avatar out of the way of your home improvement. Instead, players are able to drag, drop, modify, turn, add, or remove items and even characters around job sites with ease via the touchscreen's helpful interface. The controls are excellent, and don't run the risk of pulling players out of the experience. This should be a relief to many Animal Crossing fans, as home design in the past has been tedious from the start. Here's hoping this style of decorating continues in later iterations.

That said, there are a few things that can get in the way of players' enjoyment. What stuck out to me as the most frustrating part of the game is the ease with which irreversible and regrettable decisions can be made. Once a player has chosen a blueprint for a home, there's no way I could find to go back and change it, which can cause some problems when you get to the job site and actually see what new items you have to play with. Even if the layout of the home isn't necessarily bad, sometimes you discover its proportions don't exactly match up with what items you want to put down, and there's nothing you can really do about it. The location and climate of the site are also not able to be changed after selection, leading to similarly frustrating situations.

The sheer size of the catalog can also be a drawback. Having such an expansive list of items to use is liberating, but can also be distressing. Sometimes you can't fit all the items you want into the design in the first place, and from time to time while playing I've unlocked items that I feel strongly would have gone well with a previous project. Though it's possible to go back and rework homes you've previously completed (which is neat), sometimes you don't want to bother or can't seem to fit a new item into an old theme, making it feel like a waste of a perfectly good opportunity (which is not neat). As this may be a very nitpicky complaint, take it with a grain of salt, but if my time in art class as a mixed media fanatic has taught me anything, it's that many artists find it very disappointing to pick up the perfect collage addition and being unable to find that perfect spot to place it, especially if the collage in question already feels whole without it. I'd say it's safe to assume, then, that I'm not the only one who feels this way about Happy Home Designer. Other than this, I didn't have a problem with much else. Unlike Amiibo Festival, I found Happy Home to be a solid game with few major flaws.

After examining these games, it feels only natural to answer to the best of my ability the questions that the Animal Crossing community's frustration has dragged out into the open: are Happy Home Designer and Amiibo Festival "real" Animal Crossing games, and are they any good?

The first question I feel very confident providing an answer for. Yes, they are "real." They are very real. I've been playing Animal Crossing since it came out, and this doesn't mean the weight or importance of my opinion is somehow higher than a newer player's, but it does mean that I've had over a decade to get a feel for what the franchise is all about. Are they core series games? No. Does that make them any less genuine of Animal Crossing games? Also no. Amiibo Festival and Happy Home Designer feature characters, items, locations, and mechanics from core Animal Crossing games, which does boost their status as "real" at least a little. But what really matters is that they do not wear this branding as just that: branding. They really and truly embody the spirit of Animal Crossing. The series was born of creator Katsuya Eguchi's loneliness, inspired by a need for friendship and support. Each game is bright, cheerful, full of friendship and kindness and helping others, and all about enjoying yourself, and the two latest installments in the series, no matter how far flung they are from being core games, are no exception. Amiibo Festival and Happy Home Designer are without a doubt real Animal Crossing games.

The second question is in some ways more difficult to answer. Well, not when it comes to Happy Home. It's fun, it makes you feel just as good as any other Animal Crossing game, and it isn't difficult to play. There's not a whole lot to protest here. Happy Home Designer is a very good game.

Amiibo Festival, on the other hand, is not. But it's not a bad game. It certainly pales in comparison to other games of its franchise, and isn't worth its hefty price tag, but it's still a fun game to play with friends. It doesn't deserve all the flak it gets from the community just because of the hostility toward Nintendo that's been brewing lately. Brushing it off as mediocre and complaining about its flaws is warranted, but completely trashing it just isn't reasonable or necessary.

To put it simply, it's not that bad, you guys. Calm down.

We've all come to expect so much from Animal Crossing -- and Nintendo's other major titles, too. Frustration about the direction your favorite franchises are taking is reasonable, but for now, I encourage you to step back from the buzzing hive of collective frustration toward the company and take a deep breath. Try to have a little faith that things will end up alright. After all, Animal Crossing games are still good.

Until next time, friends! Hope you enjoyed this review.

 

Note: This article's title originally featured the word "installments," not "releases" -- this change was made after a Wix update limited title length.

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