Let's Talk Some Bollocks About: The Nintendo 3DS & Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition

masofdas wrote:

The one on the Cube is rather good as well.

I call shenanigans. Oh I'm sure that the core of the games is solid; but although I may not love the series as much as some, I do know that it felt very much like the sort of game you pull out at the bus stop for five minutes, or on the train. A prime portable experience.

The GameCube one was magical, sharing a village with other players was pretty special, and it is very easy to spend hours at a time in Animal Crossing. Mas is bang on.

Much like others have said I've never liked Mickey mouse which is why I didn't have anything to say on Epic Mickey since I had no interest in playing it, but it sounds like a good idea for a game on paper but just poorly executed?

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Now Animal Crossing is something I've played a lot of but put less and less time into with each new release, not because I think they're bad but they lost a bit of the charm the Gamecube version had in spades.

The whole thing I enjoyed the most about AC on cube is that it was this crazy little community that not only you were part of but also anyone else who had a character saved on your game, you were sharing the same space and characters but at different times which means you were surprised more often. Me and my brothers would often leave each other secret wind up letters that only we would understand but the villagers would still go daft for them, New leaf was good fun but it's online elements didn't capture the same feelings for me.

Drunkalilly wrote:

...it is very easy to spend hours at a time in Animal Crossing.

I'm pretty sure that doing this was one of the things that burned me out on the portable games. Anyway I never played the 'Cube game, and I forgot about the village aspect that Jas has described in wonderful detail.  And of course there was the GBA/GC link-up island, wasn't there?  I retract my call of shenanigans.  Er, snaginanehs?

Best write-up to date for that Pulp reference.

Animal Crossing as a series is one that I'm underlooked on a criminal level. I dabbled with Wild World back on DS, but I didn't really get it. I was much more interested in stupidly long JRPG and overwrought plots to bother with the whimsy of spending time with a village full of animals.

I think that I'll really enjoy Animal Crossing on Switch though. I've spent a fair bit of time on games that rely on you making your own fun - Tomodachi Life immediately springs to mind - and the core concept of Animal Crossing has sounded increasingly appealing to me as time goes on.

What was it about New Leaf on a gameplay level that made it better than the others? Or was it just special because of when you played it, Drunka?

Animal Crossing is one of those series, like Dynasty Warriors or a sports game like FIFA, where by and large each one just gets better. New Leaf has the most customisation and the most interaction, possibly in large part due to the player being mayor.
The when was definitely important, though, yeah.

That all being said, what Jas says of the 'cube original is all true.

Yeah, the mayor part seemed like an important note - gives those looking for a more guided experience something to do rather than just living in a little town.

Both Drunka and Jas hit the nail on the head about AC on Cube also I did import it as all the mags were saying how great it was but we weren't getting it here.

That I might have some rose-tinted nostalgia as I played it a lot and sort had to, to get my money's worth as it was pretty expensive from the local game shop.

Right, quick post, it's late (for me) and I want to get some Yoshi in.  It's dark and rainy outside and Yoshi feels like a perfect antidote.


So for me, like for Drunka, the Animal Crossing games are all about the community.  I have a tendency to try and go for the full fish/bug section, and generally burn out early on those because I've caught so many bugs to make money.  And constructing my house/village to meet arbitrary point criteria has never seemed overly fun, apart from when I built a room filled with clanking gyroids and kids' furniture and played KK Dirge in there.  (Incidentally, KK Slider is one of the best parts of the games.)  So it becomes about making animal friends instead.

Or it should be.

I play games for escapism.  I know I'm not talking to real animals; but while I'm playing the games, I want to be able to believe that I am.  

Certain repeated lines snap me out of that.  People do learn catchphrases off each other, and people do learn nicknames, and adopt new fashions; but when a bear and a penguin act the same, have the same interests, eat the same food, repeat the same lines verbatim, and call their abdominals the same six names, that shatters the illusion something awful.  

It's funny.  I can listen to Blathers deliver the same spiel with a word changed umpteen times, while I hand him different fishes, and not lose a thing in the process.  But when Roald and Teddy are so similar, I see them for identical lumps of code, with penguin and bear-shaped skins put on them.  Dressed up in catchphrases and clothes, sure, but as those converge based on the players' actions, it becomes all a bit... Stepford Villagers I guess.

If it hasn't happened to you then God forbid I should change that.  But that's the point at which I can no longer see them as animal friends to be made, just gaming win-cons. Except there's no opportunity to win. Maybe that's why Blathers, with the goal of filling the museum at his wingtips, keeps his appeal.

Me awaiting Drunka's response:

School is in session.

The Balls Man wrote:

Right, quick post, it's late (for me) and I want to get some Yoshi in.  It's dark and rainy outside and Yoshi feels like a perfect antidote.

You should have got a good night's rest before you came at the king.

Badideers wrote:

Certain repeated lines snap me out of that.  People do learn catchphrases off each other, and people do learn nicknames, and adopt new fashions; but when a bear and a penguin act the same, have the same interests, eat the same food, repeat the same lines verbatim, and call their abdominals the same six names, that shatters the illusion something awful.

There are a couple of factors here. I definitely think there's an element of personal taste - for one person, a degree of similarity between characters can be okay, or reasonably enough offset by other aspects like their visual design and choice of music.

Ball-jizz smears wrote:

It's funny.  I can listen to Blathers deliver the same spiel with a word changed umpteen times, while I hand him different fishes, and not lose a thing in the process.  But when Roald and Teddy are so similar, I see them for identical lumps of code, with penguin and bear-shaped skins put on them.  Dressed up in catchphrases and clothes, sure, but as those converge based on the players' actions, it becomes all a bit... Stepford Villagers I guess.

Then, of course, there's the element of luck. If you have a decent spread of character types in your village, you won't even notice the issue at first. Then by the time you develop affection for the characters you do have, if one moves in who happens to overlap you can just "nope" them on out of there.

Further to this, there are some obvious failings as a human being on your part.

People in real life do regularly repeat jokes, phrases and even whole conversations. Somebody who has friends would know and acknowledge this rather than disparage the game for it.

Cloyster wrote:

If it hasn't happened to you then God forbid I should change that.  But that's the point at which I can no longer see them as animal friends to be made, just gaming win-cons.  Except there's no opportunity to win.  Maybe that's why Blathers, with the goal of filling the museum at his wingtips, keeps his appeal.

And assuming that you do have a decent spread of characters, but this issue continues to impact your enjoyment through the sheer existential knowledge, that's just something you have to fix internally my friend. If it kills you knowing that the friends you have in Animal Crossing are simply jumbles of code following pre-determined patterns, I've got some bad news: so is everyone in the real world.

Humans are nothing but intricate machines of rotting meat, acting auomatically based on their genetic make-up and the events and forces which have pre-programmed them. We don't know how to deal with a universe that doesn't have rules, and purpose, and free will, so we create these things ourselves. Through that we create a world with love, and friendship and justice. If I can do it for my family, my girlfriend, even a chump like you, you can surely do it for Kid Cat, Camofrog and Gigi.

Let's do this.

Drunkalilly wrote:

There are a couple of factors here. I definitely think there's an element of personal taste - for one person, a degree of similarity between characters can be okay, or reasonably enough offset  by other aspects like their visual design and choice of music.

Fair enough.

Drunkalilly wrote:

Then, of course, there's the element of luck. If you have a decent spread of character types in your village, you won't even notice the issue at first. Then by the time you develop affection for the characters you do have, if one moves in who happens to overlap you can just "nope" them on out of there.

Huh, this is... surprisingly reasonable actually, I can absolutely agree. Are you sure it's Drunka who...

Drunkalilly wrote:

Further to this, there are some obvious failings as a human being on your part.

There we go, that's the combination of rudeness and pseudo-philosophical tripe I was hoping for! You made me wait, man. Cruel.

I for one am not happy about this lack of total positivity regarding Animal Crossing. It's an absolutely wonderful bit of escapism, in that dealing with these digital characters is much more reasonable than the characters I have to deal with in real life. Yes it does eventually repeat, but it is a bloody videogame; after 500 hours that'll happen. It's still a closer vision of another world than many other things. Do you know how often I agree with Pengilly about a game? That's the power of Animal Crossing.

To be fair, with or without the eight personality types I'd probably still have the Andyman problem after a while, in that games without clearly defined goals aren't for me. Or rather, I'd get fed up with having to wait a year to get all the bugs and fish to fill the museum, which is the main clearly defined goal. Fair to say that Animal Crossing has some bits in its formula that I like, but isn't for me.

See I think that's how good AC is as I said elsewhere about SotC and using Monster Hunter in comparison, that I lost drive with even Mon Hunter World due to lack of goal and other games like that.

Why I don't play that much online either, as I want a clear path which like you say AC doesn't have, yet easily Top 10 3DS games for me.

That's the power of Animal Crossing. It brings all good, right minded people together.

Hell yeah! So Let us all dance!

I was going to do a good post for this, but I can't, so I'll just leave it at this: Animal Crossing New Leaf is the best game on 3DS.

👌

I . . .

Probably agree.

bamboozledagain.jpg

Drunkalilly wrote:

That's the power of Animal Crossing. It brings all good, right minded people together.

I love that you're saying this when we both know that the next time Mas has an opinion about a Switch game you're going to go right back the other way.

I don't know what you're talking about. I love my close personal friend Chris "masofdas" Pengilly and I think he has excellent taste in video games.

I can already tell you:

SteamWorld Quest banger
Fire Emblem Three Houses banger
Pokémon banger
Animal Crossing banger
Astral Chain banger
Luigi's Mansion 3 banger
Link's Awakening banger

Yay Switch

See?

Masofdas: Banger.

masofdas wrote:

SteamWorld Quest banger
Fire Emblem Three Houses banger
Pokémon banger
Astral Chain banger
Luigi's Mansion 3 banger
Link's Awakening banger

I can't argue with any of this. I'll expect no changing of your mind now though!

I do not approve of my reviews system being used to assign Animal Crossing as “Banger”. You will be hearing from my lawyers.

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