Ah, Animal Crossing. For those of you who don’t know, Animal Crossing is a Nintendo video game series where you live seemingly as an elf-like human in a village full of talking animals. It might sound like a strange concept at first, but for those of us familiar with the game growing up, any mention of it should bring back waves of nostalgia. You would get to decorate your own house, write letters to your neighbors, design clothes and even contribute to the town’s museum by digging up fossils and catching bugs and fish. I played the original version of the game with my Nintendo GameCube as a kid, and I loved it so much that I later picked up its sequel, Animal Crossing: Wild World, on the Nintendo DS.
Funny things can happen to your town if you forget to visit for a while. Weeds will start growing everywhere and you’ll have to pick them out. Neighbors can move away, and new animals might move in. Those who didn’t leave will wonder what could have possibly happened to you. Some might even try to send you mail. My GameCube is with my family back home, but I have my Nintendo DS here at college, so I thought I’d revisit my Animal Crossing: Wild World village and enjoy this blast from the past.
Welcome to Sunville, where I’ve been asleep for about five years. No responsibilities, no homework, and best of all: No midterms. On the next bed over is my fictional boyfriend, Clip. He’s frat to such a point that he’s not allowed to remove his sunglasses. Ever.
I have enough cash to pay off the rest of my college tuition! Well, at least if my school took Bells, the fake currency of Animal Crossing. It’s also nice to know that in Sunville, I’m compensated for bee stings. In real life, I’m lucky if the Student Health Care Center will even give me a Band-Aid.
Why are there roaches in my room? Gross! Maybe it’s because I left that birthday cake out on the table for so long. I’m amazed the candles haven’t gone out yet, though. The berries don’t look like they’ve rotted, either. I don’t really understand how the concept of time works in this town, let alone seasons. Somehow, we’re able to grow apples in the dead of winter, and our palm trees never die. On the other hand, in Florida, we’re lucky to get even a few hours of cool breeze, and we never have snowfall.
You know that awkward feeling when you run into someone you know, but can’t remember what their name was? Yeah, so does my neighbor, Queenie. I almost forgot hers, but luckily I had this caption bubble to conveniently remind me. And according to another neighbor, Genji, witch hats are considered to be “dignified” dress in Sunville. I think I’ll wear one to my next interview.
Have you ever looked to the stars to find out your fate? Have you ever tried using them to hit on your new neighbors? This guy knows what’s up, but I don’t think Clip would be too thrilled. Meanwhile, my neighbor Daisy is out here with her backhanded compliments again. Sorry, did she think it looked like a square, or a triangle? I can’t tell if this is rude or just a sign that this, um, female dog could use some glasses.
Ah yes, the birdcage. You know one of our neighbors is a bird, right? Do you think Queenie would be offended if she saw this in your store, as if she doesn’t deserve a real cottage like the rest of us? What about the town barista? Hey, wait a second… if our barista is a bird, does that mean the birdcage is a coffee maker? Let me add this to my kitchen and see what happens.
It’s been a fun night out here in the Animal Crossing universe, but I think it’s about time I head back to the real world. We might not have snow on our Florida palm trees, or pigeons at our local Starbucks, but at least we have some decent humans (who hopefully don’t go to sleep with their sunglasses still on).
Though I can’t say I’d complain if we didn’t have midterms.
Photo credit:
Logo image is from vignette1.nocookie.wiki.net. All other images belong to the author, Valerie Berman.