Animal Crossing: Wild World
This is the Animal Crossing game from the Nintendo DS game system.
What is this game all about? Basically, you live in a small town…you work there, you play there and you live there. It's simple, it's non-violent, it's fun for all ages.
You start the game by naming the town. You arrive and you have a house, which you have a mortgage on (although you don’t HAVE to pay it off if you don’t want to). You do a few jobs for the local store to earn a little cash (and for practice in doing some of the game’s functions…such as mailing letters and using the map to find your way around).
In a way, it’s like a virtual-pet "thing"…you have a character that you name and you can do things with that character, such as go where you like, talk to people, mail letters, give and receive gifts, find items, buy and sell things…
Unlike a virtual-pet "thing", your character does not suffer if it doesn’t eat, sleep, have fun.…or whatever. You can’t "die" in the game…you can’t fall off a cliff or into the river…even getting stung by a horde of bees doesn’t hurt you (although your face does get swollen). The worst things that can happen is by ignoring your neighbors, they become less friendly to you, and by ignoring the weeds that grow in your town, they grow more and more and choke out your flowers.
The game is simple, but it can also be addictive. You can set up ‘dates’ with the other characters (to have them visit you) and attend town functions and special events…the game plays in real-time, so certain things happen on certain days…if you miss it, you have to wait until the same time next week (or month or year). The dawn breaks in the morning, the sun is high at noon and the stars come out at night…it’s a reflection of the actual time of day (according to the internal clock in your DS).
You can have up to 4 seperate players (characters) in the game. They all live in the same house and they all can pool their resources to help pay off the mortgage (or, to pay towards renovating and expanding the home).
In the beginning, there are fewer animal neighbors in the town to meet (3)…as the game goes on, more creatures move in (up to 8). Certain characters you can interact with more than others. The ones who have homes you can do more with…talk to, visit them, have them visit you, send them letters or gifts, receive things from them (etc). Some of the other characters in the game…the ones who are always in certain places (ex. the museum curator, the town hall clerk, the store-keeper)…you can only visit in their particular building.
Many aspects of the game allow for customization. Aside from naming the town and your character, you can choose your characters clothing and accessories, you can make up the town’s anthem, design the town flag and decide how to decorate your house.
If you have a friend with a DS and this game, you can exchange ‘friend codes’ and wirelessly go to visit their town, or have them come to visit yours. This can be a lot of fun, and there are other benefits to having "real" people playing with you in the game…such as they are more fun to be around than the computer characters.
The graphics are top-notch…very clean, very smooth and very detailed. The sounds are great too…well, the chit-chat of the characters can be annoying at times (although you can change this option), but the sounds of the seashore and the insects in the trees are very relaxing. Even the music of the game changes every hour, so you don't get bored.
The controls are easy…you can use the buttons if you want to, or you can just use the stylus and touch-screen…or you can switch back and forth, depending on what you’re doing in the game (that’s what I usually do).
Now you know how to play...so go play!
Some tips:
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~~You already know that if you shake a tree with fruit on it, it will fall and you can collect it. Well some trees that appear to have nothing in them actually have hidden items (such as bags of money or furniture items). Depending on how many trees you have, there are about 10-13 bonuses hiding in the trees every day. There are usually 3 trees per day that have bees in them though. If you have a bug-net (and you are fast), you can catch the bees, but if you get stung, just save the game and restart and you'll be fine.
~~Get a shovel and go fossil-hunting. It’ll take a bit of walking around and sharp eyes, but when you see a bit of ground that looks different (sort of like a dark colored small X) dig there and if you find a fossil, you can donate it to the town museum. You can also donate fish and bugs to the museum's collection as well. They only want one of each specimen though, so after that, you can keep it, give it as a gift or sell it (once it has been identified).
~~If you go fishing, you have to be patient. Walk slowly when approaching the water (or you’ll scare the fish). When the fish grabs the bait and the float goes "bloop" (underwater sound), that’s when it’s time to reel it in…not before, not after! Fishing is fun and profitable. Fishing is easier in the rain.
~~If you are trying to catch bugs, you also have to walk slowly or they will be scared away. Bug-catching can be more difficult than fishing. Beware of mosquitos in the evening (they bite and if you are fishing, cause you to pull your line in) and at night, beware of scorpions and tarantulas...they make a hissing/rustling noise and if you get too close, they will attack you. They are fun to hunt though, and profitable to sell.
~~Take your shovel and hit every rock in town. One rock is a special "money rock" and once you find it, keep hitting it (quickly-don't stop to pick up the money)! The rock will give you bags of money, then it will stop. The faster you hit it, the more you will get. You can do this once a day but every day, the money-rock will change, so you have to try every one.
~~If you see a patch of clover, pick it. Usually it’s nothing, but you may find a rare 4-leaf lucky clover. This can be used as a decoration or if re-planted near to another plant, it will encourage the other plant to grow better. You can also put a lucky clover next to a golden shovel in your house, leave it alone for 24 hours, then the next day there will be a little dog living in your bedroom!
~~To win the fishing tournament, catch the biggest fish you can…a shark will win, but a sea bass will usually be a winner as well. Or, if you caught a big fisher earlier in the game, save it for the fishing tournament and present it then. This works the same for the bug-ctaching tournament. Note: the mayor will keep the winning specimen, so if you'd rather sell it for big bucks (bells) then don't enter it in the tournament.
~~If you have a neighbor who says that they will be moving away and you don't want them to, go to their house and talk to them and ask them not to leave. Then write them letters and include small gifts (such as shells). Over a few days, they should change their mind and not move. If you really think they are going to move out anyway, go to their house with your shovel (when they are inside) and dig holes (like a moat) all the way around their house, then they can't leave.
~~There are several kinds of music players in the game, but no songs are included. To get some music for your radio, go to the café on Saturday night (between 8:30pm and 11:00pm) and request "a song" (nothing specific) from the singing dog on stage and after you sit and listen to the song, he’ll give you a copy of it to play on your stereo.
~~In the winter when there is snow on the ground, roll 3 snowballs to assemble a snowman. If you make him just right, he'll come to life and reward you with gifts.
~~The longer you keep red turnips in the ground, the higher their selling price will be (ex. 5 days in the ground = 8000 bells; 6 days = 16000 bells), but you do have to remember to water them every day. You can buy packages of red turnips from Joan on Sunday mornings. White turnips (to sell to Nook on the stalk market) will spoil by the end of the week unless you place them on a table in your house...then they will not spoil.
~~If you get a dresser for your home, it does more than just look good…it can store up to 90 items inside. That’s per character...so if you have 2 people living in your house, one dresser will hold 90 items for one player and 90 items for the other player! This is much better than walking around with full pockets. Doing this, you can save items in the dresser until flea-market day, and get a better re-sale value than you would have on a regular day at Tom Nook's store (he usually pays only about 1/4 the price that you had to pay to buy it)
~~Check the recycling bin (in the town hall) daily, as residents are always giving things away and you can have them. You can put them in your house, give them away as gifts or try to sell them to the store. Also check the Lost and Found at the main gate. There are usually items left there and you can take them, just like the recycling bin.
~~The first Saturday of the month the town will hold a flea-market…go check out the bargains to be had or sell some of your own. Things like fish and fossils (that you have found) will often sell for quite a bit of money on flea-market days. Just place them in your house and wait for a buyer.
~~To get new fruit (to plant, so you can grow it and sell it), either go to someone else’s town (via wireless or DS to DS) as ask for some fruit or send gifts to the creatures in your town and ask if they have any fruit for you. Plant the different fruit and water the tree every day and soon you’ll have your own fruit tree. Each town has 1 native kind of fruit but there are 5 different kinds (apples, pears, peaches, oranges and cherries). Sometimes a coconut may wash up on shore if you keep the beach clean, and it can be planted on the shoreline (be sure to water it).
How to upgrade certain items:
Golden Shovel: Bury a shovel and dig it up the next day after 6 AM (you'll need two shovels to do this). When you bury bells with the Golden Shovel, they will grow into a tree. There's a slight chance that this tree will become a money tree if it successfully grows. Plants grown using the golden shovel usually grow much better than with a regular shovel.
Golden Axe: Buy red turnip from Joan, give it to Wendell and he may give you a Turban. Give the Turban to Saharah and she may give you a Massage Chair. Give the Massage Chair to Tortimer and he will give you a Scallop (not the ones you find on the beach). Give it to Pascal and choose the Golden Axe to get it. The Golden Axe will never break.
Golden Fishing Rod: After catching every fish, Tortimer will greet you the next time you leave the house after loading the town. He will give it to you then. When using the Golden Fishing Rod, you will have more time to hook the fish after they bite.
Golden Net: After catching every insect, Tortimer will greet you the next time you leave the house after loading the town. He will give it to you then. The Golden Net is much bigger than the regular one.
Golden Watering Can: Have the 'perfect town' status for 16 days in a row and Pelly or Phyllis should give it to you the next time you talk to either of them (all that matters is that your town is perfect each day at 6 AM). Every character living in your house will get their own. When you water a wilted black rose with the Golden Watering Can, it will become a golden rose the next day.
Golden Slingshot: Shoot down 15 balloons, and the next one should be carrying the Golden Slingshot. If you miss it, it should reappear eventually. The Golden Slingshot shoots three pellets at once.
Value of certain "regular" (easy to find) items:
Fruit: (Found in trees):
The native fruit that grows in your town is 100 Bells per fruit. One of the other exotic fruits will sell for 500 Bells per fruit.
Shells: (found on the beach)
Porceletta
: 30 BellsSand Dollar: 60 Bells
Dall's Top: 90 Bells
Venus Comb: 150 Bells
Coral: 250 Bells
Conch: 350 Bells
White Scallop: 400 Bells
Pearl Oyster: 450 Bells
Fish: (and their scarcity, best times to catch and selling prices)
Angelfish: 3,000 Bells; river (rare) May to October, morning, evening, night.
Arapaima: 10,000 Bells; river (rare) July to September, morning, evening, night.
Arowana: 10,000 Bells; river (rare) June to September, morning, evening, night.
Barred Knifejaw: 5,000 Bells; ocean (rare) March to November, all day.
Bitterling: 900 Bells; river November to February, all day.
Blue Marlin: 10,000 Bells; ocean (rare) July to Sept, all day.
Cat Fish: 800 Bells; pond May to October, morning, evening, night.
Char: 3,800 Bells; waterfall Mar to June and September to November, morning, evening.
Cherry Salmon: 1,000 Bells; river March to June and Sept to Nov, morning, evening.
Clownfish: 650 Bells; ocean April to September, all day and May to August, noon.
Coelacanth: 15,000 Bells; ocean during rain or snow (rare) all year, morning , evening, night.
Dorado: 15,000 Bells; river (rare) June to September, morning, noon, evening.
Eel: 2,000 Bells; river June to Sept, morning, evening, night.
Football Fish: 2,500 Bells; ocean (rare) November to March, morning, evening, night.
Gar: 6,000 Bells; pond (rare) June to September, morning, evening, night.
Giant Snakehead: 5,500 Bells; pond July to August, noon.
Gold Fish: 1,300 Bells; river (rare) all year, all day.
Guppy: 1,300 Bells; river (rare) April to November, noon.
Hammerhead Shark: 8,000 Bells; ocean (rare) June to September, all day.
King Salmon: 1,800 Bells; river (rare) September, all day.
Koi: 2,000 Bells; river (rare) all year, morning, evening, night.
Ocean Sunfish: 4,000 Bells; ocean (rare) April to September, morning noon, evening.
Octopus: 500 Bells; Ocean September to January and March to July, all day.
Olive Flounder: 800 Bells; Ocean (rare) all year, all day.
Piranha: 2,500 Bells; river (rare) June to September, noon, night.
Popeyed Goldfish: 1,300 Bells; river (rare) all year, all day.
Rainbow Trout: 800 Bells; river March to June and Sept to Nov, morning, evening.
Red Snapper: 3,000 Bells; ocean all year, all day.
Salmon: 700 Bells; river September, all day.
Sea Butterfly: 1,000 Bells; ocean December to February, all day.
Seahorse: 1,100 Bells; ocean April to November, all day and May to September, noon.
Shark: 15,000 Bells; ocean (rare) June to September, morning, evening, night.
Stringfish: 15,000 Bells; river (rare) December to February, morning, evening, night.
Sweetfish: 900 Bells; river July to September, all day.
Tuna: 7,000 Bells; ocean (rare) November to March, all day.
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