Animal Crossing: Jump Out [3DS] (Animal Crossing 3DS) Pre-Release Discussion #2

     In yesterday's entry, I began my coverage of the pre-release information for "Animal Crossing: Jump Out". Today, I'm going to pick up right where I left off. If you're ready for some more exciting updates, read on. If you missed yesterday's original post, be sure to check it out here.

     In my last blog, I wrapped up the article with a description of the new shopping interface located just beyond the town train tracks. On a related (and obvious) note, the railway system makes a return to Animal Crossing as opposed to the taxi and bus systems implemented in Wild World and City Folk. I can't tell you how excited I am ^_^!!!!!! I'm absolutely obsessed with Porter (the monkey who can be seen manning the train station below), so this update has me incredibly pumped!

Isn't Porter the coolest?

Here we can see him welcoming the player to the Animal Village

as the character departs from the train in the background.

Notice the clock in the top lefthand corner, as well as the

Town Flag that hangs off of it. Is that a train schedule

to the right of our favorite monkey?

     Another amazing new feature (alluded to in my previous post) is the ability to choose the location of your new house. I can't tell you how many times I've had to restart my Wild World and City Folk games because, even though I had an amazing town layout, my house's location was terrible! I'm so happy with the way Nintendo appears to be gearing the new Animal Crossing even more towards customization with an enjoyable interface.

This picture, also posted in my first "ACJO" Discussion,

portrays Tom Nook asking the player if she would like

her house to be located at the current location.

The animals seem to be capable of new and

more realistic facial expressions.

     I have to say, though, the one downside of choosing the location of your new home is having to wait for Nook (who now takes on the role of real estate guru) to build it for you. In the meantime, who wants to have to live in a tent (see picture below)?

This player can be seen standing in front of his make-shift

home, a tent with what appears to be a cardboard mailbox. . . Awesome =_=

     After your home is built, though, Nintendo introduces even more customizable content via exciting options for exterior residence display. In other words, you can change your house's appearance not only from the inside, but through its façade as well!

The image above shows different exterior options for the same house (note the identical tree placement and grass patterns. The player in front of the house appears to be

the same character as well.)

Above, we can see a player strolling through a plaza filled with various houses of other players

believed to be obtained via the 3DS' Street Pass feature.

     Inside your home, you also have further control over your interior design with new display features such as customizable furniture patterns and wall-mounted items.

This player sports the same fabric pattern that is displayed on her couch.

Notice the adjacent identical couch with different pillows on display.

In the top righthand corner, we can see a new wall-mounted clock - one

of many new furniture items to be released in "Animal Crossing: Jump Out".

Look at all of this custom furniture! This girl certainly seems to enjoy polka dots. . .

Here we can see a different, more elegant wall mounted item.

This antique clock fits nicely in this player's chic, upscale sitting room.

That bookshelf sure is tall, but his guy seems to have

his eyes drawn to that nifty wall-mounted display shelf.

     Other general new updates I'm very excited about include the ability to swim and sit on tree stumps. I have to say - this game is looking incredibly well thought out and enjoyable. All of the small details added are sure to make the game all the more enjoyable. I know I'll be picking this one up in stores as soon as it hits the shelves. ^_^

 Here we see a player diving off of the town dock and into the ocean.

Looks like fun!

Those swimmers had better be careful unless they

want to end up as that fisherman's prize catch.

I wonder if Blathers will let you donate human

specimens to his aquarium . . . Hehehehe =_=

The new town layout allows for almost all sides of your village to be on the ocean.

Notice how Bob reaches his head up to look at the player on the cliff above. The 3D

effects on this game are going to add so much!

Here we can see a male player sitting on a tree stump in the background

as a female player waters some tulips. Note the bushes to the left - this

game is going to be full of new features and content!

Let me know: are you looking forward to the new Animal Crossing game? Out of the older games, which version has been your favorite so far?

In the coming days, I'll be trying something different as I post blog entries based upon my own Animal Crossing gameplay. I hope you guys like it. . . As usual, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

-nniimo

Animal Crossing: Jump Out [3DS] (Animal Crossing 3DS) Pre-Release Discussion #1

     This article is a synthesis, review, and discussion of the highly anticipated fourth installment of the Animal Crossing gaming franchise: "Animal Crossing: Jump Out" (Japanese Working Title), alternatively known as "Animal Crossing 3DS". As the latter name suggests, the game (scheduled to be released in Japan in Fall 2012 and worldwide in early 2013) is designed for the Nintendo 3DS platform and is the follow up game to the Nintendo Wii's widely popular "Animal Crossing: City Folk".

     Well, one paragraph into my first real blog entry and I'm already eating my own words. . . >_<; As someone who promised not to be a generic news site fed by Wikipedia articles and Google searches, I'm ashamed to admit that Wikipedia does a great job of explaining the nature of the Animal Crossing franchise. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Animal Crossing series, I've cited the article briefly in order to keep you from getting lost:
     "Animal Crossing (どうぶつの森, -- - - Dōbutsu no Mori - 'Animal Forest'), is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo, in which the player lives in a village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, carrying out various activities. The series is notable for its open-ended gameplay and extensive use of the game systems' internal clock and calendar to simulate real passage of time."

New Features in "Animal Crossing: Jump Out"

     The first thing I noticed when I saw the "Animal Crossing 3DS" promotional video from last year's E3 Gaming Expo was the updated character design. You've been stretched out significantly since your City Folk days, allowing for increased character customization. Now, in addition to changing up your headgear, accessories, and shirts, you can swap out your pants and shoes just as easily, with just as many different options. Promotional images and videos have shown players wearing everything from shorts to long pants to dresses to short skirts. In videos of the newly added shoe store, we can see sandals, sneakers, and boots on display.

Above, a female player can be seen wearing a detailed, layered outfit:

 a red sweater, a white frock, black leggings, and winter boots.

The male sports a humorous Nintendo collegiate tee with . . . interesting . . . pants and shoes.

This player is ready for the beach with his swim trunks and . . . are those bare feet?

Long sleeves make their first appearane in the new version of Animal Crossing.

     "Wow, Tortimer! You've Changed a LOT!" . . . The old turtle seems to get the boot as the player tackles an increased role in town development. As the new mayor of your Animal Village, you now have a more hands-on role in developing your town. New player abilities include town decoration (with new outdoor items such as lamp posts, park benches, and solar panels) and building placement. (You now get to choose the location of various structures around your town, such as the new café featured below - as well as your own house) O_O!!!

Is that a solar panel on the cliff?

A player sits next to her neighbor on a park bench in town.

Note how flowers now have four blooms as opposed to

 the three bulb pattern displayed in older games.

 

 Lamp posts must make exploring the town

at night much more convenient.

I'm sure they're useful for guiding your way home

through the winter snow as well ^_^

Building placement: Tom Nook asks a player if

their current location is where she would like

her house to be built.

The pink café in the background is also believed to be

 a building in which you are able to specify its location.

This interface shows how players are able to purchase
outdoor items for town decoration.

     As the new mayor of your village, you have your own town office (pictured to the left) as well as an accompanying secretary (known as "Shizu" in the Japanese version of the game). I really hope she doesn't stalk you as often as the promotional videos make it seem =_=;;; I feel like that could get pretty annoying pretty fast. Regardless, you can find images of the "helpful and loyal" dog below.

 

     Comments from the June 2012 Japanese Nintendo Direct Developer Interview inform players that in addition to the new secretary, there will be many other new residents and species of animals, along which will come new personalities and highly optimized player-resident interface. Some new faces include Doremi, a friendly new neighbor who I need in my future town, and an unknown sheep ( [?] Llama? I'm not quite sure. . ) who appears to own a new retail store in the Animal Village. Alternatively, maybe she's simply a new villager who just happened to appear in an updated Nook furniture store due to the aforementioned player-animal interface. (Perhaps now you can run into fellow villagers while shopping for your clothes and furniture).

 Above, a pink-haired male player can be seen talking to Doremi.

Isn't she adorable?

Is this a mystery merchant?

     Regardless of the pink creature's identity, the shopping experience in "Animal Crossing: Jump Out" undergoes several definite dramatic changes. For one, Tommy (or is it Timmy?)  seems to have taken over his father's infamous retail business. All stores are now reportedly collected in a "mall" on the far side of the town railway station (see the town concept map below for reference).

Here we can see the town mall in the back (at the top of the screen), which connects to the Street Pass plaza. Between the plaza and the actual town is the railway and railroad station. In the foreground, we can see that the beach seems to surround the town on three sides - - and - - is that an island in the bottom righthand corner??

A player crosses the railway to access the village mall and Street Pass display feature.

 

In the mall, one of Nook's little helpers seems to be the new shopkeeper. 

 

The Able Sisters now offer a variety of pants as well!

Kicks also appears to own his own store. There are a number of different styles of shoes and boots for sale.

____________________________________________________________________________________

I'll be adding on to this post extensively tomorrow, but - for now - I'm going to bed >_<

In the meantime, don't hesitate to post a comment letting me know what you think about the upcoming Animal Crossing game. Are you excited? Are there any updates that particularly peak your interest? Are there any updates you don't like?

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next time.

-nniimo

Hi there.

I'm nniimo. I've never really given the whole "blog" idea much thought until recently; as of late, I've been disappointed by the lack of relevant, insightful, or even humorous updates about my favorite video games.

People seem to forget nowadays that a great blog isn't primarily about the cold, hard facts; fundamentally, it's the author's angle that makes a blog interesting. The point of this blog isn't to be a generic news feed copied and pasted from Wikipedia or ACC, but to provide an interesting and enjoyable take on pertinent information.

I'll be posting an article shortly in which I discuss some pre-release information from Animal Crossing: Jump Out (3DS). Animal Crossing: Jump Out is the next installmet in the line-up of one of my all-time favorite gaming frachises: Animal Crossing. One of Animal Crossing's most enjoyable aspects is the (incredibly funny) interaction between the player and their animal neighbors. Believe me, the game isn't as terrible as I make it sound . . .

For those of you who aren't familiar with Animal Crossing, I'll be sure to explain the pretense of the series in my next blog as I analyze spoilers for the upcoming release. - - - In the meantime, however, I'd like to pose a question to those who actually know what I'm talking about.

Discussion time! For those of you who've played Animal Crossing before, do you have a least favortie neighbor? As for me, there's a certain villager that I can't seem to escape. She's absolutely terrible. I'm not going to name any names, though. . .