When enthusiasm for the GameCube version was at fever pitch several years ago, I myself (who didn’t have a GameCube at the time) threatened to summarily ban the next person who posted an Animal Crossing thread on the forum I was running, because the sheer volume of Animal Crossing loving going on was taking over the forum and annoying the hell out of me. Whilst this might not sound exactly like a ringing endorsement, it’s important to realise that unless you’ve played either the N64 or GameCube versions of Animal Crossing, you’re unlikely to ever have encountered a ‘game’ like this before. Instead, you should rather look at Animal Crossing as a life simulator, albeit a genteel one, where your biggest concerns are the well-being of your neighbours, whether you’ve over-watered your garden, and the Bell repayments on your extortionate mortgage from resident entrepreneur and loan shark, Tom Nook. If you buy Animal Crossing expecting a game then you’re going to get bored rather quickly and inevitably be disappointed. Animal Crossing isn’t so much a game as a way of life. Whatever you’ve heard about Animal Crossing, before we start, I have to correct a misconception you may have about it.

Animal crossing wild world