Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City is on the surface the same game you’ve been playing on the Nintendo DS and on the GameCube before it. Dig deeper and it becomes apparent that there is quite a bit more to it, but there is certainly nothing in this Wii game that will convert you into an Animal Crossing fan if you weren’t one before. Animal Crossing is the subtlest game I’ve ever played – the vast variety of things to do and events to experience isn’t evident from the start, but if you put a lot of effort and creativity into it you never stop getting enjoyment out of it.

Living in Bobville: a Journal

Day 1: I arrived in my new home today, a small village called Bobville. The driver on the bus called himself Cap’n and kept saying things like “arrr!” and calling me “matey.” A friend I met on the bus told me to go to the Bobville town hall upon my arrival, so I did. I was told that I could choose one of four houses available in Bobville, so I chose one that is close to the beach. It’s not quite on the beach, but it’s close enough to hear the waves.

Day 2: Tom Nook, my banker and friendly local shopkeeper, asked me how I was going to pay off the mortgage on my new house, and when he saw that I wasn’t sure he offered me a job at his shop for a bit of money. Before I could start working I had to introduce myself to everyone in town, so I visited all the animal-like people in Bobville. There’s Tank the Rhino, Mac the Dog, Tipper the Cow, Gwen the Penguin and a few others. They’re all charming people; I’m glad I chose Bobville to stay in. Soon Tom Nook had me delivering parcels, writing letters, planting flowers and trees and putting notices up on the town notice board. Finally he was all out of tasks for me so I went home to sleep.

Day 3: Today I chatted to Bettina who said I should try catching fish. So I went scouring the tide-line for shells and sold them to Tom Nook for some Bells, bought myself a fishing rod and quickly caught myself some carp. Groucho told me that the town museum needed exhibits so I gave one of the carp to Blathers, the Owl that works in the museum, and sold the rest to Nook.

Day 4: I took up fossil digging today with my newly bought shovel. I managed to find a fern fossil and a T.Rex skull! Blathers was very happy to see the finds. I also bought some pansy seeds to plant outside my house – I’m planning a whole bed of flowers just to the left of it. I also bought a chair for inside my house. I’ve decided that my current place is a little small, but to get a bigger one I have to pay off my current mortgage, so I’m just going to have to spend more time picking cherries off the trees and selling them to Tom.

Day 5: I popped over to the museum today and discovered a little bar inside it. I was fortunate because KK Slider was playing a gig there and after I listened to him he gave me a cassette that I can play on my tape recorder at home. Tomorrow is the big bug-off – I’m super-excited.

Day 6: The bug-off! First I popped into Nooks for a net and then set about trying to catch the biggest insect I could find. Fortunately I netted a long locust, so I won the day! I also popped into The Able Sisters Shop and bought myself a new shirt – I was getting tired of that old paw-print one anyway.

Day 7: The city beckons! Today I went to see what I could see in the great city. A short bus trip (with ol’ Cap’n) takes you there. I went in to GracieGrace and saw the rug I hope to one day have in my home. For now it’s far too expensive, but I’m sure with enough cherry-picking and shell-gathering I will be able to get that rug I liked so much. I also popped in to the hairdresser and discovered that I could get a complete makeover and look like something called a Mii. I signed up with the Happy Room Academy – they judge your room every so often and score you on your layout and your taste in furniture. I’ll have to be more careful about what I buy in future. I also went to watch a show, which was really bad but I learnt how to show distress. This will be useful when friends come to visit Bobville and start digging up my rose garden. There’s an auction house you can put items up for your friends to bid on (real-life friends I mean), and you can bid on items yourself. I discovered a place I’m not allowed in yet – you have to be a member. Rumour has it that you can buy furniture and famous art works inside that place. I hope to buy some and donate them to the Bobville museum so that our museum can be the best in the world.

Day 8: Things are settling into a routine here in Bobville. Every day I wake up and look at my mailbox – maybe today I’ll have some mail from one of the residents of Bobville. Then I get my fishing rod, my net, my shovel and my watering can and set off into the beautiful day. I’m a bit of a night owl, so I sometimes struggle to get to Tom Nook’s shop before it closes, but I try to go every day to see what new items he has in stock. On my way I might stop to catch a fish, dig up some weeds, water some plants or chase after a firefly. And with luck I’ll see the telltale sign of a fossil lying underground and be able to dig that up. There’s always something happening in Bobville – next weekend it’s the flea market and I hear Nook has a sale on tomorrow at 6pm. Meanwhile I work to pay off my mortgage so I can buy a bigger house so that I can buy more stuff to fill it with.

Day 9: Some things are a little frustrating in Bobville, just like they were in Bobtown before. Sometimes I can’t control where I dig and end up digging up my precious flowers by mistake. Sometimes I even struggle to get into bed and I find it particularly difficult to move furniture around in my room. Digging up weeds is a bit of a chore too, but it’s important for the sake of keeping Bobville beautiful – I don’t want the whole place to be overrun. But I can’t complain too much; Bobville is an idyllic place for a laid back character like me. It’s a little prettier here than in Bobtown and there’s a little bit more to do, especially because it’s near the city with all its attractions. I’m probably going to stay for a long time.

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