Photo Friday 4/19/2013

My Nintendo DS carry case.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf 3DS XL Bundle

"The system retails for $219.99 and comes with a copy of the game pre-loaded on its 4GB SD card."

Normally I'd be all over this kind of deal since I've been waiting for New Leaf to release before buying a Nintendo 3DS XL but damn if they couldn't have done better on the artwork.

Most likely I'll be just buying a plain 3DS XL in addition to either a hard copy or digital copy of New Leaf.

View the article here.

Opinions on the design?

Animal Crossing Nails

Yep, pretty creepy!  Click here to check out more pictures.

Some Animal Crossing Blogs

So I pretty much had to gut my Animal Crossing Blogs list since every single one of them hadn't been updated in several years, if they even still existed.  Here's a few I've been following lately:

Jeff's ACCF Blog (Animal Crossing: City Folk)

Animal Crossing Blog - looks like it's just getting off the ground.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf Blog -  have I mentioned I'm excited for this game to be released?

Animal Crossing - lots of day-to-day content of playing New Leaf.

Animal Crossing Meme

On my main blog I often participate with memes from  Sunday Stealing so I thought it would be fun to create a meme here at Population Growing.  I didn't create these questions, I just stole them from some random Animal Crossing site on tumblr.  Anyone who wants to participate, hit me up with a comment and I'll check out your answers on your blog.  Enjoy!

1.   Your favorite neighbor?
I think my favorite neighbor of all time would have to be Pudge, he's the man!

2.   Your first town name? 
Valhalla.  I'm not sure why I chose Viking heaven as my first town name in Animal Crossing on the GameCube but I've always used that name in every version of the game I've played.

3.   Your favorite event?
That's a difficult questions.  Probably either the Halloween event with Jack or the the Christmas event with Jingle.
 
4.   The first thing you do when you play?
Usually check my mail if there is any.  If there's no mail I go on the daily money rock/fossils hunt.
 
5.   Favorite K.K. Slider song? 
A Forest Life, at least in the Wild World version.

6.   Most annoying character?
Probably Phyllis for being such a hag or Tom Nook for his methods of indentured servitude at the beginning of each game.

7.   A guilty pleasure? 
Writing inappropriate letters to my animals or giving them inappropriate greetings and catchphrases.

8.   The thing you’re most proud of doing?
So far having nearly 10 million bells in the back on my Wild World game.  I know it's not a lot but I've never time traveled or cheated in all the years I've played on that particular game.

9.   Favorite place in town?
The beach, where I spend most of my time fishing.

10.  Your favorite personality type?
The lazy characters, they're usually the funniest.

11.  A neighbor you used to love but now hate?
No one comes to mind.  To be honest I don't interact with my neighbors very often expect maybe in Wild World just to get them to like me enough to give me their picture.

12.  Favorite NPC?
I've always liked Gulliver.  How could you not like a drunken sailor washed up on the beach, or flying around in a flying saucer, depending on which version of the game you're playing!

13.  Best hour song?
I like the late evening music the best but I can't specify a song name or time.

14.  Something that makes you happy?
Just playing the game usually makes me happy.  I'm sure most people who know me think I'm a little odd, a nearly 40 year old dude playing these kinds of games.

15.  The last neighbor to move into your town?
Mitzi in Wild World, the only version I'm actively playing right now.

16.  A neighbor you miss?
Most definitely Pudge.

17.  Your favorite outfit?
I really like the gaming outfits in City Folk.  Like the Link outfit from The Legend of Zelda or the Samus helmet from Metroid.

18.  Favorite way to make money?
Fishing most times or catching tree beetles in the late summer.

19.  Most annoying thing to do?
Having to mail fossils to be identified in the original GameCube version.

20.  The best part of the game?
Trying to complete inventories and trading/selling/buying with people online.

21.  The worst  K.K. Slider song?
I can't think of one I dislike off the top of my head.

22.  Something you wish you could do in the game?
Swim or go to the island in the newer games.  Both these features will be back or available in New Leaf for the 3DS.

23.  Your favorite furniture set?
I like the Ancient series quite a bit as well as the Modern series.

24.  A neighbor you hate?
 Olivia.  I always seem to get that skank in my towns no matter what version I'm playing.
 
25.  Something you wish they would remove from the game?
Pitfalls.  An utterly useless and annoying item.

26.  Something that reminds you of someone/somewhere?
I think of my niece Brandy sometimes when I play.  She's one of the few people that I played with online on Wild World and City Folk that I actually knew in real life.

27.  A neighbor or NPC who is most like you?
Blathers.  I like my sleep!

28.  A neighbor you like to annoy?
Most of them.  If I really want to get one of them to move out of town then I hit them with my tools a lot or shove them around until they get angry.

29.  Your favorite season?
Summer.  It has the most money making opportunities.
 
30.  Why did you started playing Animal Crossing?
A long time ago I used to read the now defunct N64.com.  There was a guy on the site who wrote a series of diaries about an Animal Crossing game he was playing while living in Japan, I believe he was actually playing the Nintendo 64 version of the game.  I remember the entries he wrote to be hilarious and immediately knew I had to have this game when it came out on the GameCube.  Since then I've purchased every incarnation of Animal Crossing on its release day.  Good livin'!

Photo Friday

Me and this little guy are patiently waiting for the release of Animal Crossing New Leaf!

Animal Crossing Funnies

I found these today while messing around on Reddit.

57 days until New Leaf!

Animal Crossing New Leaf Video Journels

I ran across a couple of video journals on YouTube that I thought I would share here, though I'm sure most real Animal Crossing enthusiasts have probably already seen them.

TheBitBlock.com - This guy is funny, especially when dealing with situations where he's not sure what's going on due to playing the Japanese version of Animal Crossing New Leaf.  I'd also recommend going through his playlist and view the Animal Crossing New Leaf dream diaries.  Good stuff.

LIN & Ko. - Not quite as funny as the previous journal but what they lack in laughs they more than make up for in content.  I think, at this time, there's somewhere around 50 videos they've uploaded detailing the daily grind that is Animal Crossing New Leaf.  Though the game shown is the Japanese version, Lin and Ko do a fantastic job of translating the texts in the game or describing what's going on.  Check it out!

Any other Animal Crossing video journals I should be watching?

April Showers...

... bring May flowers. The last couple of days, in the real world, has been perfect for playing Animal Crossing (Wild World). It's been raining for two days straight, which is awesome considering the drought we've endured recently in Oklahoma.

Since Zombie Jesus Day has come and gone it was time for some new duds for April. Since the next "big" holiday on my radar is Cinco de Mayo, I thought I'd go with a Mexican look. Too bad you can't change your shoe colors on the DS version of Animal Crossing!

It's a Wild World

I recently brushed off the old DS and loaded my long neglected game of Animal Crossing Wild World in anticipation of Animal Crossing New Leaf for the Nintendo 3DS. After pulling a ton of weeds I got back into the swing of things and have been playing almost daily. There really isn't a lot left for me to do, mainly just finish off some collections, paintings, Gulliver items, things of that nature. I've found I'm really enjoying the game again in spite of its age especially the zen like peace I obtain by managing my flowers...

New Animal Crossing 3DS Information

Found this over at Nintendo Everything. Sound interesting!

"Famitsu has a brand new report on Animal Crossing: Jump out this week. We’ve started to translate some of the details below. Keep checking back for more edits/information throughout the night.

- Now play as the mayor
- Roofs, doors, posts, fences appear to be customizable
- New furniture… including mermaid items
- New thrift shop from Lisa the alpaca
- Shoe store has been added
- As was previously confirmed, there is now a shopping mall
- This lies beyond the train tracks

Able Sisters (open 10:00 – 21:00)

- Familiar clothes shop

Museum (open 24 hours)

- Similar to previous entries
- Increase in the types of fish and fossils
- Exhibition Room included
- Museum Shop included

Gardening store (open 9:00 to 20:00)

- Seems to be run by a sloth
- First time a gardening store is in Animal Crossing
- Purchase flower seeds and tree seedlings

Raccoon housing (open 10:00 to 20:00)

- Tom Nook seems to be managing this aspect
- Take an early tent and gradually customize it into a large house
- Handle parts which decide the appearance of the house

Miscellaneous goods store (open 8:00 – 20:00)"

Animal Crossing: Jump Out Nintendo Direct

I finally found a new trailer of the Nintendo 3DS version of the game after being disappointed with zero news at E3 last month. Despite the trailer being in Japanese there's some pretty cool stuff to see.



My impressions:

First, the graphics look pretty good considering this is a game for a handheld system.

It looks like the travel system has gone back to a train, or streetcar perhaps?

At one point someone is toggling through what looks like items that can be place around town outside of the houses, lamp posts, park benches, things of that nature.

Solar panels. Nifty.

From what I've seen of the shops they look about the same as previous versions of the game with the exceptions of a shoe shop and the ability to buy pants at the clothing store, a fun addition.

I definitely spied some new household items and furniture in the game, though that is certainly to be expected.

So, based on this video, the game is going to be more of the same Animal Crossing goodness with some tweaks and a few new revisions. This is totally fine with me as long as the game stays on par with other installments in the series. The best I can guess is an early 2013 release. Bring it!

Animal Crossing 3DS E3 2011 Trailer

Posted also at Dave's World:

Nintendo has released a new E3 trailer for latest edition of the Animal Crossing series on the 3DS. Basically Animal Crossing is a life simulation game, think the SIMS only Nintendo style. The series has been featured on the Nintendo GameCube, Wii, and DS.



Anyone else out there in the world looking forward to this game?

Animal Crossing Ahead Forums

The Animal Crossing Ahead Forums are probably one of the best resources for Animal Crossing information and discussion. I used to frequent the site a lot when I was playing Animal Crossing: Wild World and Animal Crossing: City Folk daily. I especially liked the Trades and Meetings Category for setting up online trades with other players or bidding on auctions or auctioning off items I didn't need anymore.

The site had been down for the majority of this year I believe but I found yesterday that it was back up and running. Check it out. As I said, definitely a great resource for information as well as a great place to find people to play with online.

Return to Animal Crossing?

Maybe. I dusted off the old Wii last night and popped in Animal Crossing: City Folk. The last time I had played a full day within the game was on March 8th! I've been reluctant to play the game since my Wii is on it's last leg. I figure what's the point of playing if I'm going to purchase a new Wii sometime in the near future and have to start a completely new game of Animal Crossing (there is no way to transfer the save game files from one Wii to another).

I guess I may try to get back into the game for now and if I do purchase a new Wii I can always connect them together through the Internet and move over any items I want to keep from the first save game file. To make a long story short, perhaps I'll be updating a bit more often.

Animal Crossing 3DS Trailer Impressions

From Gamespot:

"Who would have guessed that collecting furniture and cutting down peach trees could be fun? But Nintendo did create a franchise that's built upon the very real tenets that accruing lots of stuff is reward enough for a job well done, and of course a new version has to grace its latest system. The 3DS version of Animal Crossing looks a lot better than the previous three renditions, though, and not just because of the extra dimension. We came away itching to dig holes in the ground one more time after seeing the first footage of the latest Animal Crossing.

There isn't much gameplay in the short, noninteractive trailer, but one thing is certain: This is the best-looking Animal Crossing yet, surpassing even the Wii version. The camera is zoomed in a lot closer to the main character, and the extra detail on your protagonist and the environment is immediately apparent. The trees look particularly impressive. The bark and leaves look much more vibrant, and the 3D effect when running through a forest is a treat. The inside of a home is just as stunning. You can now rotate the camera to get a look at everything you've collected. The items in the demo home included a model train set and a drinking water bird, and it was fun just to stare at them because they were so detailed.

There's no word on a release date or extra activities for this latest Animal Crossing, but the visuals are certainly impressive. Keep your eyes on GameSpot for more information on this collect-a-thon as soon as we find out more."



Do you hear that giant sucking sound? It's my social life once I can get my hands on the latest installment in the Animal Crossing series...

Animal Crossing in 3-D?

Nintendo just announced details about their new 3-D handheld system, the Nintendo 3DS. I noticed a few sites have Animal Crossing as a game being developed by Nintendo for the system. Not knowing much about the new system, what are some of the possibilities for a new handheld Animal Crossing game? Discuss.

Long Time No Post

Check out Bob's House of Video Games for more gaming fun.

Lighthouse!

I haven't had a whole lot of time to play Animal Crossing: City Folk lately but I plug away at it when I can. I was finally able to save up enough money to save up for the lighthouse. Normally it shouldn't have taken me this long to save this much money but I've been buying all the Gracie Grace furniture every four months and it's been depleting my savings!

Somehow I thought the lighthouse would be bigger, maybe I should've got the windmill!

Fashion update! Going with the pirate theme these days. Shiver me timbers....

Awesome Crossing