Animal Crossing: City Folk, also known as Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City in PAL regions, is a 2008 social simulation game created and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. It is the third game in the Animal Crossing series and one of the first titles re-released as part of the Nintendo Selects collection in 2011.
In City Folk, players control a character who lives in a rural village filled with animal characters that look and act like humans. Players can collect items, plant trees, and complete tasks. Like other Animal Crossing games, the game uses the Wii system clock and calendar to connect gameplay to real time, so events in the game happen based on the time of day or season. The game also uses Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing players to visit each other’s villages online. It was the first Wii game to support the Wii Speak accessory, which lets players talk to others using voice chat.
City Folk was announced at E3 2008 and released the same year. It received mixed reviews from critics, who said it was too similar to earlier games in the series. It became one of the best-selling Wii games, with 3.38 million copies sold worldwide.
Gameplay
Animal Crossing: City Folk's gameplay is based on earlier Animal Crossing games. Players use the Wii Remote pointer and motion controls, including the Nunchuk, to use tools like axes, watering cans, slingshots, fishing rods, shovels, and bug-catching nets. Each player lives in their own house, which is separate from others (unlike the GameCube version, where four houses were in a central plaza). A town starts with six animal residents and can grow to ten (compared to fifteen in the original and eight in Wild World). In earlier versions, custom clothing used one image repeated on the front, back, and sleeves; in City Folk, players can create separate images for each part, called a "Pro" design.
Players can celebrate real-world holidays like Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, Easter, Father's Day, Mother's Day, and Halloween, though the game uses different names for them. Characters from previous games return, along with new ones like Zipper T. the Easter Bunny, Pavé (a peacock who celebrates "Festivale"), and Nat (a chameleon who hosts the "Bug-off," a bug-catching contest).
In the game, players use a currency called "bells." They can earn bells by selling items like fish, bugs, fruit, or other items to Tom Nook, the store owner. Bells can be saved in a personal savings account at the "Bank of Nintendo." Players can deposit or withdraw bells at the town hall's "automatic bell dispenser" (ABD). In the European version, the ABD is called "Bellpoint."
Each player has their own house, provided and paid for by Tom Nook. Players can pay off their home over time instead of all at once. They can use the ABD to pay off debt whenever they want. When enough debt is paid, the house upgrades, adding a new floor or expanding the first level. Players can decorate their house however they like. The HRA (Happy Room Academy) in the city rates their room and may select it for display. Furniture can be bought from Tom Nook, Redd in the city, or other animals in the town. Using feng shui can help earn more HRA points and improve luck in daily activities, like catching rare fish or bugs.
Players and animals can enjoy hobbies like fishing, bug-catching, fossil finding, and gardening. Many bugs and fish can be caught, sold, or donated to the museum. Players can plant a variety of trees and flowers. Fossils are buried around the village, and players can participate in Bug-Offs or Fishing Tourneys.
The city is a new area added to the game. Players can reach it by taking a bus driven by Kapp'n. In the city, players can buy clothes, get their hair done, go to the theater, bid on furniture, and more. Special characters like Phineas (who gives prizes) and Kicks (who polishes shoes) appear in the city.
Animal Crossing: City Folk was the first Wii game to use Wii Speak, a microphone that allows voice communication over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (WFC). With Wii Speak, people in different rooms can talk to each other and use a USB keyboard for text chat. Players can send messages to others through their town, the Wii Message Board, mobile phone, or computer.
An auction house run by Lloid, a "Gyroid," is in the city. Players can auction items to others via WFC. There is also an office for the HRA run by Lyle, where players can see how others' towns are progressing.
As of May 2014, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was shut down, making online play impossible without a third-party method.
The game supports Nintendo DS connectivity. Players can import characters from Wild World, but only the character's face, hair (including color and style), and catalog (items purchasable from Tom Nook) are transferred. Bells, items, and other data are not moved. The original Wild World data remains unchanged, so characters can still be played on the DS. Items from the catalog can be repurchased in City Folk using bells. A system error occurred with the Australian version of Let's Go to the City when connecting to the DS, claiming it was "the wrong game card." Nintendo Australia allowed players to return their game discs to fix the issue.
The Nintendo DS can also transfer characters between Wii consoles, allowing players to visit others' towns via DS Download Play.
Using WiiConnect24, Nintendo sent downloadable content to online players. These included items for holidays or new game releases. The first item was the "Red Pikmin Hat." Other items included a "Girl's Day updo" and "Top," a Saint Patrick's Day hat, a DSi chair (white for EU; black or pink for US), a bell bag for Tax Day, and a bus model for teacher appreciation week. After summer 2009 in North America, items like a hot dog hat, a Dolphin model from Pikmin, ladder shades, hopscotch flooring, a GameCube-shaped dresser, a pile of leaves, an election poster, an anniversary cake, and a Wii locker were sent.
Although these items are no longer officially available, they can still be ordered from Tom Nook's catalog if the player downloaded them earlier. Patterns given by Wendell the walrus retain their Japanese names if used with European or North American versions, unless the patterns were originally English.
Development
The game was introduced as a Wii title that highlights the WiiConnect24 feature of the console. In a 2006 interview, Katsuya Eguchi, who led the development team for Animal Crossing, explained that "a person could send a letter from their phone or computer to the Wii, and the player in the town of Animal Crossing would receive that letter." In another interview with IGN, Katsuya Eguchi also mentioned that his team was exploring ways to use the WiiConnect24 feature, such as letting friends visit other towns or leave messages when the console is in standby mode.
Reception
Animal Crossing: City Folk received mixed reviews from critics. The Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave it a score of 33 out of 40, which was lower than the 37 out of 40 scores from earlier versions of the game. Nintendo Power gave it a score of 8.0. IGN gave it a 7.5 out of 10, stating that while the game’s design was good, it was too similar to previous games, calling it "a blending of the GameCube and Nintendo DS games." 1UP.com gave it a C grade, saying "City Folk seems like a missed opportunity to improve and enhance the series in almost every possible way." X-Play gave it a 4 out of 5, praising the gameplay and the addition of Wii Speak but noting it was too similar to earlier games. The British Official Nintendo Magazine gave it a 90% score, calling it "Packed full of Nintendo Charm" and saying players would enjoy it for months, but it also criticized the game for not being new enough for experienced players. The game won the Best Simulation Game for the Wii award from IGN in its 2008 video game awards. IGN also nominated it for Best Family Game and Best Online Multiplayer Game. Meanwhile, GameSpot listed it among the year’s "Least Improved Sequel[s]."
As of January 4, 2009, Animal Crossing: City Folk sold 949,000 copies in Japan. It was the 10th best-selling game in December 2008 in the United States, selling more than 497,000 copies. It was also the eighth best-selling game in Japan in 2009. As of May 2009, the game sold 3.38 million copies worldwide.