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The Intricacies of Animal Crossing: Wild World - DS

1st October 2005, 5:20pm
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 Nintendo issued a press release today detailing some of the features of the game, which confirms a few rumours and also presents some things we haven't heard before.

For starters, all your favourites from the original Animal Crossing return, including K.K. Slider, Tom Nook, Blathers, Mr. Resetti and more. There are also a number of new characters. What's new is the fact that all your neighbours now have hobbies, so helping them collect fish, bugs or other things is sure to eat up many an hour.

As with the first game, players move into a town, buy a house and then do whatever they want. Time and seasons pass as they do in the real world, so there will always be something unpredictable happening. Collect or buy more than 1,500 items, talk to neighbors, go fishing, catch bugs, dig up treasure or hang out with human friends.

The game uses the DS's capabilities to its maximum potential: tap the touch screen to type letters, use items, draw designs for clothing or wallpaper, drag clothing or items onto characters, interact with characters or objects or just lead them around the world.

Players can hang out in real time with up to three of their friends by connecting locally or by using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. They also can put their DS into Sleep Mode and it will trade messages with nearby Animal Crossing: Wild World players.

When players are within wireless range of other people who have Animal Crossing: Wild World, they can travel to one another's towns. One person will be the host and open up his or her town gate to visitors. Up to three others within range can exit their town gates to travel to the host's town, where they can do all sorts of things: fish, write letters to townsfolk, shop at the store, cut down trees, anything. Up to four players can interact in real time, communicating with text messages and emoticons. (All players must have game cards for multiplayer mode.)

After players visit, the following may occur:
  • One of the characters in the town they visited might move to their town, and a character from their town might move to the town they visited.
  • "Bottle mail," a bottle containing a letter written by someone in another town, might wash ashore in their town.
  • Constellations created by someone visiting their town might appear in the night sky.
Wireless multiplayer mode plays the same as the DS Local Area Network multiplayer, except that players connect using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Players must know one another and register one another to their friend roster before they can connect. For example, if player A plans to visit player B's town, both player A and B need to register each other's names. The friend roster window is accessible anytime during the game. There are two ways to register names to the friend roster:

Register using DS Local Area Network mode. When players visit another town, they can register the host and other visitors to their friend roster, and others in the town can register them to their lists as well. Players also can register anyone who visits their town, and visitors also can register players in the towns they visit. It's very easy to register friends. Players simply tap the friend roster icon, then tap the names of the people they want to register – they'll instantly be added to the friend roster.

The other way is by obtaining the Friend Registration Key, or password, of a person they want to play with. Players receive Friend Registration Keys when they register their games with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. They can then exchange codes with friends, who can add the code to their list.

Some really cool stuff there.
by Nick Schaedel » Author's Blog