3DS review: Animal Crossing: New Leaf

With each release that followed the Gamecube title, the Animal Crossing titles felt, to me, at least, more of expansions on a preexisting core game than full-fledged ‘new’ games. Animal Crossing: New Leaf follows this design of being more evolutionary than revolutionary, but makes a number of noteworthy strides that places it in territory well ahead of its predecessors. One of the most distinct changes is made apparent within the first ten minutes of gameplay – that, of course, being the degree of control players have over the design of their town. While the horizontal main street to the north will always play host to the museum, convenience store, clothing shop, post office, and other frequently-visited buildings, players can select from a handful of predetermined map layouts that will alter the position of the local river, the natural ramps that lead down to the beach, and the mayor’s office.

Once the geography of the town is determined, players can select just about any plot of land to claim for their own house, provided it fits the dimensions required for eventual expansions. From there, players assume the role of the town’s mayor, a responsibility which local secretary Isabelle assures the player is no mistake. As mayor, players have the ability to select construction projects recommended by their animal neighbors, ranging from new bridges, to a lighthouse, to a campground for temporary visitors, and even expansions and renovations to previously existing places on the main street hub north of town.

It is true that each previous Animal Crossing game placed heavy emphasis on understanding your town’s economy, and the worth of individual items in terms of both sales and application to your home or neighborly friends. However, everything in New Leaf costs money, from the more obvious clothing and furniture purchases, to expanding your home, to completing construction projects, to disposing of the odd boot or tin can that is reeled in from the river. It makes the early game more of a crawl than a walk, but a few days later and the game grants you all the freedoms of the previous games and then some. New Leaf adopts the same cartoonish proportions and bright colors of its predecessors, and the soundtrack is simply stated, but it certainly isn’t a game that is lacking in charm.

Whereas in previous Animal Crossing titles, the island was home to one unique inhabitant, New Leaf alters it purpose, offering tours as well as exotic fruits, insects, and sea creatures that can earn you more impressive financial returns than most of what can be caught within the villages. While the familiar fishing rod, shovel, axe, and bug net are present, so are watering cans to keep flowers healthy, slingshots to shoot down uncommon balloon-carried gifts, a stopwatch, and a megaphone. As a reward for catching a high number of fish and insects, the game even offers fishing rods and bug nets of particular colors that indicate the current completion status of your checklist.

As is only to expected, this latest entry offers a decent number of new neighbors and furniture sets on top of the preexisting pool of options. There are, however more outlets through which you can acquire different home decorations. You can also influence which neighbors stay in your town versus which ones move out with relative ease. Above all else, this Animal Crossing title makes the fruits of your labor more visibly obvious, with your town gradually transforming from a basic series of houses set in a forested area to a more fully-functional community with outdoor decorations and major landmarks.

Whether a result of hardware limitations or a general lack of inspired direction, the online components of both the DS’ Wild World and the Wii’s City Folk seemed half-baked. New Leaf, however, pushes the communal multiplayer aspect in directions that feel natural and fluid with the single player experience. In short, Animal Crossing: New Leaf makes a few tweaks here and there to offer more user-friendliness, adds enough new elements to stand out over its predecessors, and offers a full package that feels the part of a proper sequel to the Gamecube title that first introduced North American gamers to the series.

My rating: 8.5 (out of 10)

Top 5 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Missions

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron has long been among my favorite video game tie-ins to George Lucas’ films. I loved how bold the original N64 entry was in exploring new worlds and crafting the narrative of Kasan Moor and Moff Seerdon through the eyes of the more well-known Wedge Antilles and Luke Skywalker. I also appreciated how fine-tuned its Gamecube sequels were, as their dogfights still rank among some of the smoothest-playing I’ve encountered in any sci-fi game that emphasizes ship-to-ship combat. The Rogue Squadron games were special, in that they devoted themselves to an aspect of the Star Wars universe that is far too often overshadowed by the mysticism of the Jedi vs. Sith conflict, and made a home-run with it. Even the third game’s insistence on shoe-horning on-foot missions was a minor setback when infiltrations into Imperial bases via a hijacked AT-AT or a preemptive strike on Imperial shipyards were account for. Below are my five very favorite missions across the three Rogue Squadron titles, and why they stood out so much.

#5 – Assault on Kile II: Some might consider my love of the Y-Wing to be odd, and that my insistence on using it in as many missions as possible over the course of the Rogue Squadron series’ run to border on having a death wish. I’m not sure when my obsession with the slow but heavily-armored Y-Wing began, but one of my earliest memories in piloting it come from the N64 mission Assault on Kile II, wherein Rogue Squadron must keep a low profile as they fly low to the ground, navigating a maze of increasingly narrow valleys. It’s a search for Imperial outposts that must be handled with the utmost care, lest the local patrols overwhelm Rogue Squadron. While the Y-Wing can take more of a beating than some of its brethren, its best to avoid combat while chugging through the tight passageways that link the few more open areas, as just one tailing TIE Fighter can shoot you down very quickly.

#4 – Death Star Attack: I will openly admit that I prefer when the Rogue Squadron games branch out into original scenarios as opposed to revisiting familiar battles from the films. However, as cliché a choice as it might be, there is no denying just how perfect a job the second game did in capturing the Rebel’s strike on the first Death Star. The opening cutscene that recreated the X-Wing and Y-Wing squadrons approach, the buildup to the iconic trench run, and then the tight quarters that the fighter pilots must account for as they race toward the exhaust port - all of this is handled in such a fine manner, and few other Star Wars games have since been able to match its quality in their own depictions of the Battle of Yavin. The chaotic laser crossfire depicted in the background, the huge jump from the first game in regards to super smooth textures of the various towers and turrets littering the Death Star’s surface, the multiple portions of the mission, and the sheer scope of its presentation were a magnificent showing for the first mission of this sequel, and hooked my eleven-year-old self in with wide-eyed wonder at what the rest of the game had in store.

#3 – The Search for the Nonnah: One of the earlier missions in the original Rogue Squadron has you searching for a downed transport known as the Nonnah on a wet and murky world. It’s a race against the sparse Imperial forces who are similarly scouring the area for the Nonnah’s crash site, and was among the first missions in the Rogue Squadron series to peel the focus away from combat. Instead, fighting the Imperial’s local deployed walkers and tanks is reserved for the end-mission climax, with everything beforehand a time-sensitive traversing of deep ravines and the occasional run-in with a small rival TIE Fighter squadron.

#2 – The Jade Moon: In what is one of the first major stepping stones in the narrative of the original Rogue Squadron, Kasan Moor accompanies the veteran pilots of the titular X-Wing squadron to the Jade Moon of the Loronar System. It was the first proper test of Moor’s loyalty to the Rebel cause, as she had only recently defected. At the start of the mission, Wedge Antilles voices his concerns about Moor’s trustworthiness, and though Luke wishes to focus on the task at hand, the eerie track that accompanies this assault on an Imperial Supply depot perpetuates an air of suspense and uncertainty - a tune made so apparently popular, that it saw reprises in both sequel games. It is a mission that pits Rogue Squadron against many different enemy types, from TIE Fighter variants, to AT-PT walkers, to rotating missile turrets, and does a great job at encompassing just how the members of Rogue Squadron behave during more high-risk scenarios.

#1 – Battle of Endor: This climactic battle from Return of the Jedi was exciting in the film, but the cuts back to Luke aboard the Death Star and Han, Leia, and Chewbacca on the forest moon sort of distracted from the true scope of the ship-to-ship combat. In Rogue Squadron II, it is fully realized, a nearly chaotic number of ships zipping in and out, this way and that. Your objectives change rather frequently, keeping you on your toes as you attempt to defend the Rebel fleet before pushing the fight back toward the Imperials. Facing down two Star Destroyers is one of the most immersive moments in this trilogy of games, and the slow approach toward them is the perfect buildup to one of the greatest tests of your piloting skills.

25 Days of Christmas - #16: Roller Coaster Tycoon

When it comes to simulation games, most are just a flash-in-the-pan. Sure, SimCity did great, as did The Sims. But Railroad Tycoon, Mall Tycoon, and SimTown were all names that got swept under the rug and were forgotten. It came as somewhat of a surprise to me when Chris Sawyer’s big take on the simulation genre was released, titled Roller Coaster Tycoon. How in the world could the prospect of managing a theme park be a legitimately enjoyable experience?

Roller Coaster Tycoon both limits you as a player and allows you to do almost whatever you desire. There is a cap on how much money you can take out as a loan, but the way the park is setup, the number and types of rides and their intensities, the landscaping, the food and drink available – all of this is up to the player’s discretion. The profits made off the rides will largely depend on the guests attending the park. Most guests have a tolerance for a medium-intensity coaster and carry enough money to pay for a few rides on said coasters, as while as the various thrill rides and any food purchases they might make. Occasionally, a guest with tolerance for high-intensity rides will enter the park and find that the thrill rides and wooden coasters are not exciting enough for his or her tastes. It is for guests like these that you build steel and inverted coasters – the rides that will perform loops, corkscrews, barrel rolls, helixes, and the like. On the other end of the spectrum, there will sometimes be guests who look for more tame attractions, such as go-karts, haunted houses, and log flumes. The dynamics of all three guest types forces the player to accommodate to each of their preferences if he or she wishes to make their park a success and meet the criteria to complete a level.


The sheer number of rides available is an impressive feat in and of itself. While wooden and steel coasters are the foundation of the game, the various water rides and fun houses will flesh out the park. Players can choose to decorate the park with various trees and flower beds to up the positive rating their park receives, though this is not necessary to complete most rounds. Keeping mechanics, security guards, and handymen on staff is necessary, however, as they will keep the park running smoothly. While the mechanics are there for obvious reasons, the other two employee positions affect the park rating, overall guest happiness, and monetary earnings. In short, the better you park looks, the happier guests are, the more money they spend at your park, and the better reputation your park gains.

Weather and terrain will affect your earnings and guest happiness as well. More flat environments are both ideal for building rides, as well as keep guests from needing to travel long distances to reach them. The early levels provide players with land that is easy to work with, letting them get their feet wet. Later levels, however, will prove to be incredibly challenging, placing many parks on semi-ridiculous inclines or areas with significant water coverage. While the weather only changes to rain every so often, it will cause many guests to shy away from rides temporarily and has a noticeable impact on sales.

Roller Coaster Tycoon uses a simple yet effective building tool. The parks are diverse and give players a greater challenge with each new park that is unlocked. There is no specific way that players have to go about meeting these challenges, and a great amount of freedom is granted to the player without making things too easy for them. An addictive and cleverly designed title, Roller Coaster Tycoon deserves a spot at the top of the mountain of simulation titles.