Animal Crossing-New Leaf: The importance of sound foundations

This post could as well have been titled "the importance of town layout" or "the importance of fellow villagers" or "the importance of local fruits", because all these things are paramount factors in the success of a playthrough of New Leaf. For yours truly, at least.

Although my lovely little village is barely eight days old, I've actually been playing the game for twice as long. I picked it up on the 28th of february and started a playthrough with much enthusiasm, eager to discover at long last that game that is so widely branded as one of the most addictive simulation games ever created, spawning impossibly long playthroughs in its wake. Unfortunately, the magic didn't quite work on me. After eight days of plodding and yawning, I had to face the horrible truth: I was not enjoying the ride. My town layout made me feel claustrophobic, my fellow villagers were boring and looked weird, and the whole thing was more akin to an overstretched snoozefest than to an rollercoaster of addiction. So much for the year-long playthrough I had fantasized about, did I sigh whilst popping the cartridge out of my 3ds.

However, as I was about to put said cartridge back into its box, I changed my mind and decided to give the game a second chance. Everybody deserves a second chance, especially games that have been purchased with cold hard cash; and so I stuck the cartridge back in my 3ds, determined to start all over on sounder foundations. I chose a different town layout more to my liking, which led me to discover that my fellow villagers were actually chosen at random, just like the town's local variety of fruit. I ended up with trees loaded with cherries in lieu of oranges and with a batch of quirky and zesty villagers much more interesting than the ones populating my first village. From snobby sheep Willow to whimsical Cat Moe, without forgetting Ricky, the ever-frowning, pint-sized squirrel who was kind enough to offer me a plump peach on my second day on mayoral duty, they are all a pleasure to look at and interact with. Not to mention Isabelle, who is nearly too adorable to handle. This new village gave me an immediate feeling of cosiness that the first one had not managed to arouse; and with that, I knew that I was on safe ground and ready to roll.

That's not to say that I expect to spend years playing New Leaf like some dedicated players did, but I can certainly see myself playing it for some time and getting a lot of enjoyment out of it. I've been playing daily for the last eight days and I really delight in the soothing gameplay and the mellow, nearly mundane atmosphere. I'm very much a routine person, and the idea of getting a small dose of New Leaf every single day for a while is a very pleasant idea indeed. I found out that I enjoy the game more if I play it for short periods of time, and the real-time feature and overall slow pace definitely encourage an incremental way of playing rather than a greedy one in which the player gorges on hours of play at once.

I've also found out what I will indulge in and what I will gladly skip—at least for the time being. Growing different types of fruits is definitely a goal I want to achieve, as well as making my town as leafy as possible by cramming it with trees. Since I'm mentioning trees, I've stopped shaking those that bear no fruits: although it can sometimes yield interesting items, it's definitely too tedious for my taste. Just like my ultimate bane in that game, which is none other than donating items to the Museum. Not only is the process unbearably tedious, forcing the player to first assess and then donate the items, but that whole concept is totally at odds with my non-completist mindset. It reminds me of these Panini sticker albums I tried—and unvariably failed—to fill up when I was a kid, and I can already envision how things will evolve: there will be some super-rare fossils/insects/whatever that will be a royal pain to obtain, leading only to frustration and disappointment. I'd rather skip the whole thing entirely and spare myself that pain; and if my village grows to be a lair of uneducated louts, then be it. At least we'll have full bellies thanks to all the fruits I will grow. Food is life! As a whole, my goal is to luxuriate in New Leaf's mellow atmosphere, to enjoy the little novelties that pop up every day and to indulge in whatever I feel like doing during my daily playing session. Only time will tell where this will lead me, and I'm quite curious to see—and play—it for myself.

I'll keep you posted about my New Leaf adventure, fellow gamers. I'd be curious to know if you experienced a similar disaffection with your first town(s) and curious to know any interesting anecdotes about your own playthroughs, so feel free to expand on the matter in the comments! Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!