Ah,
Wild World. It's a bit of a shame that this game has been viewed in a less positive light over the years. I don't find the game's shortcomings to be intrusive, given the context of what system the game was made for. Yes, the controls are a bit awkward (especially after playing
CF), the events that replaced the real-life-based ones from the previous game can feel mediocre in comparison, and the method of unlocking Nookington's was just nonsensical. Still, I at least find it endearing to have fictionalized events not based on real holidays, because it makes
Animal Crossing even more of form of escapism; I understand what they were going for, and I do enjoy Yay Day and the Acorn Festival, and I'm baffled that they never returned in future games because of how much potential they had.
I also realized that people have complained about the game's size, in addition to the smaller villager capacity, but I don't see these as negatives. In fact, I actually think the series benefits from having a smaller pool of villagers. And a game with only six personality traits, having villagers sharing the same traits and speaking the same exact lines of text is redundant. I personally would've lowered the cap to
six in both this and in
CF, and have
eight be the norm moving forward. It helps make villagers stand out more when you don't have three villagers sharing the same personality, and aren't just living props.
Speaking of villagers: I don't see why this game isn't just considered much better at characterization than the GameCube game. It's great that they can still be rude without having said rudeness be the rule for most of the dialogue for Crankies and Snooties. There's nothing wrong with having nicer villagers (because the series was built around feeling a part of this new, virtual community that you moved into); there just needs to be a fair bit of balanced snarkiness and kindness. Sure, I still find the biting dialogue annoying, sometimes, but at least it's not verbosely shoved in your face half time, and unlike in
PG!, there's actually an incentive to forge a friendship with your more coarse neighbors. It helps that villagers had hobbies (even if they weren't fleshed out enough), so it makes each of them stand out even more, individually.
I also love the episodes that nearly every special character receives when certain conditions are met. Take Blathers' fear of insects, for example: On the third Saturday of December, talking to Blathers will have him relay how his sister doesn't share his phobia, and
finds it an issue he has to overcome. This isn't deep — none of the games,
WW, especially, had any deep dialogue, but I love how the game gives these characters backstories and lore, rather than just being the representatives of the jobs that they do, or having a weird gimmick. And just as you said, the Able Sisters had a lot more to talk about than they did in any other game by quite a large margin.
Here's a list of the all episodes that can happen within a year. Honestly, when we talk about dialogue in
Animal Crossing,
Wild World is a clear winner, here, and it's not even close.
I still think the first game wins, in terms of music, but there are a couple hourly themes I enjoy more. 8.a.m, and 9.a.m are both catchy and upbeat respectively, and 1.a.m fits the hour better with its more sober, quieter theme.
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