Anyone else feel that the GameCube AC has a different atmosphere to it then the games

[Aleigh]

oh 100%

 

[campfire]

Definitely. I saw a YouTube comment that referred to the GCN AC as “feral” and it makes total sense when you look at it in the context of the rest of the series.

I’ll always love the franchise but the first game has a special sort of magic, and the limits of the game seemed endless.

 

[EquinoxIsland]

I love a lot of the gameplay elements in GC that are missing from the other games. Rude villagers, ability to straight up scam you (like taking your money or furniture), igloos in the winter, stretching in front of the huge tree, TORTIMER, washing Gracie's car, ABILITY TO ASK FOR THINGS TO DO (run errands for villagers), etc. I still have periods of time when I will play for a few weeks on my old town. I play it more for the small day to day things than the other games, and feel a stronger sense of community within it, but I suppose I only have city folk and new horizons to base it off of.

 

[LuchaSloth]

There will always be those who claim it is just "nostalgia goggles"...but, I do believe that the Gamecube version was special. Not sure if I could narrow it down to an exact reason why...but there was certainly something about it. Maybe it was the overly saturated colors, the more poignant soundtrack, the fact that it was something completely unique and bizarre that had never been done before. Plus, a lot of the things that were great about the Gamecube classic have been absent in later games. Things like asking villagers for jobs to kill time. Or scavenging in the town dump. Or even collecting NES games for your house (which was something that was way ahead of it's time, tbh).

 

[spCrossing]

The original Animal Crossing is such a unique beast of its own.
I didn't play it growing up as a kid, but to me it still stands out compared to the rest of the series, in a good way.
The NES games, the way the acre system is set up, the soundtrack, the passive aggressive tone of the game, it all feels very alien but it aged pretty well after almost 20 years.

It isn't perfect by any means and some aspects of the original are beaten by future games, like inventory management and customization. But there's always something to come back to and discover something new about the original Animal Crossing.

 

[skb74]

The soundtrack of the original AC is one of my favorites, it just has a certain charm to it. At times the sounds in that game are completely ridiculous (listen to 2AM...) but still fun. And the rainy day theme is embedded in my soul.

 

[Antonio]

I have never played the game but watching the videos about it, it feels like villagers had more stuff to them then current games. I mean, have you seen the sports day? It feels so refreshing just to watch them.

 

[Hanoumi]

It shows how far the games have come. I have extremely fond memories of the multiplayer and discovering its secrets slowly with my friend and the vast amounts of villagers.

I really think that if we had a new game like the original but with some of the qualities of life introduced in the later games, it would be very close to perfect. It has been stated before but the game oozes personality. The feature most missed is the ability to ask for work from the villagers. It gave you something to do at all times rather than pointlessly running around until somebody needs you to do something eventually.

 

[Mayor-of-Bliss]

For me a lot of what new AC games miss is...you have power. Before you didnt.
In GameCube? You aren't anybody. You aren't the mayor. You aren't the Resident Islander.
Okay City Folk and Wild world don't have that.

I think GameCube just really encouraged slowness? The acers. Other than your house its not like there was anything to unlock but fishing and bug catching and fossils. And okay Nooks.

I think it was just a lot more chill. It never felt as a kid like MY TOWN I OWN IT like new games where I decorated them. It felt like. I'm a villager in THIS town but it isn't MINE.

Its more relaxed and its quirky. I mean IDK how Kappin came to replace Porter so fast. Or why I had to pick in NL between Copper and Booker. Its just less stressful in some aspects. Nobody cared about map layout not really.

 

[Vextro]

I totally agree, I think its just the graphics, the movement/interactions and the villagers

It's all pretty different from new leaf, and unique!

 

[Weiland]

I've been playing AC/GC and maybe it's me, but I feel more alone in this game than any of the other games. Of course, the others had online play, but AC/GC has an atmosphere of solitude to me.

I agree with that a lot. It was a great game, nevertheless. And it doesn't help that nighttime in the game can be a little spooky. I also feel like Let's Go To The City invokes a sort of lonesome feeling in me, too.

 

[helloxcutiee]

There's just a certain unbreakable charm in the Gamecube game that makes it so special. Everything down to the soundtrack, villager personalities, and the graphics.

 

[Bilaz]

It really does! It’s a wonderful game
I’m playing it alongside new horizons!

 

[Cheren]

Yep. The music is incredible and it really gives every hour its own vibe. There's a huge emphasis on the natural aesthetic compared to the other games. The townsfolk are mean to you for no reason. Blathers won't shut the hell up. The encyclopedia is simple and much easier to complete. No one cares about map layout because it doesn't matter anyway. Getting a new piece of furniture is exciting even if it's just, like, a barrel or a lamp or something. It's great. 10/10.

 

[dragonpisces69]

I know that feeling. Back in 2010, I first got this game when I also played Wild World and City Folk at the same time, and I really had to get used to a ton of things once I first booted it up and made it my own (as it was a secondhand copy):

• the fact that acres were a thing, rather than the screen not 'shifting dramatically' whenever you go to a certain point on the east, west, south or north;
• the voices of the villagers that sounded so much different;
  • as well as the '1st person' voice of your character that you hear whenever you type;
• some of the music, mainly those of Tom Nook's stores;
• the fact that there were screens with villagers (or K.K. Slider) interacting with you after the title screen and asking your Gyroid to save;
  • the fact that there was even a Gyroid to save, rather than anything in the way of a quick way with the Start button;
• the fact that you created your character on a train, rather than in a taxi/bus;
• the fact that there was this square with the four houses near each other, especially making it hard to choose which one to claim;
• the fact that rather than the Able Sisters, Tom Nook sold clothes instead;
  • as well as the fact that your character always wore this weird 'gender-bound' hat with the same design as your shirt, and could not change your hair colour either
• the fact that dressers, cupboards and such could only hold three items at the same time ;
• the fact that there was nothing in the way of medicine to cure yourself from bee stings straight away

...basically nearly anything, I guess!

But the game itself, aside of all this, is pretty neat, especially some of its hourly themes and the island song

 

[Che5hire Cat]

The GameCube title sure has a special atmosphere. The music, the way the villagers are acting, the fact that you have only a handful of goals (such as upgrading your house etc.) here... The game is more chill and sassy as well as simple, that's what makes it so good. And as much as I enjoy playing the modern AC titles, none of them ever had that same atmosphere as the GC title. You can play it today and still having as much fun as back then, it's awesome. By far one of my favorite AC titles.