Animal Crossing Wii

I have mixed feelings about Animal Crossing Wii, as it’s most likely going to be announced next tuesday at E3. While I’m really looking forward to it, there’s a major problem facing this game…it’s being made by Nintendo. The Wii is a surprisingly powerful little device for the specs it has, but even Nintendo’s first-party games haven’t taken full advantage of the system. My main concern is that Nintendo will do next to nothing new with the Wii version of Animal Crossing, especially in the online department. We can pretty much count on them using the same friend code system, but there are so many more things they could do with it. There are a few things I’d love to see Nintendo do with Animal Crossing Wii.

1) Take full advantage of the WiFi Connection. I want them to deliver on their promise that you with WiiConnect24 you’ll be able to visit your friend’s towns without their system being powered on, as well as their proposed cell phone/email interaction with the town. I want to be able to send my town a bunch of spam from my PC and then go to find that I have a hundred new letters. I also want to be able to visit websites that will send my town a special promotional item. Also, don’t use the Pay-and-Play version quite yet. I do NOT want to pay just to go to my friends’ towns. What I DO want is to upload and download patterns and town themes to a huge central server.

2) Take full advantage of the Wiimote. I want to be able to hold down the A or B button and thrust forward to dig, and then be able to visit options and switch between waggle mode and button presses. I want the Nunchuck to be used for walking around, with the option of using the Wiimote on its side instead. (That might be asking for too much) I also want to be able to store at least one of my dudes on the Wiimote and take it to my friends house for some split-screen co-op. I do NOT want to have anything that depends on pointing, except for the Able Sisters’ whatnot.

3) I want to be able to design or at least have some say in the layout of my house. I want more creative freedom! I also want to be able to play my own mp3s (heck, I’d settle for AAC) on the music players and hang up my own pictures on the walls. In fact, I want to be able to hang up random crap on the walls in a display box! On-wall shelves, ftw! I also want an increased storage system. (Not inventory, mind you, just the shelf system made better in WW.) I want to be able to store two of everything. I want that “Tom Nook Point System” thing to die. I never used it, and it was really annoying that it didn’t work properly for me. At the very least, I’d like to see some kind of re-design of it.

4) I also want to dig up something besides Gyroids (although they are freaking AWESOME) and fossils. I want a pet. I know that’d be kind of weird to have a small pet dog or bird or whatnot when there are these huge animal neighbors asking you to fetch random crap, but I’d settle for anything of the sort! I also want more types of buildings, and more neighbors. I want my town to GROW. I want to become the mayor! I want that island from the first Gamecube game.

5) I want Mii furniture. I want to be able to plop down a Mii doll after buying one from a novelty shop or whatnot. I want to be able to create multi-track town themes, and change the instrument. Speaking of intruments, I want to be able to do more than play random notes on that cool electric guitar I plopped down in my house. I want to pick it up and start playing it, OoT-style. I want to change what I play on my TV, using a DVD or Video or Betamax or something. I want more furniture…although that’s kind of a duh.  I want more insects and fish, too…maybe even a new kind of creature? Birds? You could shoot’em down with the new Rifle tool, which can also be used to hold up the bank or gun down that annoying neighbor who planted the pitfall seed…hehehe…

6) I want full DS connectivity. I want to be able to play mini games and design furniture with my touch screen, or even use my DS as a controller. I want the errand-running system to come back, in addition to a reworking of the whole townsfolk-interaction system. I want my furry animal friends to sound more intelligent, aided by a redone AI system. I want there to actually be a CHALLENGE in the fishing/insect contests, and not a random chance that my fish/insect will randomly be outdone by some other animal’s. I want to see the animals do more than walk around my town…and I’d like to see THEM actually help take care of the town. Lazy butts. They need to do their share of weed-pulling and tree-planting. It’s not my town, for crying out loud!

7) I want a stat system. I want to genetically engineer bugs and fish. I want to have a magic system! …okay, I don’t really want any of that stuff…although a stat system of SOME kind might not be that bad. I mean, you can let a dinky little fish get away but catch a gigantic Coelacanth? Come on!

That’s all I can think of for now. Even if they implemented half that stuff, it would constitute a new title. Nintendo, I’ll be seriously ticked if you do a near-direct port of Wild World.