Thursday, May 19, 2011

But will the characters in Animal Crossing 3DS still look creepy?

While seemingly every other Nintendo fan the world over is looking forward to next month's E3 so he or she can finally get a glimpse of the company's next console (currently codenamed Project Café), I'm looking forward to the event, to be held June 7-9 in Los Angeles, so I can see if the characters in its upcoming Animal Crossing 3DS still look creepy.



I can't be the only person who thinks the game's more properly proportional--with the exception of their big ol' noggins--characters look a bit odd, can I? (Please share your thoughts on the matter in the comments section of this post.) For whatever reason, I find the shorter, stubbier characters seen in the series' previous iterations much more aesthetically pleasing.

11 comments:

RetroKingSimon said...

I've only really played the Wii game but I find the characters in that highly amusing! :) What's the name of that hamster thing that thinks it's a superhero?

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hmmm, I'm not sure which character you're talking about Simon, but it's possible I never came across it/him/her. Regardless, the game's characters *are* quite amusing -- at least IMO. I'm really hoping these "tall" characters have either been removed from the game or are simply an alternate option to their shorter counterparts from the series' earlier games.

Unknown said...

Wait... That's a screenshot of the 3DS version? I miss the stubby DS style, too :'( I wonder what the animal characters will look like? I don't think they'd fair well with the growth spurt, either

I have many a fond memory of being called "P-money" by my neighbors in Animal Crossing, haha

LottieTwintails said...

It is kind of jarring to see them all... tall like that, yeah! Sometimes, a so-called "graphical enhancement" is anything but.

Bryan Ochalla said...

apricotsushi: Yeah, that screenshot was released after last year's E3, I think. The animal characters I've seen (from the same batch of screenshots) were tall, too -- and, no, they didn't look good either :(

Here's hoping the folks at Nintendo have re-thought the idea -- or are at least planning to give us the option to choose short characters instead of tall ones.

BTW, I have similar memories -- of being called funny names by certain characters. I also remember that when I played the original GC version of the game I played as a girl and would send love letters to certain female neighbors. I can't remember which one was my girlfriend, though :)

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I think they're way ugly. The short ones are cute, and they're far enough removed from real proportions to be labeled with any age...these look like teens...and if the animals are changed, I'll be sad. Animal Crossing doesn't need a graphical adjustment. It needs tons of stuff in it and lots of collectibles. More activities. More fish, fruit, etc.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Kamiwoo: I agree! I mean, there are so many more "graphical enhancements" they could make to this game, why are they focusing on the height of the characters? How about making a bigger city? Allowing you to live in the city (in a condo) or in the town? Allowing you to become a store owner, or take on other jobs? Eesh. I swear, Nintendo could take this series in so many ways, but they seem to be obsessed with updating as little as possible each iteration.

Bryan Ochalla said...

I agree with you, too, Justin. This is one of those situations where I *really* wish I were a member of the team making these games. Give us more to do, more to collect, more to search/hunt for and find. And like I just said in my previous comment: Give us more room/space, by allowing us to live in the city or in an actual forest or on a farm or something. Why can't the people making these games use a *bit* more creativity? It can't be that hard to come up with better ideas than "hey, let's make them taller!"

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Exactly. If you were here, I'd high-five you.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Virtual high-five!!! :)

Viewtiful_Justin said...

*slap*