Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival

[Serebii]

This was always going to review appallingly. The Wii U gamepad presented a good opportunity for the series. A full online mode, with chat built into the pad, and the pad screen being used as an inventory with which items could be traded from in the online world would have work superbly well. Almost as if the gamepad was your satchel that you carried into the online world and contained your items.

 

Instead we got a board game. Which was just what the Wii U needed, I mean Mario Party and Wii U Party just weren't enough!

I don't think we're the target audience :p

[punio75]

Forgot I preordered this.

Apparently arriving from Amazon tomorrow!

[somme]

I don't think we're the target audience :p

 

But we're the only ones who own a WiiU. Their target market for this game must be pretty slim.

Edited November 20, 2015 by somme

[dazzybee]

But we're the only ones who own a WiiU. Their target market for this game was be pretty slim.

 

Let's see how well it sells then. I have no idea to be honest. It looks awful, but animal crossing is so so popular.

[FireMeowth]

Just finished playing my first game, and it was even more fun than I expected. If it was this fun in single player, it'll definitely be a blast when I get some of my friends over to play!

 

(I won the game and leveled up my Tom Nook. Got a new outfit for him, too!)

 

Also, all the amiibo figurines are amazing~

[Dcubed]

Just finished playing my first game, and it was even more fun than I expected. If it was this fun in single player, it'll definitely be a blast when I get some of my friends over to play!

 

(I won the game and leveled up my Tom Nook. Got a new outfit for him, too!)

 

Also, all the amiibo figurines are amazing~

 

Haven't had a chance to play it yet, but I'm glad to hear someone likes it

 

I reckon it looks like good fun. How's Desert Island Escape? That's the mode I'm really looking forward to the most!)

[VsPhoenix]

Started playing this this afternoon, and found it pretty slow going as a solo player. You only have access to the main board game initially, and in single player you automatically get three computer opponents, each of whose turns you have to sit through between your own. When your turn does arrive there's very little interaction beyond tapping your amiibo to roll the dice and making a few basic choices along the way, so it's closer to a standard children's board game than a party game. The animal crossing charm is there, but by a few turns in I was playing my 3DS while waiting for my next go. I then switched to the two player mode using both amiibo myself. This picked up the pace significantly and is definitely the way to go if you're playing by yourself. It's pretty clear that the board game is designed to be played by families though.

 

At this point I unlocked the minigames, which you have to purchase individually using tickets you earn while playing. I went for desert island escape and a Resetti themed whack-a-mole game. Only had time for one go on each, but this is clearly where the fun is as a single player. The Resetti game is a score based game using three cards where you have to swipe the right card to hit the mole that pops up with an added element of rock-paper-scissors thrown in. The desert island game is much deeper and had plenty of levels to unlock. You can pick a team of three from whatever cards you own, with each character having different skills. I used Curt who is a honey hunter, Resetti who can dig tunnels and the fishing Rosie card that comes with the game. You have to explore a grid based island to find the components for an escape raft, while at the same time finding enough food to survive. You also collect materials for tools including a catapult to defend yourself from the wildlife. I had more fun with this than the main game and am looking forward to experimenting with different characters. It's nice to see the cards put to good use and the symbols on them now make sense too.

 

I bought the game more for the amiibo than the actual board game, and given that I would happily pay for the desert island game as a stand alone download title I don't regret it. It's definitely not going to be for everyone though.

[punio75]

Going to have a first go tomorrow hopefully.

Just be single player initially and then if nothing of interest will save till Christmas when mates and family are around.

 

Roughly how much time does a 'game ' take?

[VsPhoenix]

Roughly how much time does a 'game ' take?

 

The game tells you roughly how long a game will last when you start. I think it suggested about 1 1/4 hours for a standard single player and 3/4 hour for 2 player. I didn't actually take much notice how long I played but that's probably about right, possibly faster for two player as I was pushing the text through. You are also given the option to play a shorter fixed time game rather than a full 1 month round.

[Hero-of-Time]

Interesting discussion on this weeks NVC about this game. Kallie reviewed it and Peer had played it with kids.

 

Peer was saying how he was baffled why this isn't on mobile. He said parts of the game are more suited to a mobile game than playing it on the Wii U. Amiibo is the obvious answer as to why they didn't do this. They are essentially using them to try and sell the game.

 

He also said that while he did play the game with his kids, they didn't ask to play it again, which he says says it all really.

 

He also wonders what this brings to the table. It's not a good video game nor is it a good board game. He mentioned he would rather just play a regular board game than have to fire this up and pass the gamepad around, while people tap on the AC Amiibo characters to have a turn.

 

Jose was a little more positive about it, although not much. He did say that he would happily play it with his room mates, if they fancied playing a board game.

 

Kallie said it would make for an interesting drinking game, something that she is going to try at some point.

[Blade]

Looks absolute cack. What a waste of resources. Should have concentrated on something else.

[Nicktendo]

Saw a video of the Giantbomb guys playing this. It doesn't actually look that bad, reckon with some alcohol and with a few friends it could be a laugh.

[dazzybee]

It does look awful, but again, I'm pretty sure Animal Crossing NX will either be a launch title, or close to launch title. It's the perfect Hybrid game!! Home console AC isn't great anyway, so glad they didn't waste more resources.

[Hero-of-Time]

Looks like this has bombed in Japan as well. I thought it may have done alright over there but the sales figures have come out and it ain't looking pretty.

[Ronnie]

Looks like this has bombed in Japan as well. I thought it may have done alright over there but the sales figures have come out and it ain't looking pretty.

 

Great news. I'm the last person to wish poor sales on Nintendo but this game is inexcusable.

[FireMeowth]

I fail to see how this game is "inexcusable" or "awful". I'm having lots of fun with it (and still haven't tried multiplayer), and think it's a really great game. :/

[Ronnie]

I'm pleased you're enjoying it but it's got a 42 on Metacritic, which is surely the lowest rated first party Nintendo title in the last couple of decades, so quality wise isn't exactly a hit (on average). I'm not a graphics whore but the visuals legitimately look Gamecube-like. An abundance of platformers is one thing, it's a popular genre, but the Wii U really didn't need another board game, and not one that's, reportedly, quite boring to most people.

[FireMeowth]

Well, I still completely disagree with what seems to be the general consensus of it not being a quality title. It's a very niche game, sure, made only for the biggest Animal Crossing fans, but the quality is definitely there. :/

 

Also, I think you're really forgetting what the GameCube game looked like... I love how beautiful amiibo Festival (and the Animal Crossing Plaza before it) looks.

[Hero-of-Time]

Well, I still completely disagree with what seems to be the general consensus of it not being a quality title. It's a very niche game, sure, made only for the biggest Animal Crossing fans, but the quality is definitely there. :/

 

 

I'm not sure that it's even for those people either. I've been tracking it's reception on Miiverse and there seems to be plenty of AC fans on there that are unhappy with the game. Japan, who adore the series, has also turned its nose up at it.

 

You also have Kallie from IGN who is a MASSIVE fan of the franchise who gave the game a 5 out of 10. She tried to remain positive about the game but struggled to find anything remarkable about it. Although her and Peer did like the turnip prices aspect about the game.

 

Like Ronnie, I'm happy you are getting some enjoyment out of it, I'll probably pick it up myself at some point, but lets not kid ourselves here. The game has been created as a way to get an Amiibo line of AC figures out into stores.

 

Again, I'm happy you're enjoying it. : peace:

[FireMeowth]

Well, fine, maybe the niche audience it was made for is literally just me.

 

Also, I'm perfectly fine with the game being made to justify making Animal Crossing amiibo - because I always wanted Animal Crossing amiibo figurines.

[Hero-of-Time]

Well, fine, maybe the niche audience it was made for is literally just me.

 

Also, I'm perfectly fine with the game being made to justify making Animal Crossing amiibo - because I always wanted Animal Crossing amiibo figurines.

 

It's a shame Gentleben doesn't post here anymore. Looking on Miiverse he has been playing the hell out of the game. You could have had some good banter about the game with him.

[Josh64]

I haven't got it yet so I can't judge too much, but I watched a few (fairly long) gameplay videos and it seems to take the slow plodding pace of Mario Party (its worse aspect) and expand on it greatly.

 

Is it all pretty much luck based? Where is the gameplay? These are genuine questions, not snarky rhetorical ones :p I want to like this game as I love party games AND Animal Crossing.

[VsPhoenix]

Nothing I ever played on the gamecube looked anywhere near as good as this, so I'm not sure where that criticism comes from? Even the boardgame is more disappointing than terrible. It's slow, yes, but then I wouldn't sit and play snakes and ladders by myself for high octane fun, that doesn't make its existence inexcusable. It's just a different sort of game. I know I'll enjoy it more when I get chance to play with my family.

 

@Josh64 The board game is essentially Mario Party with a lot of charming text and no minigames and is almost entirely luck based. The only influence you have is choosing which direction to go at junctions, when to buy/sell turnips and when to use gameplay cards (eg double dice roll) you've collected. There is also a selection of minigames to play in the plaza which are actually pretty good from what I've played so far.

 

@FireMeowth Have you tried the quiz game yet? I thought my animal crossing knowledge was good, but I still struggled with a lot of the questions. I really need to pay more attention to gyroids...

[Dcubed]

So I finally got a chance to play this recently... It's pretty fun actually

 

While it is mostly pure luck as far as the board game goes, the Turnip price mechanic is what really makes the game. It definitely gives it somewhat of a Boom Street vibe, as you end up playing a game of chicken; wondering whether or not to take the risk for the chance to earn a ton of bells later on, or cash in now before a potential price crash happens.

 

One thing that is pretty scummy though is that the players who are not using an Amiibo are at a straight up disadvantage because they don't earn that 1 extra happy point every time they roll the die. It's straight up bogus and there's no good reason for it as it effectively puts them at a potential 32 happy point disadvantage against every other player for no good reason

 

Other than that though, it's not bad. I've yet to try Desert Island Escape, but I have tried the AC Quiz... It's HARD! It really does put your AC knowledge to the test! (I hope you're up on your Gyroid names!)