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The Animal Crossing Effect - Published by N-Philes, Aug 15, 2006

Everybody knows that Japan is different. It's a land where cute pink kittens can become a national phenomenon, where tradition and technology fuse seamlessly, and where gigantic mutant monster attacks occur on a regular basis. Of course, Japan's tastes in games differ than those of their worldly brethren; first person shooters fly off American shelves, but in Japan, they're only really used to prop up in-store displays for the latest Anime-inspired releases. As a result, there are so many games that are released in Japan that never make it to US shores. Sometimes it's because we don't know the anime off which the games are based, other times it's because the publishers feel that the game's wackiness just won't sell, or that the game is simply too hard for Americans. Whatever that means.

Occasionally, a publisher will bring over a game in hopes that it will find a (profitable) niche market, like Atlus with Touch Detective and Cubivore. Even rarer, a developer will retool one of their older games and send it overseas just to see how well it does, much like Capcom did transforming Gyakuten Saiban into Phoenix Wright. Perhaps rarest of all is releasing a game in Japan on a current-gen platform, then to the world on a next-gen platform in hopes that it can better find an audience. Nintendo most notably released Dobutsu no Mori on the N64 in Japan before optimizing it for the GameCube, then releasing it as Animal Crossing the US (of course, poor Europe and Australia had to wait a wee bit longer).

The GameCube didn't see a great number of games over its five-year tenure as Nintendo's current-gen platform, but it did have a few titles that left non-Japanese gamers more and more sad as international releases seemed less and less likely. However, there is hope. Ideologically, Wii is a much different system than its predecessor, but underneath the hood, they share much of the same technology. Nintendo is hoping that gamers and non-gamers of all kinds with buy into Wii. This means, of course, that there is a potentially wider audience to pick up all kinds of software titles, and that optimizing a GameCube game for the new system won't break a developer's sweat (or their wallet). Miyamoto himself said that he would like to see some GameCube games remade to breathe new life on Wii. The big question becomes, which games should be given new worldly life? Here's my expert opinion on the four most likely candidates.

Legend of Golfer

Developed by Seta Corporation, Legend of Golfer was published jointly between Seta and Nintendo in June 2004. It and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were the only Japanese GameCube releases that month, a month that kicked off a very slow summer for the ‘Cube. Summer would be a great time to release a golf game, but apparently people in Japan would rather play the actual sport than play this game. Half golf and half RPG, Golfer features lackluster graphics (yes, lackluster graphics are a feature), a unique control method, and the ability to train your character in all areas, be it putting, driving, chipping, power, stamina, spin, and concentration.

With its swingin' control system, Wii is bound to see many golf games, Wii Sports Golf, Super Swing Golf and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 already slated for release. So, what is it about Legend of Golfer that could separate the titles from everything else? Golf games come in two basic formats: fantastical and realistic. For some, Mario Golf what with its chain chomps and pipe play is just isn't appealing, meanwhile you may as well be playing the real sport if the game is so realistic that the only way to improve it is to work on how Tiger's facial expressions change based on your performance. Legend of Golfer, quality aside, takes the best of both worlds: it pushes for realism, but brings the player to all kinds of exotic locations, like volcanic and Egyptian landscapes, that don't quite make the PGA Tour.

The thing that tips the balance in Golfer's favor of seeing an international release is a little orange square that bears the words "Touch Generations". True Swing Golf for the DS launched last January to a welcoming colder than Canada's winter climate, but it has seen a second marketing push ever since it was branded along with Brain Age, Magnetica, and Tetris DS. Assuming that the Wii gets a similar system put in place, it could just find that audience that would have completely missed it a few years ago on the GameCube.

Homeland

Chunsoft, the developers of several Mysterious Dungeon games (including the Pokémon Dungeon for the GBA and DS), developed and published a quirky RPG in April 2005 called Homeland. The GameCube exclusive was initially only available through the developer's website, but after a month, SEGA distributed the game to retailers. You begin as an ordinary kid who was cleaning his closet one day when he was suddenly transported to a fantastical world. In the same breath, he becomes a Quester, someone who goes around helping people with all kinds of problems. Along the way, you meet townsfolk, battle monsters, gain experience, and transform into all kinds of weird mascots, like a mermaid, or a box. You can also do combos with and protect party members by holding hands.

Of course, the biggest twist the game offers is that it supports 30 players at once – online. One player sets up a game while everyone else connects to the host GameCube. The connecting players get to play the game while the host controls the game, the quest, and spawns the monsters.

Let's face it, this BMORPG (big multiplayer online role playing game) could find an audience on Wii. Its overly colorful, yet artistically twisted graphics are right up there with the likes of Animal Crossing, Monkey Ball, and Elebits. Not unlike Pokémon, the game has simplistic turn-based menu-based battles, but has great depth and a variety of locations to explore. To top it off, every Wii has built-in internet support; with Wii Connect 24 and Wi-Fi Connection, the game can be ever-changing in order to maintain the gamer's interest as well as making the whole online process simple and easy for everyone withh a Wii. The game's artistic direction even fits in with Wii's Mii Channel, so it may even be possible to being the gamer's avatar to life in a full-fledged RPG.

"I hope that [massively multiplayer online games] are really explored on [the Wii]," Reggie Fils-Aime mentioned in an interview toward the end of last year. "That's a genre, from the home console standpoint, that really hasn't been explored very well." If anything, Wii needs a game that proves that MMOs, as well as other PC-centric game ideas can work well on the system. What better than an innovative, scarcely-played title that would need only a few tweaks to reach the masses?

The Legend of the Quiz Tournament of Champions

Shortly after Nintendo set into motion the DS' Touch Generations strategy in Japan, something bizarre happened, an anomaly if you will. The company developed and released a touch gen-style game for the GameCube. With over 8000 questions in eleven different categories, four-player multiplayer, and full voice support, one would expect that The Legend of the Quiz Tournament of Champions (Quiz King for short) would do extremely well in a country where game show have been the rage for decades. Well, it didn't.

The GameCube wasn't a system for everyone in the same way that Wii is aiming to be. Gamers were looking for something meatier, and even if they were looking for a more party-oriented game, they probably went with a game like Mario Party 7 (which incidentally it also came with a microphone). Wii is more open to simplistic games that anyone could play, and thus a game like this would get more exposure. Of course, it means more peripherals, unless the Wii Remote still harbors an unannounced microphone feature.

The possibility for Quiz King gets stronger when you think about the Wii Connect 24 service. Eight thousand questions may seem like a lot, but not everybody is interested in sports and history. Through the "always on" internet service, you could obtain content-specific categories. Imagine downloading categories based on Nintendo games, pop culture, and post-release television and movies. The game would always be changing so that you don't get a chance to memorize all the right answers. The Wii Remote speaker can ring and buzz as you get questions right and wrong. Throw in a bit of online play, and maybe some DS functionality for an exclusive "Final Quiz King" round where you get to wager points and write down your final answer, and we're looking at the quintessential interactive session for families, friends, and even foes.

GiFTPiA

No other game had more fanboys emailing IGN with the question, "When is this game coming to North America?" than did Giftpia. After all, Giftpia seems more like a real game than Animal Crossing did when it was first unveiled. To confuse American gamers even more, Nintendo published Skip's second game, Chibi-Robo, which has a lot in common with Giftpia. Released in May 2003, Giftpia is a quasi-adventure "communication game," overseen by Chrono Trigger alum.

Step into the shoes of Pockle, a young boy with purple hair, giant eyes, and a girlfriend. He's scheduled to become a man (no thanks to the girlfriend), but unfortunately he misses the all-important coming-of-age ceremony. As a result, the mayor of Nanashi Island has him arrested and fined for five million Bell (yes, the same currency found in Animal Crossing). This punishment is a bit harsh for a boy, though, so Pockle ends up having to do community service while dragging around a ball and chain and having his face pixilated in shame. Not even Tom Nook is that mean! He must go around, catching fish and picking fruit to make back the money in order to hold another ceremony, but along the way, he learns that money isn't the only thing to life. The villagers run into all kinds of trouble, and Pockle can advance the story by helping them out. Substitute Pockle for a small robot and a nightly curfew for battery recharges and you basically have a island-scaled Chibi Robo.

The charm of the game comes from its candy-coated visual style, detailed graphical effects, sense of humor, eclectically varied soundtrack, and subtle nods to other Nintendo games.

It's amazing that we haven't seen this game on the GameCube, especially when you consider that it's similar to but more accessible than Chibi-Robo. To further confound you, Nintendo had shown the game in English at E3 2003. Let's face it, Giftpia could be the Animal Crossing for a gamer audience: a multi-layered, open-ended adventure that puts emphasis on helping others, problem- and puzzle-solving, and exploring the world around you. Nintendo insists that regular releases will crucial to maintaining Wii's interest. Even if it gets saved for a rainy day, or rather a release drought, a simple retooling of Giftpia with even just tacked on Wii Remote gameplay, coupled with a localization that only Nintendo's Treehouse team could pull off, could make Giftpia the sleeper hit of the next generation.

Like the DS, Wii is all about publishers taking a chance and giving gamers something that hasn't been seen before. Legend of Golfer, Homeland, Quiz King, and Giftpia are all titles with their own innovations that few gamers have ever heard of before, let alone played. Even in Japan, these games weren't huge successes. They are prime examples of how games could shine given the proper platform. Is Wii that platform? To all the publishers out there, there's only one way to find out!

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