Features

• Utilizes GameCube's real-time clock that parallels the real 24/7world
• Four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
• Make friends in the forest
• Wear numerous outfits, use tools, work, buy your own house
• Transfer your character to your friends' Animal Forest and live in their worlds
• Play classic NES games in various houses
• Collect insects, fish, dig, chop down trees and more!
• Up to four players -- friends, family, or both -- can exist in the world you create
• Watch the world change around you as data is saved to Digicard

Gameplay
The whole mystery behind Animal Forest got started in an interview with IGN64 at E³ 2000, where famous game designer Shigeru Miyamoto casually mentioned that Nintendo was secretly working on a "communication game" for Nintendo 64. Back then, Miyamoto-san said he couldn't go into detail about the game because it hadn't been announced to the Japanese press yet, but N64 owners would see the game before the end of the year. Miyamoto-san certainly kept his promise as the secretive communication game finally revealed itself in playable form at Space World 2000. IGNcube went hands on with the N64 demo at the time and found that Animal Forest -- previously thought to be very childish in nature -- actually offered a refreshing amount of innovative gameplay that all can enjoy. With that in mind, remember it is our assumption that the GameCube version will be nearly identical as far as gameplay is concerned.

At the start of Animal Forest you name your character, set the date, name your town, and arrive in the "Animal Forest" by train where you start a new life. The gameplay emphasizes communication with all the other animals, and each of them will have distinct personalities. Just like in real life you can develop friendships with other characters. The ability to live a life among these animals is the very core of the game. You actually have to get jobs to pay for your house, create a social life with friends, and do many other things you would do in the real world. The actual world, the "Animal Forest," this all takes place in is definitively odd. All the characters are very weird looking and humorously designed. The entire environment design gives off a sense of quirkiness and light-heartedness.

That's only the beginning, though. The game has a built in clock that will affect gameplay depending on whether it is night or day, and even what season it is. If it's getting late in the month of December there will be Christmas lights on all the trees. If it is July there might be a fireworks festival. And, if it is late Fall there is a beautiful display of colors on the tree leaves that gracefully fall throughout the environment. The game clock actually moves in real time, which means December in the real world is December in the game.

Animal Forest is completely adaptive. By getting jobs and earning money you can do many things. With the money you earn you can buy new clothes, furniture to redecorate your house, and even food for a pet you might have. If you're not the working type, than you can catch insects, go fishing, or play music. Item selection is very simple. You bring up a sub-menu by pressing Start, then use a cursor to select an object, then place it in your character's hands on the menu screen. Hit Start again and you're ready to use it. Objects include an axe, a fishing rod, a CD, food, fish, a shovel and many more. To add even more variety, Nintendo has even included the ability to collect cards that you get as rewards for certain events. All in all, there are a whopping 600 cards hidden in the game.

Character interaction plays a very important role in the game because it is a communication game. You have to talk to a realtor (raccoon) to purchase your house, and we've also bumped into a postman (pelican) and policeman (dog). All conversation is text-based and there are multiple choice answers to every question you're asked by the non-player characters. If you're a fan of classic videogames, you'll be happy to hear that Nintendo has taken several of its NES classics and hidden them in this game. Some of the houses we were able to go into in Animal Forest contained Famicoms (Nintendo Entertainment Systems) with various classic games.

NES Games in Animal Forest

• Donkey Kong
• Donky Kong Jr.
• Tennis
• Pinball
• Golf
• Kuru Kuru Land
• Balloon Fight

The conversions are excellent, which should definitely please all you retro fans out there. Then after developing your character, making money, and playing your favorite classics you can save the data on a Digicard. You can visit a friend's village with your character if you want. There are often items in other people's villages that are hard to find in your own. This is done with use of the memory card.

When all is said and done, though, we've only scratched the surface of Animal Forest. There's just so much that can happen over the course of the year. Hopefully the conversion to GameCube will not go unnoticed.

Graphics
Nintendo only showed a brief clip of Animal Forest in motion during GameCube's unveiling, and there didn't appear to be any real graphical upgrades. It was running at a smooth 60 frames per second in hi-res, but outside of that it was the exact same game. Nintendo hasn't upgraded the number of polygons in the world, added any real-time lighting, or upped the texture quality even! We can only presume that Nintendo is giving little precedence to the conversion, and just wants to get it out in the U.S. on GameCube.

With that said, don't expect much. Anyone interested in Animal Forest won't be amazed by the graphical quality. Fortunately, though, the art design has a rich style with vibrant colors and subtle interactive animations. For instance, the effects that accompany your actions such as cutting down a tree, digging holes or fishing are equally well executed. If you use your axe, the tree will shake and leaves will fall to the ground. After the third hit, or so, it will begin to tilt slowly and finally crash to the earth before fading away and leaving behind a stump. Not too shabby&for an N64. We hope Nintendo at least takes a little time to polish the visuals.

Outlook
From what we have played of Animal Forest, the game is very promising. Its artistic visuals and unique "communication" aspects should make it an interesting title. It'd almost be worth it just to play the NES games that you can find in the houses. We the IGNcube editors are pleased and surprised Nintendo is bringing it to GameCube in the U.S. It would have gone completely overlooked like other imports -- *cough* Sin and Punishment. Currently the game has no set release date and we don't know when Nintendo will show it next. Since the game is already available in Japan, Nintendo may not showcase it at Space World 2001 which takes place just outside of Tokyo. Look for more updates on Animal Forest as we take closer looks at the N64 version.