3DS Announcement

I've recently, with the new Pokémon X/Y 3DS, added the 3DS to the systems I have available to play. So far, I have Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan, and Harvest Moon: A New Beginning. When I next go to GameStop, I will be adding Fire Emblem: A New Awakening and Pokémon X!

Just for a quick overview, since I have to work in fifteen minutes and still have yet to drink coffee: the 3D in Animal Crossing is very well implemented. The graphics look great, and its obvious that they knew what they were doing. Being a mayor instead of just another townsperson is nice; it gives the game a direction, whereas before, I was never particularly into the games.

I've only played Etrian Odyssey IV for about an hour or so at this point, but I was impressed by how much thought and care went into crafting the game (it is my first Etrian Odyssey game). It has layers and layers of rules and difficulty, which is accessible, but will obviously be difficult to master. It obviously prioritizes gameplay over story, which is actually a welcome change at this point and is the reason that I always buy the new generation of handhelds, but do my other gaming on the computer. Mechanics are very important to me. I look forward to playing Etrian Odyssey IV more.

Harvest Moon: A New Beginning is more complicated to talk about, since I've played it more than the others and now only have ten minutes before work. (Countdown: 3 2 1 0) At the beginning, the game is greatly stripped down from the usual. Echo Village is a ghost town. The player character's father was supposed to move in and start a farm, but chose to marry your mother and move to another village instead; this meant that the revenue the town desperately needed never appeared. None of this is stated outright, but it's obvious considering the structure of the games (everything revolves around your farm) and is a good reason for you helping the town along, where there wasn't one before. You're not just a good person; you have to help where your father promised to but couldn't. At the beginning, there is only your farm, Dunhill-- I have no idea what he does, but I believe he serves the function of the mayor-- Emma, who does the shipping, and Hana, who runs the general store. There is also a forest-mountain-river area to explore, set up very similarly to the way it was in Tale of Two Towns.

The player's house is more or less completely upgraded already-- having no one in town means that the houses that are there are often fully equipped, like the smithy. There are five fields with eight squares each for producing crops, and a barn with space for two animals. There is no coop, and your first cow will be free.

After a while, the animal breeder comes back to town, since he was away getting animals, and later than that, a young woman will come set up the smithy. Until that day, which is near the end of the first season, you only have four other people to talk to. Your day will consist of: caring for the crops, hunting bugs/gathering wild food, talking to people, another round of bugs/wild stuff, then watering the crops and bed. I am usually asleep by eight, which is a change from earlier games, where there was so much to do that I often didn't get to bed until past midnight.

I'm still at the end of Spring, but the game is supposed to pick up soon and I pray that it does: the days seem very long and lonely so far. I adore it, but I need the town busier. Thankfully, it is my duty to make it so! The game has a lot of work ahead for me, and reads like a well-oiled machine-- but more on that later, since I have to be in the car in one minute!

Cheers to all!