Moving In!

As you probably know, Animal Crossing: New Leaf comes out in America on June 9th, in Europe on June 14th, and in Australia on June 15th. However, Nintendo has graciously provided me with an advance copy of the game so that I can start moving in, and blog about the game! I’ll be updating this blog pretty much every day, so bookmark this page and come back to see what’s going on in my New Leaf town. But enough of that. Let’s get started!

I loaded up the game and found myself on a train, much like how the GameCube game began. Rover sat down and started talking to me and I decided that my town is going to be named Forest once again. I was actually planning on using a different town name this time, but I changed my mind at the last minute. Forest is the name I’ve been using since 2002 and it’s almost a personal trademark of mine. Rover let me choose from four town layouts, and I picked the one I liked best. The train then pulls into Forest and everybody there welcomes me.

Everyone welcomes me at the train station, as I'm moving in to town for the first time. Animal Crossing: New Leaf.The villagers there are Rory, Harry, and…Yuka? Her again? She lived in my main GameCube town for years, before moving to my other GameCube town. I also had her in my City Folk town for a while. Seems that I can never escape her for very long! Isabelle, the dog who first greeted me, tries to tell me that I’m the new mayor!

???: Mayor! We're so happy you're finally here!Yuka just had to go and point out the obvious. It’s because I’m tall, isn’t it?

Yuka: So...you're the new mayor? Hmm. You're a little different from the rest of us.After a short walk to town hall, Isabelle remembered that she can’t fill out the paperwork making me mayor until I have an address. And as of right now, I’m actually homeless. How can I be moving in when I don’t have a home?

Isabelle: Oh no! This is bad!So I had to go to Nook Homes to find a place to live. I chose a spot close to a pond and Re-Tail, and not far from the train tracks and shopping. This is my town map:

The first-day map of Forest on May 2nd, 2013, as I'm just moving in.Tom Nook marked off the area where I’ll be moving in my house, but I had no place to sleep just yet! So Tom put up a tent for me.

Tom Nook: Ta-ta-ta-DA! I'll let you borrow this tent so you have somewhere to sleep!Now that I had a place to live, Isabelle was able to wrap up her paperwork and told me about a ceremony at the event plaza. We headed there and I planted the town sapling and officially became mayor of Forest! Hooray!

On May 2nd, 2013, Jeff became the mayor of Forest.Unfortunately, I noticed Gabi was one of my villagers. She was a starting villager in my City Folk town too, and my friends and I never cared for her. We had to chase her out of town. I hate to say it, but I really don’t care for my starting villagers overall, although Aurora is pretty cool.

With the ceremony completed, I was free to explore. It’s nice not having to work for Tom Nook this time. I took a nice walk on the beach. I looked at the stars and how they shine…

Jeff walking on the beach at night.Then I stopped in the Re-Tail store and saw Timmy there.

Timmy: My name's Timmy. My brother and I run a shop in the shopping district called Nookling Junction.Next, I went up to the museum. The exterior was looking mighty fine tonight.

The outside of the museum.On the inside, Blathers was as wordy as ever.

Blathers: Never mind. Let me start over with, hoo, fewer words.And I noticed the aquarium has seats, so you can sit and relax as the fish swim by. Well, eventually it will have fish in it, but now it’s just a really big bowl of water.

Me sitting in the (empty) aquarium at the museum.I then checked out some stores, including Nookling Junction, where I met the other Nooklet, Tommy.

Tommy: Ooooh! You've already met my older brother, Timmy? I hope you treat us both kindly! Please do!He sells fortune cookies for two play coins. “When you eat it, a lucky ticket comes out.” Wait…it comes out of where?? Oh, out of the cookie.

Tommy: When you eat it, a lucky ticket comes out. Sometimes you win!After this, my 3DS battery was flashing red and the battery was about to die. So I saved and quit my game for the day. Check back tomorrow for more!

UPDATE: I started up the game again later and got an anonymous letter from the person who was really supposed to be the mayor. So it is a mistake. Interesting.

To Jeff, Congrats on your newfound mayorhood! To be honest, I was supposed to become the mayor, but one thing led to another... And now it's all up to you! I'm rooting for you! -Keep it a secret!UPDATE #2: Here’s my “Moving In” video showing some of today’s events.

If you’d like, check out my ACCF blog  and my Animal Crossing GameCube blog also. You can also pre-order New Leaf from Amazon.com.

Note: To browse through the other entries, you can use the calendar in the sidebar, or you can use the “next” and “previous” links at the bottom of each entry. Thanks!

Favorite New Feature?

Today Nintendo put out yet another Animal Crossing: New Leaf Tourism video, this time focusing on the businesses in town.

It shows the T&T Mart (which looks exactly like Nook ‘n’ Go from previous games), the garden shop, the shoe store Kicks, the night club, and Nook’s Homes. The night club is indeed named Club LOL, not Club 101. I hate the name personally.

But of course the shops aren’t the only new additions to New Leaf. As you surely know, you get to be the mayor this time, giving you much more control over your town. The ability to swim is also a welcome addition. What new feature is your favorite? Are you dying to visit the new island? Can’t wait to customize your furniture with patterns? Want to enter the Dream Mansion and visit towns of people who aren’t even online? Or maybe you’re just glad to hear some new hourly music.

Vote in the poll in the right-hand column, and leave a comment if you’d like. Especially if you choose “other,” let us know what your favorite new feature is!

As for me, I think I’d have to say being the mayor has to the be the most significant change. But many of the new features are appealing–even the new types of fruit. Bananas for the win!

The poll is closed now, but here are the final results:

Poll Results: What new feature are you most looking forward to? Being mayor/choosing town law: 34%. Outdoor furniture/town decorations: 16%. Island/Wi-Fi games: 13%.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my Animal Crossing: New Leaf blog. My name is Jeff, and I’m probably best known as jvgsjeff on Youtube, where I make videos of Animal Crossing games and other video games. I also currently have blogs for Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing for GameCube. My blogs typically describe what goes on in my Animal Crossing towns. I make note of anything interesting that happens and I include several screenshots with each entry. My New Leaf blog will be similar to that…once the game has been released.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf is due out on June 9th in America, June 14th in Europe, and June 15th in Australia. That’s less than two months away. In the meantime, this blog will be focused on news about the game, discussion of the game’s features, and just my thoughts about the game in general.

Box art for Animal Crossing: New Leaf.For the newcomers, here’s a little background on how I play. I am what you might call a “legit” player. I don’t hack or cheat, and I like earning everything on my own. Of course it’s normal to exchange small gifts with friends, but if someone offers me a large gift such as a big bag of bells or a painting I need for my museum, I will refuse it. Because of that, I’m usually not the quickest person to get house/town upgrades or complete my museum. And I’m fine with that. This will be my first time blogging an Animal Crossing game from the beginning, so it should be fun.

Nintendo had a bit of Animal Crossing related news in today’s Nintendo Direct. They announced that the Animal Crossing themed 3DS XL system will indeed be releasing in America and Europe. The U.S. suggested retail price is $219.99, and that include the digital version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I know a lot of Animal Crossing fans like the look of that system, but personally I think it’s a bit ugly. I’m quite happy with my blue/black 3DS XL, but I can see how many of you may be tempted by this. The regular price for a 3DS XL is $199.99, so this is like getting New Leaf for just $20.00 more. Of course it’s the digital version and not a cartridge, but it’s a good deal for people who don’t already have a 3DS.

The Animal Crossing 3DS XL.If you haven’t seen the “Tourism” trailer, here it is…

And today they released another trailer, Tourism #2:

That’s about all for now, but please bookmark this blog and come back soon. Next time, I’ll take a look at some of the unique features of New Leaf and discuss what I’m really looking forward to. And once the game comes out, you can expect near-daily updates here. Thanks for visiting!

Pre-order New Leaf from Amazon.com