My Animal Crossing journey began on December 24, 2002, when I received a GameCube for Christmas (packed in a beer box, hidden behind cans of beer, which I still maintain is one of my favorite gifts, ever). I remember plugging it in for the first time, hearing the disc spin, and stepping off the train into my snowy village for the very first time.
I don’t remember much about that first village – it was 18! years ago, after all. I remember people leaving comic books at each other’s houses, perhaps? The only memory that stands out is my one cranky pig villager, Boris, who was one of my least favorite villagers at first, but we grew to appreciate each other over time. (The opposite of real life! ha)
Since then, I dabbled in Wild World and City Folk, but neither of them grabbed my attention in the same way that the original did. Maybe it was where I was in my life – I had a lot more time to dedicate to video games at 10 years old than any point afterwards, really – or maybe they didn’t live up to the same initial hype. I stayed connected to the community through social media (read: memes), but didn’t itch to pay off my loans or complete my museum, like I did before.
When I heard that a new Animal Crossing game was coming out – on the day after my 27th birthday! – I was ecstatic! I finally had free time to dedicate to the game, and had purposely planned months in advance to celebrate my birthday by catching fish and expanding my house. Little did I know that it would be the only way for me to celebrate!
Trisha Serquina 