Homemademech - Gamecube Giftpia reviews

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First Look at Giftpia

It seems that gamemakers are beginning to learn of the power of Animal Crossing.
While gamemakers continue to exploit the success of games like the Champions series, Street Fighter slash Mortal Kombat, HALO slash KillZone, Dynasty Warriors, and (yes) the oft cloned Grand Theft Auto series, only recently have gamemakers started to take “inspiration” from the mother of all realtime RPG addictions : aka Animal Crossing slash Animal Crossing : Wild World.

Now, while some of the borrowings from franchises is obvious, it might not be so obvious as to how Animal Crossing came to “inspire” Giftpia. Perhaps the story will clear that up.
Pockle is about to become a man, with only his island’s Coming Of Age Ceremony standing between him and his adulthood. However it seems Pockle suffers from a unique case of Usagi Sickness (in that he oversleeps when he should be waking up, in this case for his Coming Of Age Ceremony).

So he misses his ceremony, doesn’t graduate from his childhood into manhood, and then finds out the adults on his island are a bunch of jerks. Apparently they supposedly, if you can believe it, sank a king’s ransom into this ceremony and they’re all pissed off at him… really, nobody sinks a grand fortune into a Coming Of Age Ceremony, and I have The History Channel, History International, The Discovery Channel, Discovery Kids, The National Geographic Channel AND PBS to back me up! Heck, don’t make me get Howard Dicus from Pacific Business News to explain to economics of Coming Of Ages Ceremonies!!

But since it needs some excuse to “borrow” the Animal Crossing story plot of earning money over and over and over until you pay off your debts (this time for a new Coming Of Age Ceremony instead of the money used to buy then upgrade a home), this sets the stage for the tale.
Now, as you might wonder, what is your incentive to do the ceremony? I mean sure you overslept but what are they going to do to motivate your cooperation?!? How about toss you in prison, and blurred his face so no one can see him… sheesh! I hate to see what they do with their hardened criminals if they find this as suitable punishment for oversleeping!! Quick, somebody call Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission.

Anyway seeing how the old geezers of the village want to milk him (aka you) for all they can, piling up as much money as possible for the mayor to hold another Coming Of Age Ceremony (10% for the ceremony and 90% for… white elephant projects… which may, or may not, involve actual white elephants), you’ll have to do the Animal Crossing thing and work like a slave until you made up the princely sum desired.
And considering how much Animal Crossing demands of you, which is about… 3 or so million bells… you should find life as an indentured servant of the village idiots (aka your elders) a time consuming task.

Now here’s the question : Is the task going to be a burden, or will it be an addiction that claws at your mind and grips you tightly as you play day, after day, after day, after day happily living your new life indebt to the neighbors you can’t get enough of? That is the question, and the selling point that will either make Giftpia a gamer‘s best friend, or break it under the weight of player expectations.

The first promise of the game, right off the bat, is a promise I see as an attempt to ride the wave of Animal Crossing fandom. You are promised an experience that is an “offbeat, colorful and stylish alternative to mainstream RPGs”. If that isn’t a straight shot from the hip at Animal Crossing comparison from the gamemakers I don’t know what else could be.
But wait, there’s more! Your island, it seems, is filled with “oddball citizens in need of your help” which is supposed to, in turn, earn you enough money to pay off your new “Coming Of Age Ceremony”.
What, did they book Donald Trump as guest speaker at your ceremony?!?

The game promises Animal Crossing style freedom which will allow you to be free, ala the freeroaming gameplay of the Animal Crossing franchises. There are, promised, “dozens of quests, odd jobs and mini games” (which smacks less of Animal Crossing and more of The Sims franchise (GBA version)).
One thing that is Animal Crossing inspired is the ability to fish for money, fix up the town or do odd jobs for the villagers (though I think in this instance it’s less of pulling weeds and planting trees as it is actually rebuilding the village building by building).

Oh, and then there is a twist that one ups it over Animal Crossing, and that is the promise of a local radio station. This is an improvement over having to collect music every Saturday (be it at the train station or The Roost in Wild World).

Another improvement is the… the… dreaded sleep ghosts. Say what?
Apparently while the game aspires to Animal Crossing heights it is more Sims than Animal Crossing, especially since nighttime wanderings is a major concern. This shouldn’t be so if it was more Animal Crossing (thus living to the beat of a 24/7 world) than Sim (where time speeds by quickly).
But as for the so called “Sleep Ghosts”? Well, apparently these are the things that caused him problems with his whole Coming Of Age Ceremony thing, though don’t try to explain it to the grumpy old men who run the village… they love your money… I mean your work to become a “man”… ok, if Pockle stays up too late he’ll be harassed by the evil Sleep Ghosts until he finally collapses (which actually sounds Harvest Moon style, with the exception that Pockle can earn experience as he matures allowing him to stay up later and later the “older” he is… gee, sounds gimmicky to you?

Oh, and unlike Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon or the Sims not feeding your character does more to you than just make him faint. If you starve Pockey he’ll promptly roll over and die. Gee, thanks Nintendo!

And that, as they say, is that.
Now I’ve seen some screenshots of the game and… well.. You tell me.
It’s no Animal Crossing. It’s not exactly Harvest Moon. And it is probably Sim-ish but not completely Sim-ish. A hybrid then? A bit of a slice of Animal Crossing, something of Harvest Moon, abit of the Sims, and a few more quirks here and there to form a strange mishmash of gameplay and gameplay quirks that may or may not work out for the best. Whether or not this means a good game or a poser you should pass rather than play is something only a playing of the game can say. However since Nintendo has no current plans to put Giftpia on the docket of release at this time? Who can say when we’ll ever be able to play this.
Stay tuned, we may have an update one of these days… maybe.

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