As you can probably imagine, several members of the Nintendo Life team have pretty wild play times registered on our Animal Crossing games. Despite this, none of us can even come close to the tremendous amount of effort displayed by this Animal Crossing superfan.
Jeff, known as jvgsjeff online, has been regularly playing 2002 GameCube title Animal Crossing ever since he first loaded it up. That's 17 years of work, commitment (and enjoyment, we're sure) all poured into that one hugely adored game. He hasn't played it every single day (thank goodness), instead seeing his time with it fluctuate from daily plays to weekly, monthly, and back again over time, but we can't help but be impressed by his dedication.
Speaking to Kotaku, he said, "My towns are like links to the past that I can revisit at any time. My GameCube town still has most of the same villagers that it had 15 years ago. The villagers are almost like old friends, or in some cases, annoying neighbors that you’ve grown to like… sort of.”
It's not just the GameCube edition that Jeff's enjoyed over that time. He's also sunk plenty of hours into the Wii's City Folk, New Leaf on the 3DS, and the Virtual Console version of DS' Wild World. He has 3,018 hours logged into the 3DS game - which Jeff guesses is similar to his GameCube total - and we can't imagine how much patience must have gone into keeping on top of four different towns from four games all at the same time.
As for his thoughts on the upcoming Switch game? He has some ideas for potential improvements:
"New Leaf was a step in the right direction but I’d like to see things go further. One suggestion I had is to have a fossil-identifying class (or part-time job) that would let you eventually learn to identify fossils on your own, instead of having to take them all to Blathers. A separate tool menu would also be great. As for more adventurous changes, I’d like to be able to roam town in full 3D.”
If Animal Crossing does end up appearing at E3 this year, here's hoping it doesn't distract him too much from that 17-year-old GameCube town. Amazing stuff.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 28
Question is, I wonder if he got every single item in the game over time? That would be insane.
That's true dedication.
I'd like a tool belt for your tools.
Also maybe different bags you can equip, like clothing, with different designs of bags with their own space limitations etc.
RIP my ACNL 3DS gameplay hours (1500+ hours) 😵
Apparently the Gamecube Animal Crossing can't go further into the future than 2030, so it'll be interesting to see what happens in ten years time!
I remember getting the game back in 2004 and quoting this fact to my friends thinking "the year 2030 will never come".
Now it's only just over a decade away! 😵
I hope new Switch AC will have a island too. Can't wait to chop useless trees and bushes, so beetles will appear faster on palm trees! BELLS
@Incognito_D Why not test it now, set the Animal Crossing clock to 2031 and see what happens.
Anyway, if the calendar stops working in 2030, then set your clock back to 2010 or something.
i wonder what year the guy is at? is he cheating or just letting the clock move at its own pace. unfortunatly, i cheated to complete my catalog of items. (and some in which cannot be reordered)
unfortunately the calendar resets back to January 1st 2030 after reaching December 31st 2031. (but will only reset back to 2030 if you decide to turn your game off.) i wonder how far into the future the game can reach. (but i rather not leave my GameCube on for that long.) i want my GameCube to stay in good health for as long as possible.
hopefully the Nintendo switch version of the game will be just as good as the gamecube (and 3DS) version(s) of the game or better.
the Wii version of the game sucked, but only because you were forced to use the wii-remotes. (at least in my opinion.)
@ReaderRagfish like in real life it's called taking a chance starting over.
Really? I've only played 150 hours on the 3DS one
Wow, between Gamecube and 3DS that's basically the waking hours of 375 days (assuming 16 hours awake to 8 hours asleep). That doesn't even take into account the DS and Wii versions!
does anyone know if the trailer for the GameCube version is on YouTube? besides, we all know it is our home away from home. in the words of k.k. slider: "have you ever wanted to move out; wanted a place of your own; than come to animal crossing, it is your home away from home."
you guys can correct me if i am accidentally paraphrasing him instead of quoting him.
and yes, i think i have the entire begining of the opening scene memorized. from when you first boot up the game where k.k. slider welcomes you to town all the way up to where tom took (the crook) welcomes you to town making you realize that you are broke with no money and no where to go. maybe rover that annoying cat from the train will make a return.
@AlphaElite
i agree with you on the statement: "I will always have more attachment to this game than any of its sequels."
I love jvgsjeff a lot. He has a website which I've followed for some years now, which he regularly blogs his playing of the games, he has a lot of really funny commentary and they're fun to read.
He actually came to my town once to gift me some golden tools.
Whenever you consider yourself a diehard fan/gamer/whatever, there is always someone out there like this, way beyond your limits, operating at the most extreme end. Amazing.
Coincidentally, he's also been living in the same basement apartment for 17 years as well
I never got into animal crossing myself, mainly as I didn't have a gamecube
Wasn't it originally intending to be an N64 game? Either way it's a game I really should check out before the new one comes
I wonder if this guy playing for 17 years is going to move over to the new one or just stick to this gamecube version?
Reminds me of that old lady that played over 3500 hours of Animal Crossing New Leaf. Gotta admire such dedication!
I could never get into an Animal Crossing game past the Gamecube original. Maybe it's because of the lack of NES games in all future installments. Or maybe it's the fact that Animalese sounds so much better in the original.
That’s not inspiring lol.
jvgsjeff is awesome. I watch a lot of his videos on Youtube, and IMO, he’s by far the best AC content creator out there.
And yeah, the Gamecube AC is my favorite one in the series. Even with the advancements NL have, I still find the original the most charming and atmospheric one in the series. It felt more like a second life rather than another social simulator.
The only one I can’t stick is the GameCube version. Not because the town or gameplay was bad, but because WHAT THE HECK WERE THEY THINKING WITH THOSE HORNS?!?
I actually recommend reading the full Kotaku article this time. NL left a whole bunch of stuff out.
My favorite AC of all time. Spent hundreds of hours on this version!
I much prefer its flat, non-rolling terrain and wish it would make a comeback. Loved reading the Player's Guide and utilizing the Game Boy Advance connectivity. Plus, the NES games, of course.
I had mine going for about 12 years, then my GC memory card corrupted and died...goodbye my friends
Full 3D, yes please!
Man, and I thought keeping my GameCube active for 13 years was a big accomplishment. Nice job!
@Mallow Here's my way of seeing it: "Nobody's a bigger Animal Crossing fan than me!!" Sees this article. "That person clearly has no life!"
@Doktor-Mandrake Almost. It's not that it was originally planned as an N64 release, but the first instalment IS for the N64 and wasn't released outside of Japan. It got an enhanced GameCube port (Doubutsu no Mori+) which was released as Animal Crossing in the rest of the world. Said port got yet another enhancement later which wasn't released outside of Japan afaik (Doubutsu no Mori e+).
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...