I've got so many memories of this game. Even from before i actually owned it!
Good Memories:
-First learning about the game in Nintendo Power. I was in awe and so excited. Back then I didn't realize that game magazines talked about games before they were released. My grandmother went off to call stores about the game, and I found out the hard way that I had to wait for awesome games I wanted. (A near ten years later, I'm just as excited and just as impatient for New Leaf.
Go figure). I stayed up until 3 am every night that summer thinking about what I would do in my village and designing clothes. When the release date rolled around I had saved up the money to not only buy the game but also the strategy guide. The store I'd pre-ordered it from was a day behind getting the game. My grandmother drove me to an out of the way Blockbuster so I could rent the game I'd wanted so badly. The next day we returned it and I got the copy that belonged to me. I still have that copy sitting on my shelf.
-My very first town: Sunvill. It was a three layer town and the bridges were in perfect spaces. The first villagers I had (that I remember) were Boots, Camofrog, Kitty, Gabbi, and Egbert. Gabbi eventually moved, but until the day I deleted the town the others never once thought about moving. Kitty was my next door neighbor to the left, along with Pecan. Egbert lived in the acre due south from me. I spent so much time there that I still remember the layout like the back of my hand. Had I known how rare the triple layer villages were, I would never have deleted it.
-One day while playing the game my brother got mad at me and turned the system off so he'd get a chance to play. Luckily I had recently saved so my file had not lost too much information. I was angry but I let it go. My only fear was knowing Resetti would be greeting me later. Imagine my surprise-- and my brother's terror-- when Resetti popped up and yelled at HIM for hitting the reset button! He was so freaked out about it that he never did it again! This is why I can never hate that angry mole.
-Holidays. I remember spending so many holidays in Sunvill. I remember hearing my family talk in the next room as I ran around the village looking for Franklin. Collecting the harvest series was awesome to me. It was the first (and until last Halloween it was the only) furniture series I have ever completed. It was the furniture series that got me the best score with the HRA, netting me the best prize. That Thanksgiving will always been remembered as "That day I got all the awesome furniture!" Valentines day was also special because I didn't have many friends and all my valentines were the generic 'sign your name here' cards that no one put any heart into. I saved Boots and Quetzal's letters to me. xD
-I finally caught a bee! My first bee was in Wild World. Nothing really that special to me. I was surprised, I showed my brother and then went back to my life. I replayed Population Growing again last fall. I tried to catch a bee and failed every time. Then during one attempt I heard the 'bug get' sound. I dropped the controller as my character thrust that little demon into the skies! While Wild World had felt like a slight accomplishment, FINALLY seeing that space filled in in my new Population Growing file put a huge smile on my face. I felt my inner child squee in delight.
-Actually talking to Copper. I admit, even though he's my favorite NPC of all, when I first started the game I only spoke to him on occasion. I never once thought to talk to him and select any option besides asking about NPCs. And back then I didn't pay attention to anything but the NPC name, the date they're visiting, and if they were there, what acre they were in. Imagine my delight a few years ago when, while chatting Copper up, he broke his serious character, slipping into lines about KK's jams-- he means songs-- and other such silliness. And I finally chose the dialogue that explains what the lost and found actually his. He uttered the most adorable line ever: "You may enter the police station whenever you please... unless you are mischievous, in which case I may bite." (why yes, I DID actually write that down.) Copper is exactly how my boyfriend and I picture him being.
Sad Memories:
-Wart Jr. I really disliked this guy when he moved in. He was cranky like Camofrog, but to me he seemed a lot meaner. Camofrog was my character's stern dad (oddly enough her mom figure was Carrie. Talk about an odd couple!). Wart Jr. was that bully who picked on her at every turn. I also hated the way he looked. Then he moved. I hadn't checked my mail yet, but I saw his house (just south of the post office) was gone. I was relieved and I ran to the mailbox to see the letter. I expected a bully's "see ya, sucker!". I didn't get that. I got what was, to me at the time, the most heartfelt "thanks for putting up with me and being my friend" letter ever. Little 12 year old me's eyes filled with tears and I cried for a good twenty minutes. I saved the letter away with the other letters I wanted to keep. I bought one of those boards where you can display your patterns and put a big heart right where his house used to be. Until I deleted that file, only one person ever dared to move into Wart Jr.'s space.
-My favorite villager of all time is Quetzal. When I was little I adored him so much. He was my character's boyfriend. xD I visited him every day and talked to him until he'd get tired of my presence. Then one day he moved away. Not just away. To my BROTHER'S VILLAGE. Sure, I could visit him whenever I wanted as long as I had that memory card, but it wasn't the same. He'd left my character all alone in Sunvill. What's worse? My brother's memory card corrupted and his town was lost forever. Including Quetzal. I cried. This is why I'm nervous about visiting other villages now. I don't want to lose my friends. D:
-When I got Wild Wold, I was sad to see Quetzal wasn't in the game. But it was alright. My first town had a river that split and formed an island, and on that island was a cranky villager named Apollo. I was growing a soft spot for cranky villagers at the time, so I did my best to befriend him. I soon got his picture and he'd become my WW character's boyfriend in my mind. It was mid December and on my birthday I had gotten a present from him. I was elated. I got sick and stayed in bed all day, not feeling like getting up to play my game. You can imagine what I came back to. Another goodbye letter. I didn't really cry this time because I'd gotten older, but I still have a tendency to jokingly shout "APOLLO WHY!?" whenever something reminds me of him. xD That something usually being my boyfriend teasingly reminding me about how he left.
