Enchanted Folk And The School Of Wizardry (Nintendo DS)

Like the previous review says, this game is very similar to Animal Crossing...but better!!!

I was addicted to Animal Crossing for about a year, so I know the game quite well. It looks to me like the makers of this game took the best bits of Animal Crossing while changing and improving the bits that didn't work as well.

I got the game the day it came out and I gave such rave reviews to my family, that we had to buy two more copies so everyone in the family can play! Now all three of us are absolutely addicted to it!!!

I love going to the classes and learning spells (which actually come in handy later). I love having more than just two shops to spend my hard earned ritch (money in the game). There's Emporium where you can buy magic potions and items, but you can also sell her items you find for her to make her potions (this is how you get your money). There's Harrow's where you buy furniture, carpet, wallpaper, instruments, CDs and music players (everything from a jukebox to a dancing flower!). You also have a juice bar, a flower shop, a clothing shop (where you can actully buy shirts and trousers separately and you can get shoes - a big improvement on Animal Crossing!) and a hair salon (where you can actually choose your style instead of getting what you're given - another improvement on AC!).

There's also a mystery to solve each week, a pirate on the island you have to fight and the treasure hunt gets you much better things than some dusty old fossils! There are caves to explore and fish in and a haunted house complete with two treasure chests (that sometimes have a surprise inside for you) and a ghost who, if he catches you, will zap you back to your dorm!

There's a shady character similar to Animal Crossing's Crazy Redd called Cat Sith. He appears to come by about every three days and sets up shop in the haunted house. So you have to get by the ghost to get to him. But he will buy things the Emporium won't buy like old furniture, wallpaper and carpet you may not want. And instead of AC's turnip market, there are berries to grow and sell to Cat Sith. The prices change on every visit so if you're lucky, you could make a bundle! He also has about four items that are very unusual to buy.

You can also occasionally download items for your game. In the first day or so, there was a download available that gave me four brooms of different styles. Yes, these are wizards, so you can ride brooms around the grounds!

Then there's Mystery Time. It's the same place, but everything's just a bit different. Instead of fishing out normal fish from the ocean and river, you might fish out sushi or the Human Faced Fish!

There's all the great things about Animal Crossing as well - making friends, fishing, catching insects, decorating your room, etc. But Enchanted Folk has so many little extra touches.

One of my favourite little extras about this game is that when you listen to a CD or go into the juice bar and listen to the music being played there, you will eventually memorise the song (be patient, it takes a couple minutes). Once you have memorised a song, you can go outside and, if you have bought an instrument, you can take it out and play the song or if you haven't got an instrument, you can whistle the song. If you wait long enough, your friends will come by and join in!! They will stand next to you, take out their instruments and play the song with you! It's so cute, I do it several times a day to see how many friends I can get to play along.

Like Animal Crossing, you can link up with other players either by WiFi or like I do with my family, game to game in the same room and visit each other's games. (This is particularly useful if you are collecting a certain furniture group and someone has the piece you need. Just visit them, go in their shop, buy the piece and take it back to your game!)

I have only been playing this game since it came out and as I write this, that's been about 11 days or so, so I know there's so much more to discover. But even then, I still haven't been able to tell about so many other things about this game - there's lots of surprises! You have to explore everywhere and check out everything.

I cannot recommend this game enough!!! You will become addicted. Time will pass by and suddenly you will wonder where three hours just went. If you loved Animal Crossing, you will not be disappointed. This game will become your new obsession!! If you haven't played Animal Crossing, give this game a try. I guarantee you will love it!!

This game is very similar in format to Animal Crossing - shopping for furniture to jazz up your room, collecting insects, fishing, looking for treasure, chatting to your neighbours ...

The presentation of the game is very different. You are an apprentice Magician and you attend a Wizardry school where you learn magical spells which you can cast. You live in a very strange house, in a beautiful area (graphics are wonderful) complete with mushrooms, amazing tree-houses, forests and even a haunted house. It is completely magical to play.

The game is massive and, like Animal Crossing, it is a time-based game so you get variations of daytime and nighttime as well as all the different seasons too with certain bugs/fishes/items only being available on certain days. So unless you cheat, it will take at least a year to be able to collect it all.

Highly addictive and perfect for adults as well as children - lots and lots to do whether you love collecting, designing your wardrobe or your living area, exploring, learning spells and magic or building relationships with other characters or even your own friends if they have a copy of the game too.

This is going to be a massive hit - think Harry Potter meets Animal Crossing. Marvelous.

I don't often write reviews on games but I felt that I had to on this one.

If you hated Harry Potter then this game isn't for you.

If you hated Animal Crossing then this game isn't for you.

Enchanted Folk is basically Harry Potter meets Animal Crossing...if that floats your boat, read on!

Enchanted Folk is very much like Animal Crossing but 100% better. I felt I had gone as far as I could in Animal Crossing due to the fact I needed to get someone to visit my town before I could get the Shop upgrade. Also I was having a devil of a time growing Palm trees so a whole host of insects were passing me by cause I didn't have the right trees...but back onto the subject!

Enchanted Folk is in the same style. You have day/night & seasons. This allows you to go fishing, bug catching & treasure hunting (just like Animal Crossing) to get all the goodies. There are also school classes to attend (which could become repetitive I suppose) but I am at the beggining of the game & I am enjoying it. There is also a good range of shops (unlike Animal Crossing). You can still buy other students junk if you go towards the schools music room at night (or at least that was when I found it). There is also a beach, caves, haunted house, stone circle & a little island reachable by Taxi Broomstick. A lot more to play with than Animal Crossing!. You have a seperate bank & post office and lots of houses & apartments to explore (once you know the folk who live in them).

The folk are just like those from Animal Crossing...a range of animals, aliens & humans inhabit this world. All in a cute cartoonish style. It is also a lot easier to design your own self. In Animal Crossing you had to answer a series of questions to get a certain look but in the game you could only change your clothing (or hairstyle if you got the shop upgrade). At the beggining you can chose your sex, face, skin, hair colour & style as well as naming your school (try and refrain from calling it Hogwarts - very tricky...lol). Once in the game you can buy whole outfits, tops, bottoms & shoes! In the same way as Animal Crossing you can dress up your room too. Wallpapers & flooring can be found on the second floor of Harrows. I also like the fact you can buy/order CDs (a bit less complicated than Animal Crossing).

Also a new & unusual feature is Mystery Time. Once in awhile the Principle will make a key. To use the key you must go back to the portal that you use to start & end the game. Once activated Mystery Time will turn the sky pinky/purple. This lasts upto a week (or when you have solved the Mystery). I am currently on Mystery Time myself...it has enabled me to catch some whacky insects & fish so far (by the way if you take your fish/insects to the Crystal Tower you can drop them into the books and get them swapped for bits & bobs...like crystals, ores, bones & flowers, these can then be sold or kept to do incantations or spells). I have no idea what the mysteries are but once solved you get a small star on your report card (which also records how many lessons you attend). The more small stars you collect the better as 10 small stars gets you one big star. The Principle will give you a present if you get a big star.

I think there is plenty to do in this game to stop you getting bored. Somethings may get repetitive but like I did with Animal Crossing I would often leave it for awhile and then come back to it. I have played Animal Crossing for the last 2 years so if I get that sort of life from this game (which I definately think I will as there is so much more going on) then it is well worth it's money.

This game is brilliant...I loved Animal Crossing but wanted so much more from it and this has it. I am also into magical stuff & crystals so this was the more obvious choice for me anyway. I hope more people become aware of this game...lets make this game as big as Animal Crossing!!!