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Elijah Wood visits stranger’s island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Players of Animal Crossing: New Horizons are opening up their islands to visitors — and actor Elijah Wood took advantage of that to make a profit selling turnips.

The stalk market of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the quickest ways to get rich in the game. Players buy turnips from an adorable little boar named Daisy Mae every Sunday morning, and then aim to sell them at a higher price to make a profit. The price that Nooklings are willing to pay varies across the islands though, so players visit islands with high buying prices for turnips to make the most profit possible.

Jessa, a player who goes by the name directedbyrian on Twitter, announced a buying price of 599 bells for turnips on her island, attracting visitors that included Wood.

guys I tweeted my turnip prices and elijah wood just came to my island and hung out ???????????????????? this is the best day in quarantine yet pic.twitter.com/H3mYJWnvgR

— jessa ???? (@directedbyrian) April 23, 2020

Wood is apparently playing the stalk market to get rich in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. However, he is also a rather good role model for other players, as seen in the tweets that documented his visit.

#AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/mItAycEWUg

— jessa ???? (@directedbyrian) April 23, 2020

In addition to complimenting the island that he visited and agreeing to take pictures with other players, Wood also asked for permission first before picking fruits from the trees. In comparison, some players visiting islands rudely shake all the trees to gather fruit.

“It was so much fun,” Jessa said when asked by The Verge regarding Wood’s visit to her island. “He was so nice and wholesome.”

Before leaving, Wood also had a parting message — a shout out to Rian Johnson, the director behind films such as Knives Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Looper.

i knew i could trust elijah wood with my life #AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/80K8K6pOIN

— ᴋʟᴀᴜᴅɪᴀ (@bensforce) April 23, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released for the Nintendo Switch on March 20, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As players practice social distancing and stay at home to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, the game serves as an escape, allowing them to visit other islands and virtually hang out with their friends.

The recently released April update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons is headlined by Nature Day, and also includes several new shopkeepers that include Leif, a sloth selling flowers and bushes, and Redd, a fox selling legitimate and forged art, as well as rare furniture.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
Disney Dreamlight Valley and Harvestella make one critical farming mistake
Donald Duck walks through a town in Disney Dreamlight Valley,

Thanks to games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, farming and life-simulation games are back in fashion. They've also dominated September, as Disney Dreamlight Valley launched earlier this month and games like Harvestella, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, Fae Farm, Rune Factory 3 Special, and a brand new Rune Factory title all got segments in the latest Nintendo Direct. Harvestella even got a demo after the September 13 Nintendo Direct -- one I immediately downloaded to get my farm on early.
Getting into it though, I found that Harvestella already has a problem I've noticed in many titles that are part of the genre boom, including Disney Dreamlight Valley: they don't get to the farming fast enough, damnit!
While that might seem obvious, recent games in the genre have had long-winded opening before the player has any farming tools in hand. As players come to these games for the farming and simulation elements, developers looking to join in on the trend may want to take some pacing cues from games like Stardew Valley by trimming down their front-heavy lore drops and getting players to the fields sooner.
Let's jump into it
Part of the beauty of Stardew Valley is how quickly it immerses the player in the game's core concepts. The indie hit lets players loose to farm or build within 10 minutes before slowly expanding systems outwards and letting players get more invested in the game's world and story. You'll know whether or not you'll like Stardew Valley within 10 minutes of playing, and will already have crops that give you a reason to stick around if you do like it. 
Disney Dreamlight Valley – Gameplay Overview Trailer
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Shortly after, I checked Harvestella's demo out after it dropped during the September 13 Nintendo Direct. I expect I'll end up playing more when it launches, as I'm intrigued by its world and mix of action RPG and fantasy sim. That said, I found myself trudging through the demo as I had to deal with lots of exposition and simple "walk to" objective gameplay before I could actually get to any farming or RPG elements. While I'm glad I didn't stop playing the demo, I almost did due to the glacial pacing.
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HARVESTELLA - 2nd Trailer
Devoting over 30 minutes to an hour of extra playtime in a game that can last dozens of hours may seem like arguing over semantics, but the first few moments of the game can make or break an experience. And when you're in a genre with so much competition these days, players can easily move on to something equally as interesting if they aren't immediately hooked. The best simulation experiences cut the fluff, get players right into the action, and save the deeper elements for later. Future farming and life simulations game should take note if they want to potentially take off as Stardew Valley did. 

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Alear and Marth open a door in Fire Emblem Engage.

Nintendo’s mobile games don’t get enough credit. While Nintendo had some undeniable hits like Pokémon Go and Fire Emblem Heroes, many consider the rest of its mobile efforts fairly underwhelming and even somewhat disappointing for a video game company of Nintendo’s stature. While nothing ever quite reached the high bar Pokémon Go set in 2016, Nintendo’s mobile games are a bit more influential than they get credit for.
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Fire Emblem Engage – Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch
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It's the hottest summer on record, and gamers are looking for ways to cool themselves down (and their consoles, as both Nintendo and Valve have warned that their systems can overheat). To help beat the heat, Cold Stone is selling Nintendo-themed ice cream sundaes inspired by Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Mario Party Superstars, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Naturally, I had to review them. For journalistic purposes, of course.

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