Random Ramblings #1: MySims Nostalgia
This blogpost will start a series in my blog, dedicated to random talking about special interests of mine.
The Switch port of the two MySims games named “Cozy Bundle” was recently announced after so many years of this franchise being almost dead. But what exactly is MySims anyway? To summarize, it’s a spinoff series of games branching from The Sims series with a chibi art style, aimed for a younger audience. Gameplay-wise it does seem to take a lot inspiration from Animal Crossing, except there’s a building feature a kin to The Sims’s Build Mode. However, compared to the more sandbox-driven The Sims games, MySims games are more story-driven.
I remember one time talking about The Sims games with my best friend in school and when I talked about MySims games, she said something that I still remember to this day: “So it’s not a real Sims game? You’ve never played a real Sims game before?” Yeah, I don’t why but when I had my first PC laptop, I never got to play “a real Sims game” (which was The Sims 2 at the time). But when I got my very first console, Nintendo Wii, MySims was one of the first games I got for it - and one of my favorite ones to play! After MySims, I got MySims Kingdom and eventually after a long waiting, MySims Agents to my collection. The last game added to my collection was MySims Skyheroes for PS3, but honestly, I didn’t enjoy playing that one so I never finished it - I liked some racing games (like ModNation Racers and Burnout Paradise) but the problem I had with Skyheroes was that it didn’t really feel like a MySims game.
MySims Kingdom is probably the one I have replayed the most. I’ve restarted saves so many times just to start the story a little “better” one more time and I remember having a fun time discovering some easter eggs in the game. Discovering new islands was exciting but also going back to the older islands to complete additional quests. The best reward after finishing the game was earning your own island to decorate. MySims Kingdom also improved on many performance related issues from the first iteration, mainly the loading screens.
You can join picnics and other activies in MySims (when it works).
To talk about the original MySims game, I haven’t finished it that many times. The one time I did I remember there being a really slow unskippable credits cutscene. The Wii version also had long loading screens which would always happen when entering a building, another location or build mode. Years later I would discover that there was a PC version of the MySims game and that it had some extra content missing from the Wii version! My brand-new laptop and the Cozy Bundle finally gave me the extra nudge to invest in the PC version. What surprised me the most was that the game had a Finnish translation! So far, I’ve been really enjoying playing this nostalgic and familiar game in a slightly different way :)
Helping Goth Boy pimp up his manor.