This is a FAQ for Animal Forest Plus (Doubutsu No Mori Plus), ver. 0.01
By Mark Green
Email address for submissions/updates:
  mark [at] antelope [dot] demon [dot] co [dot] uk

The latest version of this FAQ will always be available from
http://www.gamefaqs.com.  

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**************************** LEGAL BITS ******************************
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Neither the author of this FAQ, nor any person who distributes it in
any way, shall be responsible or liable for anything that results from
using this FAQ for any purpose, including but not limited to
damage to your GameCube, controllers, hands, eyes, controllers,
or a sudden desire to move to an out-of-the-way village that's divided
into squares.

This FAQ may be freely distributed provided that it is kept unmodified
and in its entirity.  This FAQ may not be sold, or included as part
of a publication that is sold (including a website to which a
subscription is charged), without the author's express permission.

Doubutsu No Mori Plus, Animal Forest Plus, GameCube, and all the
characters therein, are (c) and (tm) Nintendo 2001.  The use of any
trademarks within this FAQ is not intended to be a challenge to their
validity.

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1 - INTRODUCTION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Hitori Yori Futari,         Two people are better than one,
  Futari Yori Yonnin,         Four people are better than two, 
  Yonnin Yori Takusan.        A crowd is better than four.
  Doubutsu no Mori +          Animal Forest Plus
  Purasu ni natte             Various bonuses make 
  iroiro purasu.              this the "plus" version.

  Animal Forest Plus is an original GameCube title by Nintendo.  The idea
is simple: your character has just moved to a new village and needs to
make a life there.  The game is then about getting through life: talking to
new people, working jobs and making money, expanding your house, etc.
It's similar to "The Sims" or (for those who remember it!) "Little Computer
People", except that you completely control a single specific person instead
of just being an observer or influencing force.
  The game has several unusual features.  First, it's synced to the real-
time clock, meaning that the village in the game reacts to the real time
and date.  (This also means it's more of a "pick up for a moment" game
than a "play all evening" game.)  The "Hitori Yori Futari" bit refers to
another feature: if several people share the same GameCube and several of
them play, they can interact with each other - with hostility or otherwise.

What about the memory card?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  AF+ comes with a memory card included in the box.  This is included
because the Animal Forest Plus save file is 57 blocks - enough to scarf
down an entire memory card otherwise.  The memory card included is 59
blocks big, the remaining 6 blocks being taken up with an invisible file
which acts as a "signature" for AF+, provided a slightly different start
condition for every copy.  (Note that regardless of what signature you
got, you can always eventually get at everything in the game.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 - GETTING STARTED
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Initial screen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  From the initial screen, all you can do is press start.

  If it's your first game, the dog guitarist (Totakeke) will appear and
interview you in a voice that might remind you of Captain Blood on
the Amiga.
  First he warns you that some features aren't active if you're the only
player on the Cube.  Then:

  First question:  Do you want to start right away or configure?
     Top answer: Start now
     Bottom answer: Set up

  If you choose "Start now", skip ahead to the train sequence.  If you
choose "set up", he asks several setup questions, one of which is to
do with sound and one is to do with how the animals speak.. unfortunately
I didn't translate it all first time and it seems you can't get back
to it later.
  On later games, a random character will greet you, and will first
ask you if you want to start right away (Top: Yes, Bottom: No), then ask
you to choose your character (pick the name, or the bottom option to start
a new character).
  If you say you don't want to start, they'll offer the menu:

  Change the sound setting
  Change the vibration setting
  Go to menu 2
  Cancel

  Menu 2 is a little scarier:

  Delete a character
  Reset the village
  Adjust the clock
  Never mind!

  Note that if you say "Never mind!", it will return to the "Start or
set up" choice, so you can say "set up" again to get back to the first
menu.

On the train
~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The first person you meet is the "strange cat" (mishiranu neko).  He
asks questions which set your character (and the game) up:

  "Excuse me, can you tell me if I have the right time?"
   (He announces the time off your Cube's system clock)
    Top: That's right.
    Bottom: No, that's off.
   (Note: the game refers to midday as "0 PM"!)

  "Do you mind if I sit here?"
    Top: Sure, go ahead.
    Bottom: No way!
    (I don't know what happens if you say No..)

  "What's your name?"
    (Enter the name your character will have in the game.  See
     section 3 for the text entry controls.)

  "Interesting name, aha!  What do you think of it?"      
    Top:    It's cool!  
    Middle: It's cute, isn't it? 
    Bottom: You got it wrong! (Returns to name entry)

  The game now guesses at your gender based on your answer to the
    previous question.  If you said your name was cool, the game guesses
    you're male.  If you said your name was cute the game guesses you're
    female.  It then asks if it's right:
     Top:     You're right!
     Bottom:  No, I'm not a (girl/boy)!

  "Where are you going?"
    Type a name for the village the game will take place in.  The
    Japanese "-Mura" ("Village") is automatically appended, but the
    rest of the name need not be in Japanese.  Then confirm:
      Top:     Yep!
      Bottom:  You're wrong!

  "Why are you going there?"
    Top: I'm moving
    Bottom: I'm not sightseeing (?)
    (I think this is a deliberate "Hobson's choice", but I might be wrong.)

  "Do you have somewhere to live there?"
    Top: I'm not sure
    Bottom: ?

  The cat will look shocked (you're going to move somewhere and don't
know where you'll live!?) then go and phone Tanooki to meet you at the
station in the village.  It then comes back, says a few pleasantries,
and leaves.. and soon the train arrives.

At the village
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Your train will now pull into the station of the village you named.
Use the analogue stick to move around, and walk outside the station.
Tanooki will meet you, show you around a bit, and then take you to
the square.

  Go up to a house door and open it (by pressing A).  There will be
almost nothing in the house at the start of the game, so just go in and
come out.  As you come out, Tanooki asks:

          Do you like this house?
             Top:     Yea, it suits me.
             Bottom:  It's not very good.

  If you choose the bottom option, you can walk into another house
around the square (there are four).  At the start they'll all be the same
and the only difference is what location you live in.

  If you choose the top option, Tanooki asks you to confirm (Top=yes,
Bottom=No) and then sells you the house you picked.  He'll tell you
the price, which will be something like 19800 Bells, and your
inventory screen will pop up to (automatically) give Tanooki all the
money you have, which will be about 1000 Bells.  Tanooki will look
shocked and then agree that you can owe him the rest and pay it back
by working at his store.  That done, you are free to wander as you
will.
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 - CONTROLS 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

During standard play:
    ANALOGUE STICK      -  Moves you around.
    A                   -  Use object/site.
    B                   -  Pick up object, or hold down as you move
                             to run.
    Y                   -  Open inventory.
    X                   -  Open map (once Tanooki has given it to you)
    C-stick             -  Move camera.

On the inventory screen:
   Use the analogue stick to move the cursor around and press the A
   button to open the menu for an object.  For most objects this will
   be:
          Move
          Drop
          Cancel
   Items like clothes and food can be eaten/worn by "move"ing them onto
   your model at the top of the screen.  The main block of objects is
   what you're carrying; the subblock to the right is for "letters".
   The three icons on the right change between the three inventory
   categories (?); the pencil icon on the left lets you apply skins to
   clothing.  Choose it and a list of skins will appear, then choose
   whether you want to skin your outfit or your umbrella.

When entering continuous text:
    Y BUTTON            -  Cycle character set
        (Hiragana -> Symbol -> Katakana -> English -> Numbers)
    X BUTTON            - Add Kana accents / Change english case
    A BUTTON            - Insert selected letter / move to subwheel
    B BUTTON            - Delete character
    DIGITAL STICK       - Move entry cursor
    ANALOGUE STICK      - (top half) Select from wheel;
                          (down) Spin wheel / cancel subwheel

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 - YOUR HOUSE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

While inside your house, you can configure items there.  To move items
around, approach them and hold the A button.  Note the direction your
character is facing.  You can move the item by moving forwards and
backwards (in your character's perspective) and rotate it by moving
left and right (in your character's perspective).  To use items in the
house approach and tap A quickly: if you hold it you may try and move
it, and get a flashing X sign which indicates it can't be moved.  This
does NOT mean it can't be used!

While inside your house you can choose items from your inventory to add
to your house.  Most house items appear as leaves in your inventory;
choose them and choose the second option from the menu while in the
house and they'll turn into items.  Pressing B near an item will turn
it back into a leaf and add it to your inventory.  Some other objects
change too; for example, dropping clothing in your house will create a
clothing stand.

Your house at the beginning has several features:

WRITING DESK - This lets you write a diary, effectively.  Select it and
  use the stick to pan through calender pages.

STEREO - This lets you listen to music, once you've obtained some.

LIGHT - Press Z to turn the lights on and off while you're in the
  house.

MAILBOX - Approach the mailbox outside your house and press A to check
  your mail.  It will appear as a separate box similar to that used
  for your inventory.  Any mail you have will be automatically moved
  into your inventory if there is room for it.  To read a letter,
  select it in the inventory and choose the top option; if the letter
  has a gift enclosed, there will be a picture of a gift-box next
  to to the letter in the inventory.  Pick the letter and choose the
  third option and the gift will become a seperate object; drop it
  in your main inventory and then select it and choose the second
  option.

CARETAKER - The wobbling flowerpot-man like device outside your house is
  actually the caretaker.  Approach it and press A to get the following
  menu:
       Save the game
       Deposit an item
       Go to menu 2
       Goodbye
  Menu 2 is:
       Skin the door
       Set a message?
       Go to menu 1
       Goodbye
  SAVE THE GAME: Exactly that.  You'll be asked by a random character if
    you want to save and quit (top option) or just save (bottom option).
    The character will then fill the speechbox with coloured text and an
    arpeggio will play while the save is carried out (which takes a while!)
    Note that you are obliged to save whenever you want to stop playing
    the game.  If you just power off or reset, then next game an angry
    mole called "Reset-kun" will appear and yell at you as soon as you
    leave your house for the first time.  (This is to discourage you from
    just resetting the console to escape negative consequences if things
    go wrong.)
  DEPOSIT AN ITEM:  The caretaker keeps an item cache for you, and you
    can also sell items using your house as a store.  Choosing this item
    opens your inventory with the cache available for you to put items
    into.  When you place an item, the Caretaker gives you three options:
                    Item is available free
                    Item is for sale for a price
                    Item is for storage/display only
  SKIN THE DOOR:  Change the appearance of your door.  Gives three options:
    (top) Set a skin, (middle) Remove current skin, (bottom) Cancel.
  SET A MESSAGE:  I'm not sure what this does, but it could be something
    to do with the message given to other players when they try and enter
    your house.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 - AROUND THE VILLAGE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The village you're in is represented by a grid divided into squares.
The game will smooth-scroll as you move around within each square, but will
push-scroll (ie, only scroll when you hit the edge) between the squares.
Around the village you will find:

MAP BOARDS:  Walk into one of these and hit A to see the map.  You only
  need this until Tanooki gives you a map of your own.  The symbols
  on the map board are:
    
       /\
      /  \      In blue, this is a house.  The PC's houses are 
     /    \     the four in the square; all other houses are NPCs.
     ------     In red, this is Tanooki's shop.
         
         
     ------

  --------------    The garbage dump.  Random items show up here quite 
                  often, so if you want to be a scumbag scavenger you
                  can go get them.
  -----  -----


  --------------
                    The post office.
  --------------
        
        

       \  /
        \/
        /\
       /  \         The shrine.
      /    \
     /    \
          
     --------

  ----\      /----
      \    /      The "able sisters" clothing store.
  ---  ----  ---
             
             
     ----------

        /\
     /      \
  /--------\
              The museum.
          
          
          
  --------------


     /-------\
     \     /
      \   / 
       \ /        The police box.
        X   
       / \  
      /   \ 
     /     \
     \-------/


MELODY BOARD:  The one Melody Board lets you write a song.  Use the
  analogue stick to change the notes.  The song on the board is the
  "Village Song", and will be used in various contexts; most notably
  you will hear a version of it whenever you talk to someone.

POST OFFICE:  Go here to send letters.  You must already have written
  the letter and have it in your inventory; then, talk to the duck and
  choose the first option on the menu to send the letter.

CLOTHING STORE:  Go here to buy clothes and edit and store texture
  designs.

MUSEUM:  The curator here can identify any unusual natural objects you
  find.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 - EVENTS, JOBS, SEQUENCES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tanooki's Jobs 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  At the start of the game the main source of jobs will be Tanooki, for
whom you will do jobs to pay back the money for your house.  To get a
job, just go to Tanooki's shop and talk to him.  When you have completed
the job, return to Tanooki for payment and the next job.  Note that
he won't actually give you any money because all the money you earn will be
put into paying back your house.  However, until Tanooki's jobs are
complete some options will not be available to you: you cannot buy or
sell from Tanooki or from Able Sisters, and other people will not give you
jobs.
  One warning: I strongly recommend that you WRITE DOWN the job that
Tanooki gives you, because if you forget it between games Tanooki won't
repeat it that day.
  The jobs he'll give you are as follows.  (This is the order I got them
in but I'm not sure it's fixed.)

 - The outside of the shop is dull.  Plant some seeds around it.
   You know you got this job if loads of seeds and plants appear in your
   inventory.  Just walk around the shop and drop them all near to it.
   Note: if you have less than 10 open slots in your inventory, Tanooki
   cannot give you this job because you don't have enough space to hold
   all the plants.  If he won't give you a job, try dropping items
   until you have 10 free slots.  
   
 - Take an item (a leaf) to someone.  Tanooki gives you the grid
   coordinate, and the person's name (in colour) to take it to.  Just
   take the item and give it to the person.  When you go back to
   Tanooki, he'll give you a map as well as your payment.
   
 - Send somebody a letter.  He'll give you a sheet of writing paper and
   tell you who the letter needs to be written to (in colour).  Select
   the writing paper in your inventory and choose the second option.
   Then choose the person Tanooki named, write the letter (I don't know
   if you have to say anything specific) and take it to the post office
   to send it.  (WHY anyone uses mail in a village in which everyone
   lives in walking distance I have no idea, but..)

 - Go and talk to everyone.  This means just the standard houses -
   you don't have to go to service buildings.  Note that after this
   it seems you can ask any character, not just Tanooki, if they have
   any work they need doing.

 - Take an item to somebody.  The name is given in colour.  I got two
   of these.

 - Write a notice on the bulletin board about the shop.  Just go to the
   bulletin board and write on it.  You might, however, have to write
   something specific..  I just wrote "tanukisan no omisa wa suteki" and
   it accepted it.  Just in case, here's how to write "Tanuki's Shop" on
   the board, starting with the Hiragana wheel in standard position:
      4th wheel item, 1st subwheel item   [ta-]
      5th wheel item, 3rd subwheel item   [nu-]
      2nd wheel item, 2nd subwheel item   [ki-]
      3rd wheel item, 1st subwheel item   [sa-]
      Spin wheel
      5th wheel item, 3rd subwheel item   [n-]
      Spin wheel
      5th wheel item, 5th subwheel item   [no-]
      1st wheel item, 5th subwheel item   [o-]
      Spin wheel
      2nd wheel item, 2nd subwheel item   [mi-]
      Spin wheel
      3rd wheel item, 4th subwheel item   [-sa]

 - After this, the part time job is completed, and your character will
   run outside of the shop and do the Nintendo Victory Wave.
   Visiting Tanooki now gives you the following menu:

      Sell item
      Buy item
      Specials
      Cancel
      
Timed Events
~~~~~~~~~~~~

1/1: On 1/1 of a year, you'll get a letter from your parents wishing you
a Happy New Year and all health and fortune, and enclosing 10000 Bells!
There will also be a notice on the village board from Tanooki wishing
everyone a happy new year (and telling them to buy stuff from his store -
every inch the businessman, isn't he?)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 - CONCLUSION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, this is the moment where I beg for contributions.. because of the
real-time nature of AF+, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for a single person to
write a full guide, so please send me what you know to the address at
the top of the FAQ.  Also, don't ask me for information, because all I
know will already be here.  (And yes, there is nothing about NES/Famicon
games in the FAQ because I STILL DON'T HAVE ANY.)


