Bonus Post: Animal Crossing, What Are You Doing to Me?

The screenshot above is one that worries me greatly and with good reason.  You see, I have reached a point in Animal Crossing:  New Leaf where I am almost -free- of some of the most annoying shackles of the game for completionists.  In the world of Animal Crossing exists sets of Silver and Gold tools which, of course, you can only get by performing certain tasks.  Specifically in question here are the Golden Watering Can and the Golden Axe.  The Golden Watering Can requires you to achieve and maintain a "Perfect Town" for 15 days which is honestly more tedious than it is difficult.  The Golden Axe is something you get after you buy 50 Saplings from the plant store, of which they...only sell one a day.  Great.  You might be wondering just how these two things are linked.  It's very simple, really.

The Golden Watering Can really doesn't -matter- in a sense, in that it's more of a symbol, or a trophy if you will.  After you get the Golden Watering Can, there's really no point in keeping your town 'Perfect' anymore if you don't wish to.  Now one of the factors that determines whether your town is perfect or not?  The amount of trees you have.  You start out with so many trees, and you'll inevitably add to them with fruit trees, though perhaps you're not placing them in places that are....good, or where you want them.  So obviously then, you just want to cut them down, but if you do that, then your status drops.  So you tell yourself "I'll just wait until I have a perfect town, then it won't matter what I do" and it won't matter.  It won't matter even the slightest bit.  After you get the Golden Watering Can, it's that much easier to feel that your town is indeed your town to do with what you wish.

So you go buy an axe.  You ready yourself for the tree slaughter.  Perhaps you take down quite a few...and then your axe breaks.  There's only one axe for sale a day, and it's random -when- that day is.  You've started something that you simply cannot finish now, and it's going to drive you crazy.  This, my friends, is why you wait for the Golden Axe, because the Golden Axe does not break.  It cannot.  You can clear-cut your entire damn village if you want and it won't break.  And after that long, is it ever tempting to do just that.  But why would you cut down the trees?  Why would you get rid of a very good source of income?  Why?  Simply put:  Trees are fucking annoying and constantly in the way.

You run around and have to weave and dodge in between trees just to get about and it becomes -tedious-, so you decide to have a set path to go to make it easiest.  Except there are too many trees in the way regardless, so you can't just make a path.  This is why you want to cut them down.  You want to clear them out so you can make a road so you can get around easier.  -Then- you put trees back up somewhere where they're not annoying.  It is -your- town, so -you- make it look like -you- want it to.  The roads above are a testament that I am almost to this point.  I have placed down some roads, indeed some (like myself) would say far too many, but they're not enough.  There are far too many trees still, and I don't have my golden axe yet.  I cannot clear them.  But soon.

Soon.

okay I am kind of creeping myself out

Pokemon....I Don't Even Know Anymore

Pokemon X and Y keeps throwing out the secrets and tidbits of information, and the newest one is the brand new "Mega" form of pokemon which is something so weird that I'm not sure if I can legitimately conjure up words to describe it.  Or perhaps, as I've been instructed elsewhere, "Weird" isn't exactly the correct word, but it's...it's different.  It's something different in pokemon which is something at least.  Various outlets have been running with the term "Mega Evolutions" and I'm not really sure that's the correct title - it shouldn't be - because of just how it works, which is why I'm just going to refer to them as Mega Forms.  I may also call them Super Saiyan because come on that is what they are.  You know it, I know it, everybody knows it, so let's not kid ourselves.

Anyway, basically what these new Mega forms are are a thing you can do with certain pokemon during a battle if they're holding a certain item, which we will call a Mega Stone for now.  Every pokemon that has a Mega Form needs a unique Mega Stone which you will be able to get in-game except for the one for Mega Blaziken because it's a unique DLC event-item (that comes on a Torchic) that will only be available for a limited time because Nintendo still doesn't understand DLC.  Going Super Saiyan Entering Mega Form requires a conscious choice on the part of the player (I think) and takes a full turn to do, wherein your pokemon is vulnerable of course.  However the benefits are fairly obvious - Mega Forms have different innate abilities (Things like Insomniac, Adaptability, not actual moves), likely have buffed stats and just have a different, imposing visage.  So it's a near-immediate return and for as far as I know the effect lasts until the battle is over or the pokemon faints, with no other sort of timer attached.

Of course, that little bit at the end is the reason why it shouldn't be considered an evolution in traditional Pokemon senses.  It's not permanent like Evolution in Pokemon is (and is...y'know, implied by the very term) and the change is not as 'drastic' as evolutions are.  Ampharos grows some 70s metal hair, Blaziken cosplays Heihachi Mishima, and Mewtwo's tail moves to the back of his head because shut up.  It is, of course, mostly about the stats, the boosts, which is why we can affectionately refer to it as "going Super Saiyan", especially when you consider the hair changes are quite prominent in the examples.  They don't get bigger, they don't 'mutate', they don't suddenly grow two more of themselves, it's not evolution in the Pokemon sense in any way.  Which isn't a bad thing, it just bears mentioning.  Since...there really isn't much else -to- mention about it, really.

Mid-battle evolution has raised more than a few allusions to Digimon which basically relied solely -on- mid-battle evolution.  Or at least, that's what the anime taught me, but the anime for Pokemon taught me a lot of stuff that is wrong too, so I don't even know.  At the very least, evolution in Digimon isn't permanent either, and ties more closely to what Mega Evolution Forms represents in a boost of stats in battle when you need it, where the boost goes away when it's over with.  Of course, Digimon's evolutions were also the big bad 'traditional' form of evolutions where things got big and mean for the most part, but still.  I am trying to make a point and it's hard to make and I can't really concentrate because of Animal Crossing which I will cover in a separate post after this.  The point is that it's similar, which is strange since back in the day they were....basically competing and at least outside of Japan, Pokemon seemed to pretty much stomp Digimon flat.  Unfortunate or fortunate as it may be.

Only six pokemon have Mega Evolutions Forms so far, but I would imagine with, what, 500-600 Pokemon, they can have more than that.  Of course it is Pokemon after all, so one can never be sure.  Regardless it's at least a new mechanic in the game that is wholly new and comes from left field so I have to respect it based on that alone.  Sure, it's not a change that I wanted, nor one that I feel was at all necessary, but that's just how it goes sometimes.  It's a sign of progress no matter what, so that's a positive.  I just can't help but wonder if some of the Mega Forms are going to get -really- weird; I don't trust enough that they won't toss one at Pikachu or Eevee, neither of which actually need a Mega Form, where the Blaziken Mega Form sort of leaves one wondering if -all- starters are going to get a Mega Form.  Which....makes sense, but, you know, effort.  Sometimes you have to just wonder about things like that when it comes to the game.

even if Pikachu gets a Mega Form, I'mma roll with Raichu because Raichu is boss status

XBone Requires Live Gold for...Pretty Much Everything

In what is no doubt the least surprising thing about the XBone, all those features that were stuck behind the pay-wall of XBox Live Gold are going to be the same way with the new system, as well as the shiny features showed off exclusive to the XBone like the game recording feature, the Twitch integration, NFL Leaderboard integration, Skype and the new and improved match-making.  Some of that isn't a surprise, especially the match-making since you need Live for Multi-player -anyway- so obviously a new shiny thing attached to that is going to be behind the very same pay-wall, but that's kind of semantics.  Basically, this narrows the amount of things you'll be able to do with a Live Silver account down to "Play single-player games, buy games off of XBL and gain regular Achievements" since even the new 'dynamic' Achievements seem to be locked to Gold.  All of which basically means that you may as well tack on $60 to the XBone's already higher price, since it's damn-near mandatory.

Some would argue that Sony's decision to put PS4 multi-player behind a similar pay-wall in Playstation Plus accomplishes much of the same in making it mandatory, but I'd say there is a very, very fundamental difference between the two and their implementation.  From what I've seen, the -only- thing behind with pay-wall is multi-player which means, yes, you can't play online with your friends without it (unless you're playing an MMO like DCUO) but you can still socialize with them regardless.  Party chat, all of the sharing bits, all the social interaction things that aren't specifically tied to playing Killzone:  Shadow Fall MP with your buddy are unrestricted if you choose not to throw down $50 for a year of the service.  Not to mention if you want to enjoy Netflix on your TV and don't want to have to keep going back to your PS3, your Wii U (assuming they ever fix the Wii U's Netflix app) or something else that is presumably letting you watch Netflix without paying more than Netflix's own subscription, you can do that on the PS4.  Same with all of the other programs and applications of a similar nature.

Without throwing what appears to be a console warz-type pitch, there's also the idea of perceived value associated with the services as we've seen them.  Live Gold simply allows you access to all of these things that you're paying for otherwise in Netflix and the like, while also letting you play multi-player in games.  Playstation Plus went an entirely different route with the Instant Game Collection, giving subscribers access to dozens of games over the course of the year simply for subscribing.  Plus was always an additive entry prior to the PS4 and will likely persist in that capacity, where Live Gold has always been the barrier of entry.  They have started a program where you get some free games per month and it's true that the games appear to be 'yours' in that they're not tied with you actually subscribing to Live Gold, but it....comes off as a little too late, not to mention it's a temporary program until the XBone is launched.  Then things look as if they'll return to the status quo.

It just seems like a missed opportunity.  Obviously, you -want- people to subscribe to the service, but you can do that through incentivizing rather than force.  Honestly, even if the PS4 -didn't- require PS+ going forward, I'd still have it because of the IGC, even though that's an extra $50 a year.  It's damn worth it.  When and if I eventually buy a 360 to catch up on a few exclusives, I honestly don't know if I'll get Gold at all and if I do, it will be begrudgingly at best.  I see it as $60 that I don't -need- to spend, nor do I want to.  And you know what?  That argument is always rattled against by people shouting "If you're paying full-price for Live, you're doing it wrong" and to that I say "Fuck you".  I don't need to shop for deals that may or may not exist in the time-span between when I get a 360 and when I need gold, nor do I think it's an effective way of combating the issue.  It's $60 that I don't feel like paying, don't think I -need- to pay, and if that $60 becomes $35 because I stumble across a sale it's not fundamentally different.  I -want- to spend the $50 on Playstation Plus because of what it gives me not what it allows me to do.  That is all the difference there can be.  Live Gold is simply a service that I, nor do many people, feel is worth buying into because of the amount of things that are behind it when it's clear that they don't need to be.

Of course, anyone thinking that anything would come -out- of the pay-wall in the 360-One transition was simply fooling themselves, so this news isn't -really- news.  It's simply an affirmation that Microsoft is happy with the money Live Gold brings in and they don't feel they need to change it up.  Which....good for them.  Clearly they don't since people happily pay for the service and swear by it, but it's just another one of many chances they could've utilized for even the smallest bit of good will, and it's just clear they're not interested.  Still, it does ensure that we'll hear about all these features from the folks who end up picking up the system, since it's out of necessity rather than want, and some of the features are down-right neat sounding.  The Twitch integration for one, and I suppose it is good that they're jumping on Skype, considering it is one thing that legitimizes the Kinect that they're forcing in.  One just has to wonder what else is going to show up and get added to the list of "things you need Live Gold for".

people have been shouting for them to remove the pay-wall from the Netflix thing for ages, they could have at least done -that-

Initial Dragon's Crown Impressions

Here I have a flame tosser, yes it is as awesome as you think.

As is usually such when I get a game, I don't generally get to play that game until sometimes the following day or at least until after I've attempted a blog post for the night because I at least try to be responsible, damn it.  So my impressions are generally a little bit late as I like to sink at least a little bit of my teeth into it properly because coming away with something approaching an opinion.  Since I have, at times, had a positive reaction initially that festered into something quite negative or in the best cases, the exact opposite of that reaction where I plug at a game until it becomes something special and amazing.  I know how easily it is to be pushed into a purchase because of positive impressions around and about, so I don't like throwing out my hat until I'm pretty positive on it.

With only about half an hour of playtime in Dragon's Crown I am pretty much bucking that trend because I don't care.  Dragon's Crown makes a very nice first impression with the art, with the voicing and presentation, and eventually the gameplay which I am obviously still a novice in, yet it doesn't -feel- as much.  Throwing down with the Wizard feels natural and I'm not sure if that's just because I dig him or because of some other crazy reason, but I'm not about to complain.  I've heard tale of people stating that he's kind of weak against the bosses and I can -understand- that, but, well, I didn't have that problem.  I don't say that to brag or anything, I'm obviously not a pro-gamer or anything, but I've found that it's all about the Teleporting.  The Wizard can teleport about the distance of an enemy (even a boss character) so....you know, use that.  Teleport behind them and Up+Square that bastard for a nice clip of damage.

It's curious that all the characters are geared toward different "Tiers" of players - Fighter is for 'everyone', Dwarf and Amazon are for 'Normal' players and the Sorceress, Elf and Wizard are all listed as being for  "Expert" players - since these types of games try to at least put up the façade of all the characters being balanced so that nobody plays favorites for such reasons.  Though I suppose maybe it's not an indication of who's 'better' like that, but rather just who is simpler to play which doesn't necessarily mean better returns and such.  Actually, yeah, it is probably just that and I'm just being silly.  Again, having just played this a little bit, it's not something that I have fully settled in on yet.  Still, I can see why the Wizard falls into the "Expert" category since he does have some advanced things to keep him viable - mainly the teleporting thing and the fact that you have to recharge his mana after using the nice big dangerous spells that are his bread-and-butter.  I imagine the difference between him and, say, the Fighter is that the Fighter can just charge up and hit things with his sword until they stop breathing, so, yeah, I can see the difficulty shift there.

I'm pretty confident that Dragon's Crown is going to be something that's going to keep my attention despite the ease that I put it down with.  In my defense, I did that because, again I'm trying to be responsible, and because I'm too distracted by all the other goings-on of being on the computer (talking to people, or at least trying to, checking message boards, reading things, etc.) to really sit down and enjoy what the game has to offer.  Tomorrow, that's when I'll be able to delve into it and likely throw hours upon hours at, so that's the game plan for it.  Though...I -do- have my Vita right here playing some music through the Music Unlimited app, and after I finish this....hrm.  It is tantalizing.  That is a good sign, friends.  That is a damn good sign.

seriously though, teleport is something you want to do a lot of, it's so good

I Am Inordinately Excited for Hometown Story

Frequenters of my blog probably know of my excitement for Hometown Story by now and by that virtue, they probably know what Hometown Story -is-, which is something I'm not utterly convinced they would know otherwise.  So for those folks, Hometown Story is a new game from the mind of Yasuhiro Wada, the guy that made Harvest Moon waaaay back and it entails a similar approach of Harvest Moon of being a simple person doing a simple task.  However, instead of farming and animal rearing as in Harvest Moon, you'll be running a storefront in Hometown Story with all the same ability to go out and charm the locals and eventually woo a spouse as Harvest Moon offers.  Basically, it's just a new spin on what Harvest Moon was built on and an appreciated one at that even though I eagerly await Harvest Moon (and Rune Factory by virtue) games like crazy.

Again, folks who read around the blog here already know just why I'm excited for Hometown Story or at least can guess as much, considering I have a whole section of posts titled "Gaming by the Numbers" in which I get all frothy and excited about doing all sorts of game math because I am just the worst nerd.  It's even more apparent when I bring up my latest post about Animal Crossing:  New Leaf, where I go a little crazy about using the Flea Market because it is basically a miniature storefront simulator with absolutely no bells or whistles.  So basically my assumption here is that a game built from the ground-up to be a Storefront simulator is going to be infinitely more exciting and rewarding, thus I am really hyped for this shit.  That I can also carve out a life for my character in the process is, well, just....fantastic gravy on top, but it's not why I'm really into it.

I'm not quite sure just what the mechanics to the game are, but that's pretty standard since it's not actually coming out til October 14th, barring a delay.  When it gets closer to being out, there'll likely be all sorts of gameplay trailers showing off how the game is going to be when it ships (there's technically demo gameplay videos out now which I've seen, but it's not very enlightening) which I will devour like delicious, delicious information, but until then I'm just stuck wondering.  The crux of the gameplay will likely be designing your store (putting down where you're actually selling things to try and control flow) and then pricing them, but how you get stock is a mystery to me.  Presumably, it's all just stuff you go out and find, perhaps you can even craft things and sell them, but I don't know for -sure- yet.  The above screenshot shows off dishes of food (which I assume you can cook and sell) and a hammer (which I assume you can craft and sell) so that's where I'm kind of coming from here, but still.

I'm not really sure why I find this kind of game alluring, to be perfectly honest.  I'm not a super huge math guy, in that I can't do very advanced things and sometimes I mess up the basics quite spectacularly.  But there's just something when it comes to video games that causes me to run the numbers almost obsessively, and it's definitely not a problem, but something of a quirk, I suppose.  As with the previous Gaming by the Numbers posts I've made, most of that is just things I sit down and -do- when I stumble across the specifics of it, not something that I play up for the posts themselves.  As stated, somewhat jokingly in the sub-text of the AC post, I really do lament the fact that I haven't played Recettear as it seems like a game that is -made- for me because of that little quirk.  Yet, Hometown Story does as well, and it manages to incorporate all the lovely features I look for in a proper Harvest Moon game (and lament when they're simply not present) so it's...just something that I'm excited for.  I've said that a lot, but I don't think I can actually state it enough, or with enough emphasis.

Hometown Story will be one of the seven 3DS games I will own by the end of the year, but it's likely going to be one of my top three games of the system by far, which is saying something strange for me, I think.  Especially when something like Fire Emblem:  Awakening will probably be towards the bottom, I haven't even popped Shin Megami Tensei IV into my 3DS yet and my excitement for Pokemon X is....tepid at best.  It's only Harvest Moon:  A New Beginning, Rune Factory 4 and this, s'far as I can tell, and it'll likely just be a shuffling match to figure out which one I actually go with to round out the list not only for myself, but for when GotY time rolls around.  I am aware that this is probably blasphemy to the vast majority of 3DS fans, but, hell, that's...just how I roll it seems.  I just like simulation games and I'm grateful that the 3DS is allowing me to explore that route and is something that I really hope developers start bringing to the Vita as well.  (KOEI, just friggin' port some of your Romance of the Three Kingdoms/Nobunaga's Ambition games and I'll be ecstatic.)

Update!:  Okay like literally right after this post, this new trailer went up and shows off a bunch of shit and I look silly now but I'm so much more excited.

 

I just wonder what kind of profit margins I'll be able to force in Hometown Story and I wonder if the townsfolk will not like me based on my likely absurd prices.  One way to find out!

Dokuro - Escort Quest: The Game

Just recently, Dokuro was added to the line-up of the Playstation Vita's Instant Game Collection, so I decided I'd grab it up and take a look at it, since it's something I've been rather interested in for a while thanks to the rather unique art style it's got going on.  It was not a game that I paid close attention to, however, which shows as I thought of it as a sort of puzzle platformer instead of what it actually is...which is a puzzle-platformer wherein you have a little partner of sorts along for the ride.  This is....more than a little off-putting to me as I started to get into it, but it was something that I sort of would become cool or at least not a hassle as things went on.  It was wishful thinking of course, and as we all know, wishful thinking and two quarters usually just leaves you with fifty cents.

The story behind the game is basically that you are some kind of skeleton knight and a demon kidnaps a beautiful princess and is holding her hostage because that's just kind of what happens.  The skeleton thinks that's kind of shitty and then just goes and frees her because he likes her or something, so she starts leaving.  Problem is, she wasn't being held, you know, right by the front door or anything, so she has to get -out- of the castle and be free, but the thing is, she's patently unable to do so without a little help.  And that is, indeed, where you come into play, being the thing that aids her escape by basically doing everything in your power to ensures she has a level piece of flooring or something equivalent under her feet since she can't jump worth a damn or....be...useful in any capacity whatsoever.  Really, she's more of a hindrance, as you might guess.

Escort quests are usually the most reviled thing you can put in any form of video game simply because the AI of the escorted is generally coded in such a way that it's a wonder they don't actually trip over their own feet and snap their neck.  It's not inherently wrong - after all, if someone is battle-worthy enough in the worlds that such quests inhabit, then they generally don't need an escort - but it's definitely an exaggeration of the issue at hand, because oftentimes they're not really programmed with surviving in mind.  Egregiously so.  The princess in Dokuro is of the same cloth, willfully walking into angry looking things with swords, bottomless pits in the right circumstances, and under anything of considerable weight as it's very obviously coming down from above.  She is at the level where we consider the NPC "beyond saving" because clearly nature and Darwin have something out for them.

That's not to say there's nothing good to the game, as it does feature a few neat little things from my minimal exposure to it.  You get some magic chalk which you can use to connect ropes at certain points which will likely be a neat mechanic....eventually.  Beyond that, you get a potion that allows you to transform into a handsome knight who is not only stronger (can actually kill foes) but is also able to carry the princess at points.  On the downside, he's taller meaning that it's impossible for you to get through certain parts, and he cannot jump as high or as often as the skeleton form, meaning mobility is a bit limited.  Both of these points are kind of hampered by the fact that the controls are a bit finnicky - jumping doesn't feel like it's right where it needs to be which is a problem for a platformer, and the melee combat as it is is far too simplistic while also leaving you open for counter-attack as a fault, not a mechanic.  Even though the levels are rather short and compact, these two little factors can often cause one to drag on forever which is...less than ideal.

Perhaps I'm just not the best judge for this game since it's admittedly in a vein of things that is not my cup of tea.  Puzzle-Platformers, by and large, go right on by on my interest radar, so really the only reason I grabbed this was because it was free and because it looked unique.  And in that respect, it -is- unique, and is definitely something you should check out yourself.  But after clearing the first boss and finding myself sighing in frustration a few levels into the second chapter because I keep missing easy jumps and getting smashed by falling roofs that work much faster than it looks, it's clear I'm not enjoying it.  I don't think I can get into it enough to find the enjoyment that I'm assured is sunken within it somehow.  I'm still well within the "Give it a good shot" phase, but it's wearing quite thin and come Tuesday when I load up Dragon's Crown into my Vita, it'll be a forgotten non-issue.

I think what bothers me the most is the melee because you hit things, they fly back and, if you're playing the knight, they then explode, but why?  And doing that as the skeleton knight just...seems superfluous, really.

Gaming By The Numbers - The Silly Economics of Animal Crossing: New Leaf

For as much as I have grumbled on and on about Animal Crossing:  New Leaf (even though I had some nice things to say in my review of it) I can't bring myself to say that I don't like the game, even if I can tell you in very many strings of words how I hate a lot of the parts of it individually.  I like Animal Crossing, and I especially like New Leaf because it's the best of the games so far by default.  Though they didn't get a lot of it right, they got more than enough right that even as someone who hates every single villager in his town save two, someone who is so very, very tired of paying off Tom Nook's endless debts, I still play it every day and I still have -fun- with it every day.  Though part of the fun is admittedly in hoping that today will be the day that I finally get a picture from somebody so that I can happily tell them to get the hell out of Kupolis when they talk about moving away.

The other part, however, is the little Shop Simulator they've managed to cram into the game in the form of the Flea Market spaces in Re-Tail, the place where you go to sell the crap you don't want anymore.  Shop Simulator is stretching things a little bit, since basically all that happens is there are eight slots in which you (and other villagers, provided there are empty slots for them, which there will NEVER EVER BE) can put up items that you intend to sell for a price that you get to decide.  Obvious rules apply here - the price has to be somewhere in the realm of reasonable, so if you think you're going to sell a Cushion for 999,999 Bells, you're out of your damn mind and the villagers will tell you as much.  Of course, the issue then becomes -what- is a reasonable price for any given item?

The answer is that it's just complicated because the villagers all actually know exactly what everything costs because the game is cheap and they're cheating assholes.  See, because it's a Flea Market, the actual intent is -not- to make a profit because the items are all used and as such they've depreciated and blah blah blah.  Of course, that's not how things work in Kupolis, because I know the bullshit and things do not depreciate in value in Animal Crossing no matter what anyone says because they're digital and not programmed to degrade as such.  So I fly my Capitalist flag high and make a profit on every damn thing I sell.  The side effect of this is that everything is a bit of a hard sell because it's, well, being sold at a premium so that I make something out of the deal.  It doesn't actually matter what the price -is- so to speak, so much as it matters what the price is in relation to.  For instance, trying to sell a Wooden Box (Retail: 200, suggested sell price: 50) for 300 Bells and trying to sell a Kitchen Sink (Retail: 2,400, suggested sell price: 600) for 3,000 result in the exact same grumbling that they won't have enough bells for their groceries or this or that.  Which is bullshit.

Generally speaking, you will be able to sell something to everyone who walks in (only one at a time, of course, and sometimes they stick around after a purchase to go "OH MAN, I REALLY BOUGHT SOMETHING, IT WAS SO AWESOME", yes yes, get the hell out) though it may take a while.  There's a 'flow' to the sale, so to speak.  A villager will walk in, move about and usually get a sort of surprised expression before rushing up to whatever it is they're looking at to wait for you.  Then they'll go "Oh man, this is pretty good, BUT it's PRETTY EXPENSIVE, I DUNNO" (unless you're just selling things for quarter-retail in which case, pfft, whatever sucker) which gives you the option to tell them "BUY IT ANYWAY" or "Yeah, you don't want it, actually", the latter of which is only good if you are playing on the same cart as someone else and you want to be a gigantic asshole and make sure nobody buys the other persons things.  Telling them to buy it will either lead to them going "You know what, I better treat myself" and buying it, or them saying "NOPE, TOO EXPENSIVE AFTER ALL".  If it's the latter case, you just sort of...nudge them into line-of-sight for another item to repeat the process.  If you do this for every item for sale and nothing gets sold, congratulations, your villager is an asshole and you should look forward to the day they move out.

Ideally, this won't happen because you're probably not going to want to stray -too- far off of the Retail Price since profit is profit.  Because of the randomness in whether or not they'll reliably buy something, it's hard to say what kind of margin to -expect-, but I can tell you that trying for the ideal 100% retail markup is going to end in tears.  Somewhere between 30-50% would likely be acceptable - obviously start at 50% and work down if things aren't selling as fast as you want them to (as in, somebody looks at all your items without buying) and understand that it's random.  As are most things in Animal Crossing:  New Leaf.  So what I'm saying is that, for your 2,400 Retail Kitchen Sink, you'll want to try and sell it from anywhere between 3,120 - 3,600 Bells and you'll likely see a purchase on that.  Easy money and depending on how long you've had the item, it might seem -more- profitable than not since sometimes you just want to get rid of shit, god.  Of course, as long as you're making profit, it's all good no matter what.

Now you might be thinking "Well that all seems like a lot of effort for not a lot of profit" and you are correct, because it's not a lot of profit if you're selling things that you have just bought (or bought previously at Retail price), but that's where a lot of the fun things come in that make the Flea Market seem downright evil like CAPITALIST HEAVEN.  You see, very little of your inventory of items will likely actually come from you handing over retail bells to acquire said item in the first place.  Every day, there are two trees that you can shake to get random items (let it be known that by Items, I mean furniture) for absolutely nothing.  This isn't counting that sometimes your villagers will say "HEY, I feel super generous here, so have this item" or some variation of that, and just hand it over.  Or sometimes they give you a little errand (get this package to this person before the end of the day) which they will hand over something (sometimes clothing which is bad, but usually furniture) for the sweet sweet price of free.

Do you see where I'm coming from?  That Kitchen Sink you shook out of a tree somehow, that sells for 2,400 bells Retail and 3,120 - 3,600 bells via mark-up?  PURE PROFIT.  That Balloon Dresser you shot down from a balloon with a suggested sale price of 670 bells, meaning a retail price of 2,680 bells, meaning a markup of 3,484 - 4,020 bells?  PURE PROFIT.  -Now- you can see how the bells start piling up rather quickly and -now- you can see why the effort is actually worth it.  Because this isn't a profit margin, now, of 720 - 1,200 bells, this is a profit margin of everything you get.  That's not even the sweetest part.  No, no no no, not even close.  Do you want to know what the sweetest part is?  What the absolute best, greatest part of the whole thing is?

When you sell something to someone and they turn around and give it back to you as a gift, free of charge.  Because that means you can put it back up for sale at the same markup and make that profit all over again.

That, my friends, that is a thing of beauty.  And -that- is why I'm still playing Animal Crossing:  New Leaf in a nutshell.

this is why I'm sad that my computer is shit and I can't play Recettear because I would be so good at it