The franchise of Animal Crossing fulfilled 20 years last 2021. Along with Mario, Zelda or Pokémon, Animal Crossing is one of the key IPs in Nintendo's catalog of exclusive games. The premise of these games is almost always the same: our character will move to start a new life, and we will start living in a new town or island full of humanoid animals. Inside the games simulation or resource management, Animal Crossing differs from the rest by having its own pace. We won't need to eat or sleep. There is also no clear objective. The titles simply let you go so you can explore what you most want and make friends with the characters who are most similar to your way of being. In this post we will talk about all games that make up the Animal Crossing sagaas well as a evolution who have experienced these titles throughout their generations.
Dobutsu no Mori – Nintendo 64 (2001)
El first title from the huge lineage of Animal Crossing It was not called Animal Crossing, nor did it come out of Japan. It was released in April 2001 as 'Dobutsu no Mori'. Subsequently, this version is known as 'Forest animal' or 'The Forest of Animals'. It came with its own memory card, and the cartridge had an internal clock to keep track of the passage of time.
The game had a lot of merit to be created for a console like the Nintendo 64. The loading of the map was done by squares, with small loading transitions. Otherwise, all mechanics what do we know they were already in this first versionsuch as fishing, bug hunting, shopping at the store, or interior design. Many of the neighbors who have reached our days were already born at this time. With total certainty, we are before one of the Nintendo 64 games that has aged the best.
It is not surprising that the Dobutsu no Mori has now become a piece for collectors. It was so well made that even you could travel to a friend's town. It was only necessary to insert your Controller Pack (i.e. the other player's memory card) into the second slot of the Nintendo 64. It was also possible play NES games inside the game. To do it, you just had to get the classic console in Tom Nook's store and place it in your house. This edition has been translated into English over the years, and is called Forest animal.
Animal Crossing: Population on the Rise - Game Cube
The Japanese soon discovered that they had hit the key. By December 2001, the developers already had Dobutsu no Mori +a whirlpool bath, improved version of the game for Game Cube. This title did come to the United States directly in 2001. The video game came with its own 59-block memory card, due to the amount of data it required for its use. From the cartridge it jumped to the Mini DVD format, and now it used the internal clock of the console itself.
In this new version, many things were added. Possibly, it was because development for the Nintendo 64 had to be cut due to cartridge limitations. They first appeared Handy Sisters, also allowing us to create our own designs. The Museum was also introduced, and now it was Socrates the one that identified the fossils, and not Tom Nook, as in the Nintendo 64 version. The westernization of the game ended with the Bell Shrine, which was replaced by the Wishing Fountain, as well as the labels of the entire game underwent changes. Aesthetic touch-ups were also carried out Tórtimer was made mayor from town.
they existed various versions of this game. Dōbutsu no Morie + was an update to the original GameCube title that only came out in japan. It had more neighbors, you could sneak into Nook's shop at night, there were more town parties and you could even buy a private island when you finished paying the mortgage to Nook, among many other news. In any case, we Europeans were not able to enjoy this title until 2004, which was when it came out Animal Crossing: Population: on the rise! It was a PAL version of Dobutsu no Mori +, so many of the new improvements in the version e+ They never reached our consoles – or were reserved for the later DS title.
Animal Crossing: Wild World - Nintendo DS
By the year 2006, Animal Crossing was already a success. And the nintendo handheld console it was powerful enough to move a game of these characteristics. Wild world is the biggest generational leap that has taken place in Animal Crossing. The game is still similar to the previous title, but we no longer need to be tied to a television to play a game. For the first time, Animal Crossing can be squeezed down to the last detail.
Y it was not a simple port of the Game Cube game. Wild world allowed share your house with your siblings or friends, up to a total of 4 players. The Fountain of Wishes disappeared, and in its place, the Town Hall. The museum increased in size, and it was placed inside The birdseed, the cafeteria where Totakeke played on Saturdays. The watering can was also added for the first time in this game, and with it, the garden contests.
The most important visual change was the perspective. The buildings stopped being in isometric perspective to be placed always looking south change that is still present in current games. Another great novelty was the multiplayer. Animal Crossing: Wild World allowed you to visit another player's town both by local connection such as Wi-Fi, talking to the two guard dogs at the gate.
Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City –Nintendo Wii
Known as City People In America, this new game It came to the Wii in 2008. The game could be considered as an update to the DS title, with better graphics and access to a city. we could go to town via the bus, and once there, we could spend money in their stores using a Debit. Thanks to that, we were able to shop at the Graciela's luxurious store without carrying pockets loaded with money like some country bumpkins.
Unlike previous titles, the Wii game does got a bad reception. It sold very few units due to its few differences from its predecessor. However, it made use of novel functions, such as the WiiSpeak, a microphone that was used to communicate with the voice during the online game. He also used the services of WiiConnect24, that allowed us to communicate and send things to other Animal Crossing players even when they were not online.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Nintendo 3DS
After the unexpected bump on the Wii, Animal Crossing tried his luck again in the terrain that had performed best so far: the laptops. This sixth installment reached a Nintendo 3DS which had not finished taking off at that time. The city from the previous game became the Shopping area, located at the top of the map. Tendo and Nendo took over from their father. The Handy Sisters for the first time they let you share the designs with players from all over the world using QR codes. And Nook became quite a Real estate agent.
We can consider the New Leaf such as generational change of Wild world. Finally, Animal Crossing had news again. there was a Postal Servicea whirlpool bath, shoe shop, la bitumen florist and even Music Club run by Totakeke, the versatile artist who is now also a DJ.
The game also allowed you take on some mayoral duties, such as placing bridges, lampposts and other public works. Also the police station returned, which had been removed in the DS version. Finally, you could visit a deserted island to hunt all kinds of bugs and fish, where you could also grow your exotic fruits.
In 2016, the game had one last update call Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo. It allowed some neighbors to enter our town manually with an Amiibo figure through the Motorhome area of the game.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch
The home confinement of early 2020 had only one positive thing, and it was called Animal Crossing: New Horizons. This title, released for Nintendo Switch revolutionized the technical aspect of Animal Crossing, seeking to turn it into something different to distinguish it from its predecessor, which had been a real bombshell.
This time, it will be up to us populate a deserted island. We will arrive with our clothes on —as always—, but instead of working on a town, we will do it on a Empty lot. we will learn to create tools to be able to work wood, farm and fish. We will be Nook's workforce, and we will help him create each house for our future neighbors and also to build the island's town hall. Once the tutorial is finished —which lasts many hours—, we will be able to shape our island. We will change the course of the rivers and mountains, we will change the location of the buildings and we will be able to customize our island with total freedom.
It also allows a absolute customization of the interiors, mechanic that is further expanded in the DLC Happy Home Paradise. Also in New Horizons the miles system, a bonus system that rewards us for completing small tasks. We will visit totally lost islands either by plane, with Dodo Airlines or in the Captain's boat. We will collect recipes to create our own furniture, we will be able to prevent our neighbors from leaving without warning and we will also be able to enjoy a unique experience thanks to Nintendo Switch Online, that allows us visit other islands sharing the game with friends —and speculating like real Wall Street sharks in the turnip market behind poor Juliana's back.
Animal Crossing spin off
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer - Nintendo 3DS
At the end of 2015, after the success of New Leaf, Nintendo tried its luck with this title. We will work as interior designers for Nook Real Estate, in a city nailed to the one we saw on Nintendo Wii. Happy Home Designer allows you to control furniture in a new way, and offers you a very extensive catalog to decorate iEven the roofs of the houses. Graphically, the game is identical to New Leaf. It also allows some customization if we use the physical Amiibo cards.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp - Mobile devices
Years passed between the 3DS title and the release of the last game for Nintendo Switch. In 2017, Nintendo tried to bring Animal Crossing to the smartphones with iOS and Android. The title takes place in a coastal area where some animals go to spend their holidays. The campers They will ask for a series of requirements, and we will be in charge of helping them. We can move to different parts of the map using our motorhome, which, in addition, can be customized both inside and out.
Being a game free-to-playIt has an ascending progression system, so there will come a time when you have to put in too many hours to level up if you don't want to help yourself with micro transactions. Nevertheless, the first hours of gameplay are really fantastic, and served to lay the foundations of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.