The Animal Crossing series has a long history of entertaining games. Here’s how they compare to one another.

There’s no denying that Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo’s most successful properties, and it’s easy to understand why. The Animal Crossing series has been expanded and decorated with a lot of affection in the more than two decades since the initial game was released. Despite having fewer games than some other gaming series, it remains a fan favourite for its cosy ambience, charming characters, and open-ended gameplay.

The Animal Crossing game experience revolves around users controlling and growing a little town of animal villagers. Players may help their own village develop by expanding their residence and attracting new shops and neighbours. This cosy series’ main goals include planting flowers, collecting fish and bugs, beautifying dwellings, and socialising with inhabitants.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival analogue to virtual board games like Mario Party, follows a similar structure. The game, which was designed primarily to combine Nintendo’s amiibo cards and figurines, garnered mixed but largely unfavourable reviews when it was released in 2015.

amiibo Festival, despite its shortcomings, fits nicely with the larger franchise thanks to its calm gameplay and trademark attractive aesthetic. It includes some of the series’ most beloved characters, such as Isabelle, Tom Nook, and K.K. Slider, as well as the option to summon individual characters with amiibo cards.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Pocket Camp stands distinct from the previous games in the series because it is the only mobile game. It’s a free-to-play game that lets players to design their own campsite rather than an entire town. It became a popular addition to the franchise due to its 2017 release date, which occurred between major game releases.

The player, like in previous Animal Crossing games, can befriend animals and invite them to their campsite. Other players can also drop by and be visited. There are numerous areas to visit on the map, each with its own set of missions and items to discover.

Animal Crossing: City Folk

As one of the least popular mainstream games, City Folk is primarily let down by a lack of gameplay innovation. Many fans thought it was simply an updated version of the old game with little personal flare to distinguish it. City Folk, released in 2008 for the Wii, retains the classic Animal Crossing charm.

Players are once again charged with expanding their little rural town’s animal population. The Wii remote motion controllers allow gamers to interact with the tools in a more immersive manner.City Folk was the first game to feature a distinct shopping district known as the city. Players can take the bus to the city, where they can see a play, get their hair done, and meet special characters.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

Happy Home Designer was the first Animal Crossing spinoff, released in 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS. It was met with mixed reviews at the time, but it is still a popular addition to the series. It departs from the primary Animal Crossing concept to concentrate on the home design feature.

The design controls in Happy Home Designer were an extremely popular addition that laid the way for later games such as New Horizons.The game also provided players with much simpler access to various sorts of furniture and an astonishing amount of content.

Animal Crossing: Wild World

Wild World, which was launched in 2005 for the DS, is a fan favourite in the series. As the game’s second installment, Wild World introduced numerous new elements that have since become franchise staples. Although it is a memorable game for many fans, the graphics have not aged as well as other games from the time period.

Wild World takes character customisation to a new level by allowing players to choose their character’s appearance and dress them in clothes and accessories. This game introduced new town elements such as the café, the observatory, and the tailor. Wild World also introduced online play and outdoor beautification.

Animal Crossing

The original Animal Crossing was the first to be released in America, despite being a port of an older Japanese game. Eggy Car game was released in 2001 for the GameCube as an improved English port of the previous N64 version. The original game was a huge hit, receiving numerous excellent reviews.

This original edition established the real-time action and comprehensive calendar of holiday events that so many fans appreciate, setting the tone for all Animal Games to follow. The police station, the museum, and the Able Sister’s clothing business are all introduced. Animal Crossing was one of the first social simulation games, with a focus on communication, community, and celebrating the little things in life.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The serendipity of its debut is what makes New Horizons such a successful challenger in the franchise. The game was released on the Nintendo Switch in early 2020, at a period when many people were trapped indoors and yearning for an escape. Nintendo certainly delivered on that front with New Horizons.

New Horizons combines many of the successful components of its predecessors with stunning graphics upgrades and the addition of terraforming. Nintendo introduced more fan-favorite elements such as the café, Katrina the fortune teller, and even a DLC expansion Happy Home Paradise through multiple updates.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Following the less successful City Folk release, New Leaf had to perform some heavy lifting to ensure the franchise’s success. The game did, in fact, usher in a new era for the franchise, garnering mainly good feedback from both gamers and critics. Its success stems from the right combination of innovative features and devotion to the original cosy formula.

For the first time in New Leaf, players can assume the role of Mayor in their little town, giving them even more authority over the community. New Leaf maintains the cosy rural environment while not overwhelming players with endless options, as past new games in the series do. Furthermore, it is often recognised as having the best soundtrack of any game.In many ways, New Leaf strikes the Animal Crossing sweet spot.