Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing

The Animal Crossing series logo.
Genres Community simulation
Developers Nintendo
Publishers Nintendo
Platforms Nintendo 64, iQue Player, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, iOS, Android
Platform of origin Nintendo 64
Year of inception 2001
First release Animal Crossing
April 14, 2001
Latest release Animal Crossing: New Leaf Welcome Amiibo
December 2, 2016
Spin-offs Happy Home Designer
Amiibo Festival

Animal Crossing (どうぶつの森, Dōbutsu no Mori, lit. Animal Forest) is a community simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo, in which the human player lives in a village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, carrying out various activities including fishing, bug catching, fossil hunting, etc. The series is notable for its open-ended gameplay and extensive use of the game systems' internal clock and calendar to simulate real passage of time.

Four Animal Crossing games have been released worldwide, one each for the GameCube (originally Nintendo 64), Nintendo DS, Wii, and the Nintendo 3DS. The series has been both critically and commercially successful and has sold over 30 million units worldwide.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Two spin-off games, Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, were released for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U respectively in 2015.

Gameplay

In all of the Animal Crossing games, the player assumes the role of a human character, who moves into a rural village populated with anthropomorphic animals and lives there indefinitely. Gameplay is open-ended: players have no defined objectives, but are instead encouraged to spend their time in the village performing any number of activities, which include collecting items, planting plants or other items, and socializing with the village's residents. All Animal Crossing games are played in real time, utilizing the system's internal clock and calendar. Thus, passage of time in the game world reflects that in reality, as well as the current season and time of day. Some in-game events, such as holidays or the growth of a tree, occur at certain times or require some duration of time to have passed.[7]

Timeline of release years
2001Animal Crossing
2002
2003
2004
2005Wild World
2006
2007
2008City Folk
2009
2010
2011
2012New Leaf
2013
2014
2015Happy Home Designer
Amiibo Festival
2016New Leaf - Welcome amiibo

One notable feature of the Animal Crossing series is the high level of customization available, some of which affects the outcome of the game.[8] The player character is both named and gendered by the real life player at the start of the game, and their appearance can be modified by buying or designing custom clothes and accessories or changing the hairstyle (introduced in Wild World). The player's house can also be furnished, decorated, and later expanded: the player can purchase and collect furniture and place it anywhere in the house, as well as change both the wallpaper and floor designs. While its terrain, building locations, and initial residents are randomly generated when the game is first begun (except in Animal Crossing New Leaf, in which the player decides between four given towns), the village's name and anthem, as well as some of the residents' catchphrases, are also determined by the player.[8]

Collecting items is a major facet of Animal Crossing: the player can explore the village and gather objects, including fruit from trees, seashells, and discarded items. Nearly all objects can be sold for Bells, the in-game currency. Players collect objects to obtain more Bells, which can then be used to buy desired items. A number of specialized tools are available for other activities such as fishing and insect collecting. Special items, such as fossils and paintings, may be donated to the village museum. The player can choose to socialize with the other animal residents by engaging in conversation, sending and receiving letters, bartering, or playing hide-and-seek. Residents may move in or out of the village depending on the player's actions.

All installments of Animal Crossing allow some form of communication between players, both offline and online. A single village can house up to four human players, though only one can be exploring the village at any given time.[7] The players can interact via written messages through the village post office or bulletin board. The GameCube iteration allowed players to travel to other villages by trading memory cards written with the game data,[8] but all subsequent installments allow players to travel and interact online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, although City Folk also allows the DS Suitcase to travel to others' towns.[9][10]

Games

Main series

Animal Crossing (2001)

Animal Crossing (どうぶつの森, lit. Animal Forest) originally released only in Japan for the Nintendo 64 in 2001. It was enhanced and released on the GameCube the same year.[11] This version was localized and released in North America on September 15, 2002, Australia on October 17, 2003, and Europe on September 24, 2004.[12] An extended version titled "Dōbutsu no Mori e+" was released on June 27, 2003 in Japan.[13] The game was also released in China in 2006 for iQue Player.[14]

Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005)

Animal Crossing: Wild World (おいでよ どうぶつの森, lit. Come to Animal Forest) was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on November 23, 2005, North America on December 5, 2005, Australia on December 8, 2005, and Europe on March 31, 2006.[15] It was the first game in the series to use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was later re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console on October 13, 2016, although its multiplayer features are unavailable due to the discontinuation of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Animal Crossing: City Folk (2008)

Animal Crossing: City Folk (街へ行こうよ どうぶつの森, lit. Let's Go to the City: Animal Forest; known in Europe and Oceania as Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City) was released for the Wii in North America on November 16, 2008, Japan on November 20, 2008, Australia on December 4, 2008, and Europe on December 5, 2008.[16] It was later released in South Korea in 2010.[17] It was the first Wii game to utilize the Wii Speak, an accessory that allows players to talk to each other during online play.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2013)

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (とびだせ どうぶつの森, lit. Jump Out Animal Forest) was announced at E3 2010.[18] It was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on November 8, 2012, North America on June 9, 2013, Europe on June 14, 2013, and Australia on June 15, 2013.[19] Unlike in previous games, players can play as the town mayor.[20] In November 2016 a new update was released along with Welcome Amiibo release in Europe (featuring game + one card), update added several new places, items and minigames for in-game, Wii U, etc. [21]

Spin-off games

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (2015)

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer is a community simulation game for the Nintendo 3DS and the first spin-off of the Animal Crossing series. It was released in Japan on July 30, 2015,[22] North America on September 25, 2015,[23] Europe on October 2, 2015,[24] and Australia on October 3, 2015.[24] The game revolves around designing houses for villagers based on their requests. By scanning amiibo cards, players can unlock the ability to design special characters' houses.[25] The game has a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, which signifies "mixed or average reviews." [23]

Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (2015)

Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival is a party game for the Wii U that heavily utilizes amiibo. It has a score of 46 out of 100 on Metacritic, signifying "generally unfavorable reviews."[26]

Apps

Mobile

During a financial meeting in April 2016, Nintendo announced that Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem Heroes will become Nintendo's second and third mobile games, respectively.[28] In September 2016, Nintendo announced that the apps will be released worldwide in early 2017 in favor of the recently announced Super Mario Run.[29] In January 2017, Nintendo announced that the Animal Crossing game was delayed in order to focus on the Android version of Super Mario Run, and stating they expect to release the game in the next fiscal year that starts in April.[30]

However, in June 2017, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed that the game will be launched by the end of 2017.

Reception and legacy

Aggregate review scores
As of September 5, 2014.
Game Metacritic
Animal Crossing 87[31]
Animal Crossing: Wild World 86[32]
Animal Crossing: City Folk 73[33]
Animal Crossing: New Leaf 88[34]

The Animal Crossing games have garnered positive response.[8][9][10] The four main series games are among the best-selling video games for their respective consoles. Animal Crossing has sold 2.32 million copies;[1][2] Wild World 11.75 million;[3] City Folk 3.38 million;[4] New Leaf 10.45 million,[5] and Happy Home Designer 3.04 million.[6] Amiibo Festival was a critical and commercial failure, in Japan it has only sold 26,325 copies.[26][35] In total, the Animal Crossing franchise has sold over 30 million units.

An anime film adaptation of Wild World, titled Dōbutsu no Mori, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006. The film was produced by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Toho. Dōbutsu no Mori earned ¥1.8 billion (approximately $19.2 million) in the box office.[36]

The 2008 Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl features elements from Wild World. Most prominent is a stage based on the animal village, called "Smashville," which changes its scenery in accordance with the Wii system clock[37] and features a number of songs remixed or extracted from the original game.[38] Mr. Resetti and a pitfall seed, which appear in all Animal Crossing games, are available as an Assist Trophy and an item respectively.[39][40] Brawl also features 24 collectible trophies based on Animal Crossing characters and items.[41]

Wii Music features two playable songs from Animal Crossing.[42]

The minigame "Animal Crossing: Sweet Day" in Nintendo Land is based on the Animal Crossing game series. The objective of the game is for the Wii Remote players (1-4), to gather large amounts of candy scattered around the area and store them in their head without getting caught by the Gatekeepers, who are controlled using the two Wii U GamePad analog sticks.[43]

A playable character called "Villager" represents the Animal Crossing series as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. His or her moves include the ability to catch other players in a net and firing Lloid the gyroid as a missile.[44] Additionally, Isabelle from New Leaf appears as an Assist Trophy,[45] and two new Animal Crossing stages appear in the games: "Town & City" from City Folk in the Wii U version, and "Tortimer Island" from New Leaf in the 3DS version.[46] "Smashville" from Brawl returns in the Wii U version.[47]

Villager and Isabelle are playable characters in Mario Kart 8 via downloadable content, along with a racetrack based on Animal Crossing.[48]

On June 5, 2015, Isabelle and Mr. Resetti were added as craftable costumes for the player's "Palico" in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.[49]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  2. 1 2 "Nintendo Gamecube Japanese Ranking". Japan Game Charts. 2007-05-06. Archived from the original on 2007-07-23. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  3. 1 2 "Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2014" (PDF). Nintendo. 2014-12-06. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  4. 1 2 "Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ended March 2009: Supplementary Information" (PDF). Financial Results Briefing for the 69th Fiscal Term Ended March 2009. Nintendo. 2009-05-08. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  5. 1 2 "IR Information : Sales Data - Top Selling Software Sales Units - Nintendo 3DS Software". Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  6. 1 2 "Supplementary Information about Earnings Release" (PDF). Nintendo. April 27, 2016. p. 4. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  7. 1 2 Schneider, Peer (May 30, 2002). "Animal Crossing Preview". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Schneider, Peer (September 5, 2002). "Animal Crossing Review". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  9. 1 2 Harris, Craig (December 5, 2005). "Animal Crossing: Wild World Review". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  10. 1 2 Harris, Craig (November 16, 2008). "Animal Crossing: City Folk Review". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  11. ↑ Harris, Craig. "The Evolution of Animal Crossing (page 2)". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  12. ↑ "Animal Crossing Review". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  13. ↑ "Doubutsu no Mori e+". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  14. ↑ "Animal Forest" (in Chinese). iQue Ltd. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  15. ↑ "Animal Crossing: Wild World Review". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  16. ↑ "Animal Crossing: City Folk Review". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  17. ↑ "타운으로 놀러가요 동물의 숲" (in Korean). Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  18. ↑ Thomas, Lucas M. "E3 2010: Animal Crossing 3DS Announced". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  19. ↑ "Animal Crossing: New Leaf". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  20. ↑ Drake, Audrey. "Animal Crossing 3DS Has a New Name". IGN. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  21. ↑ "Welcome Amiibo". mojenintendo.cz. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  22. ↑ Romano, Sal. "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Japanese release date set". Gematsu. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  23. 1 2 "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer". Metacritic. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  24. 1 2 Abou-Nasr, Adam. "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Bundles Announced for UK and Australia". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  25. ↑ Vogel, Mitch. "Animal Crossing Director Talks More About Happy Home Designer and amiibo". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  26. 1 2 "Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival". Metacritic. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  27. ↑ "Photos with Animal Crossing - Nintendo UK Summer Tour 2015 video". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  28. ↑ Seedhouse, Alex. "Next Nintendo Apps Will Use Fire Emblem & Animal Crossing Franchises". Nintendo Insider. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  29. ↑ Seedhouse, Alex. "Fire Emblem And Animal Crossing Mobile Games Delayed Into 2017". Nintendo Insider. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  30. ↑ Dayus, Oscar. "Animal Crossing Mobile Delayed". GameSpot. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  31. ↑ "Animal Crossing (GCN) at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  32. ↑ "Animal Crossing: Wild World". Metacritic. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  33. ↑ "Animal Crossing: City Folk reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  34. ↑ "Animal Crossing: New Leaf". Metacritic. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  35. ↑ "「モンスターハンタークロス」狩猟解禁で初週販売数148万本の「ゲームソフト週間販売ランキング＋」". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas Inc. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  36. ↑ "2007年度興行成績ランキング" (in Japanese). Rakuten. Archived from the original on 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  37. ↑ Sakurai, Masahiro (July 13, 2007). "Smash Bros. DOJO!! Smashville". Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  38. ↑ Sakurai, Masahiro (April 3, 2008). "Smash Bros. DOJO!! Full Song List with Secret Songs". Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  39. ↑ Sakurai, Masahiro (September 26, 2007). "Smash Bros. DOJO!! Mr. Resetti". Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  40. ↑ Sakurai, Masahiro (September 26, 2007). "Smash Bros. DOJO!! Pitfall". Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  41. ↑ Sakurai, Masahiro (April 8, 2008). "Smash Bros. DOJO!! Trophy List". Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  42. ↑ North, Dale (2008-10-20). "Here's the rest of the Wii Music tracklist". Destructoid. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  43. ↑ Petit, Carolyn (2012-11-18). "Nintendo Land (Wii U) review". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  44. ↑ Torres, Timothy (2014-09-13). "How to Beast With Villager, Mega Man in Super Smash Bros. 3DS Demo". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  45. ↑ "Assist Trophies". Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  46. ↑ "Stages 1". Nintendo. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  47. ↑ Bhat, Aditya (2014-10-22). "Super Smash Bros 4: Unlock Guide -- Characters and Stages; How Wii U and 3DS Connect; 10 Million US Sales". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  48. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (August 26, 2014). "Zelda, Animal Crossing Coming to Mario Kart 8". Kotaku. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  49. ↑ "Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate June DLC Brings Animal Crossing, Devil May Cry and Awesome Designs". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2017-02-13.

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