Animal Crossing (series)

The Animal Crossing video game series is a series of communication simulation games, exclusively for Nintendo consoles (except for Pocket Camp, which is a mobile game). All games in the series are non-linear, in the sense that they have a somewhat set beginning, but no middle or end. The player takes the role of a human in a village of animals. The series is non-violent, and rated 'E' for Everyone by the ESRB (3+ by PEGI). The player may take on tasks from villagers, pay off their mortgage, garden, fish, catch bugs, and more.

Objectives of the game

As an open-ended life simulation, the Animal Crossing series does not have a set objective - as such, after an introductory sequence at the beginning of the games, players are free to do as they like. The only "objective" in the game, if any, is to pay off the mortgage placed upon the player's house. But, like most things within the game, this is entirely optional, and does not incur any consequences other than having less space to store items. The player may also interact with other characters in the game to build social relationships with each other, positive or negative, with no dramatic consequences. Items can be used to assist the player with gameplay interaction and/or decorative purpose. Customization of the player's own house and their surroundings can be done to improve their environment.

Prior to New Leaf, the first player moves into a town of a designated name and randomized layout, supported by the help of Tom Nook to settle them to any available house of their choice. Afterwards, Tom Nook begins to introduce the player to paying off house loans, and tells them to pay off his loans at any given pace, all without any backstabbing of any sort. The player can also plant trees and flowers to make their town look appealing. Exploring different areas outside of town is possible too, which grants access to certain aspects of gameplay that are not available on the main island.

In New Leaf, the first player will eventually become Mayor once they create their town. Isabelle guides the player along the way by introducing basic skills of the game. Once the player reaches their mayoral approval goals, they will be able to gain access to Public Works Projects, and now can place any Public Works Project outdoors to expand gameplay and allow a limited decoration of the town outside of planting trees, flowers, and custom path designs.

In New Horizons, the first player starts with a deserted island, builds up a small residential society there with the help of Tom Nook, and upgrades the entire island into a small village consisting of a several key buildings plus the residential houses of at least three villagers and the player themselves. It takes a minimum of 14 days for most features to become available in New Horizons.

Villagers

In every town in the Animal Crossing series, the village itself is entirely composed of a population of animals (excluding the player, who is the only human being in the whole series along with other players). Villagers serve as interactable characters, who are assigned personalities and traits, and this affects the way they communicate with the player and among themselves. Villagers are capable of speech (despite being animals), and live in their own domains within the villages. Villagers, in the later games, are also capable of playing games, such as hide and seek, and most often than not, they will usually ask the player to perform tasks for them (which ranges from delivering presents to sending a message to another human player), which can incur a reward if executed in the set time. Villagers are also anthropomorphic, and as such, they are able to walk in a humanoid state, and can also wear clothes. Villagers move in and out regularly due to certain factors (eg. because the player have exchanged animals with another village over Wi-Fi, or simply because they aren't satisfied with their current life). It is also said that they enjoy receiving letters, and if sent a gift, they will usually send one back.

Customization

Although the earlier games offered little or no service in terms of customization, more recent games feature the ability to not only customize the player's own clothes, but also wallpaper, flooring, and even paintings. It is also possible to decorate the ground in-game with the player's own patterns. The term 'customization' can also include the variety of items and furniture available to collect, allowing the user, in a sense, to "customize" their houses and themes.

Activities

Despite being an open-ended game, Animal Crossing does provide some activities to pass the time and help 'complete' certain aspects of the gameplay (such as completing the bug exhibit within the town museum). Some of these said activities include bug-catching, fossil-hunting, and even item-collecting (the latter an objective to complete the player's catalog). Players can also interact in games of hide-and-seek with villagers, participate in festivals and town events, and generally do as they like within the game including bug/fish catching..

Timeline

In the following timeline, games with a bold titles are those considered main series games. These are, in chronological order: Animal Forest, Animal Forest+, Animal Crossing, Animal Forest e+, Wild World, City Folk, New Leaf and New Horizons.

First generation

The first generation (2001-2005) games were mainly Japanese-exclusives, with the exception of Animal Crossing. These games introduced Tom Nook and the Able Sisters.

Name	Boxart	Release dates	Type
Animal Forest どうぶつの森 Dōbutsu no Mori		April 14th, 2001	Nintendo 64 game
Animal Forest+ どうぶつの森＋ Dōbutsu no Mori+		December 14th, 2001	GameCube game
Animal Crossing		September 16th, 2002 October 17th, 2003 September 24th, 2004	GameCube game
Animal Forest e+ どうぶつの森ｅ＋ Dōbutsu no Mori e+		June 27th, 2003	GameCube game
4koma Gag Battle どうぶつの森 4コマギャグバトル Dōbutsu no Mori Yonkoma Gaggu Batoru		2003	Manga

Second generation

The second generation games (2005-2012) introduced the 'rolling log' perspective, a series staple ever since, as well as online play.

Name	Boxart	Release dates	Type
Animal Crossing: Wild World おいでよ　どうぶつの森 Oideyo Dōbutsu no Mori		November 23rd, 2005 December 5th, 2005 December 8th, 2005 March 31st, 2006 December 6th, 2007	Nintendo DS game
Hohinda Mura Dayori どうぶつの森 ホヒンダ村だより Dōbutsu no Mori: Hohinda Mura Dayori		November 28th, 2005 - December 27th, 2013	Manga series
Animal Forest: Come on Over おいでよ　どうぶつの森 Oideyo Dōbutsu no Mori		Unknown	Manga
Gekijōban Dōbutsu no Mori どうぶつの森 Dōbutsu no Mori		December 16th, 2006 July 25th, 2007 (DVD)	Animated movie
Animal Crossing: City Folk 街へいこうよ　どうぶつの森 Machi e Ikō yo Dōbutsu no Mori		November 16th, 2008 November 17th, 2008 November 20th, 2008 December 4th, 2008 December 5th, 2008 January 28th, 2010	Wii game
Everyone's Animal Forest みんなのどうぶつの森 Minna no Dōbutsu no Mori		2008	Manga
Animal Crossing Clock		May 4th, 2009 May 4th, 2009	DSiWare app
Animal Crossing Calculator		May 4th, 2009 May 4th, 2009	DSiWare app
Animal Crossing: Sweet Day どうぶつの森 キャンディーまつり Dōbutsu no Mori Kyandī Matsuri		November 18th, 2012 November 30th, 2012 December 8th, 2012	Nintendo Land minigame

Third generation

The third generation games (2012-2020) introduced exterior design in the form of public works projects, as well as the character Isabelle.

Name	Boxart	Release dates	Type
Animal Crossing: New Leaf とびだせ　どうぶつの森 Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori		November 8th, 2012 February 7th, 2013 June 9th, 2013 June 14th, 2013 June 15th, 2013	Nintendo 3DS game
Minna de Seseragi Mura Life とびだせ どうぶつの森 みんなでせせらぎ村ライフ Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori Minna de Seseragi Mura Life		2012 - unknown	Manga series
Animal Crossing Plaza		August 7th, 2013 August 8th, 2013 August 8th, 2013	WiiU app
Photos with Animal Crossing いっしょにフォト どうぶつの森 Issho ni Foto Dōbutsu no Mori		2014 September 2nd, 2015	Nintendo 3DS app
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer どうぶつの森 ハッピーホームデザイナー Dōbutsu no Mori: Happī Hōmu Dezainā		July 30th, 2015 September 25th, 2015 October 2nd, 2015 October 3rd, 2015	Nintendo 3DS game
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival どうぶつの森 amiiboフェスティバル Dōbutsu no Mori: amiibo Fesutibaru		November 13th, 2015 November 20th, 2015 November 21st, 2015 November 21st, 2015	WiiU game
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp どうぶつの森 ポケットキャンプ Dōbutsu no Mori: Poketto Kyanpu		October 25th, 2017 WW November 22nd 2017	Mobile game

Fourth generation

The fourth generation games (2020-present) introduced full exterior customization and decoration. For the first time, the main series games were updated frequently.

Name	Boxart	Release dates	Type
Animal Crossing: New Horizons あつまれ　どうぶつの森 Atsumare Dōbutsu no Mori		WW March 20th, 2020	Nintendo Switch game
Assemble! Animal Crossing あつまれ どうぶつの森 ～のんびり島だより～ Atsumare Dōbutsu no Mori Nonbiri Shima Dayori		March 2020	Manga