025: Animal Crossing and the Rise of Buntown!

One day I went on an island trip with a few animals… and ended up staying, building a small civilization out of the wilderness. I invited my wife along and she moved in as well. We found ourselves deeply in debt to a cunning landowner but after months of toil and teamwork we dug ourselves out of that hole to become the richest— and only— people on our island paradise. This is our story.

Welcome to Buntown! (Credit: Nintendo)

Well, obviously, this post is about Animal Crossing, the long-running series of games created and published by Nintendo. As referenced in my previous post, this is a game that has made a tremendous impact in 2020. I’ve had a long and enjoyable history with the franchise, so I’d like to discuss that history, touch on each game, and talk about Buntown, the island getaway created by me and Cocoashade. (Abba in-game.)

Like many of the things I enjoy in life, I was introduced to Animal Crossing by my brothers. I can recall them telling me about an upcoming game they were excited to try out that had to do with being the only human in a town of goofy animals. You could decorate your house and visit your friends. It sounded interesting, and a couple years later when I got around to getting a GameCube, I decided to give it a try. (I used to be so behind the times in everything.) Since the release of the newest game, New Horizons, my interest in the series has been reignited and I’ve purchased the other games that I missed out on, spending many enjoyable days with my animal buddies, both new and old.

Whether or not you’re one of the over five million players of Animal Crossing New Horizons, you’ve doubtless heard of the game. It’s been flooding social media for months, and for good reason. It’s a remarkably easy game to pick up and immerse yourself in.

Meeting the neighbors. (And yes, I have a bidet in my front lawn.) (Credit: Nintendo)

The game play of Animal Crossing is very simple. It's an open-ended life simulator. In each game you take on the role of a human character moving into a village populated by anthropomorphic animals. Upon your arrival, you're greeted by Tom Nook, a no-nonsense businesslike tanuki who runs the local shop and sells houses. Your character has few bells (the game's form of currency) and so Nook hires you on the spot to help you earn some bells and provide a tutorial for the main game play aspects. After completing the tutorial the game opens up and you can pay off your ever-increasing loans at your own rate. Each time you pay off your loan, Nook generously offers to expand your house for a steeper price tag.

The remainder of the game is spent between paying off these loans, interacting with the villagers, and collecting things. You can collect clothing, furniture to spiff up your house, and exhibits for the museum. A charming and talkative owl named Blathers runs the museum and accepts donations of fish, bugs, fossils, and artwork. (Although he hates bugs with a passion.) You can build up the village by growing trees and flowers, and keeping the area free of weeds and trash. Later games give more options to make your village nicer including shrubs, landmarks, decorations, and even terraforming.

Doing science. (Credit: Nintendo)

Since this is an open ended game, there is no set finish line. You play as long as you want. In each game there is a goal of sorts... to expand your house as much as possible and pay off the loan. In the first game, the first person to get their final home loan paid off received a gold statue of themselves, with the other human villagers getting silver, bronze, and green. In New Horizons the goal is to get your island rating high enough to attract the attention of a famous musician named K.K. Slider and then attend his concert. The game, of course, does not end there and can be played indefinitely.

Some activities in the series are fishing, bug hunting, diving, and digging for fossils and other treasures. New Horizons adds many more activities like gathering resources, island hopping, star gazing, and DIY crafting. There are also many in game achievements to unlock and attain.

Sterling gets a new catchphrase. Also pictured, SoraRabbit as a baby for some reason. (Credit: Nintendo)

Animal villagers all have distinct personalities and quirks. Some are athletic, some ditzy, some snooty, others are just plain lazy. They have catch phrases and clothes that can be changed as the game progresses. They also tend to give nicknames to the players. The relationships with the villagers is an important part of the series. The villagers will give you tasks to complete, give and receive presents, and interact with you in various ways. In most of the games, villagers can get sick and be given medicine to speed up their recovery. All the villagers have a birthday that can be celebrated. If a villager is unhappy or not interacted with enough, they may move away and be replaced with someone new.

The villagers are one of the key attractions to these games. It's easy to get attached to the villagers. Some are cute, some are sweet or quirky. Some are downright bizarre. But after a while they start to feel like friends. Or at least acquaintances. Whenever I see a villager I recognize either in the city, the campsite or an island, I find myself reacting with genuine joy. It's like catching up with an old friend. There have been around 460 different villagers across all the games.

A constant game play element is the social aspect of the game. In each game it is possible to visit the villages of your friends and interact with their animal villagers. If you meet an animal that has moved away from your village, they will remember you. It is also possible to convince one of your friend's villagers to move to your village. Every game has a letter writing mechanic with which you can write letters to your villagers and your friends, optionally sending along presents.

With all the basics down, let's take a look at each individual game in the series. To date there have been five main games and three side games.

The original Animal Crossing was a tad crude by today’s standards. (Credit: Nintendo)

Animal Crossing, or in Japan Dobutsu no Mori+ (Animal Forest+) was released in Japan in 2001 and North America in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube system. Many aspects of the game are randomized, including your player's appearance, the first villagers, the layout of the village, and the fruit that you start out with. You can have up to 15 villagers. Up to four human players can live in the village. Their houses were all in the same "square" or plot of land.

A key aspect of this game is that it is played in real time. The game utilizes the GameCube's built in clock. There is day and night in the game as well as holidays. Along with day and night, the game includes weather in the form of rain or snow. The slogan for this game was "It’s playing, even when you’re not”. Something that goes along with the real time aspect is the game's insistence that you not reset. If you reset the game or shut it off without saving, you're visited by a mole with anger issues, Mr. Resetti. He lectures you on the importance of saving the game, each lecture getting longer and more angry. It was possible to “time travel” in this game by resetting your console’s clock, essentially allowing you to play several days in a row. (You could do that in every game, but it’s not something I do with New Horizons.)

The original Animal Crossing has a large cast of characters. Tom Nook I mentioned earlier-- he's the tanuki who runs the shop and acts as real estate tycoon. His associates Timmy and Tommy arrive later to help him run the store when it expands to two floors. Blathers the owl runs the museum. The mayor is an ancient tortoise named Tortimer. Working in the town hall are three pelicans. The sweet Pelly runs the counter during the day while her grumpy sister Phyllis works the night shift. The third pelican is Pete, the mailman. The dogs Copper and Booker run the police station, which is basically just a lost and found. The hedgehog sisters Mabel and Sable run a clothing store called The Able Sisters. You meet a friendly cat named Rover on the train in the beginning of the game. Sadly, he doesn't visit your village.

There are also many visitors. The dog musician K.K. Slider visits every Saturday night to play you a song. The boar Sow Joan visits every Sunday to sell turnips. Turnips are the game's method of investing, as the prices rise and fall throughout the week. (Buy low, sell high.) Redd, a shady fox, visits now and then to set up his tent and sell overpriced rare merchandise. There are usually paintings among his wares, many of which are counterfeits that will not be accepted at the museum. Chip the beaver runs the fishing tournament. Saharah the camel visits to trade wallpaper and rugs. Gulliver the seagull washes up on shore now and then to tell a tall tale and give furniture to the player. A fortune teller named Katrina also occasionally visits. There are many more, but those are the most notable.

Home sweet home. (Credit: Nintendo)

The game begins with a tutorial in which Tom Nook gives you your house on credit and briefly employs you in his shop to work off your debt to him. This teaches you how to plant trees and flowers, update the bulletin board, mail letters, talk with villagers, and perform tasks for them. After doing all the tasks Nook has for you, your temp job ends and you settle in to the village. Homeless to homeowner, hired and fired, all in one eventful day.

You begin with 6 villagers and can have up to 15, which is the greatest number of villagers in any Animal Crossing game. Many of the villagers in this game come back in later installments. The villagers are all animals of various different types, such as rabbits, penguins, birds, and more. They all have different personality types, like cranky, peppy, and jock. Each villager has their own house with a distinct style of decoration. The villagers often have tasks for you like delivering items to other villagers, getting back borrowed items, and helping them to redecorate their houses. The villagers interact with each other also, having conversations, and occasionally getting into arguments.

Letters were an important aspect of the game-- as with all of them-- but the villagers seem to love letters especially in this game. If they like your letter, they may write you back, sometimes including a gift. They will get upset if your letter is not well written or insulting. They can even show your letter off to other players. (Including other villages if they move to your friend’s village!) Writing letters can help increase your friendship with the animals, especially if you include a present. Letters were also the only way to get fossils assessed in the first game.

The game has six kinds of fruit. Cherries, oranges, apples, peaches, pears, and coconuts. Fruit can be planted and after three days will sprout into fruit trees that can be repeatedly harvested every three days. Trees can also contain bells, furniture, or bees and other kinds of bugs. You get these things out by shaking the tree. If you shake out a bee nest, they will sting you unless you’re quick with your net. (New Horizons change them to wasps.) You start with one randomly decided fruit and can get the other types by giving gifts to your villagers or visiting a friend's village and harvesting their trees. Non-native fruit gives you more money when sold in the shop. (When I played this one I was impatient and just kept creating new villages on other memory cards to harvest the other types of fruit. It worked well but took a lot of time.)

That was a tough half hour shift. (Credit: Nintendo)

Many of the traditions in the later games were started here. The museum, the fishing tournament, holidays, letter writing, the rotating cast of villagers. The Happy Room Academy is an unseen cabal of judges who rate your house every week on Sunday. They assign points for the size of the house and how well decorated it is. High scores can earn you prizes. You have the ability to customize your clothes, but the options are limited in this game. (Also the pattern repeats on both sides and your hat.)

Gyroids are introduced in this game and have appeared in every subsequent game. Gyroids are small seemingly sentient robots that make noises at regular intervals. In this game they are used as decorations for your house. There is also a Gyroid outside your house that saves your game, can store items to give to other human players, and can give out an away message for you. The day after it rains or snows, Gyroids can be dug up like fossils. You can also dig up pitfall seeds, which, when planted, creates a pit that you or other villagers can fall into. They serve no real purpose besides comic relief, although they can make villagers angry, if you’re into that sort of thing.

You can obtain golden versions of the tools in various ways. If you bury bells in the daily shining spot, a money tree has a chance of growing. The game also includes balloons with presents tied to them that fly across the screen at intervals. In later games you can shoot these balloons down with a slingshot, but in the original, the only way to get them was to wait for them to sometimes get stuck in trees. You could then shake the tree to get the present, which contained clothing or furniture.

Some interesting things specific to this game: There is a wishing well that tells you what you can work on in your village. Animal Crossing included 15 NES games you could find and play. (That's right, this game included 15 additional games that you could unlock in their entirety!) Another interesting feature was the island you could visit. With a Gameboy Advance and a Link Cable, it was possible to travel to a deserted island. (No cartridge needed.) A kappa named Kapp'n ferries you back and forth, singing bizarre sea shanties. On the island is an island villager who you can become friends with. While there you can decorate a beach house, fish, and harvest coconuts, which you can bring back to your own village to plant.

Buntown after dark. (Credit: Nintendo)

Animal Crossing Wild World was released in 2005 for the Nintendo DS. This game, being for a handheld device, was scaled down from the original, mostly in graphics. Also the map can only hold 8 animal villagers, down from 15 in the first game. You can no longer have a basement. Multiplayer returns in this game, but all players share one house, with the top floor being their bedroom with up to four beds. Elements that do not return from the previous game are the police station, the island, the wishing well, and the dump.

I know, you can say it. The real dump is my house. Probably not a good idea to have a bonfire going. (Credit: Nintendo)

This game did have many advancements as well. For one thing, it utilized the DS touch screen, mostly for equipping tools and clothing, and for selecting things from the menu. You could also use the touchscreen to write letters, which is way more convenient than it was on the GameCube. The upper screen depicts the sky so you can see balloons without looking up. This game utilized online capabilities and WiFi to visit other villages. (The first game used memory cards and saved data.) A nice addition is that starting with this game is that Blathers can assess fossils on his own. In the first game you had to mail them to the Faraway Museum and wait a day for them to be returned. You can also buy hats, where in the first game, hats were built into your character. Another clothing option is accessories, like glasses. 3-D glasses, gas masks, the usual fashion accessories. Sow Joan returns to sell turnips on Sundays, but now also sells Red Turnip Seeds, which can be planted and watered.

The villagers in this game can be competitive, having contests with you on who can catch specific bugs or fish. When you make friends with them, they could give you a picture of themselves that can be displayed in your house.

Many of the characters from the first game return, some of them with new roles. Copper and Booker are now the guards at the village's gate. Kapp'n now drives a taxi instead of a boat.

That fortune was worth the bells. (Credit: Nintendo)

Many new recurring characters were introduced in this game. Dr Shrunk, the axolotl psychiatrist, visits occasionally to teach you emotions. Lyle the otter sells insurance. (And is very annoying about it. Seriously annoying. I don't like Lyle.) We get to meet Blather's friend the pigeon Brewster. Brewster runs a coffee shop in the basement of the museum where K.K. Slider can be found performing on Saturdays. In the second floor of the museum is Blather's sister Celeste. She has an observatory and gives you the option to draw constellations. (This also uses the touchscreen.) Once Tom Nook's store is upgraded to the department store Nookingtons, Harriet the poodle opens a hair salon called Shampoodles. Pascal the otter occasionally comes by the impart some philosophical wisdom before floating away. If you have a scallop with you, he'll trade you for rare furniture.

Bob is awesome. Also pictured: bed head. (Credit: Nintendo)

Animal Crossing City Folk was released in 2008 for the Nintendo Wii. This game utilized the motion controls that were a staple of the Wii. The motion controls can be employed to use your tools and to write letters. Before the online service was shut down, you could transfer your player and Nook catalog from Wild World to this one. In this edition, you can have a total of 10 animal villagers. This game expands the design capabilities of the previous games with pro design. Using this, you can now have different designs on the front and back of clothes. The usual regular and gold tools are joined by silver tools that can have special properties. Another change is that in this game (and the one that follows it) the grass can be worn down after too much movement. This is made worse by running. (Thankfully this is not a feature that continued to the most recent game.)

Poor Celeste has trouble with compliments. (Also I was a blonde for a bit. More on that later.) (Credit: Nintendo)

All the same main characters return from Wild World. The villagers are no longer competitive, but they can challenge you to a game of hide and seek. Kapp'n drives the bus to the city area.

There are many new characters- Zipper T. Bunny hosts the Bunny Day holiday (Easter). Pave the peacock hosts Festivale. Nat the chameleon judges the Bug Off event, which works the same way as the fishing tournament. (Nat has not yet appeared in New Horizon, but there are a couple of Easter eggs regarding him. There is a sign with his picture on it in Blather's bug lab. Also, it's strongly suspected Flick is his son since it's mentioned that Flick's father loves bugs but eats them, unlike Flick who worships them.)

Brewster knows his coffee. But I’m suspicious of the “pigeon milk“. (Credit: Nintendo)

A big aspect to this game is the city area. (Interesting side note, the city was mentioned numerous times in Wild World, although you could not visit it in that game.) Roaming the city square is a wide variety of random animal villagers you can talk with. There are shops, Shampoodle (run by Harriet the poodle), an auction house, Katrina's fortune telling shop, and a theater. In the theater, Doctor Shrunk performs terrible stand-up to teach you reactions. (I really don’t think he understands how comedy works.)

The headquarters of the Happy Room Academy is also in the city and Lyle (the annoying insurance agent from Wild World) is now working as an agent there. He’s still annoying, but tolerable. Redd's shop is located in the city, but you need an invitation from one of your villagers to gain access. There are four new characters in the city. Phineas is a sea lion who gives prizes. Kicks is a skunk who polishes shoes. Labelle is the older sister of Mabel and younger sister to Sable, and she works at a high end (and very pricey) department store. Lloid is a Gyroid who runs the auction house. You may also run into Resetti if you’re lucky…

Planting the town tree. (Credit: Nintendo)

Animal Crossing New Leaf was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2012. This installment changed up the game's traditional premise a bit. Due to a trick from our old turtle pal Tortimer, the player steps off the bus and is immediately believed to be the new mayor of the town. (Note that only the first player gets to be mayor. Any other players on the cartridge are regular human villagers.) The job of mayor doesn't entail too much... basically you just play the game as normal, occasionally making decisions that impact the town. Mayoral duties include Public Works Projects and Town Ordinances. There is a list of Projects from the beginning and more are suggested by villagers. These projects involve fund raising to create new shops and landmarks. Lloid the Gyroid takes the donations for these projects. Ordinances impact the game play in different ways. Through Ordinances you can control things like the amount of weeds in your town, convince villagers to plant flowers, or make shops open earlier or close later. You are assisted in your new "job" by the cheerful dog Isabelle.

There were many advancements in this game. For one thing, you can now buy bottoms, shoes and socks, which adds to the clothing variety. You start in a tent in this one, upgrading to a house as you pay off your lot fees. You can hang decorations on the walls of your house. You can customize all your clothes, rather than just your shirt. There is a main street area to the north of the town that houses the shops, the post office, and the museum. For the first time there are new fruits: Lychees, Durians, Lemons, Bananas, Mangoes, and Persimmons. There are also perfect fruit which occasionally grow on the fruit trees. If you plant a perfect specimen of your town's fruit, a perfect fruit tree will grow that will contain all perfect fruit for a few harvests. Then the tree dies and must be cut down. There are now minerals from rocks, which can be sold or used to craft. There is one fake rock a day, which yields a random mineral. You can also stack fruit in your inventory up to a total of 9, which really helps in fruit gathering.

New Leaf introduced diving, a new mechanic where you can dive into the ocean and gather sea creatures. There is an island getaway where you can explore and gather new fruit. You can also play minigames and earn prizes. (This is where the previous mayor Tortimer retired to.) There is a wide variety of minigames including shooting down balloons, scavenger hunts, mazes, and bug hunting. Once the museum is expanded, you can create your own museum exhibits by renting a room on the second floor.

A couple of ideas introduced in this game come back later. Harv's campsite could be the precursor to Pocket Camp. Completing initiatives for Meow coupons are like Nook Miles. (Don't worry, I'll talk about those things later.) In a later update to this game, Amiibo support was added, something which continues in New Horizons. You can scan an Animal Crossing Amiibo or Amiibo card to get visitors to your campsite once you’ve built it.

The mayor and Isabelle. (Credit: Nintendo)

A big change is the ability to customize your town. You can create landmarks and decide what shops to have. This is done through the Public Works Projects. Doing these projects are a way to get old characters in your town, like Copper, Booker, Katrina, Kicks, and Brewster. You can also build a campsite, a light house, a pyramid, and more.

There are many new and returning characters. Cyrus and Reese, a married alpaca couple run the recycling shop called Re-Tail. Reese handles the store while Cyrus stays up late crafting items. Villagers and players can list their own items for sale in the shop's flea market. The Happy Home Academy (previously the Happy Room Academy) is still run by Lyle, but the Showcase is run by Digby, Isabelle's twin brother. A sloth named Leif runs a gardening shop. Kicks can get a proper shop in this game. The Able sisters make their return, and now their middle sister Labelle (Label) is reunited with the other hedgehogs and sells accessories. K.K. Slider is now a DJ in Club LOL, which is run by Dr Shrunk. In an interesting twist, Nook is no longer the shop owner, the role he’d played in the first three games. In this one he's just a real estate tycoon. His longtime assistants Timmy and Tommy run the shop.

Villagers have much the same role as before, and you can have a total of ten. The villagers can water flowers and shake trees. You'll see them shopping in stores. They may ask for fruit or fish. They can request that you visit them at set times of day as well as ask to visit your house. As in the other games, villagers can move out, but they can move back in, which is a first for Animal Crossing. Villagers who have moved out can occasionally visit and be seen on main street. Another new thing that can be done with villagers is holding ceremonies. There is a ceremony in the beginning of the game to plant the town tree. And then every time a public works project is completed, Isabelle organizes a short ceremony to celebrate it.

After New Leaf there were a few side games. Two of those were Happy Home Designer for 3DS and Amiibo Festival for the Wii U. I haven't played either of those. The third side game was Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, released in 2017 for mobile devices. In this game you run a campsite and have to convince camping animals to visit. This game makes use of a crafting mechanic and fulfilling requests for campers. Leaf tickets can be earned in game by completing tasks, or bought with real-life currency. (Because, you know, mobile game.) One very interesting aspect to this game was the relationship level. As you talk to the animals and fulfill their requests, a heart icon fills up, leveling up eventually. As this level goes up, the animal will give you gifts and visit your campsite. (As long as they like the aesthetic.) I enjoyed it for a time, but it didn't hold my attention for long. I check in now and then, but it's always overshadowed by other games vying for my attention.

From left to right, K.K. Slider, Abba, and Puck. (Credit: Nintendo)

And that brings us to current time. Animal Crossing New Horizons was released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. This game took everything that made Animal Crossing great and expanded on it. In this game you book an island getaway and apparently decide to stay forever. This game is packed with new additions to the series. Crafting, first utilized in Pocket Camp, gets a huge upgrade and becomes a vital part of this game. You can create tools, furniture, wallpaper and carpeting, fences, and some clothing items. Customization is huge. You can design your clothes and decorations. You can customize furniture, as well as things you craft or buy. Clothes get a huge upgrade and now you can have purses, backpacks, full body suits, even wigs. You can change your skin tone, features, and hair whenever you want. (In previous games you could get a tan in the sun and hairstyles were fairly random in Shampoodle. But other than that you were stuck as you were.) Another thing of note is that this game allows for gender fluidity— gender based clothing is not a thing in this game. Our male bear wears a silk blouse, for instance. (And the villagers keep giving me dresses... not sure why. But whatever. My character can totally rock a dress.)

Bad Bears. The big one with the Fozzie bow is their warden. Don’t ask what they did. (Credit: Nintendo)

A big addition is the ability to decorate your environment to an extent the previous games didn't allow. You can now set up furniture and other decorations outside, allowing for endless possibilities. You can also unlock the ability to terraform your island, changing the cliffs and water and creating paths. Trees and flowers can be transplanted. Houses can even be moved for a fee.

As with each Animal Crossing game, the main currency is bells. However there is a new currency included— Nook Miles. Nook Miles are obtained by doing certain things and reaching landmarks in the game. In the beginning you're issued a set of Nook Miles stamp cards. Doing things in your normal play earns you stamps, from catching fish, to getting new recipes, to getting stung by wasps. As you earn stamps, you're rewarded with Nook Miles. After the game progresses a bit, you gain access to the Nook Miles+ program, which are repeatable tasks you can complete unlimited times. You get a set number of these, with each completed task being replaced by another one. These tasks are generally easy things such as changing your clothes, catching fish or bugs, and talking to villagers. Sometimes you're tasked to catch specific fish or bugs. Nook Miles can be cashed in for upgrades, recipes, exclusive decorations, and Nook Miles Tickets. Nook Miles Tickets can be used at the airport to visit Mystery Islands. At these randomly generated islands, you can gather resources, fish and hunt bugs, and meet new Villagers (as long as you have a vacancy on your island.)

An important game play mechanic in the game is the Nook Phone. At the start of the game, Tom Nook issues you your own cellphone which you can use for various things. This is how to you keep track of your Nook Miles progress, take pictures, look at your DIY recipes, view your Critterpedia (to see the fish, bugs, and sea creatures you’ve caught), and other things. Later in the game you can even unlock the Nook Shopping App, which allows you to buy things from your catalog without visiting Resident Services.

There are so many different decorations. (Credit: Nintendo)

As always, your island has a native fruit and you can acquire more. All the fruit from the first three games are present. In this game, fruit serves a couple of additional purposes. You can consume it for stamina to do things like break rocks and dig up entire trees. You can also use fruit for certain DIY recipes. Crafted fruit often sells for more than regular fruit. (Have 20 cherries cluttering up your inventory? Make some cherry wallpaper and sell it for bells!)

Resource gathering is important in New Horizons. You can shake trees for branches, chop trees with an ax to gather three types of wood (four if you count bamboo trees), and hit stones for stone, clay, iron ore, and gold nuggets. You can also pick weeds and flowers, gather shells, and dig up clams. In addition to these there are seasonal resources— young bamboo in the spring, summer shells in the summer, and acorns in the fall (or so I've heard). What are all these resources for? DIY projects!

As mentioned, DIY is a big part of the game. At any DIY workbench, as long as you have a recipe and the materials, you can make many things. You get recipes from balloons and bottles that wash up on the beach twice a day. Some can be bought for Nook Miles or bells. Some are given as gifts. Every day you can walk in on a Villager or two crafting something and they will give you the recipe for it. You can keep duplicate recipes and give them away to your friends. As far as I can find out in my research there are currently 595 DIY recipes in the game.

With all these new advancements in the game play, there are a few things that have (so far) not shown up from previous games. To date there are no Gyroids, aside from Lloid, who takes collection for the bridges and inclines. You can no longer dig up pitfall seeds, but I've read that you can craft them. (I haven't found the recipe for them yet.) All the new fruits from New Leaf are absent. Also many recurring characters are missing, but I'll get to that in a bit. Another thing that has lost some importance is letters. I was pretty surprised to see no post office in New Horizons. Instead there are postcards in the airport. Villagers will still write you and you can write to them, but they no longer ask you to write to them or show off their letters proudly. I guess it's just a reflection of the changing of the times.

Having some deep conversations. (Credit: Nintendo)

You can again have ten villagers. The villagers do a lot more in this. They change clothes on their own, having a wardrobe that expands as the game goes on. They can sweep the square, water flowers, interact with objects. (A good example is in that earlier screenshot… I have a bidet outside my house, and some of the villagers insist on sitting on it to read.) You can see them fishing and attempting to catch bugs. (They’re not good at either task.) They research bugs and flowers, gather firewood, and chat with each other. The villagers can comment on the player's actions and gossip about the other human players. They play and frolic with each other. We've even seen a few of them singing in the square as a group. They exercise and do yoga. When one villager is doing an activity, others can choose to join in. (One day we had four of them running around the square pretending to be airplanes.) As mentioned, they make their own DIY projects. They decorate and redecorate their houses. They can send you on scavenger hunts or task you to get them certain bugs. If they decide to move, you can talk them out of it. They can enter the museum and shops, commenting on the items displayed.

You can recruit new villagers by visiting Mystery Islands, waiting for them to arrive at your campsite, or using an Amiibo to summon one to your campsite. If you have a vacant house, one will randomly move in on their own. There are currently 391 possible villagers in New Horizons.

Snake knows his SoraRabbit trivia. (Credit: Nintendo)

As expected, there are a host of recurring characters. Nook and Isabelle return, along with the Able sisters, Blathers, and K.K. Slider. Celeste has a new role, randomly visiting your island at night to give you recipes and stargaze. (You can wish on shooting stars to get star fragments for crafting her recipes.) The shady Redd returns, and now he does business out of a trawler. Other returning characters include Kicks, Lief, Gulliver, Harv, and Labelle, who is now going by her real name Label. Rover has so far appeared only once, during the May Day event.

There are a few new characters, but not as many as you may expect. The airport is run by a duo of dodos named Orville and Wilbur. There is a new seagull named Gulivarr the Pirate. Some younger versions of previous characters appear-- Flick and CJ, who are the children of Nat and CJ respectively. (It's never explicitly stated, but it's pretty obvious. I mean, come on... CJ... Chip Junior?) Turnips are now sold by Daisy Mae, Sow Joan's granddaughter.

Enjoying some art. (Credit: Nintendo)

As alluded before, there are many long-time characters that have not shown up. Copper and Booker. The pelicans Pelly, Phyllis and Pete. Tortimer, Kapp'n, Katrina, Lyle, and Brewster are all absent. Chip, Nat, and Sow Joan are gone, although they are mentioned. Those are just a few. Note that this is all at the time of writing... since the game began we've seen Reese, Cyrus, and Pascal return. Others may as well.

And finally the social aspect of the game continues, allowing you to visit other people's islands and open up your own island to visitors. You can search for designs made by other players in the Able Sisters shop. You can send mail and gifts to your friends. You can also set log on messages and chat with your friends in-game.

Yeah, trash bags, teddy bears and bonfires. That screams healthy relationship to me. (Credit: Nintendo)

One of the best things about New Horizons is that it's constantly expanding. New updates have been released periodically to add features and tweak game play. Some of the additions so far have been the ability to dive, the returns of Leif and Redd, the expansion of the museum to include artwork and sea creatures, the inclusion of Reese and Cyrus in the wedding event, and changes to the villagers. These include new interactions and the ability to listen in on conversations between them. I’ve read another update is coming up later in Summer. Some suspect this update may reintroduce collectible Gyroids, which have long been a staple of the series.

Updates keep the game fresh and give more value to the players. Note that these updates are free, not purchasable DLC. This is a great move on Nintendo's part to keep people playing. The $60 price tag doesn't seem so steep when you factor in that you keep getting more game as you go along.

In preparation for this post I played a massive amount of each main Animal Crossing game. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love my work?) Here are some thoughts about each game.

Happy animals. (Credit: Nintendo)

First off, I can admit that I was afraid to fire up my old village on the original GameCube game. It's been at least 15 years since I've visited it, so I'm convinced it's got to be a post apocalyptic wasteland by now. My house filled with cockroaches, weeds taking up all the open space. The animals have most likely gone all Lord of the Flies and feral. I shudder to imagine it. (Also I'm afraid my memory card may be corrupted so it's kind of like Schrödinger's Save File if you follow me. I haven’t loaded up my old Pokemon games for the same reason.) However, I did recently buy a new memory card so I dusted off my GameCube and fired up a brand new village to get some crude screenshots. (They're not as good as the others because my capture device is not quite as compatible with A/V as I thought it was supposed to be. Oops. Back to the drawing board.)

Anyway, it was a blast from the past seeing those old, crude graphics and basic game play. The nostalgia was strong that night. I even had Curly and Lobo as two of my villagers. I remember them from way back. One thing that struck me which I had forgotten was how hard it was to navigate when you haven't memorized the layout of the village. In Animal Crossing classic there are very few bridges and it's on a tiered system using ramps to reach the higher level. The game, overall, is very crude when compared to those that came after, but the core of Animal Crossing is there. The animals were even more rude than I remembered. My theory is that they don't know how to interact with humans since you're the first one they've seen.

Yuka has seen some things. Things you couldn’t imagine. (Credit: Nintendo)

Wild World is only slightly less crude than the first game, but it's still got the usual charm. The animals are very touchy in the first two games. (And sometimes downright insulting.) If you or one of the other animals say something wrong, it can put them into a bad mood where they'll refuse to talk to you until they calm down. The gift balloons move way too fast. You have to be super accurate with the slingshot to get one. In all the time I played, I’ve only shot down one. I also had a lot of trouble growing trees. They randomly wilt instead of growing.

I was pretty thrilled when Bunnie moved into my village in Wild World. She was one of the villagers I had in the original game, so it was like seeing an old friend again. I wanted her to stay, so I talked to her every day, mailed her letters with gifts, visited her house on her birthday. But still she moved away. It was a sad day. In the early games you couldn't talk them out of moving. You just woke up one day to a letter saying they were gone forever. It was tragic. Yet another way New Horizons improved on things.

I haven't played City Folk as much as the others yet, mostly because I got it after New Leaf and at first glance it seemed archaic by comparison. And then New Horizons blew all the previous games away. The main problem I have with City Folk is the motion controls. The use of the Wiimote and nunchuck are awkward for me. When you point the cursor at the screen, the menu comes up, which is distracting. It can be difficult to aim the shovel and cast the fishing pole. Maybe with time I'll get the hang of it. We'll see.

I did put a few more hours into it as I wrote this post, mostly because I wanted to get a better feel for it and explore the city. In that time I've warmed up to the game. I especially like the city area. There are new villagers every time you visit and come out of the shops. There are different things to do. You get to meet up with familiar characters like Redd and Katrina. And sometimes you'll spot villagers you've seen from other games.

Oh, Benedict, no. (Credit: Nintendo)

Shortly after I started playing City Folk, Benedict the chicken got sick. I gave him medicine every day for four days. (In New Horizons, one dose cures them instantly.) You can only buy one dose a day, so if you get stung by a bee, you're out of luck. You're also essentially locked out of interacting with the villagers for that day because they refuse to talk about anything except how gross your stung eye looks. (Why do the wasps and bees always go straight for your eye? It's sadistic.) Anyway, now I’m protective of Benedict. I nursed him back to health so I feel responsible for him. Also he gave me the invitation to visit Redd’s shop, so he’s got that going for him. My favorite villager in City Folk is still Bob though. Bob’s the man. Er… cat.

On my first visit to the city I got a bunny-eared balloon from Phineas, got my fortune told and my shoes shined, and took in a show by Dr. Shrunk. I also finally got rid of my pesky bed head but when I emerged from Shampoodle I had short-cropped blonde hair, which I did not expect. I had to look up the answers to Harriet's questions to get my old hair back. (Brown and shaggy, by the way, like real life.)

The big city. Note my summer tan. (Credit: Nintendo)

The city in City Folk was a great concept, but there could have been more to it. Rotating shops, more to do. (For one thing since Nintendo WiFi was discontinued, the Auction House is pretty much useless unless you have multiple players in your village.) The main street in New Leaf was a nice evolution to the city, because you could decide some of the shops to open. I would love to see a city put into New Horizons. (The mainland? A port city?) This would be an excellent way to bring in some of the former characters that haven't arrived in New Horizons yet, like the pelicans, Copper, Shrunk, and Tortimer. Reese and Cyrus could have their shop there. Not to mention Brewster's Roost! (Come on Nintendo... you know it's a solid idea.)

New Leaf was a huge leap forward for the series, a leap that was very much needed to keep things fresh. I've been having a lot of fun with it. The one problem I have with this game is that space becomes a problem. Building up your town, adding more Public Works projects and more villagers, it all takes up room on the map. Room that I had allocated for all the different varieties of fruit trees. It's a delicate balance. To afford all the pricey projects, you need bells. Fruit is a good way to get a steady income of bells. I can see myself running out of real estate fast in this game. Still, New Leaf is fantastic. It will just take planning and creativity to make it all work.

Unbeknownst to the Council of Ducks, a spy lurks in their midst… the elusive and legendary CatDuckFrog. (Credit: Nintendo)

I've enjoyed all the games, but New Horizons is definitely my favorite. The controls are much more responsive. Fishing is far easier than in previous games. Everything is so much more detailed. The animals are textured so that they look like they have fur or feathers. The wide variety of things to do and discover keep the game fresh and enjoyable. Knowing there are more festivals and updates to come keeps it exciting. Usually paying off your house is a horrible grind, but I found it easy in this game.

Animal Crossing rewards you for playing daily. There's always something to do in the Animal Crossing games, new things to discover. I’ve barely even scratched the surface of all the characters, events, and game play elements in the individual games. (This post would have to be way longer to fit everything in.) A lot of the fun is in the discovery as the games go on.

Abba and Bunnie, relaxing. (Credit: Nintendo)

As you become friends with your villagers you learn more about them. You can even become friends with other characters. In every game Sable (the tailor and older sister of the Able sisters) can be befriended. (Cocoa is the one who learned about this and I started talking to Sable in every game after that.) At first she's brusque and quiet. But talking with her every day she warms up to you and opens up, telling you her story and showing her personality. It's a nice element to add, gentle persistence ending up in friendship. Brewster has the same sort of role. If you drink his coffee every day for a week— hot, as coffee should be consumed-- he'll become your friend and show his dry humor. He also offers a Gyroid storage service. (Or employment, as is the case in New Leaf.) Talking with Phyllis in the Roost doesn't have quite the same effect because Phyllis is just bitter and aloof, but you do learn some of her story. She’s mainly just upset that she’s stuck on the night shift… and there may be a love triangle going on with the pelicans.

Momma Bear looks out over the sea, wondering when her baby bears will come home to her. (Credit: Nintendo)

Those are just some examples. The game changes monthly and with the seasons. I mentioned before about seasonal resources in New Horizons. There are also new bugs and fish to catch every month, with some of them rotating out of season. Every day brings a visitor. You never know when something or someone new is going to crop up. Everything is bright and cheery. You don't have to worry about villains, just the occasional scorpion. (Or Redd, depending on your point of view.)

The music is chill and relaxing. K.K. Slider has every style of music you can think of to suit your mood. The game attempts to slow you down, to take it easy. This is clear with the soothing music and some of the dialog of the characters. You're encouraged to pace yourself and take your time. But sometimes there’s so much to do, you feel the need to rush around. And that’s fine too. It’s all part of the experience.

I could not wait to get Godzilla on our island. (Credit: Nintendo)

At first I wasn't sure about getting New Horizons. I wanted it, sure, but I couldn't justify the price tag. I rarely buy games brand new. But the more people talked about it, the more I wanted to give it a try. And I knew Cocoa would be interested in it too. A game that both of us can play is way better than dropping $60 on a game only I would play and she would occasionally watch me play. At a pretty stressful time, dealing with the quarantine, being in between jobs, and working myself to exhaustion just to feel useful, I decided the time was right to return to the world of Animal Crossing We used a gift card we had left over from the wedding and got the game. And thus, Buntown was born!

Abba at home. Isn’t she adorable? (Credit: Nintendo)

Cocoa played the second day we had it and created her avatar Abba (who you've seen in many of the screenshots). She was instantly hooked. This made me love the game even more. Animal Crossing, for me, is far more fun when shared. That was a big part of my enjoyment of the first game too, but this experience has been better because the two of us have similar mindsets on how our island should be run. Adding to my enjoyment, this is the first Animal Crossing where I could actually visit other villages/islands and see what my family and friends have come up with. All my brothers play, along with my sister-in-law and several friends. Since so many people have New Horizons and social media is so prevalent, you get to see all sorts of island designs and creativity. This helps feed the social aspect of the game, and that's something that was sorely needed in the world with everything going on in 2020.

As mentioned in my previous post, New Horizons really did come out at the best possible time. It was a critical time… a time when people were feeling isolated, scared, and anxious. Animal Crossing has provided a much-needed diversion, a convenient way to destress. It’s given us all something to look forward to. The state of society at the time of its release lent even more significance to the game. It was a fantastic escape at a time when the real world had become too much to bear. I'm sure New Horizons would have been a success whenever it came out, but I'm convinced it wouldn't have been quite the phenomenon it became if it hadn’t released in early 2020.

Rock the bells! (Credit: Nintendo)

Buntown currently has been rocking a five star rating for almost a month. I'm proud of us for getting there. I have banked over 10 million bells and nearly 250K Nook Miles. Our little island is prospering. We've had many adventures along the way. Getting literally overrun with flowers. Abba’s epic battle with a scorpion. Finishing the fossil portion of the museum. The time Greta moved in and we tried everything we could to make her move out. (Greta is the worst.) Our desperate bid to convince Bunnie to move in. (Bunnie has always been one of my favorites. Her and Bob. We’re getting Bob next.) The time we lost one of our starter villagers Dierdre and had to scramble to replace her so we wouldn't end up in another Greta situation. (Ugh Greta.) I visited about fifteen islands that day before I found Flo, a sassy and stylish penguin who fits in perfectly on our island. And then there were the times I taught Beardo to call people Bootylicious and Agent S to call people Nutmaster and neglected to tell Cocoa. (I like leaving her little surprises.) And the adventures are just getting started. That's one of the fun things about Animal Crossing. Everyone has stories like these. And it's fun to share them.

Our town flag! (Credit: Nintendo and Abba)

As with everything else I love, this game leaves me with many burning unanswered questions. The biggest question I have is who sends the balloons that you're constantly shooting down? Do you have a secret admirer? Why is K.K. Slider naked? He's the only animal that doesn't wear clothes. Even Blathers wears a bow tie and Celeste has a bow in her hair… er, feathers. If the animals are anthropomorphic and intelligent, why aren't the fish or bugs? For that matter, why are there ordinary non-speaking birds on the village sign and on Harv's island? Did they not all evolve? Why do the animals never seem to age between games? Flick and CJ are clearly the offspring of the earlier characters. But you can have villagers that were in the original game, still young. Where is Tortimer? Is he even still alive? What exactly does Blathers get up to in that mysterious bug lab of his? And why would he even have a bug lab if he hates bugs? Is he secretly a super villain and is experimenting on the bugs you bring him to try and eradicate all bugs forever? Or am I just reading too much into this? No... no I'm not. Blathers is not to be trusted. His charm is an act. All the signs are there— wake up sheeple!

I feel like this screenshot speaks for itself. (Credit: Nintendo)

Ahem. Anyway, some closing thoughts. I highly recommend trying out these games if you haven't yet. Each game in the Animal Crossing series are comforting, relaxing diversions. It's a laid-back life simulator where you can affect your environment and those around you. The recurring characters and villagers add one social layer to the experience, while another layer is added by being able to visit and interact with real-life friends and family. You can make your village/island your own, fill it with adorable animals that come to genuinely feel like friends. Your personality and personal style are reflected in your decorations, designs, and costumes. These games are a great way to express yourself, destress from an increasingly stressful world, and just have fun with no enforced endgame.

Playing Animal Crossing can be a meditative experience. You get to make of it what you want and there is a lot to get out of it. You can have a daily routine or just follow your whims. The game does give you some objectives... expanding your house, paying off your crippling debt to old man Nook, building the rating of your island so you can have a K.K. Slider concert. But ultimately, if and when you complete these goals is up to you. It's built into the nature of the game that you play at your own pace. You can play for minutes a day or binge for hours. There is no “wrong” way to play. You can be aimless and just enjoy the experience, or you can be deliberate and goal-oriented. You could also set your own goals. Now that I have no more house expansions to get, for instance, my goals are to fill my stamp cards and create all the DIY projects. Cocoa has mentioned that she wants to become a bellionaire. She's also collecting the summer mermaid furniture and is likely the whole reason the Able Sisters are still in business. (No joke, her wardrobe is impressive y’all.)

Buntown began as three tents in the untamed wilderness. Once Abba moved in, it became a home away from home. The two of us are neighbors and have surrounded ourselves with an extended family of quirky animals. We have made the island into a place that makes us happy to visit it on a daily basis. A place that reflects our inner weirdness and silliness. A lot of care and consideration has gone into the details of Buntown.

Every day we get to visit an island paradise that we made together. We leave each other gifts, share stories of what we did and found. We talk with our friends and family about their islands and experiences. It's a fun diversion that we've been able to share, and all in all it's been worth far more than the money we paid for it.

Just some of the friendly residents of Buntown. (Credit: Nintendo)

Thank you all for reading my extensive history and analysis of the Animal Crossing series. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing (and researching) it. I appreciate each one of you. I will be back soon with more treasures to share!