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News - Feature: The Best Animal Crossing Games Of All Time - xSicKxBot - 02-12-2020
Feature: The Best Animal Crossing Games Of All Time
<div><div class="media_block"><a href="http://images.nintendolife.com/b790ee0e20c43/large.jpg"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/b790ee0e20c43/small.jpg" class="media_thumbnail"></a></div>
<figure class="picture strip"><a title="AnimalCrossing" href="http://images.nintendolife.com/b790ee0e20c43/animalcrossing.original.jpg"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/b790ee0e20c43/animalcrossing.900x.jpg" alt="AnimalCrossing"></a></figure>
<p>With <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/nintendo-switch/animal_crossing_new_horizons">Animal Crossing: New Horizons</a></strong> coming in March, many of us have been looking back on the serene life sim series as <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/02/guide_animal_crossing_new_horizons_n_everything_we_know_so_far">we gear up for the next chapter on Switch</a>. Animal Crossing has a habit of taking over your life, becoming a part of your daily routine like doing your teeth or walking the dog. Consequently, it etches itself into your brain and, perhaps more than any other game series, remembering your first Animal Crossing brings to mind non-gaming life memories and milestones, too.</p>
<p>Which Animal Crossing game is the best, then? The fact that these games embed themselves in your life makes that a very tough question indeed. Each entry invariably brings quality of life improvements over the previous one, but the basic premise of starting a new life surrounded by friendly animal citizens remains unchanged since <strong>Dōbutsu no Mori</strong> (or ‘Animal Forest’) on Nintendo 64 in Japan nearly 20 years ago. You don’t play Animal Crossing like you do other games – you <em>live</em> with it, almost like a person. And just like people, the newer ones might be quicker off the mark or more attractive, but that doesn’t overwrite our treasured memories with the old ‘uns.</p>
<p>Therefore, you can appreciate that putting together a ranked list of Animal Crossing games is tough and, perhaps more than any other, your personal ranking may be vastly different to the one below. We understand that, but we still want to celebrate the series with one of our All Time lists. We’ve added spin-offs in the list below but haven’t included apps like Wii U’s <strong>Animal Crossing Plaza</strong> or DSi’s <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/dsiware/animal_crossing_clock">clock</a> and <a href="//www.nintendolife.com/games/dsiware/animal_crossing_calculator">calculator</a>, nor have we included the delightful Animal Crossing content in games like <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/wiiu/nintendo_land">Nintendo Land</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/nintendo-switch/super_smash_bros_ultimate">Super Smash Bros. Ultimate</a></strong> or <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/nintendo-switch/mario_kart_8_deluxe"><strong>Mario Kart 8 Deluxe</strong></a>.</p>
<p>Where will Animal Crossing: New Horizons rank among the games below? There’s not long to wait until we find out, but until then sit down and relax with our picks of the best Animal Crossing games ever…</p>
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<div class="list-hero" data-subject="games/wiiu/animal_crossing_amiibo_festival"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/29c0a17bd8994/animal-crossing-amiibo-festival-artwork.900x250.jpg" width="900" height="250" alt="Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (Wii U)"><a class="cover" href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/wiiu/animal_crossing_amiibo_festival"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/c05cd7d4af723/animal-crossing-amiibo-festival-cover.cover_small.jpg" alt="Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (Wii U)"></a></p>
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<p><span>Publisher: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong> / <span>Developer: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong></p>
<div class="release"><span>Release Date: </span><strong>13th Nov 2015 (<abbr title="United States / North America">USA</abbr>)</strong> / <strong>20th Nov 2015 (<abbr title="UK / European">UK/EU</abbr>)</strong></div>
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<p>We begin with a spin-off experience built around using the adorable <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/02/video_how_will_animal_crossing_new_horizons_use_amiibo">Animal Crossing amiibo</a> in a board game. This was also the first series entry to benefit from high definition, but the disappointment of Animal Crossing fans was palpable when they realised that <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/wiiu/animal_crossing_amiibo_festival">Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival</a></strong> was to be the series’ only entry on Wii U. We (and everyone else who played it) described it as <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/wiiu/animal_crossing_amiibo_festival">‘slow and plodding’ in our review</a>, which for a series that isn’t exactly famous for its fast-paced gameplay is a pretty damning criticism.</p>
<p>Nearly all of the mini games quickly became repetitive and probably the best thing to merit Amiibo Festival’s existence is the accompanying series of amiibo. For <em>that</em> we are thankful and if you see the Amiibo Festival pack for under a tenner, it may be worth picking up for the Isabelle and Digby figures that came bundled. Otherwise, even die-hard fans should probably concentrate their time and effort elsewhere. A shame.</p>
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<div class="list-hero" data-subject="games/3ds/animal_crossing_happy_home_designer"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/5298dffa1e953/animal-crossing-happy-home-designer-artwork.900x250.jpg" width="900" height="250" alt="Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (3DS)"><a class="cover" href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/3ds/animal_crossing_happy_home_designer"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/d8513ae035970/animal-crossing-happy-home-designer-cover.cover_small.jpg" alt="Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (3DS)"></a></p>
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<p><span>Publisher: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong> / <span>Developer: </span><strong>Nintendo EAD</strong></p>
<div class="release"><span>Release Date: </span><strong>25th Sep 2015 (<abbr title="United States / North America">USA</abbr>)</strong> / <strong>2nd Oct 2015 (<abbr title="UK / European">UK/EU</abbr>)</strong></div>
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<p>A 2015 3DS spin-off that followed the incredibly popular New Leaf, <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/3ds/animal_crossing_happy_home_designer">Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer</a></strong> Designer drilled down on the collecting and organising aspects of the series and casts you as interior designer for your village. For series fans it’s a charming, if basic, little game that introduced some decent UI additions what found their way into New Leaf via the <strong>Welcome Amiibo</strong> update.</p>
<p>As we said in <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds/animal_crossing_happy_home_designer">our review</a>, Happy Home Designer is “likeable but largely forgettable”; a pleasant spin-off for anybody who really liked going to town with their furniture and interior decorating, but certainly no substitute for the proper full-fat experience.</p>
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<div class="list-hero" data-subject="games/mobile/animal_crossing_pocket_camp"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/81d9d18867b0a/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-artwork.900x250.jpg" width="900" height="250" alt="Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Mobile)"><a class="cover" href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/mobile/animal_crossing_pocket_camp"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/a0c417b07894e/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-cover.cover_small.jpg" alt="Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Mobile)"></a></p>
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<p><span>Publisher: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong> / <span>Developer: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong></p>
<div class="release"><span>Release Date: </span><strong>22nd Nov 2017 (<abbr title="United States / North America">USA</abbr>)</strong> / <strong>22nd Nov 2017 (<abbr title="UK / European">UK/EU</abbr>)</strong></div>
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<p>In terms of presentation, <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/mobile/animal_crossing_pocket_camp">Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp</a></strong> translates the AC experience to mobile phones very well, and even if you don’t spend any bells there’s still plenty to investigate and enjoy here. The game now has <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/11/a_new_paid_membership_service_is_being_added_to_animal_crossing_pocket_camp">a paid membership service</a> and the various monetisation mechanics in the game might rub series veterans the wrong way, but as f2p mobile experiences, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp isn’t a bad one, even if the ‘pay-to-accelerate’ mechanics leave an unsavoury taste in the mouth compared to the mainline games. There’s a reason we Animal Crossing fans are busting to get our hands on the ‘proper’ Switch game, but as a free experience on a non-console platform, Pocket Camp translates the look and feel of the series well enough.</p>
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<div class="list-hero" data-subject="games/wii/animal_crossing_city_folk"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/2d145f46f4b45/animal-crossing-city-folk-artwork.900x250.jpg" width="900" height="250" alt="Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)"><a class="cover" href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/wii/animal_crossing_city_folk"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/2c0a2308e4a17/animal-crossing-city-folk-cover.cover_small.jpg" alt="Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)"></a></p>
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<p><span>Publisher: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong> / <span>Developer: </span><strong>Nintendo EAD</strong></p>
<div class="release"><span>Release Date: </span><strong>16th Nov 2008 (<abbr title="United States / North America">USA</abbr>)</strong> / <strong>5th Dec 2008 (<abbr title="UK / European">UK/EU</abbr>)</strong></div>
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<p>Subtitled <strong>Let’s Go to the City!</strong> outside North America, 2008’s <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/wii/animal_crossing_city_folk">Animal Crossing: City Folk</a></strong> enabled up to four players to take their own house in a single village and introduced a city for players to visit. It might not have been the bustling MMO metropolis some fans wished it was but it was a fun addition in a game which arguably played things a bit too safe to be top-tier. City Folks’ compatibility with the Wii’s ill-fated room-wide microphone peripheral Wii Speak demonstrated that Nintendo really wanted you to be playing City Folk as a family. There’s nothing wrong with that, but solo players obviously couldn’t enjoy the novel interactions of sharing a town and leaving each other messages, and the game ended up feeling like an upscaled version of Wild World except lacking any serious innovation, not to mention the convenience of portability.</p>
<p>Not bad – far from it – but it added little to the base formula and it was hard to be locked to your TV after the joys of a handheld village.</p>
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<div class="list-hero" data-subject="games/gamecube/animal_crossing"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/d2eab788290ac/animal-crossing-artwork.900x250.jpg" width="900" height="250" alt="Animal Crossing (GCN)"><a class="cover" href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/gamecube/animal_crossing"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/ceba6ef40b38a/animal-crossing-cover.cover_small.jpg" alt="Animal Crossing (GCN)"></a></p>
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<p><span>Publisher: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong> / <span>Developer: </span><strong>Nintendo EAD</strong></p>
<div class="release"><span>Release Date: </span><strong>15th Sep 2002 (<abbr title="United States / North America">USA</abbr>)</strong> / <strong>24th Sep 2004 (<abbr title="UK / European">UK/EU</abbr>)</strong></div>
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<p>The original game debuted on Nintendo 64 in Japan after beginning life as a 64DD title. When that console died on its <em>derrière</em>, Nintendo shifted the game to a standard N64 cartridge and launched it in Japan in April 2001 under the title <strong>Dōbutsu no Mori</strong>. Before the year was out a GameCube port hit shelves with extra features and following a mammoth localisation effort it hit US store shelves in September 2002 (we Europeans had to wait another <em>two years</em> for the game to arrive – we don’t miss those days!).</p>
<p>This first game set the template for the series so wonderfully that although the GameCube original is basic by the series’ modern standards, the fundamentals are still utterly charming nearly two decades on. Throw in GBA connectivity and unlockable NES games and you can understand when aficionados claim it never got better than the original <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/gamecube/animal_crossing">Animal Crossing</a></strong>.</p>
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<div class="list-hero" data-subject="games/ds/animal_crossing_wild_world"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/5c2c86b2d67be/animal-crossing-wild-world-artwork.900x250.jpg" width="900" height="250" alt="Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)"><a class="cover" href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/ds/animal_crossing_wild_world"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/95a303735a447/animal-crossing-wild-world-cover.cover_small.jpg" alt="Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)"></a></p>
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<p><span>Publisher: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong> / <span>Developer: </span><strong>Nintendo EAD</strong></p>
<div class="release"><span>Release Date: </span><strong>5th Dec 2005 (<abbr title="United States / North America">USA</abbr>)</strong> / <strong>31st Mar 2006 (<abbr title="UK / European">UK/EU</abbr>)</strong></div>
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<p>Taking the base foundation and adding sweet, <em>sweet</em> portability, <strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/ds/animal_crossing_wild_world">Animal Crossing: Wild World</a></strong> was the perfect game on the perfect platform. Having your village with you on-the-go made a world of difference to many players and enabled you to check turnip prices in bed, water your plants on your way to work, or make sure your favourite animal friend wasn’t packing their bags on your lunch break. Portability made the world accessible in a whole new way and opened up its joys to the masses who embraced the Nintendo DS.</p>
<p>With intuitive use of the touch screen and the day-night cycle reflected in the sky permanently visible on the top screen, this is where many people began their love affair with the series. Subsequent entries might have polished its systems and sanded off Wild World’s rough edges, but the magic of the series shone brightly on DS and when someone mentions Animal Crossing, it’s the title theme of <em>this</em> game which pops into our mind. Shocking, then, that there’s another entry we’d rather play…</p>
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<div class="list-hero" data-subject="games/3ds/animal_crossing_new_leaf"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/b11f139fd3eee/animal-crossing-new-leaf-artwork.900x250.jpg" width="900" height="250" alt="Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)"><a class="cover" href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/3ds/animal_crossing_new_leaf"><img src="http://images.nintendolife.com/e2a09815ed7d9/animal-crossing-new-leaf-cover.cover_small.jpg" alt="Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)"></a></p>
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<p><span>Publisher: </span><strong>Nintendo</strong> / <span>Developer: </span><strong>Nintendo EAD</strong></p>
<div class="release"><span>Release Date: </span><strong>9th Jun 2013 (<abbr title="United States / North America">USA</abbr>)</strong> / <strong>14th Jun 2013 (<abbr title="UK / European">UK/EU</abbr>)</strong></div>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/games/3ds/animal_crossing_new_leaf">Animal Crossing: New Leaf</a></strong> took everything from its handheld predecessor and polished it to the Nth degree. Rather than start you off under the yoke of Tom Nook, New Leaf made you mayor of the town and gave you municipal power to mould the place to your liking like never before. These changes were facilitated by your delightful doggy assistant Isabelle, a tireless public servant on hand to take care of the day-to-day office tasks while you go about your important mayoral duties like beach-combing, fishing, shaking trees and bothering bees.</p>
<p>Taking advantage of 3DS’ SpotPass feature, you could nose around the houses of players you passed on the street and order their furniture if a piece took your fancy. It’s also easy to forget the system’s patented 3D effect which made the world more enticing than ever. It might not have been HD, but New Leaf was a fine looking game and with the 3D slider set to max, it had never been easier to get lost in your little town. Nearly 8 years on, the upcoming Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch has <em>a lot</em> of work to do if it is going to surpass this.</p>
<p class="disclaimer">Please note that some links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nintendolife.com/ftc-disclosure">FTC Disclosure</a> for more information.</p>
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<p><em>Disagree with the list above? We’ve found that the first Animal Crossing game you play tends to leave an indelible impression even if subsequent entries are ‘better’, so let us know below which of the above games is your personal favourite, macmoo.</em></p>
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https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/2020/02/10/feature-the-best-animal-crossing-games-of-all-time/