Welcome to another YvoCaro Plays!
At LadiesGamers.com we keep you informed about indie gaming with our reviews and our news. But did you know we also write articles that are mostly game-related but might be a bit older? After all, LadiesGamers has been around for 10 years already, and we have been filling the pages almost daily. The older articles are still relevant, though. So this time, I wanted to take you to some of the series of articles that could do with some attention.
So, pull up a chair, grab a warm drink, and join us as we revisit the game series that has a special place in our hearts. From quiet Animal Crossing moments to epic Zelda adventures and the soundtracks that play in the background of our memories. This first one is about our writers’ and guest writers’ earliest memories in gaming in a series called Animal Crossing Memories. Be sure to read what Jenna, Brandi, Jonah, Paige and Bri have to say about it!
All Animal Crossing Games Highlighted
If you’ve ever shaken a tree for bells, hunted bugs in the rain, or sent a letter to a squirrel named Caroline just because she’s adorable, you probably understand why the Animal Crossing series holds such a special place in so many hearts, including mine.
The journey of the series began 24 years ago, and while the series has always stayed true to its cosy, slow-paced roots, each entry brought something fresh to love. And try as I might, in my 20 years of gaming, I have been trying to find a game that totally hits the Animal Crossing vibe, but I never entirely succeeded. Some come close, but it’s never the real deal.
Here’s a walk down memory lane, from game to game, console to console. As the fanbase of Animal Crossing games grew, the fans got more insistent towards Nintendo that every new console really needed a new game entry, pronto! So, just for fun (and maybe already looking towards the Switch 2), the waiting between each one is included.
Animal Crossing – Nintendo GameCube
Originally released in Japan on the Nintendo 64 as Dōbutsu no Mori, the game was enhanced and localised for the GameCube, making its way to North America in 2002, Australia in 2003 and Europe in 2004. (Remember the days that you had to wait for releases in your country lol.)
This first entry introduced us to the quiet village life, complete with real-time seasons, quirky animal neighbours, and our forever-in-debt raccoon landlord, Tom Nook. It was unlike anything at the time, and you could even (with an extra game card) save travel data and take your game to a friend’s house and play together!
If you were lucky and had a GameBoy Advance and a Game Cube Link Cable, you could visit an exotic island with Kapp’n and work with the pattern design tool at Ables.
I didn’t play as much of the GameCube version as the others, as I bought it after Wild World had me totally hooked, but how cool would it be if we could play the game in the Nintendo Switch Online now that the Switch 2 is unlocking GameCube games! And maybe if they could add some quality-of-life adjustments?
Wait for next game: 4 years
Animal Crossing: Wild World – Nintendo DS
This was a huge leap, released in Japan, Australia and America in 2005 and in Europe in 2006. Wild World brought the series to handheld for the first time, letting us take our towns on the go. It also introduced online play, visiting friends’ towns over Wi-Fi, and gave us a rolling worldview.
It’s the game that got me gaming in the first place. It made me buy my own DS Lite to tend to my town daily. I had originally bought it for my 7-year-old daughter, and together, we named the first town Bearpath. Her interest soon waned, but mine didn’t. I played my Wild World game for 1,5 years straight, never missing a day and getting really attached to the critters that lived in my town.
The online gameplay opened the gaming world for me. I can still hear the music that accompanied Booker and Copper, opening the gates of my world. I have met some pretty awesome people who are still a part of my life and a friend who sadly had to leave us early. I’ve found firsthand that the game brings people together.
Back then, I was part of a group on AnimalCrossingCommunity.com of grown-up gamers. We sent each other letters and little gifts, and we worked together to fill each other’s catalogues. I still remember the special events that a group of ladies created themselves within the limits of the game, for example, at Halloween. With the official holidays not a part of Wild World, we made up for that in spades with buckets of creativity.
Wait for next mainline game: 5 years
Animal Crossing: City Folk – Nintendo Wii
Back to the big screen in 2008! City Folk (called Let’s Go to the City in Australia and Europe) felt like a blend of the previous two games but with a new city area that added fun destinations like a theatre and hair salon. By the way, Kapp’n is ever present in this game, bringing you to your city by bus. Whereas in the GameCube version, you could have 15 villagers living with you and 8 in Wild World, in City Folk, you could have a maximum of 10. And when designing clothes, you could now do a separate pattern for the back and front, a Pro Design.
Online play was a big thing too for this game, and do you remember Wii Speak? It was an accessory that made voice chat possible in games like City Folk. I was immediately reminded of that when the chat functionality was revealed for the Switch 2.
You could import your character from Wild World, which felt like a small but meaningful connection. And use your DS to transfer characters between Wii consoles. The critics felt like City Folk didn’t push the series forward in big ways, but for the fans, it was a cosy, welcome return.
Wait for next mainline game: 4 years
Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Nintendo 3DS
I vividly remember a Nintendo Direct in 2010 where the 3DS was revealed. They showed footage of a new Animal Crossing game where you would even be able to swim, and that turned the 3DS into a day one buy for me. What a disappointment that the 3DS was released in 2011 with no Animal Crossing in sight! Eventually, we got it: in 2012 in Japan and 2013 in the rest of the world.
New Leaf was the game that let us be the mayor! The first inklings were there about changing your village, with public works projects, ordinances, and a wider range of customisation. Not just for the inside of your house, but outside too. Using a swimsuit, you could swim in the ocean.
Over time, more features were added that used the 3DS’s capabilities. Visiting each other’s towns was there from the beginning, of course, a staple for Animal Crossing. New was the Happy Home Showcase, where you could view homes of people you had met through Streetpass in your own town. What’s more, you could order things they had put up in their homes! The sewing machine in Ables could replicate a design by using a QR code, and the Dream Suite let you visit towns of players you didn’t befriend first.
It really took Nintendo a long time to bring us a new game; in the meantime we did get a large update known as Welcome amiibo. It was released in 2016, adding support for amiibo and amiibo cards, which could be used to summon villagers and vendors to a new campsite area. The update also features save data integration with the separate game that landed in 2015: Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer.
Wait for next mainline game: 8 years
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch
After the longest gap yet, New Horizons arrived just when we needed it most, in March 2020. COVID happened and brought a lot of isolation for many people. The timing for New Horizons couldn’t have been better, and for the first time, many casual gamers entered into the Animal Crossing fold. It was the ultimate comfort game, and according to Wikipedia, it is the best-selling game in the Animal Crossing series, the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch, the best-selling game of all time in Japan, and the 13th best-selling video game in history!
This time, you weren’t moving to a town; you were building an island from scratch. Crafting, terraforming, and decorating both inside and out opened up new creative freedoms. Nintendo kept the game fresh for a long time with seasonal updates and celebrations. Plus a slew of other updates, with the return of Kapp’n, Brewster and Harvey, which also expanded the areas to go to. Adding the Happy Home Paradise DLC also kept things fresh for a long time after launch, as it changed the New Horizons gameplay as well.
Current wait for next game: 5 years and counting…
So What’s Next?
As of 2025, we’re still waiting to hear what’s next for the Animal Crossing series. Will it come to the Switch 2? Will it be a sequel to New Horizons or something entirely new? With each entry bringing new ideas and charm, I can’t wait to see what Nintendo dreams up next.
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