I grew up with a pretty tech-savvy dad who was deeply concerned about the media I consumed as a kid. When he noticed my early interest in video games, he wanted to make sure I was playing titles that were either educational or genuinely gentle—games that encouraged curiosity, creativity, or connection. After some careful research, Animal Crossing fit the bill. So on Christmas morning in 2005, I unwrapped my very first entry in the series, unaware that what I was really being given was a lifelong affection for one of Nintendo’s most enduring franchises.
It’s been 20 years since that morning. In the time since, my tastes have expanded well beyond cozy games. I’ve sunk thousands of hours into RPGs, open-world adventures, and stranger, more experimental corners of the medium. Still, Animal Crossing remains a constant. Each mainline entry reflects the moment it arrived, introducing just enough novelty to feel fresh while preserving the rhythms players wanted to return to. None of these games are flawless, but each one succeeds on its own terms. After playing every mainline release, a clear hierarchy has emerged, and it’s one shaped as much by context as it is by design. So without further ado, here’s my official ranking of every mainline Animal Crossing game.
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5 Animal Crossing: City Folk (2008)
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Animal Crossing: City Folk is the game I bounced off of the quickest on this list. Its premise was fascinating: it allows players to live in a familiar rural setting while offering the option to visit a shopping district known as “the city.” It seems like a welcome change to the familiar routines set by previous games. Unfortunately, it fell short of expectations.
What stands out to me while playing City Folk is that it positions itself as a significant advancement in the series, yet it doesn't offer meaningful gameplay that truly sets it apart from other entries. It's nearly identical to its predecessors, with only a short bus ride and motion controls to set it apart. After a while, going to the city reaps lackluster returns as the novelty wears off. City Folk mods add some life back into the game, but frankly, there’s a reason why some players regard this Animal Crossing entry as its most lacking.
Strangely enough, City Folk also has the same soundtrack as Wild World. Some players note that City Folk is regarded as a Wild World expansion.
Animal Crossing: City Folk
- Released
- November 16, 2008
- ESRB
- Everyone // Comic Mischief
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Animal Crossing
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Genre(s)
- Life Simulation, Adventure
4 Animal Crossing (2002)
It feels wrong to place the original Animal Crossing so low on this list. Hear me out: I love the original Animal Crossing. It’s a proper trailblazer in the cozy genre, and it opened the floodgates for an entire ecosystem of cozy gamers who love tending to and living amongst little critters. But did it age well? Not entirely. My apologies. Frankly, the breadth of things to do in other installments just makes A nimal Crossing a fond memory. Perhaps for hardcore Animal Crossing fans, it is a must-play. Yet, there are better franchise introductions for players seeking a more well-rounded experience.
Animal Crossing set the formula for other entries on this list to follow, and that, in itself, is a reason to celebrate it. A standout in this game is its villagers. The original Animal Crossing villagers were notoriously spunky—often hilarious, full of personality, and even mean. Additionally, dialogue loops didn’t feel as notable as they do in more modern titles. But where this game starts to falter is in the fact that it simply served as a foundation for what came next. That’s not a bad thing.
Animal Crossing
- Released
- September 16, 2002
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation, Adventure, JRPG
3 Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005)
The nostalgia goggles are strong with this one. The portability alone felt transformative at the time. Suddenly, tending to a town could happen anywhere, in small, comforting bursts. That shift mattered, and it helped solidify Animal Crossing as a game you lived with rather than simply played.
That said, Wild World now sits in an awkward middle space. It meaningfully improves upon the original: streamlining systems, expanding activities, and refining the daily loop. It did these things while still feeling like a framework for what the series would later become. The Animal Crossing town is livelier and smaller, customization options are broader, and online connectivity (limited as it was) hinted at the franchise’s social potential. Yet, in hindsight, many of its ideas feel limited by technological constraints rather than fully realized.
Where Wild World shines is in its balance. It retains much of the sharp-edged villager personality from earlier entries while beginning to soften the experience overall. Dialogue still had bite, but the world felt more welcoming. However, compared to later titles, the scope remains modest. As a result, it earns its place near the middle of the pack: essential in the franchise’s evolution, but no longer definitive.
Animal Crossing: Wild World
- Released
- November 23, 2005
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Simulation
2 Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012)
Animal Crossing: New Leaf marked a turning point for the franchise. It was the moment when player agency became central rather than supplemental. By placing the player in the role of mayor, the game reframed town life entirely. Not as something you merely participated in, but something you actively shaped.
That level of control felt revolutionary. Public works projects, ordinance setting, and the ability to influence the town’s layout gave players a sense of ownership that the series had never quite offered before. This was Animal Crossing meeting its players halfway, acknowledging that longtime fans wanted more say in how their spaces evolved. On the 3DS, New Leaf felt like a thoughtful return to handheld roots while pushing the series forward in genuinely meaningful ways.
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What truly elevates New Leaf is its cohesion. Its systems work together cleanly, and its pacing encourages long-term investment without overwhelming the player. While it lacks some of the sheer creative freedom its immediate entry would introduce, it compensates with charm, structure, and intention. In many ways, New Leaf laid the philosophical groundwork for New Horizons' features, proving that empowerment and coziness didn’t have to be at odds.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
- Released
- June 9, 2013
- ESRB
- E For Everyone due to Comic Mischief
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- unity
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
1 Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)
New Horizons didn’t just evolve Animal Crossing; it transformed it. Released at a moment when players were craving comfort, control, and connection, the game expanded nearly every system the franchise had ever touched. Terraforming, outdoor decoration, deep customization, and crafting transformed island life into something both intimate and expansive.
For the first time, creativity wasn’t limited by preset boundaries. Players could sculpt their islands from the ground up, turning them into deeply personal expressions of taste and imagination. That freedom fundamentally changed how Animal Crossing was played and perceived. New Horizons wasn’t just a life simulator anymore; it was a creative platform.
There are valid critiques, of course. Once a three-star island is achieved, the sense of discovery inevitably gives way to routine. Some long-term systems feel thinner than they should, and villager interactions have lost any edge. Yet even with those shortcomings, it’s difficult to overstate how ambitious New Horizons is. It earned its accolades, including its 2020 Game of the Year nomination, by pushing the series further than any previous entry.
The most daunting thing about New Horizons is its legacy. It set expectations so high that it’s hard for me to imagine the next Animal Crossing game that doesn’t feel measured against it. For better or worse, it is now the standard.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- March 20, 2020
- ESRB
- Everyone / Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation