There’s no doubt that Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo’s best-performing franchises, and it’s not too difficult to see why. In the more than twenty years since the first game’s release, the Animal Crossing series has been expanded upon and embellished with a lot of love. Though its titles may be fewer than some gaming series, it remains a beloved fan favorite for its cozy vibes, cute characters, and open-ended gameplay.
The core of the Animal Crossing game experience is allowing players to control and grow a small town of animal villagers. As they expand their house and attract more shops and neighbors, players can help their very own community thrive. Planting flowers, catching fish and bugs, decorating homes, and socializing with residents are just some of the key objectives of this cozy series.
8 Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
As the Animal Crossing counterpart of virtual board games like Mario Party, amiibo Festival follows much of the same formula. Designed mostly to integrate Nintendo’s amiibo cards and figurines, the game received mixed but mostly negative reviews at the time of its 2015 release.
Despite its flaws, however, amiibo Festival fits in with the wider franchise through its relaxing gameplay and iconic charming design. It features some of the most favorite characters of the series, including Isabelle, Tom Nook, and K.K. Slider, as well as the ability to call specific characters using amiibo cards.
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
Play together with your amiibo and friends in a flourishing board game village in Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, only on Wii U! Use your Animal Crossing amiibo figures to race around a board-game town in pursuit of happiness, or you can enjoy other attractions with Animal Crossing amiibo cards. Put your Animal Crossing knowledge to the test, try to escape a desert island with three Animal Crossing characters, and much more!
As you move around the board-game town, try to earn the most Happy Points – may the happiest player win! When each space you land on is home to a new story, there’s no shortage of things your characters can get up to!
- Released
- November 4, 2015
- Developer(s)
- NDcube, Nintendo EPD
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii U
7 Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
As the only mobile game within the series, Pocket Camp sets itself quite apart from the other games. It’s a free-to-play style game that allows players to customize their own campsite instead of a whole town. As its 2017 release fell at a time between major game releases, it became a popular addition to the franchise.
Much like the other Animal Crossing games, the player can befriend animals and invite them to visit their campsite. Other players can also stop by and be visited themselves. There are multiple locations within the map to travel to, and each has its own unique quests and items that can be found there.
Animal Crossing Pocket Camp
Find furniture you like and design a campsite that suits your style! Tents, hammocks, fireplaces, a stuffed-animal sofa...mix and match to your heart's content! Make a trendy open-air café, or line up some microphones and guitars to create an outdoor music festival! In the mood for a little extra fun?
Set up a merry-go-round and open a theme park. You can even make a pool, or fill the sky with fireworks!
Design your campsite, camper, and cabin however you want. Collect themed items from Fishing Tourneys and Garden Events that happen throughout the year. More than 1,000 pieces of furniture and 300 pieces of clothing and accessories are available to choose from, with more being added all the time. Features more than 100 animals with quirky personalities.
Fulfill animal requests and watch your friendship with them grow! Once you become close enough friends, you can invite them to your campsite. The more the merrier!
6 Animal Crossing: City Folk
As one of the least popular mainline games, City Folk is mostly let down by its lack of innovation in the gameplay. Many fans felt that it was just an updated version of the original game with little personal flair to set it apart. Released in 2008 for the Wii, City Folk does at least have that same original Animal Crossing charm.
Players are once again tasked with growing their small rural town of animal inhabitants. The Wii remote motion controls allow players to handle the tools with more immersion. City Folk was the first game to introduce a separate shopping hub known as the city. Players can travel to the city via bus where they can go to a theatre, get their hair done, and spot special characters.
Animal Crossing: City Folk
If life were an endless vacation, what would you do? In Animal Crossing: City Folk, life moves at a relaxed pace, but the world brims with endless possibilities.
In the living, breathing world of Animal Crossing: City Folk, days and seasons pass in real time, so there's always something to discover! Go fishing, collect shells or watch fireworks with friends. Build a snowman, exchange presents with family or decorate your house for the holidays. You can take a trip to the city, go on a shopping spree or visit friends from all over the globe!
Up to four people from your household can live and work together to build the perfect town. Design clothes and patterns, write letters and post messages on the bulletin board for each other, or invite up to three friends to visit your town using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. With the new Wii Speak™ microphone, it's like you're all in the same room.
- Released
- November 16, 2008
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii
5 Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
Happy Home Designer was the very first spinoff of the Animal Crossing series and was released in 2015 for the 3DS. It received mixed reviews at the time but remains a relatively popular addition to the series. It breaks away from the main Animal Crossing formula to instead focus on the home design element.
The innovation of the design controls in Happy Home Designer was an incredibly popular addition and paved the way for later games such as New Horizons. The game also allowed players much easier access to the different types of furniture and had an impressive amount of content available.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 64 /100 Critics Rec: 16%
- Released
- July 30, 2015
- ESRB
- Everyone
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- Animal Crossing
- Number of Players
- 1
Watch out -- there's a new Animal Crossing game in town! This sandbox game from Monolith Soft and Nintendo is a little different from the main line games.
Show off your style by designing homes for all of your favorite Animal Crossing villagers! Use your creativity to design the perfect house-inside and out-for both old and new friends. With the new amiibo cards, you can call your favorite villagers into the game. Design the interior and exterior of hundreds of homes for animal villagers. Leave your decorative touch on the school, hospital and other public facilities. Make it unique -- just like you!
Collect and share amiibo cards of your favourite villagers, and invite them into your game. Tap amiibo cards to invite up to four characters into a room to hang out or tap the amiibo cards of special characters to call in animals that would otherwise not appear in your game with requests.
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 3DS
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Sandbox, Simulation
4 Animal Crossing: Wild World
One of the fan-favorite entries to the series is Wild World which was released in 2005 for the DS. As the second release, Wild World introduced many new elements to the game that have since become mainstays within the franchise. Though it is a nostalgic game for many fans, the graphics haven’t aged as well as other games from that era.
Character customization takes a sizeable step up in Wild World as it allows players to choose their character’s appearance and dress them in clothes and accessories. Town features such as the café, the observatory, and the tailor were all introduced in this game. Online play and outdoor decoration were also new in Wild World.
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Welcome to the friendly village of Animal Crossing! Every player's village is unique and it's up to you to decide how you spend your time there, and which characters you befriend.
Unlike other games, Animal Crossing doesn’t pressure you to complete levels, achieve scores or learn complex controls; you simply play however - and whenever - you want. For instance, at the start of the game you are given a house and a mortgage to pay, but you can choose to pay off that mortgage any way you wish. You could help out at the local shop, become a treasure hunter and donate your findings to the Town's museum, or make money selling T-shirts you designed yourself.
The time in-game will pass in real time, so different activities and surprises happen depending on the time of the day. Return to the village frequently to discover special events only happening on certain dates, such as birthdays and other celebrations.
- Released
- November 23, 2005
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii U
3 Animal Crossing
Though it was actually a port of an older Japanese game, the original Animal Crossing was the first to be released in America. The game was published for the GameCube in 2001 as an enhanced English port of the older N64 version. The original game had an incredibly successful release and received many positive reviews.
Setting the tone for all Animal Games to follow, this original version establishes the real-time gameplay and extensive calendar of holiday events that so many fans adore. It introduces town facilities such as the police station, the museum, and the Able Sister’s clothing store. As one of the early social simulation games, Animal Crossing’s focus was on communication, community, and celebrating the little things in life.
- Released
- September 16, 2002
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Franchise
- Animal Crossing
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to town! It's time to move to Animal Crossing. The real-life game that's happening every second of every day, whether you're there or not!
- Get to know your town. Meet your neighbors, buy a house, and furnish it however you like.
- So much to do! Plant trees, pull weeds, go shopping, run errands - or just go fishing.
- Get three friends to move to your town or travel to a friend's town to see what's up.
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 64, GameCube
- Genre(s)
- Simulation, Adventure, JRPG
2 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
What makes New Horizons such a successful contender in the franchise is the serendipity of its release. Released for the Switch in early 2020, the game came at a time when many people were stuck indoors and looking for an escape. With New Horizons, Nintendo certainly delivered exactly that.
New Horizons takes many of the successful elements of its predecessors and combines them with breathtaking graphical improvements and the addition of terraforming. Through several updates, Nintendo added more fan-favorite features such as the café, Katrina the fortune teller, and even a DLC expansion Happy Home Paradise.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Released
- March 20, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
1 Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Following the less successful City Folk release, New Leaf had to do some heavy lifting for the success of the franchise. The game did indeed turn a new leaf for the series, gaining mostly positive reviews from players and critics alike. Its success comes from its perfect balance of new features and adherence to the original cozy formula.
New Leaf allows players to take on the role of Mayor in their small town for the first time, giving them even greater control over the village. Maintaining the cozy rural setting, New Leaf doesn’t overwhelm players with countless options like other new games in the series do. Moreover, it’s widely regarded as having the best soundtrack out of all the games. New Leaf hits the Animal Crossing sweet spot in many ways.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
- Released
- June 9, 2013
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Platform(s)
- 3DS