Animal Crossing[a] is a video game series developed by Nintendo, in which the player lives their own virtual life in a village populated with anthropomorphic animals. The game takes place in real time, reflecting the current time of day and season. The individual games have been widely praised for their uniqueness and innovative nature,[1][2][3] which has led to the series becoming one of Nintendo's leading franchises. It was reported in 2007 that 7,000,000 units of games from the Animal Crossing series had been sold.[4]

Games

Main series

Title Details
Animal Forest

Original release date(s):
  • JP: April 14, 2001
 Release years by system:
2001 – Nintendo 64
Notes:
  • Title translates literally as "Animal Forest".
  • First game in the series, released only in Japan.
Animal Crossing

Original release date(s):
  • JP: December 14, 2001
  • NA: September 16, 2002
  • AU: October 17, 2003
  • EU: September 24, 2004
 Release years by system:
2001 – GameCube
2006 – iQue Player
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as Dōbutsu no Mori+.[b]
  • Enhanced version of the Nintendo 64 game.
  • Bundled with a Memory Card 59 due to the game's required 58 blocks of save data.
  • The North American version adds additional content, such as new holidays and items. This version was in turn re-released in Japan in 2003 as Dōbutsu no Mori e+[c].
Animal Crossing: Wild World

Original release date(s):
  • JP: November 23, 2005
  • NA: December 5, 2005
  • AU: December 8, 2005
  • EU: March 31, 2006
 Release years by system:
2005 – Nintendo DS
Notes:
Animal Crossing: City Folk

Original release date(s):
  • USA: November 16, 2008
  • CAN: November 17, 2008
  • JP: November 20, 2008
  • AU: December 4, 2008
  • EU: December 5, 2008
 Release years by system:
2008 – Wii
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as Animal Forest: Let's Go to the City[e] and the PAL region as Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City.
  • Features an explorable city area located outside the village.
  • Supports the Wii Speak accessory for voice chat during online play.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Original release date(s):
  • JP: November 8, 2012
  • KOR: February 7, 2013
  • NA: June 9, 2013
  • EU: June 14, 2013
  • AU: June 15, 2013
 Release years by system:
2012 – Nintendo 3DS
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as Animal Forest: Jump Out.[f]
  • The player additionally takes the role of the village mayor.
  • Supports online play via Nintendo Network.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Original release date(s):
  • WW: March 20, 2020
 Release years by system:
2020 – Nintendo Switch
Notes:

Spin-offs

Title Details
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

Original release date(s):
  • JP: July 30, 2015
  • NA: September 25, 2015
  • EU: October 2, 2015
  • AU: October 3, 2015
 Release years by system:
2015 – Nintendo 3DS
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as Animal Forest: Happy Home Designer.[h]
  • The player takes the role of a Nook's Homes employee, designing homes for the animal villagers.
Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival

Original release date(s):
  • NA: November 13, 2015
  • EU: November 20, 2015
  • JP: November 21, 2015
  • AU: November 21, 2015
 Release years by system:
2015 – Wii U
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as Animal Forest: amiibo Festival.[i]
  • Heavily incorporates the use of Animal Crossing-themed Amiibo figurines in game play.
  • As of December 20, 2015, is the lowest critically reviewed Animal Crossing franchise game, with an aggregated score of 43 on Metacritic.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Original release date(s):
  • AU: October 25, 2017
  • WW: November 21, 2017
 Release years by system:
2017 – iOS, Android
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as Animal Forest: Pocket Camp.[j]
  • A free-to-play game with in-game purchases.

Other media

Film

Title Original release date

Japan

North America

PAL region

Gekijōban Dōbutsu no Mori December 16, 2006 none none
Notes:

Manga

Title Author Notes
Dōbutsu no Mori Hohinda Mura Yori [ja][k] Sayori Abe [ja][l] Children's manga series based on the Animal Crossing series. It was published in Japanese in Japan by Shogakukan,[5] and in Spanish (simply titled Animal Crossing) by Norma Editorial.[6]
Animal Crossing: New Horizons[m] Kokonasu Rumba[n] Children's manga series based on the Animal Crossing series, with the original manga published in Japan by Shogakukan.[7] The English version was published by Viz Media in the United States,[8] and by Shogakukan Asia in Singapore.[9]
Animal Crossing: The Bestest Island[o] Ryuhei Osaki[p] Children's manga series based on the Animal Crossing series, published in Japan by Shogakukan,[10] with the English version published by Shogakukan Asia in Singapore.[11]
Assemble! Animal Crossing : News from the Carefree Island[q] Minori Kato [ja][r] Children's manga series based on the Animal Crossing series, published in Japan by Shogakukan,[12] with the English version published by Shogakukan Asia in Singapore.[13]

Applications

Game Format First released Notes
Animal Crossing Clock DSiWare 4 May 2009 (US, EU) A themed clock for the Nintendo DSi that can change from Analog to Digital.
Animal Crossing Calculator DSiWare 4 May 2009 (US, EU) A themed calculator for the Nintendo DSi.
Animal Crossing Plaza Wii U eShop 7 August 2013 (Worldwide) A free WaraWara Plaza-like app/community for Wii U owners, where they could interact and publicly share content from New Leaf. Service was discontinued and the app was delisted on December 22, 2014.
Photos with Animal Crossing Nintendo 3DS eShop 2014 (Japan), 10 July 2015 (EU) An AR-photo App which allows for photos of Animal Crossing characters to be taken in real environments via. the use of themed AR Cards. Distributed via. mailing list and competition only in EU regions. Available with Animal Crossing themed e-Shop cards in Japan.
[Live Wallpaper] Animal Crossing Android 2018 Live wallpaper for Android Devices running Android 6 or higher but was delisted at some point

Game Guides

Official game guides have been released by Prima Games and Future Press for Wild World, City Folk, New Leaf, Happy Home Designer only in Japan, and several were released for New Horizon's and Happy Home Paradise including unofficial guides for both

Notes

  1. ^ Known in Japan as Dōbutsu no Mori (Japanese: どうぶつの森)
  2. ^ Japanese: どうぶつの森+, Hepburn: Dōbutsu no Mori+, lit. Animal Forest+
  3. ^ Japanese: どうぶつの森e+, Hepburn: Dōbutsu no Mori e+, lit. Animal Forest e+
  4. ^ Japanese: おいでよ どうぶつの森, Hepburn: Oideyo Dōbutsu no Mori
  5. ^ Japanese: 街へいこうよ どうぶつの森, Hepburn: Machi e ikō yo: Dōbutsu no Mori
  6. ^ Japanese: とびだせ どうぶつの森, Hepburn: Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori
  7. ^ Japanese: あつまれ どうぶつの森, Hepburn: Atsumare Dōbutsu no Mori
  8. ^ Japanese: どうぶつの森：ハッピーホームデザイナー, Hepburn: Dōbutsu no Mori: Happī Hōmu Dezainā
  9. ^ Japanese: どうぶつの森amiiboフェスティバル, Hepburn: Dōbutsu no Mori: amiibo Fesutibaru
  10. ^ Japanese: どうぶつの森 ポケットキャンプ, Hepburn: Dōbutsu no mori poketto kyanpu
  11. ^ どうぶつの森　ホヒンダ村だより
  12. ^ あべさより Abe Sayori
  13. ^ あつまれ　どうぶつの森　～無人島Ｄｉａｒｙ～
  14. ^ ココナスルンバ
  15. ^ あつまれ　どうぶつの森　とことん！イチバン島
  16. ^ 大崎亮平 Ōsaki Ryūhei
  17. ^ あつまれどうぶつの森～のんびり島だより～
  18. ^ 加藤みのり Katō Minori

References

  1. ^ "IGN: Doubutsu no Mori Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  2. ^ "IGN: Animal Crossing Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  3. ^ "Animal Crossing: Wild World for DS Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  4. ^ "Animal Crossing in Shigeru Miyamoto's Keynote at GDC". The Bell Tree (03-10-07). Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  5. ^ "どうぶつの森 ホヒンダ村だより" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  6. ^ Animal Crossing 1. Norma Editorial. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  7. ^ "ココナスルンバ" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  8. ^ "Animal Crossing". Viz Media. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  9. ^ "Animal Crossing: Deserted Island Diary Vol 1". Shogakukan Asia. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  10. ^ "あつまれ どうぶつの森 とことん！イチバン島 １" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  11. ^ "Animal Crossing: The Bestest Island #1". Shogakukan Asia. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  12. ^ "あつまれどうぶつの森～のんびり島だより～ １" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  13. ^ "Assemble! Animal Crossing : News from the Carefree Island Vol 1". Shogakukan Asia. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
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