Games
After appearances in Super Smash Brothers Wii U, Mario Kart 8, and even Monster Hunter, our friends in Animal Crossing are finally coming to Switch. Here’s what could make that homecoming great.
Six years doesn’t seem like a long time in the grand scheme of things, but to an Animal Crossing fan waiting for a new entry in their favourite franchise, it’s a lifetime. Spinoffs like Happy Home Designer and Pocket Camp along with apps on the Wii U like Animal Crossing Plaza have done little to satisfy our appetite (don’t even mention anything about amiibo or board games).
Finally, a long time after New Leaf graced cartridge holes everywhere in 2012, with many disappointing Nintendo Directs since then, we’re getting a brand new game on Switch in 2019.
We don’t know much, or anything at all besides the fact that Isabelle is headed to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, about what this new game might include, but fans have been fantasising for years about what a new game might include and we’re no different. Check out a handful of improvements that could make Animal Crossing on Switch better than ever.
1. Detailed fashion design options
Animal Crossing: New Leaf has seen a ton of dedicated players think outside the box with their town designs. They’ve used custom patterns to create paths on the ground alongside carefully planned layouts for plants and public work projects to create beautiful landscapes.
It’s not clear as to whether or not the game developers had meant for players to go this hard, but players have done it anyway. It’d be fantastic if the next entry included more features that allow players to really dig into their town’s exterior, making it just as customisable as the inside of your house.
2. Deeper town design with paths, beach decorations and more
New Leaf introduced the concept of being a small town mayor, giving you the power to establish ordinances, place cool public work projects all over town, and even work to open up a police station and a coffee house.
The feature was a nice change, but it didn’t go far enough. You couldn’t place public works projects on the beach or on certain areas on the ground (finding the exact spot was kind of tough), and new villagers could move in right in front or next to something you just set up, messing with your original plan.
We’d love to see expanded mayoral powers In the next game, including the ability to place public works projects nearly anywhere – the beach, in the river, along the cliff, anywhere that could help your town blossom. It’d also be nice to be able to control the town with a tighter grip, which just means preventing villagers from moving into certain spots and making it easier to kick out villagers you don’t like.
3. Return to a variety of character personalities
Animal Crossing City Folk, Wild World, and the GameCube version all included animals with attitude. They had a variety of personalities that you could interact with, making each conversation a bit more exciting.
New Leaf toned those attitudes down a bit, including the resident jerkface, Mr Resetti who showed up when you shut the system off after not saving. It’d be nice to return to that diversity of animal-types, even if some are on the nasty side.
4. Options to choose and build better relationships with villagers
Home expansion is at the core of the series, every time you pay off Nook’s huge interest-free loan you can expand or opt to build a new room, attic, or basement. Although the homey-feeling when you first move in will never be beaten, it’s nice to have a little more room for decorations.
How nice would it be to be able to bring a room-mate in and either have them help decorate or get a new challenge to decorate for them. Imagine how awesome it would be to share a bathroom with a tiger, elephant, or frog (without all the mess).
5. Integrated online market functionality
A lot of the fun in Animal Crossing is collecting new items, selling turnips, and raising bells in order to pay for new public works projects and home expansions. Unfortunately a lot of stuff happens outside the game since you can only get a certain amount of items from the store each day.
An online marketplace where you could put items and designs up to sell and trade would be a nice little touch, especially if it was in the form of something similar to the island. Players could actually walk around a farmer’s market-like area and grab items they don’t have and pay for designs that catch their eye.
Outside these changes, Nintendo are sure to bring improvements that no one could have predicted. Whatever they are, we can’t wait.
Animal Crossing is hitting Switch in 2019.