I’ve been a big fan of the Animal Crossing series for many years. Each of the main five games in the series has something to offer, but each one also has ways it could be improved. So I’m going to discuss a few of them, and then select one feature I’d add to each game if I could.
Animal Crossing (GameCube)
This is one of the easiest decisions on this list: The GameCube game desperately needs more storage! Unlike later games, GameCube doesn’t provide a central storage unit. You can use as many dressers as you can fit in your house, but each one only holds three items (and you can’t put furniture inside them).
There are some other options for storage, but they are either very limited (storing four items in your outdoor gyroid) or very inconvenient (island bungalow or attaching them to letters at the post office). So more storage is the clear choice for this game.
Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)
This is the toughest decision for me. Wild World has the smallest, simplest town layouts, the fewest villagers, the lowest-resolution graphics, worst frame rate…and it’s the only game in the series lacking analog controls.
But after some thought, my choice would be to add more holidays and events. This is the only Animal Crossing game without events for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve. While it does have some other events, most of them are very simple and not all that fun.
Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)
If I answered this question years ago, I would probably choose to fix the deteriorating grass that can leave your town looking like a desert. That’s clearly one of the biggest flaws with the game, and it’s a huge annoyance.
But now, I think there’s something else that could add more long-term value to the game. It’s something that most of the other games already have: villager photos. Obtaining a photo for each villager would regularly give you new goals to work towards, even after you’ve completed the big goals like paying off your house, filling up the museum, and collecting all golden tools.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
I always wished you could enact more than one town ordinance at a time. I mostly play at night, so I really need the night owl ordinance so that the stores would be open when I play. But having to water flowers became such a big chore that I ultimately had no choice but to switch ordinances…and often miss out on shopping opportunities.
But there are other things that may be more important. During online play, it’s a huge pain trying to communicate with the other players. With no USB keyboard or voice chat options, the touch-screen keyboard is the only option. And that’s not the worst part: Chat bubbles only stay on-screen for five seconds, which isn’t even long enough to go through a doorway. New Leaf desperately needs a chat log, or at least longer-lasting speech bubbles.
Still, that’s not my final choice either. Instead, I went with a feature from New Horizons that would be so helpful: outdoor furniture. It would be a decorator’s dream, adding a huge way to customize our town the way we want. It can also be a convenience, allowing you to quickly look at an item a villager gives you. So you can decide whether or not to keep it without making an extra trip home.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
There are lots of special characters and features from previous games that are absent in New Horizons…including series staples like gyroids and “The Roost” cafe. But in my mind, nothing is as glaring as the absence of multiplayer mini-games, like Tortimer Island in New Leaf.
New Horizons allows eight players to play at once, which is twice as many as in any previous game. And yet, there’s less for those players to actually do. Sure, we can make our own games, races, and obstacle courses. And I do. But the lack of organized, built-in mini-games really holds back the fun factor of online play.
There is a glimmer of hope, though: New Horizons is the only game on this list still receiving updates. So it’s at least possible this could be added in the future. In the meantime, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.
What Do You Think?
Well, that’s my list of features I’d add to each game. Do you agree? Disagree? Feel free to share your list in the comments!
