After paying the debt, part of which is done through a part-time job with Nook, the house is expanded, prompting another debt from Nook. At the beginning of the game, he gives the player their first house with a mortgage of 19,800 Bells (the in-game currency). Tom Nook, a tanuki (raccoon dog) in the Japanese versions and a raccoon in the American and European versions, runs the local store. These customisations are judged by the Happy Room Academy (HRA). It can be customized in several ways, such as roof colour, furniture, music, wallpaper and flooring. This house is the repository for furniture and other items acquired during the course of the game. One of the main goals of the game, given to the player during the game's opening cut scenes, is to increase the size of the player's character's house. Resetti but they both have opposite personalities, Don Resetti advises the player of saving the game instead of getting angry at the player for not saving like Mr. Resetti, Don Resetti is the older brother of Mr. Rarely, Don Resetti will appear instead of Mr.

Resetti appears in front of the player's house the next time they play, to scold them for resetting and forces a drawn out conversation with the player. If the player turns off the game or resets the GameCube without saving first, what they achieved during the previous unsaved game is lost, but everything else is kept however a mole named Mr. When players stop playing, they can talk to their Gyroid, a creature next to their house, to save their progress. Other activities, such as fishing tournaments and early-morning fitness classes, occur on a regular schedule. Many real-life events and holidays span the year, including Independence Day, Halloween, the Harvest Festival ( Thanksgiving), and Toy Day ( Christmas). The game is played in real-time, observing days, weeks, months and years using the GameCube's internal clock.

There are also tasks that players can complete and goals they can achieve. The gender and looks of the character depend on answers given to a cat named Rover, whom the player meets on the train the character takes to the town.

Players assume the role of a new resident to the town. It is open-ended, and the player's character can live a separate life with very little set plot or mandatory tasks. The game features graphics from the Nintendo 64 version.Īnimal Crossing is a social simulation game, dubbed a 'communication game' by Nintendo. Gameplay A screenshot of the overworld, featuring the player's character. The game is considered one of the earliest examples of the casual game genre, and marked the beginning of a franchise of the same name, which saw further success in its sequels. Criticisms centered on its outdated graphics and simple art style. Critics praised the game's unusual but immersive and addictive gameplay, which was devoid of purpose and stressful elements. Eguchi also wanted to create a game that catered to a wider audience inclusive of those unfamiliar with video games.Īnimal Crossing was a critical and commercial success domestically and internationally, attracting many non-traditional gaming audiences. Reviewing the existing developments, designer Katsuya Eguchi decided to create a non-linear life simulator, which would carry the themes of family, friendship, and community as well as allow several players to develop a virtual town at different times. However, development was stalled by the failure of the 64DD peripheral. The game was originally conceived as a role-playing adventure, with the main action taking place in dungeons. The game's western localization differs significantly from the original release in that Japanese holidays and cultural references are replaced with Western ones. The human can engage in everyday life in the village, interact with the animals, attend events, and contribute to the village's development. This requires collecting natural materials and selling them. The main goal of the game is to save money in order to pay off the mortgage on the human's house.

It is the first game in the Animal Crossing series, and is also an enhanced version of the Nintendo 64 game Dōbutsu no Mori, which was only released in Japan earlier the same year, and was followed by another edition, Dōbutsu no Mori e+, in 2003.Īnimal Crossing is an endless and non-linear game in which a human takes up residence in a village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Animal Crossing, known in Japan as Dōbutsu no Mori+, is a 2001 social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube.

Animal crossing composer