[Documentary] Evolution of Animal Crossing (2001 - 2021) Every Game Ever!

hey youtube welcome back to a brand new animal crossing video today we are celebrating the huge milestone that is the 20th anniversary of the animal crossing franchise and of course a game we all love so much it's a super fun one so without further ado let's get straight into today's video [Music] so in honor of animal crossing and this huge milestone i thought it'd be cool to review or highlight every animal crossing game that has ever been made in a documentary style video and who knows maybe you'll even discover a version of animal crossing you never knew existed before we'll break these down pretty much in order of release that mostly falls into a generation style list of games throughout the series so please leave a like on the video it helps out so much and let's get to it so starting at the beginning with the game that started us all off on our quest for independence and escapism was of course the butu nomori or animal forest as it translates to in the first ever installment of animal crossing this was released in japan on this day april 14 2001 on the nintendo 64. yes you did hear that correctly contrary to popular belief animal crossing was in development and available way before the gamecube version we all know and love dabutsu no mori was initially developed for the nintendo 64 dd an extension to the n64 to incorporate extra features the n64 itself didn't have one such feature was to take advantage of the real-time simulation that the system had to offer which makes perfect sense it's a very strange feeling to imagine animal crossing without a clock anyway unfortunately this 64 dd development experience delays and ultimately the project was scrapped and the title was moved to a single release on the n64 without these features now 2001 was the end of an era with the n64 being replaced with the gorgeous cube-shaped gamecube console this presented the perfect opportunity for nintendo to reignite the hype for animal crossing by porting it to the next generation console in hopes of the franchise finding a wider audience so by the end of 2001 dabutsu no mori plus was released on gamecube but this time with nintendo's latest console being so much more powerful was able to offer the functionality originally expected from the 64 dd so welcome to daboutsu nemouri plus a bunch of new features including the in-game clock shops including the museum and able sisters and of course new special characters this version even made use of the game boy advance allowing you to connect your handheld console to visit a small island off the shore of your town there's quite a lot of differences between the two japanese versions of the game but in true nintendo style every effort was made to add as much content as possible to the ported version now believe it or not this all happened before europe or the us even saw a release but the us didn't have too much longer to wait by 2002 north america finally saw a western version and they fully translated dubutsu nemouri plus renamed to animal crossing population growing or animal crossing gamecube the title of this title is still disputed today be sure to let us know in the comments what you prefer to call it now although thriving with in-game content the translated version of dabutsu no more plus was missing western holidays and localized items that players in the united states and other regions would be able to relate to so as part of the game's release nintendo of america did an amazing job adding even more cool stuff to make animal crossing population growing even more relatable to the west animal crossing population growing even saw a catalogue of playable nest games including mario zelda and donkey kong amongst others nintendo took this localization a step further and even decided to include the functionality of a new accessory called the e-reader the e-reader could be connected using the game boy advance and much like we see today with amiibo animal crossing e-reader cards could then be scanned to obtain rare items unfortunately europe had to wait until 2004 and over three years after its initial debut before getting their hands on it the game was much the same though and included much of the westernized content although sadly the e-reader functionality was removed for the eu market anyway animal crossing on gamecube in the west was technically a port of a port and to this day is truly an amazing game that paved the way for animal crossing and the accessories we love today moving on the journey of the port doesn't stop there and brings us to the fourth version of the game nintendo in japan were so impressed with what nintendo of america had done to the original for the western version including the new holidays new characters and items and of course the integration of the e-reader that nintendo pushed for the western version to be translated back to japanese for a new release in japan so in 2003 japan saw dabutsu numori e plus now the second version available on the gamecube in japan bursting with all new content as well as giving the playerbase the benefit of the e-reader compatibility so yeah after several years of porting translating and localizing one title back and forth the us had one animal crossing game and japan ended up with three versions of the game each with more content this brings what is probably considered the first generation of animal crossing titles to a close with the exception of one version ignoring the nintendo ds and its handheld version in the timeline just for a moment there was actually one final animal crossing port named debutsu nomori iq iq is a name given to nintendo in china and china was lucky enough to have a super rare and very unique handheld console called the iq player think of it as an n64 controller that connects directly to the tv without the need of a console the iq was entirely digital and all games were downloaded directly via hubs in stores or over the internet anyway in 2006 the release of this amazing console was unveiled with a very impressive range of games and you guessed it included the original animal crossing in all of its glory sadly this version of the game is beyond rare outside of china but you can relax because despite it being another port only has a couple of known glitches patched in the game no additional holidays or anything like that now that pretty much sums up the first generation of animal crossing games with five unique versions across three different consoles each featuring a variety of extra features while still being the same game now jumping back into the timeline nintendo are once again pushing for the future of handheld gaming and released the nintendo ds in 2004. don't worry the next few animal crossing games were released much more efficiently and for the most part saw a universal worldwide release now over a half a decade later and pretty much two years into the life of the ds it's time to look at the next generation or second installment of animal crossing depending on how you look at it in 2005 and 2006 in japan and north america and europe respectively oyidsu no mori that translated to come to the forest and of course known as animal crossing wild world was released and although clearly not the second animal crossing game ever is widely considered the second installment of the series animal crossing wild world was a brand new animal crossing game built from the ground up and incorporated entirely new controls features and gameplay it was of course the first in the series to utilize touchscreen features and online play using nintendo wi-fi connection this version of the game even added the ability to visit other players towns over wi-fi however this service has unfortunately been shut down leaving only local multiplayer for anyone who wishes to play a classic anyway animal crossing wild world saw a bunch of new additions including new tools such as the slingshot and watering can as well as new characters such as celeste and brewster and as you'd expect with any new installment also included larger collections to fish and bugs furthermore villagers in wild world came across more friendly participated in contests tend to their own gardens and even invited you to their houses really this is where animal crossing became even more family friendly than it already was and started morphing into the beloved game we know today animal crossing wild world was pretty generic across all regions with only minor cultural differences and bug fixes and was even the first animal crossing game to be released in south korea sadly many of the holidays players come to enjoy in the original were missing from the game by 2006 with the nintendo dsi now taking the world by storm it wasn't long before nintendo took a sidestep back to home consoles and dropped the record-breaking nintendo wii and just as you'd expect with wild world showing how popular the franchise still was nintendo knew a new generation console needed a new generation of animal crossing unlike the first gamecube title the next generation of animal crossing was a couple of years in the making but by 2008 animal crossing city folk or animal crossing let's go to the city in europe was released it seems that let's go to the city title in europe got its name from a direct translation of the japanese version known as machi e ikyoyo dubutsu namori whereas the us version took a different direction altogether despite this name change the game remains pretty much identical in all regions now animal crossing let's go to the city is considered the third installment in the animal crossing series and what would an animal crossing game be if it didn't make use of the latest nintendo accessory just like the previous home console version this version also made use of a new peripheral called the wii speak this accessory allowed users and players from around the world to speak to each other in real time this was pretty advanced for its time anyway animal crossing let's go to the city or city folk introduce some awesome new functionality such as being able to move in as your wild world character and bring over your catalogue to the game it also introduced a new control system that was loved by some and hated by others the good news is that the new mainline game also introduced new holidays such as halloween and the harvest festival amongst others that were missing from wild world the developers took things a step further making let's go to the city the first to introduce a whole new section of town or in this case city this was an area you went to visit special characters and you could literally shop explore chat buy and sell for as long as you wanted or at least until the shop shop for the night despite the game remaining almost identical across all regions there was some differences that saw unique dlc available in different countries so all in all not a bad release for the animal crossing franchise and as i'm sure you can tell other than the need for patching glitches it's obvious by this point that the animal crossing developers knew exactly what content they wanted the game to have before releasing it it should be pointed out at this point that the first generation of nintendo wiis were also backwards compatible which most gamers love and of course comes with the chance to revisit the gamecube version of animal crossing which is super cool now in 2009 it's worth mentioning another couple of notable titles linked to animal crossing were released these were two dsiware apps for nintendo dsis called the animal crossing calculator and animal crossing clock which could both be downloaded from the eshop for many years to come including during the 3ds era now although not strictly animal crossing games or even spin-offs these themed tools have a credible spot in the growth of animal crossing so with a brand new wii game the backwards compatibility of an old game and two new animal crossing apps that pretty much wraps up what most would class as the third generation of animal crossing titles moving on and heading towards a decade into animal crossings life and three years since nintendo released a console 2011 was here and nintendo dropped what would be one of their biggest successes of all time the nintendo 3ds and you guessed it the fourth generation of animal crossing so with the nintendo 3ds off to a great launch and the whispers of a new animal crossing title and development it wasn't long before animal crossing new leaf or tobii dasi dubutsu no mori was announced and released in 2012 even alongside a bunch of spin-offs that we'll get to just shortly and up to last year new leaf was one of the most played versions of animal crossing and threw the franchise into another league therefore doesn't need too much of an introduction with that said just as with any new installment of animal crossing to date a new animal crossing game meant new items new holidays and a push for thankfully free dlc although like city folk differed depending on which region you played in animal crossing new leaf changed the way we interacted with villages and npcs by creating a whole new role for the player at the start of the game you turned up in a new town not really knowing what's ahead of you only to find out you've been peer pressured into becoming mayor that was a great twist to the animal crossing franchise though and for the first time in an animal crossing game gave you complete control over the residents town ordinances and much more new leaf was the first game to completely redesign the aesthetics making flowers buildings animals and even your maya more realistic you can even wear a wetsuit and swim in the sea however one of the biggest features brought to new leaf was the town customization in the form of public works projects something we now know was a huge stepping stone for how animal crossing would go on to evolve as a series similar to city folk animal crossing new leaf included a dedicated area to shopping while it's not really a city new leaf's main street contains more shops than you could ever need the content available in new leaf is huge as the game has yet more new characters new personalities new collections such as sea creatures new side quests new tools and even new mini games animal crossing new leaf set the bar extremely high not just for animal crossing itself but for all live simulation games now the new leaf journey doesn't stop there but first it's time to move over to nintendo's latest home console the nintendo wii u which released late 2012 only one month after new leaf came out in japan now not long after the wii u and just after new leaf was released worldwide nintendo published a surprise application called animal crossing plaza this was a small spin-off tied to the miiverse which was a nintendo social networking platform that could be accessed directly from nintendo consoles essentially you could link new leaf games post screenshots and send messages to friends it experienced a short life span though and was removed from the eshop just over a year later anyway with animal crossing new leaf hype still breaking records the animal crossing franchise was thriving and around 2015 so three or four years since the release of the 3ds title nintendo began testing the waters with more animal crossing spin-offs the first was yet another animal crossing app called photos with animal crossing this was a simple tool that could be downloaded from the 3ds eshop and gave players the ability to use augmented reality thanks to the 3ds cameras to take real life photos with animal crossing characters it used animal crossing themed ar cards similar to those that came boxed with the 3ds it was pretty cool now moving on and still in the new leaf era rumors were growing around new animal crossing titles especially given nintendo's wii u console was yet to see a mainline game and by mid-2015 nintendo was ready to release the first spin-off turn full-on animal crossing game animal crossing happy home designer and the second animal crossing game to be released on 3ds to squish some of these rumors although not technically a mainline game it took one aspect of the animal crossing game mechanics we love and expanded on it of course happy home designer is exactly as it sounds and focuses on the customization and designing of villager homes and instead of being mayor you are a new employee at nook homes the main story of the game is to expand your main street and design new homes for residents so not only did happy home designer introduce new features such as placing items outside in gardens but once again nintendo took advantage of the latest technology and added the amiibo functionality which much like the e-reader cards allows players to invite specific villagers and unlock rare items it was a fairly popular game 2015 was a busy year and alongside the 3ds nintendo was actively publishing games for its wii u console and by the end of 2015 nintendo released the second animal crossing spin-off animal crossing amiibo festival rather than the rumored animal crossing hd game nintendo instead released a mario party style family game that was essentially an arcade board game and of course made use of amiibo the game wasn't received very well but did give players and families a bunch of modes to choose from with that said it's actually a beautiful game featuring hd textures and does play very well now a rather underrated party game wasn't the only thing the wii u had to offer the animal crossing universe it's worth mentioning that in 2016 the nintendo wii u saw animal crossing wild world but of course this was a virtual console game allowing players to play the original ds version as a digital download now moving along the timeline 2016 was a great year for animal crossing as after five years since new leafs first released nintendo decided they had even more to offer new leaf fans and released an update to the series called welcome amiibo which was available as a free download before being sold in stores as a physical game and replacing the original release this version gave the game a burst of new energy and offered new functionality with new hardware sounds familiar doesn't it welcome amiibo added a new area to the new leaf time with a bunch of new items and in-game dlc much like the e-reader cards back in the day you could now scan amiibo cards and figures that released alongside the happy home designer spin-off and explore a number of villages and special characters camper vans bringing a whole new feel to the game this update also ported over some of the modes from amiibo festival so if you never got to play the game but you do have new leaf be sure to give them a try anyway having just discussed one of the best-selling nintendo 3ds titles the first two animal crossings spin-off games two applications and a surprise new leaf update that pretty much concludes what most people class as generation 4 animal crossing games which brings us to the modern day animal crossing era and next generation games by 2017 animal crossing fans had gone six years in some regions without a mainline game and with the latest greatest nintendo console the nintendo switch having just released another crossing fans were getting pretty hyped for a new animal crossing game it wasn't long after the latest handheld home hybrid console's launch that nintendo confirmed an animal crossing title was being worked on but not for the nintendo switch in comes animal crossing pocket camp not only is animal crossing pocket camp a spin-off but merges these social and simulation genres as well as targeting a new platform entirely by the end of 2017 animal crossing pocket camp was released worldwide across smart devices on both ios and android this mobile game is essentially a mini version of animal crossing that takes features from all previous animal crossing games and combines them into a campsite experience that allows players to decorate camps cabins and camper vans whilst interacting with villagers collecting items and making questionable fashion choices this portable version of the game focuses around daily tasks and stretch goals and hosts regular events that offer limited time prizes and exclusive items more often than not if you miss out on an event you miss out on the items having said that pocket camp inspires the animal crossing community on the go gives more customization than most games did and in all honesty offers an adorable animal crossing experience believe it or not animal crossing pocket camp not only helped build the hype for the next mainline game but actually influenced it one of the biggest aspects of pocket camp is of course crafting and using materials you've collected to construct items and although this mechanic did feature in mini games in amiibo festival for example almost certainly became a core mechanic of the franchise due to the success of pocket camp it's worth mentioning pocket camp also introduced new characters that have yet to appear in any other animal crossing games for now anyway even today almost four years later animal crossing pokecam remains in the top charts of the app stores is regularly updated and is played by millions every day it's incredible to say the least and this if you haven't guessed by now brings us to the most recent installment of animal crossing and the fifth mainline game in the series by 2018 the fanbase were getting pretty impatient but thankfully nintendo finally revealed a new animal crossing game was on the horizons except they didn't reveal that part just yet it wasn't until e3 2019 18 years since the debut of animal crossing and eight years since the latest mainline release that the developers published the first look at the long-awaited hd version of animal crossing and revealed the title new horizons for nintendo switch after several delays in development to a game that for a while was expected to work alongside pocket camp animal crossing new horizons eventually released worldwide in march 2020 and the game exploded adam across a new horizon sold millions at launch and continues to sell thousands of copies every week putting new horizons into the top selling nintendo switch games of all time and only months into the release outsold every other animal crossing game combined anyway animal crossing new horizons doesn't really need an introduction but despite being the latest mainline game is somewhat considered a refresh to the franchise and based on the delays it originally experienced can only suggest its direction was altered several times despite this animal crossing new horizons combine some of the most beloved features of any animal crossing game and merges them with all new mind-blown mechanics such as terraforming and island designing to create a fully immersive wonderful and charming animal crossing experience anyway new horizons begins with a mini story mode which is a first for any animal crossing game and steers the player into learning the ropes of crafting and general life around a deserted island the aim is to progress over the course of a week unlocking features and special characters along the way with the goal of bringing the superstar kk slider to the island for some gamers this is where the game ends but for the vast majority of the community this is just the beginning island life in new horizons is more or less limitless and thanks to the newly added features like the nook phone allows players to seemingly focus on customizing and crafting the perfect island layout one of the most notable features new horizons utilizes which was heavily influenced by the public works projects of new leaf the garden designs of happy home designer and the campsite layouts of pocketcamp is of course the ability to place furniture items outside this of course allows players to create and live in a thriving animal crossing environment they develop themselves from scratch of course animal across the new horizons includes some classic activities such as fishing toys and bug-offs as well as some traditional events like halloween and bunny day too which is really awesome now it has been said new horizons is missing certain well-known aspects of an animal crossing game but taking into account the nintendo switch's demographic and family target audience the hype built from pocket camp and mobile users the nostalgia from previous animal crossing games and marketing a refreshed look and new direction of the animal crossing franchise as well as the modern social aspect new horizons more or less smashed expectations and has laid the foundations for what will no doubt be the biggest animal crossing game for years to come plus for those with any doubts about the direction of new horizons the animal crossing development team are continuously updating the game too adding old and new features beloved characters and all new furniture sets too with monthly and seasonal patches to keep the game fresh for players of all ages no matter when you jump into the game plus nintendo have said on multiple occasions that new horizons will have a lifespan of three or more years and at the time of this recording we're only one year in so there's plenty of content to come with the success of pocket camp continuing and new horizons fan base growing every week with several updates down the line it's entirely possible the next spin-off game is just around the corner too so it's never been better to be an animal crossing fan so there we have it that's five mainline games one of which has five different versions three spin-off games four applications a significant update a bunch of unique hardware and peripherals to complete the history of 20 years of animal crossing video games and how it became the game we all know and loved so much of course i'd like to wish you all a happy 20th animal crossing anniversary and to thank the animal crosston development teams over the years for all their hard work but what do you think could you see even more new horizons updates for years to come or maybe you think a new animal crossing game is already in the making be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below anyway for now that pretty much wraps up this video if you're an animal crossing fan don't forget to subscribe as well a bunch of new horizons news as and when it happens until then i'd like to give a special thank you to this channel's patreon supporters as well as this channel's members you guys absolutely rock and truly help me upload as regularly as i do i couldn't do it without you don't forget to head over to our discord server too and of course if you made it to the end of the video first of all give yourself a pat on the back this was a long video but also please comment animal crossing just let me know you did that would be super awesome and please be sure to include which animal crossing game is your favorite i'd love to know anyway i hope you enjoyed this video and found it entertaining please be sure to leave a like if you did thanks for watching i hope you have an amazing day stay safe and i'll see you in my next video peace [Music] you

Channel: Mayor Mori

Views: 189,365

Rating: 4.942071 out of 5

Keywords: Animal Crossing, Evolution of Animal Crossing, Evolution of Animal Crossing games, Animal Crossing Anniversary, Every Animal Crossing Game, Animal Crossing Wild World, Animal Crossing City Folk, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Animal Crossing New Horizons, 2001 - 2020, 2001 - 2021, Animal Crossing Comparisons, Animal Crossing Trailer, Animal Crossing Update, ACNH, Tom Nook, Isabelle, Evolution, Secrets, Consoles, Villagers, Analysis, Gameplay, News, Tricks, Event, Update, 20th Anniversary, ACNL, AC

Id: cFAEjJ9-vaU

Length: 25min 52sec (1552 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 14 2021