Growing up I always loved playing video games. I remember always having my pink Nintendo DS on me. I played a lot of Pokémon, Dragon Quest, and Animal Crossing. I remember switching between the three games so often that I would keep them all in my little DS carrying case. Animal Crossing: Wild World was probably one of my favorite DS games that I have ever owned. I remember spending hours on it, catching fish, bugs, and just talking to all of the villagers in my town. When New Leaf came out I also quickly fell in love with it. Because of my love for the series I can’t wait for the new one to come out. Animal Crossing: New Horizons comes out on March 20th and every day I keep getting more and more excited about it. So here are five features I am looking forward to in the new Animal Crossing.
- Character Customization
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They are finally giving us the ability to create our character at the start of the game! Long gone is the question system that decided how your character looks. Now you are able to design your character to look however you want. You can change skin tone, eyes, hair, and even add blush. The best part about this is if you get sick of how your character looks you can always change it in-game. If you do want to change it in-game it seems like you will need to get a mirror for your room. When you go up to your mirror it will bring up the same character customization screen that was at the start of the game. Because of that, it does seem like Shampoodle and Harriet are now obsolete. But I am hoping eventually we can see Harriet doing something else in this game.
- DoDo Airlines
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This is one of the main buildings that you start out with when you first play the game. It is the airport, so when you want to leave your island via online play, or to visit a randomly generated island this is where you need to go. If you want to go to a deserted island you will have to have 2,000 Nook Miles. It might seem really expensive but visiting another island will give you the opportunity to get new fruit, harvest more materials, and even run into new villagers that you can recruit. Visting new islands will probably be the thing I’ll spend most of my Nook Miles on.
- Nook Miles
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You are now able to earn another currency besides Bells in this game. Just like Meow Coupons in New Leaf, you will earn a special currency if you complete daily tasks. It seems with Nook Miles they just stream-lined it more. It’s not just daily goals anymore, it’s giving you rewards every time you accomplish something big in the game, like catching one hundred bugs or talking to fifty villagers. When you finish certain tasks you will earn currency that you can use to pay for special items, unlock current figures, and even use to pay off your first debt to Tom Nook. This is an amazing feature because even if you are not sure about what you might want to do in the game, this system will give you suggestions on what to do next.
- Control of Your Island Layout
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At the start of the game, you will be able to pick the main layout of your game and what hemisphere you want your island to be in. When the game first starts you will be able to decide where you want your tent to be and you will also be able to decide where you want the starting villager’s tents to be. But it’s not just that: Whenever a new villager moves in you will be able to pick out where their new house will go. Thankfully new villagers will now be unable to ruin the layout of your island and if later if you want to move buildings around, you will be able to do so through the Town Hall.
That is not even all the things you can control on your island. With the new Island Designer tool will give you the ability to add pathways, add landforms, and even create new rivers and lakes. This gives you the ability to design your own perfect island, but sadly from all the news we have heard about this game it does not seem like this tool will be unlocked until your island is nearly fully developed.
- Old Favorites Are Returning
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Even with all of the changes happening in this game, I am glad that Nintendo decided to keep some of the staples of the series. In the Nintendo Direct and Gameplay Footage from PAX East, we have seen the Museum, the Able Sisters, and Tom Nooks shop. I know for a while there we didn’t see those buildings and everyone was worried if they were actually going to return, but I am glad to say that they are. The three classic buildings will be on your island, and you will be able to decide where they go. Of course, since this is a new edition of the game all of the buildings look better than ever and I can’t wait to finally experience their newly updated designs.
With March 20th so close, I just can’t wait for this game to come out, and I hope after reading this list you are just as excited about this game as I am.