Animal Crossing (series)

The is a series of video games creature for Nintendo consoles and handheld systems. The game is non-linear, as there is no set storyline for the player to follow, along with no ending or middle. The beginning of each game takes place with a human (the player), moving into a village of animals. The game is rated "'E' for Everyone" by the ESRB, which is equivalent to a "3+" by PEGI. The player has a variety of activities he or she can do.

Objectives and Activities
Animal Crossing is a simulation game and as such does not have a set objective. The player is free to do what he or she wants to do. Some common activities include:
 * Taking on jobs from villagers
 * Gardening
 * Fishing
 * Bug catching
 * Paying off their mortgage
 * Celebrating the various in-game holidays

Characters
Other than the player, every character is animal. They serve as villagers who move in and out of the village. Each villager has their own personality and traits. These animals are anthropomorphic, which means that they are capable of speech and have human-like characteristics. Each villager has their own house, and will sometimes redecorate. Villagers will also send letters if the player sends them one first.

Customization
Each game features in own addition to customizing the house. Furniture, wallpaper, and flooring all changeable features in the players' house. The player can also change their hair style, color, clothing, and accessories to wear. In more recent games, this customization ability has been expanded upon to allow custom designs on furniture, and the ability to change eye colors.

Games
The has quite a few games in it. The series started in 2001 with a Japanese game called "Dōbutsu no Mori". This game was very limited in terms of features, though had a version called "Dōbutsu no Mori+" released later that year. Both of these were released for the Nintendo 64.

The first game from the series to be released overseas in North America and Europe was "Animal Crossing" in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube. This game was an overhaul of the Nintendo 64 version, and received fairly positive reaction from reviewers. It became so popular that it was re-released in Japan in 2003 under the title "Dōbutsu no Mori e+".

The next game was Animal Crossing Wild World, the first handheld game in the series, released in 2005. This was the first to allow Wi-Fi connectivity allowing players to visit each other in their towns. The slingshot and golden watering can were added into the game, and the ability to see your characters' hair was added.

Animal Crossing: City Folk soon followed in 2008 for the Wii, featuring the City addition, where many shopping areas were available. It also had the return of many real-world holidays that were removed in Wild World. ProDesigns were included in this game, which allowed different parts of clothing to be changed.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released in 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS. The customization got an overhaul in this game, allowing the town to have new features. Diving was added, along with the ability to change pants, shoes, socks, and skirts.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was, 7 years later, released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. Adding being able to choose where the shops go, also adding a very anticipated feature, being able to place furniture outside. The new Online Creations Portal in the Able Sisters shop allowed for users to share their designs and Pro Designs to other users around the world.