Ten Years Later, I’m Still Playing New Leaf
Broaden your horizons; it’s a wild world.
This year marks Animal Crossing: New Leaf’s (2012) ten-year-anniversary! It feels like only yesterday I was talking to Rover on the train, anticipating my first move into town… Oh, how time flies.
New Leaf may be reaching double-digits, but this game is far from old. It’s my favourite Animal Crossing game, and for good reason too.
This is why I’m still playing New Leaf — nearly a decade later.
Town Customisation
Before New Leaf, the town customisation opportunities were largely limited. Aside from an extra bridge or fountain, there wasn’t much to choose from. Unless you’re a brilliant hacker or artist, your town was left looking largely like an overgrown forest with some buildings scattered about.
In this instalment though, your character had more authority than ever with your clumsy appointment as the town’s mayor. And as mayor, you have a variety of Public Work Projects to spruce up your town — Zen bridges, Egyptian Pyramid replicas, and the standard playground equipment.
These opportunities, randomly generated by your townies, will keep you excited for what comes next. Will it be Tokyo Tower or a recycling bin?
Sure, it’s not the most effective system if you’re looking to turn your humble town into Dubai. It’s no surprise that the developers took the fanbase’s creativity on-board and gave us New Horizons (2020) — a game with an almost unlimited amount of design opportunities.
I commend the ambition involved in New Horizons; and with its release in late March 2020, I appreciate how the game was a great comfort and distraction during ‘Phase One’ of the pandemic. The islands that were created in this time, and even now, are rich with detail. The effort shows.
But if things are going back to normal in your side of the world after the pandemic, then the chances of you having the time and energy to create an extraordinary island is slim. Terraforming cliffs and rebuilding rivers may be fun, but it’s time-consuming and tiring. It’s you vs your island.
Even worse is when you fall into the rabbit-hole of island tours on YouTube. Suddenly, all your brilliant ideas of a cottage-core fantasy world slip away. All that remains is crushed spirits and a serious case of Island-imposter-syndrome. You might as well just restart the game.
It’s this competitiveness that dampens the franchise’s easy-going escapism. And while I’m not trying to imply that Nintendo has lost sight of this altogether, I think there’s a problem when a game designed to relax players only creates more stress.
So while everyone is overhauling their islands, there’s something to be said about the simpler days of celebrating a new bench.
The Gameplay
When it comes to gameplay, New Leaf soars high.
Animal Crossing has always been a game of consistency; you find yourself in a routine of digging up fossils, catching bugs and fish, and shaking fruit trees. These collections take time to fill, especially considering that there are different bugs and fish to be caught depending on the season.
As a result, Animal Crossing’s gameplay can become quite monotonous. When you combine this with the difficulties of earning a large amount of bells — especially in winter (less tropical bugs and fish), Animal Crossing has at times felt like a slog.
To counter this, New Leaf added in the opportunity for your player to visit a tropical island where it’s summer all-year-round. You can go at any time — day and night, and there’s no limits to the amount of trips you take in one day.
Each trip may cost a hefty one-thousand bells, but the pros outweigh the cons here. If you play your cards right, you can return home with over three-hundred-thousand bells.
You can finally get that house expansion, and your town’s various projects have a consistent source of income. That royal crown selling for one-million bells suddenly feels a little more attainable.
What’s more, there are tons of things to do on Tortimer Island, aside from the obvious catching and fishing.
- You can take a dive into the ocean with a wetsuit and unlock a new series of collectables: deep-sea catches.
- You can go on tours to other small islands — participating in fun mini-games and picking up some exotic fruit along the way.
- You can buy souvenirs in the island’s shack with the medals you’ve earned from the tour. These souvenirs can be anything from your own wetsuit, to themed furniture, or even some hydrangea bushes.
So whenever you need a break from everyday town life and being mayor, New Leaf has got you covered!
The Game’s Character(s)
For a game with a young audience, Nintendo has never shied away from teasing its players.
New Leaf is no exception to this. I’ve had at least three pears regifted to me this week. And on the several occasions I’ve sported a bee-sting, my villagers have always insisted on telling me how awful I look. They’re so kind.
Sarcasm aside, I appreciate these quirks because it makes the villagers feel more personable. And it never crosses a line, something which the older instalments tended to do.
In the original Animal Crossing, these villagers didn’t just tease you — they were downright mean. They’d mock your style, your house, and even ask if you’d gained weight since they last saw you. Take a scroll through the comment section of this YouTube compilation, and you’ll find several people sharing their childhood upset and anger. One commenter wrote:
Starshine: I remember getting so frustrated to the point of tears as a kid when I’d write them letters. I’d make sure all my spelling was correct and write only nice positive things, and they’d always respond with “what language are you speaking? I can’t understand any of the gibberish you wrote.”
Admittedly, some of the villagers’ comments are pretty hilarious. My personal favourite in this video is:
Ursala: Have you been off on an adventure somewhere, grooomph? So? Where’s my souvenir? You don’t have one for me? You cheapskate!
2001 truly was a different time. With that said, I think New Leaf’s softer tone is a step in the right direction.
Even notorious characters like Resetti have let out some steam; his rants about saving the game have certainly been cut short. In a way, I’m glad. Many years ago, I went so far as deleting my character in Let’s Go To The City (2008) because Resetti terrified me. Who would’ve thought that a mole could create so much fear?
I’m glad a generation of players have been spared from Resetti’s yelling… my childhood self is still scarred.
Needless to say, New Leaf’s tongue-and-cheek approach is what works best.
Final Thoughts
New Leaf may be my favourite game, but that doesn’t mean the other instalments are bad. Each Animal Crossing game has offered something unique to its players.
The original Animal Crossing lay the foundation of everything the sequels would build upon, even if it insulted you in the process.
Wild World brought the game to the DS, and added lore to the game with features like Boondox (a poor village which you could donate bells to and receive different colour feathers in return).
Let’s Go to the City offered us the chance to (as you can guess from the name) explore all the shops the city had to offer.
New Horizons has transformed Animal Crossing for a new generation and surpassed any previous limits in-game.
But when all is said and done, I think New Leaf is the perfect formula for an Animal Crossing game — because somehow, it’s both relaxing and fun.
New Leaf broke up the typical routine of earlier instalments, and redefined what an Animal Crossing game can be. But when considering these questions, New Leaf never loses sight of what it is.
At its heart, Animal Crossing is a game where the biggest hardship is thinking you spotted a Napoleon fish, only to catch your twelfth Seabass that week.
It may be one of Nintendo’s largest franchises, but it is a game that is meant to feel cosy. New Leaf certainly is that.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a town to run.
