The Beginning

Animal Crossing was my first ever Nintendo game and life sim, starting with the spin off mobile app Pocket Camp (rip). Pocket Camp led to my long hyperfixation over the franchise, with my favorite element of the (although limited) gameplay being fishing and bug catching. I started playing Pocket Camp during 2019, with my favorite villagers at the time being Goldie and Rosie who stayed at my campsite. I mostly spent my time playing the game catching fish and bugs, talking with villagers, and expanding my campsite. Unfortunately, I don't have any screenshots of my gameplay, but I still hold strong nostalgia for this game. Even if I wanted to go to Pocket Camp Complete, I would not be able to as it is not available in my region. :sad:

This image is found on Pinterest, specifically being from Pocket Camp Complete.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (which will be abbreviated to ACNH) was released on March 2020, in the beginning of the pandemic. This game was probably one of the only good things to come out of the pandemic in my opinion, shining a light of hope while the world has shut down. ACNH is the 5th mainline game in the franchise, being released for the Nintendo Switch. This was also the first game I got on my Switch for my birthday. ACNH was a step in a new direction, taking place in an island getaway as opposed to the classic town or village. In my opinion, this change in direction was interesting and helped give the series a fresh coat of paint as opposed to the other mainline games being set in a town. ACNH also allowed for full island customization, from terraforming to simply placing furniture and items outside as opposed to ACNL only allowing public works projects.

My starter villagers were Diva and Rudy. As of today, Diva is still on my island. My favorite villagers on my island aside from Diva are Apollo, Tangy, and Raymond (basic, I know). My island had cycled through several themes, but is currently going through a kidcore and sci-fi theme. My island currently has a 5 star rating, with the insects and fossils section of my museum being complete. I named my island "V o I d" because I was an annoying 13 year old with the sense of humor of someone straight out of 2017.

My favorite update in the game was the possibility for planting crops and cooking, which led me to attempt to get all recipes. The addition of crops and food was also a good source of Bells. Creating a new section of my island for an orchard and an area for sowing crops was a time-consuming yet rewarding part of my playthrough. I also got the Happy Home Paradise DLC, which I also enjoyed. I remember having Blathers being one of my clients for a paradise home.

ACNH was my first ever mainline Animal Crossing game, which is why I hold it close to my heart despite not playing it as much anymore. I've invested more than 1000 hours in this game, and I have been playing this game for 5 years. Despite all of the community's controversies (especially revolving around Raymond, yikes), I still love the community that came with it. I remember when I would talk about this game with my I&S teacher during free time in online classes, or listening to the entire Animal Crossing discography instead of working. Animal Crossing was one of the only things that kept me rather sane while dealing with the turbulent events of the pandemic and other happenings revolving around my (at the time) friend group.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (abbreviated to ACNL) is my second mainline Animal Crossing game, which I played immedately after getting my modded secondhand 3DS. Similarly to ACNH, I had an important role in the game as the mayor instead of ACNH's island representative. I immediately noticed that I had less control over my town/village, which I had to get used to. Just like my island, I got apples as a starting fruit in my town. To be honest, I did not play ACNL regularly until now, which led to a few villagers coming and going. My town is called "Limbo", because I think it's cool. My favorite villagers currently in my town are Francine, Pinky, Gladys, and Keaton, with Francine being my best friend in the game.

In my opinion, I found ACNL to be more lively and fun despite it being more limiting in terms of customization, and the fact that I started off as pale despite being rather darker IRL LOL. The dialogue from the villagers just felt less repetitive, moreso as if they were actually talking to me. I heard online that lots of players in the Animal Crossing community shared similar sentiments. I would also like to say that I enjoyed the hourly music a lot in this game, as it felt more natural than "corporate".

Despite this game not being my first, I also hold this game close to my heart as it gave me comfort. Animal Crossing as a whole made me feel comfort, with its bug and fish catching and music being my favorite aspects. One of my favorite parts of my playthrough was going to Tortimer's island and catching beetles to reel in more Bells. I also love running errands for my villagers, especially for Francine. Currently, my main goal is to obtain all fruits and plant as many fruit trees as possible in my town.