20 years ago, Nintendo fans embarked on a new life and new journey with cuddly animal neighbors in a virtual village of their own – sparking off one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises to date!

Indeed, 14 April 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the Animal Crossing series in Japan, which debuted with Dōbutsu no Mori (Animal Forest) on the Nintendo 64. The basic premise of the game saw players moving into a new virtual town with talking animal neighbors, and no set objectives to actually complete. Instead, players had free reign over how they wanted to spend their time in the town – with various menial tasks such as fishing, catching insects, and more serving as suitable distractions.

The series would soon gain its signature real-time gameplay with the release of Dōbutsu no Mori+ on the GameCube – which would eventually head west in 2002 as the first Animal Crossing game that many fans grew up with. From here on out, every mainline game in the series would see players interacting with their town in real-time, with days passing by even when players do not touch the game.

The simplicity of this virtual town concept stuck around with minor improvements and unique features being introduced in future Animal Crossing titles. Wild World would adapt the basic Animal Crossing gameplay for the handheld DS console, letting players enjoy their town while on the move. City Folk would introduce a new “City” hub where players can meet many of the game’s special NPCs. New Leaf would let players customize various aspects of their town and its landscape, as its mayor. Several side games such as Happy Home Designer and amiibo Paradise would attempt to adapt the franchise into other game genres, although with lukewarm results.

This would all culminate in the explosive release of 2020’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons – which has become the Nintendo Switch’s second-bestselling title so far. The game was unique in its introduction of crafting mechanics and having the player completely start their life from scratch on a deserted island. Instead of villagers already living in their town, players would have to seek new neighbors from mystery islands or wait for campers to arrive on their new island home. New Horizons arguably ushered in mainstream success for the franchise as a whole, with many newcomers purchasing it as their gateway to gaming on Nintendo Switch.

For now, the future of the franchise is still looking pretty bright. Let’s hope the next mainline Animal Crossing game continues to keep the mundane magic of the series alive!

Happy 20th birthday, Animal Crossing!