TheAnimal Crossingfranchise is largely a success story, with game after game launching to general acclaim. While everyone has their favorites, it’s hard to deny that there’s a considerable level of merit in each of the mainline titles, whether it manifests in therich atmosphere of Wild Worldor the expansive custom island planning ofNew Horizons. That doesn’t mean every game that ever bore theAnimal Crossingname has been a hit, however, and there’s one true black sheep of the franchise that doesn’t tend to have many defenders.
As a party game spin-off of the series,Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festivalended up being the franchise’s sole ambassador on the Wii U, and it’s not likely to have won over many new fans. Like theMario Partygames,Amiibo Festivalfollows the basic format of a tabletop board game, with player characters marching around a simple layout and facing fortunes that rise and fall largely according to luck. True to its name, the integration of Amiibo figures was a big selling point, and two Amiibo included with the game might have moved more copies than the software itself.
Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival Was A Bit Of A Disaster
Party Games Need Energy
The big problem withAnimal Crossing: Amiibo Festivalisn’t the basic format, it’s just that the game isn’t very good. The simplistic gameplay and an unhurried pace are inoffensive, butthey’re also unlikely to hold the attention of anyone who isn’t a small child. Although theintegration of Amiibo can be fun, building the game around the Amiibo as a selling point made it seem more like a cash grab, and adding that toy-based layer on top of the generally clumsy Wii U resulted in something that feels more Fisher Price than Nintendo.
An Animal Crossing Party Game Could Be Great If Done Right
A Good Concept Executed Poorly
With the right approach, however, there’s no reason that anAnimal Crossingparty game couldn’t be good.Mario Party has proventime and time again that chaotic minigames and a cosmic sense of unfairness can lead to great times with friends, andAnimal Crossingcarries a level of innate charm that rivals Nintendo’s iconic leading man. The cruel whims of fate have played a big role in theAnimal Crossingseries, from ending up with one of Redd’s forgeries to stumbling across pitfall seeds, andproperly translating that penchant for mixing lovely heights with unpleasant surprises could pay off.
Forget Amiibo: Good Luck Getting The Official Animal Crossing Cards Every Fan Needs
Special cards released only in Japan in the 2000s have become some of the most sought-after Animal Crossing merchandise, even more than amiibo cards.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsmade the franchise bigger than ever before, and mixing in more spin-offs in the future would make a lot of sense for Nintendo.Happy Home Designeralready proved thatAnimal Crossingspin-offs can do better, but the series doesn’t need to settle for the still-tepid reception that the sandbox decoration game generated.Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festivalcould be the perfect template for a greatAnimal Crossinggame, as long as a future take on a casual party title is a lot less Amiibo and a lot more fun.
