Nintendo LifeAfter a long, tiring year, Animal Crossing: New Horizons he needs a shot. No, not the arm shot that is currently taking place all over the planet with varying degrees of accuracy – we’re talking about a caffeine shot from the supplier of the best series of fried bean juices, Brewster.
The damn fine coffee of everyone’s favorite barista is probably the most obvious, most “significant” element of previous games that fans are desperate to return to. After 365 days of updates, both big and small, we honestly thought that everything will be in play by now, but the huge success of the game seems to have caught Nintendo off guard and there are indications that the company might be looking to keep the ball running with additional updates and improvements to upcoming annual events (Bunny Day, for example, already has new items this year) and potentially adding more features and mechanics to the game over the second year.
We looked at things we would like to see in an updated way near launch and looked at some more in-depth features that we wouldn’t mind seeing added in May. A full year after launch, some requested additions have indeed arrived – Crazy Redd bought the merchandise on the desert islands in April, for example, and additional custom design photos are now available in the first anniversary update – though others are still AWOL.
So, have a drink and take a look at the things we’re most looking forward to seeing coming across the horizon as the game settles into Switch for the second year. There’s a poll at the bottom, so let us know what you’d like to see …
Brewster’s Roost
One of the most sought after items in New Horizons, the ability to get up at The Roost and get a cup of Joe from Brewster has been severely missed by AC believers. Maybe we just need the willing ear of a bartender to pour out our blocking misfortunes, or maybe we just want to relax to some relaxing “news” while pulling our Arabica from the Colombian foothills.
Anyway, hopefully Nintendo will have a pigeon up its sleeve for the 2.0 update. I gladly deliver coffee around the island, having the opportunity – and, of course, some appropriate rewards.
Resetti, Gracie, Dr. Shrunk, Wendell and other special characters
© Nintendo LifeThe list of special characters who have not yet appeared on our desert islands is long. Mr. Resetti persists, of course (as an employee of Nook Inc.’s rescue service, no less), but he actually has someone seen he in non-statuary form?
Wendell, the Wandering Walrus is one of our favorites, but we’d love to catch fashionista Gracie in our marketplace; as well as insurance salesman Lyle, Katrina The Fortune Teller or psychiatrist / stand comedian Dr. Shrunk. After last year, we could all laugh, if not for a while on his couch, right?
Giroizi
© NintendoThe NL team is divided on whether Gyroids are extraordinarily weird collectors or disturbing, dead-eyed figures that we are happy to see the back of. However, some time ago, I asked Nintendo Life readers if they would like to see the return of Gyroids, and the answer was a resounding yes!
So yes! Why not? Let’s fill our islands with more bullshit fabulous objects!
Tortimer Island and more multiplayer activities
Improvements to the online component of the game – especially in the circles you have to jump through to leave the island and the area extremely time-intensive process having more than one person to visit your island – may require a little more. Nintendo has made it clear that a fast and smooth online experience is on the list of priorities; what the It is can be weird compared to other online experiences, but only about features. Pretty good is good enough, it seems. It’s not like weird online functionality has done much to affect sales.
In the absence of a more detailed online review, we would like to see Tortimer return, however – potentially in his role as Animal Crossing: New Leaf leader of the island tour, which could introduce a series of mini-games, focused on multiplayer or otherwise in New Horizons. The maze event of the first month with the return of Rover was one of our favorite events so far (although you preferred Halloween and Toy Day), so any extension on this topic would be very welcome.
Serial creation
Fish bait. That’s really it, we just want to create the fish bait faster! When trying to hunt Golden Trout or Stringfish, making the fish bait in batches, rather than getting an RSI from the “A” button, would be a lifesaver. Or at least a lifeguard.
Ability to build in lots. That’s it, Nintendo. Come on, throw us a bone here! Even multiples of ten would save our precious numbers from a horrible beating. You want to keep buying gaming stuff, don’t you? We, the players, have to take care of ourselves and not help us.
More creatures to catch
After spending an entire year catching beetles and eventually sea creatures, many players will now have completed their Critterpedia and have caught absolutely every critter in the game. For many, hunting them all signals an end – in a way – to the game, so adding a new batch of insects or marine life could be a way to pull players back.
Of course, you don’t want to overwhelm beginners. If we were tasked with expanding creatures that could be captured in an update, we’d probably have a special NPC once you’ve taken 100% of your Critterpedia to provide news about new animals to capture. Maybe a new type of tree or flower would attract new insects to your island. Perhaps a special sonar device helps identify previously “hidden” fish. Or how about receiving a gold ticket for a new tropical island full of its own wildlife ready for cataloging? How about some birdwatching?
We are not sold on the idea of creatures of different sizes, nor would we want Animal Crossing to turn into Pokémon (we don’t really want to catch male and female fish or Shiny versions of standard creatures – can you imagine ?!), but we would like a reason to break the insect net and fishing rod again.
Ability to change the resident representative
Nintendo LifeIt may have taken some time, but Nintendo has finally updated the game to make it possible to transfer your island to a new Switch using the special Island Transfer tool. You can also move individual players to other islands if they are not the island’s representative, but it is not yet possible to change an island’s resident representative.
Why would you want to do that? Well, say you bought New Horizons for one of your kids and made them the “main” player. Fast forward a month and they’ve lost interest – it looks like you or someone else is playing the game more these days. Unfortunately, the “progress” of the island (the ability to build new structures, pay the mortgage, etc.) is related to the resident representative, so you are obliged to play like them if you want to do things.
For some people this addition would not make much difference – for others it would be transformative.
Old Nintendo consoles or an Arcade!
© Nintendo LifeOkay, listen to us about this. Everyone wants the original NES games The passage of animals back – but anyone who pays for a Nintendo Switch Online subscription already has access to them, right? So why not combine the two in a way that makes sense for Nintendo in 2021 – if you buy NES and SNES from the Nook store and give them home you will receive a special “wrapper” for Animal Crossing in which to play NSO NES / SNES games are already available. Easy!
If Nintendo wanted to go to the city and install an arcade building on our islands, we would all be for it. But since we can already buy the regular Switch, the Animal Crossing Switch and now Switch Lites (exclusively for NSO subscribers, no less) in the game, why not the NES, SNES and any other retro consoles that could appeared to be part of Nintendo Switch Online in the future? It would look great in our house with all the Mario 25th birthday items.
Do you still play Animal Crossing on the Switch? Would any of the above additions bring you back? Unique, non-annual events, maybe? What would keep New Horizons fresh for the game to enter the 2.0 update point in the second year? Tell us with a comment below.
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