Nintendo LifeAfter a long, tiring old year, Animal Crossing: New Horizons needs a shot. No, not the shot in the arm currently being rolled out across the planet with varying degrees of enthusiasm – we’re talking about a caffeine shot from the series’ purveyor of the best roasted bean juice, Brewster.
The damn good coffee from everyone’s favorite barista is perhaps the most obvious, most ‘significant’ element from previous games that fans are desperately seeing return. After 365 days of updates, both big and small, we honestly thought everything would be in the game now, but the game’s massive success seems to have taken Nintendo by surprise, and there is some evidence that the company may be looking to expand the game. keep the ball rolling. further updates and refinements to recurring annual events (Bunny Day, for example, already has new items this year) and possibly more facilities and mechanics to the game during the second year.
We looked at things we’d like to see in an update way back near launch, and brainstormed some more in-depth features we’d like to see in May as well. Indeed, a whole year since launch, some requested additions have come in – Crazy Redd bought his were on your desert islands in April, for example, and additional Custom Design shots are now available in the first anniversary update – though others are still AWOL.
So, put on a concoction and let’s take a look at the things we most want to see on the horizon as the game enters its second year on Switch. There’s a poll at the bottom, so let us know what you’d like to see …
Brewster’s Roost
One of the most requested elements still missing from New Horizons, the ability to roll over to The Roost and grab a cup of Joe from Brewster was sorely missed by the AC believers. Maybe we just need a bartender’s willing ear to pour in our lockdown woes, or maybe we just want to unwind over some relaxing ‘coos’ while slurping our Arabica from the Colombian foothills.
Regardless, we desperately hope Nintendo has a pigeon in store for update 2.0. We’d love to deliver coffee to the island if we got the chance – and some appropriate rewards, of course.
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 lingers, sure (as a Nook Inc. Rescue Service employee, no less), but actually has someone seen him in non-statue form?
Wendell the Roaming Walrus is one of our favorites, but we would love to see fashionista Gracie in our square; Likewise, insurance salesman Lyle, Katrina the fortune teller or psychiatrist / stand-up comedian Dr. Shrunk. After the past year, we could all laugh, if not for a while on his couch, right?
Gyroids
© NintendoThe NL team is divided on whether gyroids are delightfully quirky little collectibles or nerve-racking dead-eyed figures that we’re glad to see the back of. Still, a while ago we asked Nintendo Life readers if they wanted to see Gyroids return, and the answer was a resounding yes!
So yes! Why not? Let’s fill our islands with more nonsense fantastic items!
Tortimer’s Island and more multiplayer activities
Improvements to the online component of the game – specifically with regard to the hoops you have to jump through to build your island and the excruciatingly time consuming process of having more than one person visiting your island – might be asking a bit much. Nintendo has made it clear that a fast and smooth online experience is low on its priority list; what is there might be clunky compared to other online experiences, but it’s just about features. Good enough is good enough, it seems. It’s not that clunky online functionality contributed much to sales.
In the absence of a more thorough online overhaul, we would love to see Tortimer return, possibly in his role of Animal Crossing: New Leaf island tour leader, who could introduce a large number of minigames, whether or not aimed at multiple players, in New Horizons. The May Day maze event with Rover’s return was one of our favorite events so far (although you preferred Halloween and Toy Day), so any expansion on that theme would be very welcome.
Batch Crafting
Fish bait. It really is, we just want to make fishing bait faster! When trying to hunt the gold trout or the wire fish it would be a lifesaver to make fishing bait in batches instead of getting an RSI by hitting the ‘A’ button. Or at least a handsaver.
The ability to craft in batches. That’s it, Nintendo. Come on, throw us a bone here! Even multiples of ten would save our precious numbers from horrible mistreatment. You want us to keep buying stuff from our dotage, right? We gamers have to take care of ourselves, and you are not helping.
More bugs to catch
After a whole year of catching fish bugs and eventually sea creatures, many players have now completed their Critterpedia and captured absolutely every beast in the game. For many, tracking everything down means some sort of end to the game, so adding a new batch of bugs or marine life can be one way to bring players back in.
Of course you don’t want to overwhelm newbies. Had we been in charge of expanding the catchable critters in an update, we would likely have a special NPC come along once you’ve used your Critterpedia 100% to bring you news of new creatures you can catch. Perhaps a new type of tree or flower will attract new insects to your island. Perhaps a special sonar device will help identify previously ‘hidden’ fish. Or how about receiving a golden ticket to a new tropical island filled with its own custom wildlife ready for cataloging? How about bird watching?
We’re not sold on the idea of different sized critters, 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 critters – Could you imagine?!), but we would like to have a reason to remove the insect net and rod again.
The ability to change the Resident Representative
Nintendo LifeIt may have taken a while, but Nintendo eventually updated the game to make it possible to transfer your island to a new Switch using the dedicated Island Transfer Tool. You can also move individual players to other islands if they are not the island representative, but at this point it is still not possible to switch the Resident Rep of an island.
Why would you want to do this? Suppose 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 turns out you or someone else is playing the game a lot more these days. Unfortunately, the ‘progress’ on the island (the ability to build new structures, pay off the mortgage, etc.) is tied to the Resident Representative, so you have to play like them if you want to get things done.
For some people this addition wouldn’t 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 NES games of the original Animal Crossing back – but anyone paying for a Nintendo Switch Online subscription can access it already, right? So why not combine the two in a way that makes sense to Nintendo in 2021 – if you buy the NES and SNES from Nook’s store and stoke them at home, you’ll get a special Animal Crossing ‘wrap’ to play the NSO NES / SNES games are already available. Easy!
If Nintendo wanted to go to town and install an arcade building on our islands, we’d be all for that too. But since we can buy the regular Switch, the Animal Crossing-branded Switch, and now Switch Lites (exclusive to NSO subscribers, no less) in-game, why not the NES, SNES, and other retro consoles that may appear as part of Nintendo Switch Online in the future? They would look great in our house with all of Mario’s 25th anniversary items.
Are you still playing Animal Crossing on Switch? Would any of the above additions bring you back into the fold? One-off, non-annual events, perhaps? What would keep New Horizons fresh for you as the game kicks off its second year on the eve of Update 2.0? Let us know with a comment below.
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