Animal Crossing’s Most Underappreciated Game Deserves A Switch 2 Release

Animal Crossing has become one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises thanks, in large part, to its cozy atmosphere, adorable villagers, and compelling gameplay loop. However, not every game in the series is as fondly remembered nor as commercially successful, with particular entries ending up being flops comparatively. The majority of these unsuccessful Animal Crossing games failed because of poor gameplay or for being uninteresting spin-offs.

However, one of them was a genuinely good Animal Crossing experience, one that has a small following but is largely left an underrated classic deserving of more love. Fortunately, the perfect opportunity for it to make a return is looming on the horizon, as it could come back as a first-party Switch 2 game, at least with a discount. While it may have failed the first time around, the Nintendo Switch 2 could end up being the best platform for it and see it finally get the recognition it deserves.

Animal Crossing: City Folk Isn’t As Beloved

It Isn't As Innovative As Other Entries

Animal Crossing: City Folk launched for the Wii in 2008, marking a return to the home console format. Unlike its predecessor, Wild World, and successor, New Leaf, City Folk performed poorly, despite the Wii being the seventh best-selling console of all time. City Folk sold 4.32 copies according to Statista, which, when compared to the 11.75 million copies Wild World managed a few years before, and the subsequent 13.05 million New Leaf sold, feels meager at best. City Folk ranks as the fourth worst-selling game in the series, just above the GameCube release and two spin-off titles.

Of course, sales aren't everything, but Animal Crossing: City Folk also performed poorly with critics. Compared to New Horizon's glowing reviews, City Folk feels like its from an entirely different series, garnering 73 on Metacritic, putting it just above Amiibo Festival and Happy Home Designer. The biggest problem reviewers had with City Folk was its lack of innovation. While there were new features, such as the inclusion of the city - which made events that were once sporadic more easily accessible - for the most part, City Folk felt like a port of Wild World.

It also didn't help that City Folk wasn't a portable experience. Wild World and New Leaf - both handheld games -sold over 10 million copies each, more than tripling the lifetime sales of City Folk. Similarly, New Horizons went on to sell 43 million copies, and even Pocket Camp has adoring fans and has generated a lot of revenue, despite a low Metacritic score. It is no surprise that, outside of Amiibo Festival, the Wii U didn't get an Animal Crossing game, nor that in the six years following City Folk's release, there wasn't another release for the Wii.

The Switch 2 Would Be The Perfect City Folk Platform

It Would Finally Make It A Portable Experience

The player sat at Brewster's cafe in Animal Crossing City Folk.

However, despite the low sales and poor critical reception,City Folk was a great Animal Crossing game. The introduction of the city helped make some of the best parts of Animal Crossing more accessible to players who had never played it before. Those who had played Wild World, and therefore had experienced a lot of what City Folk offered, weren't limited by just their small village space thanks to the new area. This was somewhat replicated in New Leaf, but not quite to the same extent as City Folk as its additional area, while expandable, never felt as impressive.

It is time that City Folk got a second chance, especially on the Switch 2, as there are so many people who missed out on it the first time. Considering that City Folk is essentially the definitive version of Wild World, it feels like the best one suited for a Nintendo Switch 2 port. Its art style still holds up today, with an HD conversion being all that would be needed to make it more appealing to modern audiences. It also lacks the dual screen and touchscreen functionality of the DS titles, which may be harder to convert.

Nintendo has a lot of dormant games that need ports, from Wind Waker to Star Fox, but City Folk would be a good choice as an early title on the Switch 2 as it would help tide fans over. Its lack of sales is what makes it a perfect choice, as, much like the many Wii U games that found popularity when they were ported to the Switch, it would benefit from a bigger install base and a new generation of Animal-Crossing-loving fans. It also helps that City Folk has a lot of features that New Horizons is sorely lacking.

City Folk Has Upsides That New Horizons Doesn’t

The Villagers Are So Much Better

The player chatting to Bill in the city in Animal Crossing City Folk.

One of the main reasons why the Switch 2 could definitely do with a City Folk port is that much of its core gameplay is significantly better than New Horizons'. That's not to say that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a bad game, but rather that City Folk has the benefit of the limitations the series once had, much of which pushed it to improve upon the life sim elements fans enjoy so much. For example, the bad New Horizons villager interactions are completely absent in City Folk, replaced by genuinely compelling villagers with interesting things to say.

There's also the aforementioned dynamically changing city, which adds a huge component to the Animal Crossing gameplay loop that New Horizons lacks. While it introduced islands, they never felt as compelling as the city, especially thanks to their random nature. City Folk's city was a defining feature, something that truly made it feel distinct, and filled with characters that never appeared in New Horizons. Having access to this on the Switch 2 would demonstrate to those who've perhaps only experienced New Horizons what they're missing out on.

While it may initially seem like an odd choice for a Switch 2 remaster, Animal Crossing: City Folk absolutely deserves it over the other titles. It combines the best elements of the first two games and adds in enough features to make it feel distinct. While it lacks some of New Leaf's changes, its city is better. Nintendo is unlikely to port any of the older titles, especially if a new Animal Crossing game is on the horizon. However, should it decide to bring over City Folk to the Switch 2, it will likely become another Animal Crossingclassic.

Source: Statista, ChaosZeroX/YouTube