Series guide
All Animal Crossing games in order
Animal Crossing is not a series you finish: you move to a village, pay off your house to Tom Nook and live with the seasons — in real time, because the game’s clock runs with the one in your room. Every entry is a new version of that on the console of its day. Below are five main games and three spin-offs in release order, with the European box titles, which sometimes differ from the American ones.
The short answer
Animal Crossing (GameCube, 2004 in Europe) → Wild World (DS, 2006) → Let’s Go to the City (Wii, 2008 — City Folk in the US) → New Leaf (3DS, 2013) → New Horizons (Switch, 2020). No order is required: every game is its own village with its own beginning.
Every Animal Crossing game in order
Years are the European release; Japan and North America got Wild World and New Leaf a year earlier. The series began in Japan in 2001 on the Nintendo 64 as Dōbutsu no Mori, which never left Japan — the GameCube version is the first one the rest of us know.
| # | Game | Platform | Year (EU) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Animal Crossing | GameCube | 2004 |
| 2 | Animal Crossing: Wild World | Nintendo DS | 2006 |
| 3 | Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City (City Folk in the US) | Wii | 2008 |
| 4 | Animal Crossing: New Leaf | Nintendo 3DS | 2013 |
| — | Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (spin-off) | Nintendo 3DS | 2015 |
| — | Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival (spin-off) | Wii U | 2015 |
| — | Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (mobile) | iOS / Android | 2017 |
| 5 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Nintendo Switch | 2020 |
Do you have to play them in order?
No. Nothing carries over and there is no storyline; each game starts with a move to a new town. Pick the one that fits the console you own — and how much you want to be able to build.
Which Animal Crossing should you buy now?
- Today: New Horizons (Switch) — the biggest entry, building across the whole island and four players on one console.
- Handheld and affordable: New Leaf (3DS) — for many fans the best balance of freedom and the classic village feel; you are the mayor.
- The classic in your pocket: Wild World (DS) — the first handheld entry, small and complete; plays on a DS Lite, DSi, 3DS and 2DS as well.
- On the sofa, on the Wii: Let’s Go to the City — the village formula with a city added and up to four players per town.
- For the collector: the GameCube original, with the NES games you could play inside your house.
Buying Animal Crossing second-hand
Wild World and New Leaf save to the cartridge
A second-hand copy may still hold the previous owner’s town. That is not a problem — you erase it at the start and begin your own — but it is a reason to check that the cartridge is genuine (DS cartridges are counterfeited) and that saving works: save, power off, reload. We do exactly that on every copy.
New Horizons saves to the console, not the cartridge
A second-hand Switch cartridge therefore always comes without an island; you start fresh either way. What to check instead is the edition: a copy from a console bundle may have been a download code rather than a cartridge. Ours always say which you get.
The GameCube original needs a memory card
The game uses a large part of one — it shipped with its own Memory Card 59 at the time. A loose disc plays fine as long as you have a card with enough free blocks.
Know the European box titles
The Wii game is Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City on a European box and City Folk on an American one — the same game. New Leaf also exists as the 2016 "Welcome amiibo" edition, with the big update already on the cartridge; the amiibo mention on the box is the tell.
Every copy tested before it is listed
Booting, saving, reloading, label, contacts — checked on real hardware. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.
Browse tested Animal Crossing gamesQuestions we get asked
Do I need to play the Animal Crossing games in order?
No. There is no story running through the series; every entry starts with a move to a new town or, in New Horizons, an empty island. Tom Nook, Isabelle and K.K. Slider return each time, but you do not need to have met them before.
Which Animal Crossing game should I start with?
New Horizons on Switch is the biggest and most accessible entry. For a handheld classic, New Leaf on 3DS is, for many fans, the best balance of freedom and the classic village feel; Wild World on DS is the smallest and cheapest way in.
Is Let’s Go to the City the same game as City Folk?
Yes. Let’s Go to the City is the European title of the Wii entry sold as City Folk in North America. The game is identical.
Will a second-hand cartridge still have someone’s old town on it?
Possibly, for Wild World and New Leaf, because they save to the cartridge; you erase it at the start and begin your own. New Horizons saves to the Switch itself, so a second-hand cartridge always comes without an island.
Was the first Animal Crossing on the GameCube?
Outside Japan, yes — 2002 in North America and 2004 in Europe. In Japan the series started in 2001 on the Nintendo 64 as Dōbutsu no Mori, which was never released elsewhere.
Is Animal Crossing suitable for young children?
Yes — every entry carries PEGI 3. There is no time pressure and nothing to lose; reading helps, because the characters talk in text.
Do you ship outside the Netherlands?
We ship to all 27 EU countries with track & trace. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU, and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
Years given are the European release; Japan and North America were sometimes a year earlier. Deze gids in het Nederlands.
