So, that’s all eight Animal Crossing games, ranked by you! Good job. Now it’s back to paying off all those debts to Tom Nook…
Best Animal Crossing FAQ
Animal Crossing’s popularity has grown exponentially over the years, meaning some of you might have never heard of the earlier games. We’ve got a set of commonly asked questions about the series which should serve as a nice little guide to the history of the series…
What was the first Animal Crossing game?
The very first Animal Crossing game is a little N64 gem called Dōbutsu no Mori, which came out in Japan on 14th April 2001.
We’d never see that version of the game in the west, but with an enhanced GameCube port called Dōbutsu no Mori+ following shortly after, we would see a localised version of that in Animal Crossing worldwide.
Though they’re considered the same game by Nintendo, there are actually a fair number of differences between the Japanese and English versions, including new holidays, new items, and lots of new dialogue.
How many Animal Crossing games are there?
There are five mainline Animal Crossing games, spanning multiple console generations. Usually, there’s one Animal Crossing game per console, occasionally accompanied by a spin-off.
The main five we’re referring to are:
- Animal Crossing
- Animal Crossing: Wild World
- Animal Crossing: City Folk
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The GameCube game is technically an enhanced port of the N64 title, which we never got in the West. Hence why there’s only five listed here.
Pocket Camp isn’t considered a mainline entry, and the two spin-offs are pretty different from the rest of the games.
What’s the latest Animal Crossing game?
Incredibly, the latest Animal Crossing game is still Animal Crossing: New Horizons, at least in terms of console releases. It launched on 20th March 2020, and goodness, don’t we all remember those days?
There’s a Switch 2 version available now, and that technically is the most-recent release in the series, but it merely has a few Switch 2 features like Mouse Mode and extra multiplayer features.
In terms of other releases, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete on mobile is actually the “newest” game, having launched on 2nd December 2024. Though again, that’s just a paid version of the once free-to-play Pocket Camp.
What Animal Crossing games can you play on Switch 2?
At the moment, only one — Animal Crossing: New Horizons, either via backwards compatibility or with the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade.
None of the games are available on Nintendo Online (yet!), and there isn’t a Switch 2-exclusive Animal Crossing to speak of yet. One day, perhaps…
Which Animal Crossing game should I start with?
Honestly, it really doesn’t matter! Every Animal Crossing game brings its own vibe to the table with a few little wrinkles to make each one unique.
Our advice, though, is to start with either of the latest ones — Animal Crossing: New Leaf on 3DS is closer to the original formula, with a little shopping area and smaller village vibe. New Horizons, however, is the biggest and most-popular, allowing for tons of island customisation.
So, it’s whether you want a more-humble life or one where you can literally design your entire town.
Wait, aren’t all Animal Crossing games the same?
Well… yes and no? Every game is a life sim with the only objective being to live your ideal life (and maybe pay off some loans), but every game has a unique little wrinkle.
Animal Crossing on GameCube and Wild World on DS are perhaps more similar now than they were, with the latter being handheld only (though online features no longer work). City Folk has an entire city area you can focus on. New Leaf sees you as the mayor of a village, and features a town and shopping area you can expand. And New Horizons sees you living on an island which you can eventually design at wil.
What’s the best-selling Animal Crossing game?
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the best selling game in the series, and it isn’t really close. The game has sold 49.32 million copies as of December 2025. A staggering number, making it the second best-selling game on the Switch ever, behind only Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Before that, New Leaf was the best-selling game, and has shifted 13.06 million units as of March 2025, making it the sixth best-selling 3DS game every. This series has legs.
Why isn’t [insert Animal Crossing game here] on the list?
We outlined most of this in the intro, but we’ve decided to stick to the main games, main spin-offs, and English worldwide releases for this series. Which is why you won’t find the N64 original here — it’s a Japan exclusive!
The series has seen so many little apps since its arrival in 2001, and we haven’t included any of those either. Do you really need an Animal Crossing calculator?
How can I change the ranking in this article?
Very easily! You’re the ones behind the ranking here, and you can change it, as each game’s placement is determined by its User Rating in our database.
That means you can influence things easily by simply clicking on the star next to a game and rating it out of 10. Or you can search for your favourite Animal Crossing game in the box below and score them there. This list will grow over time, too, if we do get a new game eventually…
Do you disagree with the best Animal Crossing game right now? Think we’re missing something? Let us know in the comments below, but remember, the ranking of this list is subject to change even now. If you haven’t rated the ones you’ve played, then you can do that right now.
