Transportation

In the Animal Crossing series, transportation refers to any means of moving the player from one location to another without the need for active player input. Forms of transportation include vehicles that the player uses to initially reach their town during character creation, as well as all means of leaving their town to access other areas, such as visiting other players' towns through multiplayer.

In most cases, using transportation will instantaneously take the player to their destination, skipping the travel period and only showing a brief cutscene at the start and end of their trip.

Appearances[edit]

In Animal Crossing[edit]

The primary mode of transportation in first-generation Animal Crossing is the train. Upon creating a new save file, the player will begin their game on the train bound for their town, accompanied by Rover, who guides the player through character creation. After this intro sequence, the train station is used to visit the towns of other players, provided there is a memory card with another town's save data stored on it inserted into the console alongside one with the visitor's save data. The train station is run by Porter, whom the player must speak to in order to use the train when attempting to visit other towns. The station is also given a random appearance upon a save file's creation, coming in three different styles and five colors, for a total of 15 possible station designs.

Starting in Doubutsu no Mori+, Kapp'n was added and offers to take the player on a boat ride to Animal Island. On the way there, Kapp'n will sing Kapp'n's Song, a series of songs with varying lyrics related to his life.

The train departing from the station.
Rover talking to the player in the train.
Kapp'n at the dock.
Kapp'n singing one of his songs to the player.

In Wild World[edit]

The intro sequence of Animal Crossing: Wild World takes place in a small, black taxi driven by Kapp'n, who asks the introductory questions that affect the player's appearance, name, and gender, as well as the town name and layout. After the intro sequence, the player may talk to Copper at the checkpoint to ride the taxi to other players' towns. Unlike the bus or the train, it cannot be seen or boarded except when moving. It drops or picks up the player from in front of the town hall.

The taxi has a very simplistic design. There is a glass partition between the front of the taxi, where Kapp'n sits and the back part, where the player sits. Most of the back part is never seen by the player. The front has all the typical trappings of a car and also has a small figurine featuring Kapp'n in his boat from the first Animal Crossing.

The taxi also makes an appearance in Smashville in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where it can be seen driving past the town hall periodically.

The interior of the taxi.
The exterior of the taxi.

In City Folk[edit]

In Animal Crossing: City Folk, the bus is used as the setting of the intro sequence, and is used as the primary mode of transport to visit the city. The bus is driven by Kapp'n, who operates the bus at all hours of the day and will take the player to the city free of charge.

Unlike all other games in the series, multiplayer in Animal Crossing: City Folk does not show the player making use of any particular mode of transport when visiting other towns. Rather, they simply exit through their own town's gates and arrive through the checkpoint of the town they're visiting.

A player on the bus at the bus stop.
The inside of the bus.

In New Leaf[edit]

Animal Crossing: New Leaf's two modes of transport are the train and Kapp'n boat rides, both returning from Animal Crossing. The intro to New Leaf plays out similar to Animal Crossing, taking place on a train bound for the player's town, with Rover there to facilitate character creation. The train station is run by Porter, and now contains a locker that the player can use as a storage unit.

Kapp'n, having returned to his roots as a sailor, will once again offer boat rides to the player, this time to Tortimer Island. On the way there, Kapp'n will sing Kapp'n's Song, a series of songs with varying lyrics.

Rover talking to the player in the train.
A train passes by.
Kapp'n at the dock.
A player listening to Kapp'n's song.

In New Horizons[edit]

Due to the game's island setting, the player's primary mode of transport in New Horizons is via Dodo Airlines, rather than the land-based means of previous entries in the series. By speaking to Orville behind the airport counter, the player can have Wilbur fly them to one of several locations. Immediately after character creation, the player rides a plane to their island, provided with a video showcasing island life to watch during the trip. Afterward, they may visit the airport at any time to take a flight. Destinations include another player's island, Harv's Island, or, provided they bring a Nook Miles Ticket, a random Mystery Island. If the player has the Happy Home Paradise DLC installed and has been introduced to Lottie, they may also visit the archipelago.

Since version 2.0, the player can take a boat tour once per day by Kapp'n's boat after the Resident Sevices has upgraded to a building. Boat tours function much like Mystery Tours, but cost only 1,000 Nook Miles per visit (as opposed to the 2,000 Nook Miles required to buy a Nook Miles Ticket) and can provide the player with gyroid fragment, glowing moss, and vines. As before, Kapp'n will sing sea shanties during boat rides.