Doubutsu no Mori

Doubutsu no Mori (どうぶつの森), often referred to as Animal Forest in English, is the first installment in the and was released exclusively in Japan for the Nintendo 64. Despite being released late in the console's life cycle, the game still managed to sell 213,800 units, making it the 28th best-selling title on the system. Doubutsu no Mori is compatible with the Expansion Pak and features a sharper image when used, its resolution improving from 320x240 to 640x480 pixels. Because the Nintendo 64 was at the end of its life, an enhanced port called was released just eight months later for the Nintendo GameCube. Nintendo offered a service for players to transfer save data from Doubutsu no Mori to Doubutsu no Mori+, however this service has since been discontinued.

Development
The game originally began as an interactive multiplayer RPG that focused on cooperation among players to reach common goals. The game was to be developed for the Nintendo 64DD and would take advantage of the system's expanded memory and internal clock. As the market for the 64DD began to wane, the project was ported over to the Nintendo 64. Due to the memory limitations now faced, many aspects of the original game had to be completely redesigned. The original title featured an antihero who had to enlist the help of animals to make his way through the game. These animals' sleep and wake cycles would be affected by the built-in clock. The designers ended up removing many of the goal-oriented elements from the game including dungeons, bosses and monsters, leaving only the core aspects of communication and the idea of an environment that operated in real time. Working within the limitations of the N64, the team relied on an open-ended and addictive gameplay experience that would keep the player coming back, as opposed to a goal-oriented approach. To accomplish this, the team included a variety of large and small tasks for the player to accomplish, in order to provide a sense of satisfaction for all play styles.

Gameplay
Players assume the role of a human setting out for a life of their own in a town of anthropomorphic animals. Each town is randomly generated, ensuring that no two players' experiences are exactly the same. Gameplay within each village is open-ended allowing players to engage in a variety of activities that suit their playstyle. Players can pick fruit, grow trees, garden, hunt for fossils and fish, catch insects, do favors for the villagers, or decorate their homes.

The game uses a clock built into the cartridge, which deactivates when the game is turned off.

Differences from Animal Crossing

 * Punchy, Cheri, and the eighteen islanders introduced in Animal Crossing are all absent in Doubutsu no Mori.
 * Tortimer is absent, along with all items he gives out during events
 * The Able Sisters and their shop are absent, therefore custom designs are not available.
 * The Museum, along with Blathers, is absent. Fossils can still be sent to the Farway Museum for identification.
 * The Island, along with Kapp'n, is absent.
 * Gulliver gives the player random furniture as a reward for rescuing him, instead of unique furniture, all of which is absent.
 * Only one item can be kept in a storage unit.
 * Only one air check can be stored in a music player
 * Only a single unit of stationary can be purchased at a time, whereas in all later games stationary is sold in packs of 4.
 * The house the player begins the game with only contains a Tape Deck. The Wooden Box and College Rule Journal are absent.
 * The player's house only contains one room. The second-floor and basement expansions are introduced with Animal Crossing.
 * Golden Tools are absent, and the standard axe is unbreakable.
 * As there is no other handheld equipment in the game other than tools and umbrellas, the "Handhelds" section of the catalog is simply "Umbrellas" in this game.
 * The N Logo Shirt and the I ♥ 64 Shirt are exclusive to the game. in, they are redesigned into the G Logo Shirt and the I ♥ GC Shirt, respectively, although the latter is only available in Doubutsu no Mori+.
 * Non-furniture items, such as tools, appear as sprites. While this is retained in, they become models when inside Tom Nook's store and the player's house.
 * The player is not able to participate in the Morning Aerobics.
 * When releasing a fish, it will bounce once on the ground before diving into the water. In all later games, the fish dives directly into the water.
 * Insects can roam between acres, but not out to sea. This is reversed in Animal Crossing.
 * The Sea Bass, Red Snapper, Barred Knifejaw, Jellyfish, Arapaima, Crawfish, Frog, and Killifish are all absent, being introduced in Doubutsu no Mori+.
 * The Pill Bug, Mole Cricket, Mosquito, Pondskater, Ant, Bagworm, Spider, and Snail are all absent, being introduced in Doubutsu no Mori+
 * Mushrooming Season is present in Doubutsu no Mori, removed in Doubutsu no Mori+, and then re-added in Animal Crossing and Doubutsu no Mori e+.
 * The live version of "DJ K.K." contains guitar riffs resembling the song "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited. In all later games, this is changed to an original melody.
 * Visiting other towns requires one Controller Pak to save travel data on, which can then be loaded on the destination town. Two Controller Paks can be used to travel directly. The same system is used in Doubutsu no Mori+, but utilises Nintendo GameCube Memory Cards instead.
 * As Doubutsu no Mori predates the release of the e-Reader, all e-Reader support is absent in the former game.
 * Doubutsu no Mori only contains seven Famicom games; Balloon Fight, Clu Clu Land, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Golf, Pinball and Tennis. All items are simply named "Famicom" and can only be distinguished by the color of the cartridges inserted into the system. An unplayable Famicom furniture item can also be acquired. Animal Crossing introduces twelve more Famicom titles, but with different methods to obtain the games.
 * The input keyboard is a dial-based typing system. The Control Stick is used to select a letter from a wheel, and pressing the A button will type the letter. The wheel displays only five characters at a time, and pressing Down on the Control Stick switches the dial between different sets of characters. While this is retained in Doubutsu no Mori +, in Animal Crossing the interface layout resembles a standard computer keyboard, and Japanese characters cannot be inputted.
 * Farley and Franklin, along with the Thanksgiving event, are absent.