Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (とびだせどうぶつの森, Tobidase Doubutsu no Mori) is the upcoming sixth installment in the, being developed by Nintendo and being released exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.

While retaining much of the gameplay from older titles, Animal Crossing: New Leaf marks a large change in the series, the player now takes on the role of the mayor. With the help of the townsfolk and 'one eager secretary' it is now the player's job to make the town a better place to live. New Leaf also has a change of art style, with the players and the villagers having more human-like shapes, rather than the shorter ones seen in previous games, as well as the trees, flowers, and houses taking on a more realistic appearance.

Development and Unveiling
The game was originally unveiled at E3 2010, though very little was shown. A trailer was shown showing off featuring the updated features, and little new features were shown. Shortly after, there was news that the player could be the mayor of the town, with the goal being to make the town a better place to live. A non-playable demo was also available on the show floor at Nintendo's booth as an example of the 3DS's 3D effects. Due to it not being given much detail, fans speculated that it might have not been an actual game but just an example and that another Animal Crossing game would be developed later.

At E3 2011, the rumors were proven false. During Nintendo's press conference, the Animal Crossing logo, among others, appeared on-screen as a list of upcoming 3DS games. Additionally, a new trailer was released. The trailer showed off a new feature in the game: swimming and diving in the ocean. Also, a player was shown changing not only his shirt, but also his shoes and pants. A player was also shown coming out of what appeared to be his tent-house. Throughout the town, benches and a beehive were shown, with a villager and later a player sitting on the bench. A new character was also shown, a yellow dog following the player. Fans quickly assumed she was the 'eager secretary' that helps the player mayor the town.

In an interview with Kotaku editor Stephen Totilo, the creator of Animal Crossing, Katsuya Eguchi, revealed that Animal Crossing 3DS will allow players to arrange their furniture in any way they like, and will also feature new networking experiences.

The title was confirmed at the Nintendo World Report on April 21, 2012.

Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed Animal Crossing: New Leaf is still in development on Monday June 11, 2012 for 3DS.

In the June direct conference it was confirmed that 4 people can live in the same village like the last 3 games. On another note, in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, they will reintroduce the train and Porter.

In early October, an Animal Crossing: New Leaf 3DS XL bundle was announced in Japan for when the game releases. In addition, another Japanese Nintendo Direct episode regarding Animal Crossing was scheduled for Friday, October 5. During the 47 minute video, highlights included K.K. Slider now performing as a DJ at a comedy club known as Club 101, customized road designs, megaphones for getting villagers' attention, diving for coral, new multiplayer games hosted on islands, meeting other players through the 3DS's StreetPass feature, and more.

Nintendo later announced in April 2013 that the Animal Crossing: New Leaf 3DS XL bundle will also be released in North America and Europe, which includes a copy of New Leaf on its SD card at a total price of $219.99.

Role As the Mayor
Unlike the last few installments in the series, where the player became a resident of their town, the player is now the mayor of the town. While the player is still able to relax and engage in activities such as fishing and bug catching, they now have the responsibility of regulating the town and improving it. The player can build new features for the town, such as bridges, statues, or shrubs. they also can alter store prices and hours. Only the first player to start up the game is the mayor.

New Features
New Leaf introduces many new features for the, some of them are:


 * The player is now the Mayor, and as such, can customize the town's appearance, build various structures and set different regulations.
 * The player can now customize their pants and shoes, reflecting the taller character designs seen in the game's art style.
 * Player's faces go by the color of their personal Mii
 * The player can now pick the town map on the train when the game is started.
 * House exteriors can now be customized to reflect various styles.
 * Certain pieces of furniture can now be placed onto walls.
 * The player is able to go swimming in the ocean and dive for coral.
 * Several new villagers and special characters are introduced, as are several new species, such as hamsters, deer, and alpacas.
 * Several new clothes, hairstyle accessories, and pieces of furniture have been added.
 * Flowers (and presumably other plants) now drip with water once they have the watering can used on them, allowing the player to know whether they've watered it or not.
 * A new tool, the Megaphone, can be used for getting villagers' attention.
 * Furniture is now fully customizable using different designs.
 * The player can communicate with another player even if they are in a different town.
 * New multiplayer games hosted on islands accessible by boat. Medals are awarded to winners that can be traded for prizes. The minigames are hosted by Tortimer, and he seems happy with his new job.
 * There is more interaction with the villagers meaning the player can now see them fishing, going in and out of buildings and shaking trees.
 * There is also a larger variety of faces that that can be selected for the player.
 * KK Slider now gives you his tracks in CD cases. You can display his album covers on your wall (when not in the CD player.)
 * You can now place signposts around your town as a community project.
 * Brewster now owns his own cafe in your town (can be built as a community project.)
 * Two new Personality types for villagers in addition to the returning six, making for a total of eight different possible personalities.

Main Street And New Buildings
Among the new features, are some shops and buildings,

Main Street Buildings

 * Kicks, a minor character in now runs his own store, Kicks, where the player can buy shoes and socks.
 * A sloth named Leif runs the Garden Center that sells flower seeds and tree saplings.
 * Tom Nook now runs the Nook's Homes, where the player can alter the appearance of their home, and can buy a variety of designs and objects for their home.
 * Timmy and Tommy run the general stores place of Tom Nook.
 * Able Sisters offers clothing as in past games, and now offers the ability to share, and obtain created patterns through QR Codes.
 * Labelle returns, and is connected to the Able Sisters selling hats, umbrellas, and other accessories.
 * Shampoodle is located upstairs to the Able Sisters, which is run by Harriet. She now offers the ability to change eye colors as well.
 * Blathers continues to run the town's museum, which now offers a wider range of fossils and fish to exhibit, an exhibition room, and a museum shop that is run by Celeste.
 * K.K. Slider now works along with Dr. Shrunk at Club 101. K.K Slider works daily as a DJ, while still having traditional performances on Saturday nights.
 * The Photo Booth is a building that allows the character to take a photo for their I.D. card.
 * At the Dream Suite, the player is assisted by Luna to dream of another town if they have the dream codes of other players.
 * At the Happy Home Showcase, the player can see the houses of the people they have StreetPassed.
 * Katrina opens up a Fortune Shop in the mall after the player does certain objectives.
 * Post Office returns as a separate building on main street.

Town Buildings

 * Reese and Cyrus run Re-Tail where the player can sell items, customize furniture, and recycle items into new creations.
 * The Police Station returns as a Public Works Projects for the town. There are two different styles the player can choose from, which has Booker for the classic style, or Copper for the modern style.
 * The Resetti Surveillance Center returns as a Public Works Project, which is designed as a manhole cover the player may enter after rainy days.

Image Gallery
The following are official press images distributed to Animal Crossing sites. Most of the images were taken directly from the trailers, but some new character art was also provided for players, Bill, Rosie, Bob, Filbert and Curt.

Developer Roundtable
Nintendo has released this roundtable with the developers of the latest Animal Crossing game.

June 2012 Nintendo Direct
During a Nintendo Direct on June 21st 2012, gameplay footage of the new Animal Crossing was shown that reveals a wealth of new information. The following video is a translation of the footage into English.

This video translates all the Text in the Game.

The following video breaks down the trailer and goes more in depth noticing the new features and items in the New Game.

Trailers
The following videos are trailers for Animal Crossing: New Leaf revealed at E3 conferences.