Though most entries don’t make too many innovations over their predecessors, theAnimal Crossingfranchise has still evolved quite a bit over the years. Debuting in 2001, each andeveryAnimal Crossinggamecenters around a quaint little town full of lovable animal villagers. The core gameplay loop ofAnimal Crossingsees players try to expand and customize their town with new furniture items and decorations, using cash made from selling scavenged goods. A core part of this progression system isAnimal Crossing’s museum.
First introduced inAnimal Crossing: Wild Worldon the Nintendo DS, the museum acts as a central hub for all the collectibles in each game. When players gain access to the museum, they’ll be able to store their fossils there, along with any captured bugs and fish. The player can then walk through the museum, seeing all of their collectibles up close. The museum is an integral part ofAnimal Crossing’s gameplay loop, and while it continues to serve its purpose well, the nextAnimal Crossingmight want to add some new features to it.
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Animal Crossing’s Museum Could Use a Bit of an Overhaul
The importance and originality ofAnimal Crossing’s museumcannot be understated. In countless video games, players will spend tens of hours picking up collectibles strewn across the map. In the vast majority of these games, once they’ve been collected, they’re never thought about again, simply being hidden away in the game’s menu systems.Animal Crossinginstead decides to reward its most dedicated players by showcasing these collectibles in-game, in a museum setting, a perfect fit forAnimal Crossing’s small town backdrop. There are only a handful of games where players are actually allowed to walk up and admire something they’ve spent time catching or finding, andAnimal Crossingis one of those.
To make it even better, each museum in the series has a uniquely rewarding layout that meshes perfectly withAnimal Crossing’s cozy tones. Each type of collectible, ranging from fossils, to fish, to bugs is separated into its own distinct section, with Brewster’s cafe breaking it all up wonderfully. However, while this feature has always done an admirable job of handling collectibles,Animal Crossing’s museum hasn’t really changed all that much in about 18 years.
The nextAnimal Crossingshould give the museum the overhaul it deserves.Animal Crossing’s museum doesn’t really need to change its layout all too much, but what it does need is more options, both in terms of customization and additional collectibles. While fish, bugs, fossils, and art offer many players more than enough collectible content,the nextAnimal Crossingshould offer even more. Ancient artifacts and inventions, for instance, would be a neat new collectible type. Players might be able to purchase rare antiques at a new auction house area, picking up items such as Grecian urns, Egyptian sarcophagi, and Terracotta Army statues.
Customization should also be a big part of the nextAnimal Crossing’s museum.Animal Crossing: New Horizonsadded a feature with one of its final updates where posters would start to appear around the museum if players collected a certain amount of collectibles. While this is a neat feature, it’s only a start. In the nextAnimal Crossing, players should be able to customize the vast majority of their museum, from wall paint, to floor tiles, to tank sizes, and even whole room layouts. Players should be able to feel like theirAnimal Crossingmuseum is truly their own.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis available now for Nintendo Switch.
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