How did you first start loving Animal Crossing? Origin Stories!

[eeveelovee]

Many of us have been fans for years, yet many of us are new fans to the community! So, I'd like to know YOUR story!

How did you FIRST discover Animal Crossing? Did you like it at first?
What was your FIRST AC game you ever played?
What was it about the game, that solidified your dedication to the fandom? How did you know this fandom would be in your life forever?

For me, I was 19 years old in 2012. I was a life-long Pokemon fan, and I wanted something new to play because I was sick of Pokemon lol! I surfed the net for a while, (yes I still say that) and I saw that this new Animal Crossing game was about to be released. I already knew about the GameCube version, but had never truly delved into what it was. I always assumed it was just a Harvest Moon rip-off.

So, in 2013 New Leaf was released in Canada, and I started playing immediately. I remember starting up my town, unlocking Main Street, and being in absolute awe because I had never previously played anything like it before. It was the perfect amount of interior decorating and adorable animals that I could interact with!! I honestly knew, back in 2013, sitting in my big living room chair, opening up that game for the first time, that it would be in my life forever!

What about you? What's your Animal Crossing origin story?

 

[Goldi Locks]

I was messing around with someone's 3DS and thought the game was right up my street. I got myself a secondhand 3DS and a copy of New Leaf about a decade ago and thought it was the best game ever!

I still think it's the best game ever. Better than New Horizons. Though I don't have my 3DS or New Leaf anymore.

 

[Shawna]

How did you FIRST discover Animal Crossing? Did you like it at first?
My dad told me about it. He told us about the newest one at the time - City Folk - and we bought it in April 2009, as we know it was promising.

What was your FIRST AC game you ever played?
City Folk.

What was it about the game, that solidified your dedication to the fandom? How did you know this fandom would be in your life forever?
I love life sims. I loved being able to play as myself, befriend my neighbors, fill up my bugs and fish book and museum, style my house, etc. ^_^

 

[Xara]

My first AC game was Wild World! I’m not 100% sure what year it was, but my mom got it for me as one of my Christmas presents in I think 2007, 2008 or 2009! She got it for me along with my grey DS Lite and a couple of other games!

I can 100% guarantee you my mom only got it for me ’cause it had “animal” in the title LOL, but I’m really glad that she did. One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the couch with my mom on Christmas night and playing it for the first time. I was a dumb kid, so of course I had no idea what I was doing even with the characters’ tutorials LMAO. I hated how small my house was, I kept taking off my work uniform every 2 mins and pissing off Tom Nook, and I wouldn’t leave Phyllis alone. I don’t remember what my first character or town name was or what my character looked like, but I remember Tangy was the first ever villager that I met. I was immediately fond of her, and she’s still very special to me to this day!

In spite of not understanding what I was doing and Resetti chewing me out my second day because I didn’t know I was supposed to save before I turn the game off, I loved Wild World. I loved constantly resetting and coming up with new names for my characters and towns, and getting to see all of the different character designs! My love for it grew even more when I finally thought to look up tips and tricks for the game and found out about golden tools, the feather rewards for donating to Boonbox, all of K.K. Slider’s songs etc!! I was especially excited about the latter since I thought K.K. was asking for irl song requests; I kept asking for different Lady Gaga songs and getting upset when he didn’t play them LMAO

I have so many fond, cherished and silly memories from my years of playing Wild World, but all of that being said, Wild World wasn’t the game that really made me fall in love with the series. I actually didn’t find out that Wild World wasn’t a standalone game until a few years later. At the time, the only other games were the original and City Folk, and I was heavily considering getting a Wii and City Folk when I found out it had real world holidays. I still don’t understand why Wild World didn’t have Halloween, Toy Day, Bunny Day etc, but man I was so pissed when I found out.

I found out about New Leaf around the same time that I found out about the original and City Folk, and I decided to get New Leaf instead for 2 reasons. 1) Our characters finally had longer legs, and 2) the deer villagers!! New Leaf was the game that really made me fall in love with AC, and I’m so grateful I decided to get it instead of City Folk. It was the first game I played online with others, and it was also the reason I discovered and joined TBT!

It’s been almost 17-19 years since I first got into AC, and I’m still so grateful to my mom for introducing me to it when I was a kid. There’s truly no other game series like it. I’ve made so many beautiful friends and memories over the years because of it, and I honestly can’t imagine my life without it!

 

[eeveelovee]

My first AC game was Wild World! I’m not 100% sure what year it was, but my mom got it for me as one of my Christmas presents in I think 2007, 2008 or 2009! She got it for me along with my grey DS Lite and a couple of other games!

I can 100% guarantee you my mom only got it for me ’cause it had “animal” in the title LOL, but I’m really glad that she did. One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the couch with my mom on Christmas night and playing it for the first time. I was a dumb kid, so of course I had no idea what I was doing even with the characters’ tutorials LMAO. I hated how small my house was, I kept taking off my work uniform every 2 mins and pissing off Tom Nook, and I wouldn’t leave Phyllis alone. I don’t remember what my first character or town name was or what my character looked like, but I remember Tangy was the first ever villager that I met. I was immediately fond of her, and she’s still very special to me to this day!

In spite of not understanding what I was doing and Resetti chewing me out my second day because I didn’t know I was supposed to save before I turn the game off, I loved Wild World. I loved constantly resetting and coming up with new names for my characters and towns, and getting to see all of the different character designs! My love for it grew even more when I finally thought to look up tips and tricks for the game and found out about golden tools, the feather rewards for donating to Boonbox, all of K.K. Slider’s songs etc!! I was especially excited about the latter since I thought K.K. was asking for irl song requests; I kept asking for different Lady Gaga songs and getting upset when he didn’t play them LMAO

I have so many fond, cherished and silly memories from my years of playing Wild World, but all of that being said, Wild World wasn’t the game that really made me fall in love with the series. I actually didn’t find out that Wild World wasn’t a standalone game until a few years later. At the time, the only other games were the original and City Folk, and I was heavily considering getting a Wii and City Folk when I found out it had real world holidays. I still don’t understand why Wild World didn’t have Halloween, Toy Day, Bunny Day etc, but man I was so pissed when I found out.

I found out about New Leaf around the same time that I found out about the original and City Folk, and I decided to get New Leaf instead for 2 reasons. 1) Our characters finally had longer legs, and 2) the deer villagers!! New Leaf was the game that really made me fall in love with AC, and I’m so grateful I decided to get it instead of City Folk. It was the first game I played online with others, and it was also the reason I discovered and joined TBT!

It’s been almost 17-19 years since I first got into AC, and I’m still so grateful to my mom for introducing me to it when I was a kid. There’s truly no other game series like it. I’ve made so many beautiful friends and memories over the years because of it, and I honestly can’t imagine my life without it!

Beautiful!! Also... you just made me realize 2007 was 17 years ago .. I refuse to retain that information LOL

 

[Xara]

Beautiful!! Also... you just made me realize 2007 was 17 years ago .. I refuse to retain that information LOL

god i know i did the math and was like there’s no way that’s right… time needs to slow down LOL

 

[rocketspruggs]

How did you first discover Animal Crossing? Did you like it at first?

I randomly found one of the games at Target, back in very early 2017, not very long after I had turned 16-years-old in late 2016, and got it. And then I fell in love with the franchise.

What was your first Animal Crossing game you ever played?

The first Animal Crossing game I played, was Happy Home Designer, the aforementioned game I found and got at Target, which, according to my list of games in the Nintendo 3DS system, I started playing on January 6, 2017. I love house designing games, so I knew I fell in love with that one instantly.

I know it's a spinoff, so the first true Animal Crossing game would be New Leaf, even though I really started playing Happy Home Designer first. I started playing New Leaf on January 18, 2017.

What was it about the game that solidified your dedication to the franchise? How did you know this franchise would be in your life forever?

The character designs, some of which would appeal to players, and some of which wouldn't appeal to players, even for non-Animal Crossing players, who claim to be just looking at pictures of, "cute cartoon animals". The player character customization options, decorating the player's exterior and interior, the fact that it plays in real-time, and the fact that it's a slice-of-life/real-life simulator. I also loved looking at fanart of the game, on the internet.

Months after I was introduced to Animal Crossing, my mom introduced me to The Bell Tree Forums, long before I actually made an account here, so I had been already a long-time forum stalker, by the time I joined.

But how I really know this franchise would be in my life forever, is the fact that the villagers in your town would randomly move out in New Leaf, so you gotta play at times, to keep your favorites from moving out.

 

[SkyKnight03]

We had a gamecube in our house. My siblings were into it, being the youngest in the family, I eventually wanted in on it too. Spent countless hours over the next couple years on this. We shared a town together and all played separately.

We would all eventually move onto a copy of wild world and did the exact same thing.

(we never really got into city folk).

New Leaf/New Horizons came around. I had already found a love for the series, but I was typically playing alone at this point. Eventually, I found out my sister still played. We ended up becoming 'animal crossing pals' of sorts. Despite being far away, we connected through WiFi each week or so and played together for years.

 

[Corrie]

My cousins had the Gamecube version of AC where when we went over to their house, they were attending a KK concert lol. My siblings and I thought it was weird but funny but we didn't ask any further about it.

Fast forward to 2005/2006 when we went to my Nana and Papa's place for a week in the summer. Both my cousins had Wild World and were playing it. It was at this point where I fell in love with the art style and character designs of the villagers. Then when we got home, I asked my Mom for the game and my siblings and I got it! I've been hooked and an AC fan ever since!

I didn't get into the AC fandom til much later in 2014 to trade with people in New Leaf since fandoms weren't really a thing back then like they are now.

 

[Yanrima~]

It's kind of a ridiculous story but, it all started back in 2013 with my eventual curiosity looking for any 3DS games to play since I have the 3DS. I went in the game store then I saw the Animal Crossing New Leaf copy on the shelves. Then to my curiosity, the fact that you're the mayor of the game's town sold me in buying the game. So I purchased the game immediately, went home, and booted up the game on my 3DS. Initially, I grew tired of the multiple day cycle in which I have to wait a day to unlock stuff in the game. Then, I actually started playing ACNL almost everyday starting 2015 and I really enjoyed the game especially the customization part since the customization in games is the main draw for me. It has become my outlet for me to wearing cute designs in-game. My favorite villager is Lolly because of how cute she looks.

I was deep in the AC community and the games ever since my discovery of New Leaf.

 

[cherry_bombbees]

How did you FIRST discover Animal Crossing? Did you like it at first?

It was 2015, and I was bored waiting for a new Pokémon main series game to come out. So, I got New Leaf secondhand at a Gamestop, made my first town, and it was love at first playthrough.

What was your FIRST AC game you ever played?

New Leaf. I've played them all except City Folk, which I probably won't enjoy since it doesn't have the same charm as the other installments do.
What was it about the game, that solidified your dedication to the fandom? How did you know this fandom would be in your life forever?

It was the comfy aesthetic and cute designs, and I knew I'd be into it ever since late 2020 when I started writing my fanfic about it!

 

[RoseSilverpen]

How did you FIRST discover Animal Crossing? Did you like it at first?
My friend lent me her copy of Wild World. I know I was hooked from then on.
What was your FIRST AC game you ever played?
Wild World! It might be my favorite to this day.
What was it about the game, that solidified your dedication to the fandom? How did you know this fandom would be in your life forever?
Well, let me start by saying I have AuDHD, so when I become hooked on something, part of it will always be with me. But I remember in Wild World, I had Angus. And he got sick. So I started bringing him medicine every day. And it was then that I knew how special the series was. He cried and said he didn't deserve friends like me. I never had a lot of friends growing up (most of the people I considered friends ended up being super toxic) so any game with virtual friends is huge for me.

 

[Coach]

I first discovered animal crossing on YouTube. I used to watch let's plays of other games (like mario party), and I stumbled across MadameWario playing City Folk (Or GC, I am not 100% sure, but I definitely watched both at one point) After really enjoying that, I asked for Wild World for my DS!

I'm not sure exactly what it was that made me enjoy it so much, but I used to play it alotttt. Every morning before school in the car I would be playing that or mario party ds. I ended up joining ACC and later here which made me enjoy the game even more with the community

 

[August]

So, original Animal Crossing came out when I was 6 yrs new to this world, and while I did TRY to play it as a kid, the jerkiness of the camera gave me really bad motion sickness so I never quite made it far in the game.







This changed when New Leaf came out. I was fresh out of high school at the time, with my trusty Yoshi 3ds, and my ex at the time bought the game for me as I lamented on never being able to properly enjoy the series even if it looked so cute.







I was immediately hooked.







I did EVERYTHING I could ever do in an Animal Crossing game, and over the years, poured thousands of hours into my beloved town Riften. It's where I got my blue rose obsession, and from that moment on actually, every animal crossing town or island I've had ever, is always covered in an alternating pattern of blue and white roses, with a wall of blue Hydrangeas at the rear. New Leaf provided me with a comfortable safe space in turbulent times, and as a result the franchise became something I hold near and dear to my heart.







I absolutely adore Animal Crossing, and I'm so happy I got to fall in love with the series when I did. AC will always be nothing but good memories for me, and I love that

 

[airpeaches]

I first discovered the gamecube version of Animal Crossing back when I was in grade school not too long after the game came out. We were taking a long trip that summer to see my cousin, who asked for the game as a gift. My mom ended up picking up an extra copy for me and my sister to play as well. I remember being sort of confused as I'd (obviously) never played a game like it before. However after just a short time playing I was absolutely hooked. I was definitely a bit too young (and stupid) to get very far or complete very much, but I had fun nonetheless. During my trip to my cousin's that summer, I brought our gamecube as well and she and I spent the entire trip playing together, visiting each other's towns back and forth. I've held these memories close as we grew apart over the years (due to being physically distant), but it grew my love for animal crossing immensely. After that I played every game in the franchise afterward! Wild World is my favorite, and I also have very fond memories of calling up my closest friend after school to link up over wifi and talk over the house phone for hours until dinner. I had to sit in my front living room so that we could reach without having wifi troubles Overall, I've had a lot of really fond memories with this game. New Leaf, new horizons, this whole franchise has followed me through my life all this time.

 

[uwuzumakii]

How did you FIRST discover Animal Crossing? Did you like it at first?
It was either the original GameCube version or City Folk that I purchased from a used game store probably in the early 2010s. My earliest memories of Animal Crossing were of me running around in my town in City Folk not really understanding what to do (I just collected shells, fruit, and sea bass all day) and didn't make any "progress" in my town. I eventually got bored and moved on to other games like Super Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess. I remember I was best friends with Truffles; she was my first favorite villager.

What was your FIRST AC game you ever played?
Like I said before, either City Folk or the GameCube version. I've definitely put way more time into the GameCube version than City Folk despite the latter being my first game. The original just has a feeling that none of the other games have. Maybe it's nostalgia, but even to this day I feel like I'm really just another villager in this small town living my daily life when I play the GameCube one.

What was it about the game, that solidified your dedication to the fandom? How did you know this fandom would be in your life forever?
I got New Leaf when it came out and played it non-stop. I would take my 3DS with my to school and play it on the bus and during lunch, I would spend all my time after school playing New Leaf, looking up guides on how to catch all the bugs and fish, how to tell apart the fake and real art, how to get unlock T&T Emporium, etc. etc. I would hang out on JVGS's Animal Crossing forum until it got shut down, then I moved over here a little while after. For a good two or three years, New Leaf was my entire life. I'm not really that active on the forums anymore but some of my fondest memories have been here on the forums. I've also met people on here that I've made some very special connections with and who've changed my life forever and I will always be thankful for Animal Crossing to have allowed me to meet all these wonderful people.

 

[Reaper3201430]

My dad actually bought my sister the original Animal Crossing for the the Gamecube. It was my Gamecube, Pops was just trying to get a game for her to be able to play some too. Well, she never played it, and I did! Ended up being one of my favorite games ever. I miss that old school game!

 

[Bulbadragon]

I had seen the game in stores but didn't know what it was. I had a sleepover with several friends for what I'm pretty sure was my 8th birthday. Everyone brought their DS and games, and two of my friends had Wild World. I asked to see the game since it had interested me based on the box art. Once they showed me, I was obsessed. One of them let me make a character in her town. I decided to use my birthday money to buy the game and asked my mom to take me to the store as soon as everyone went home. I've been obsessed ever since.

 

[boring]

In 2008 my grandma gifted me a Nintendo DS Lite (black) and a number of games including Animal Crossing: Wild World. It very quickly became an obsessive interest of mine and Ive literally been hooked ever since!

 

[WaileaNoRei]

I started loving Animal Crossing only in 2020! My husband actually bought the game (ACNH) for himself, as the shelter in place for Covid had started in our area and he was a bit stir crazy (as a homebody, I wasn’t having as much trouble)

I watched him play for a few days and realized I really needed to play this game.

Switches were hard to get by that point but we managed it through luck and doggedness. I started playing at the end of April 2020, and ~3000 hours later, with that same island, I am still in love.

It’s super cheesy but I feel like this is the game I’ve been looking for my whole life without knowing it. I know it isn’t quite a perfect game, but it is the perfect game for me!

Part of me does want to go back and play earlier games. I almost bought new leaf at one point, but after reading about it on here, I don’t think I would like it . Still maybe I will give it a try one day just for the experience. I’d also like to try out wild world, maybe.

The thing is though…I’ve not yet gotten sufficiently bored with ACNH to need to find another animal crossing game.