Animal Crossing: New Leaf

 3DS
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 920 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 799 out of 920
  2. Mixed: 76 out of 920
  3. Negative: 45 out of 920
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  1. RCruey
    Aug 17, 2017
    7
    Where do I even begin?

    Animal Crossing New Leaf is an entertaining game about you living your life as mayor. But if you think you are going to have to make an assortment of complex choices like taxes and such you’re insane. This game is designed for kids who probably don’t give a hoot about no taxes. But if you want to play a game where you do a bunch of pointless chores for your    Where do I even begin?

    Animal Crossing New Leaf is an entertaining game about you living your life as mayor. But if you think you are going to have to make an assortment of complex choices like taxes and such you’re insane. This game is designed for kids who probably don’t give a hoot about no taxes. But if you want to play a game where you do a bunch of pointless chores for your neighbors who rank from ugly to downright adorable then you’re in luck. This game will offer you just that.

    Your job as mayor is simple. Spend your hard earned money on pointless attractions for the village. Then you can unlock certain buildings that will get you certain tools and such. The music is catchy, and the visuals are bright and colorful. Talking to the neighbors can be delightful or a horrifying experience. Just like real life, I know. You’re not exactly in debt from the get go, but you do have to buy a house just like any of the other animal crossing games. The controls aren’t awful, but can be annoying on how precise you have to be when digging a hole. Fishing is simple, catching bugs is simple. Having to be in town at the right moments for special holiday events does add a replay value. Being able to visit your friend’s towns and work together on planting, digging, fishing, etc can be an fun little piece. But honestly this game is just one big chore.

    It’s the Sims with a lot less choices and more adorable talking animals. 7/10

    Happy Gaming.    … Expand
  2. padako
    Sep 19, 2013
    7
    A charming and sometimes fun game that ultimately left me wanting more. I mean, there's a lot to do in this game but you can really only play for a couple of hours a day before you run out of fun activities. You can always farm more bells while waiting for the next day but this gets old fast. It's a solid time waster but a little overrated imo and not as memorable as I had hoped. BeingA charming and sometimes fun game that ultimately left me wanting more. I mean, there's a lot to do in this game but you can really only play for a couple of hours a day before you run out of fun activities. You can always farm more bells while waiting for the next day but this gets old fast. It's a solid time waster but a little overrated imo and not as memorable as I had hoped. Being mayor puts you in charge of all the cities building projects and the island tours add some variety but they also get boring pretty quickly. I love Nintendo games but this one just didn't grab me like most do.… Expand
  3. Falcus
    Nov 17, 2013
    6
    Okay, first of all this game was much too hyped about. This I'm going to keep short.

    This game is great for a fan of the series, since it's not too much different than the other Animal Crossing games. Unless you're someone who likes spending hours on end collecting stuff to build your virtual town, not given any specific goal really, then this game eventually becomes rather pointless    Okay, first of all this game was much too hyped about. This I'm going to keep short.

    This game is great for a fan of the series, since it's not too much different than the other Animal Crossing games. Unless you're someone who likes spending hours on end collecting stuff to build your virtual town, not given any specific goal really, then this game eventually becomes rather pointless and boring.

    Starting your virtual town is fun there's lots to do, and everything happens at your own pace. But once you've played for a while, you tire of the repetitive cycle that you go through every day, and everything seems mundane. It doesn't help that everything's in real time, so unless you want to constantly switch your time and date, you have to wait real time for new seasons, new events. And I don't know about you, but changing the time takes any bit of fun away for me.

    The game's visuals are alright, definitely nice for an Animal Crossing game. The characters never develop...AT ALL, so if you like RPGs then you probably won't like this game. Not to mention the citizens that live in your town are ANNOYING. The game is quite slow to load and save, and even though you're the mayor, your power is very limited. The interface is nice, but doing anything requires a lot of time, and it's in this time that you start to wonder "why am I even doing this?"

    In short, the game will hook you, but you'll eventually break out of the cycle and just stop... until the next big event comes along. So it's not exactly a game I'd call "fun." I can't say much against it, other than my own opinion, because it's been well received. I guess I'm just the odd one out who doesn't understand the core concepts of the series well enough. New Leaf is as cute as games get, but ultimately repetitive and futile.

    CORE GAME: 6/10
    VISUALS: 7/10
    SOUND: 6/10
    GAMEPLAY: 7/10
    LASTING APPEAL: 5/10    … Expand
  4. Mxdem
    Jul 28, 2013
    5
    This is one of the funnest and cutest games you'll ever get to play, collecting it's always interesting, furniture list is huge. Why the 5 then? Well, if you ask me, they forgot to fix some of the major issues on this franchise. First of all, collecting furniture in ferns is nice, but you SHOULD be able to see what you got right from the inventory, also changing anything for your houseThis is one of the funnest and cutest games you'll ever get to play, collecting it's always interesting, furniture list is huge. Why the 5 then? Well, if you ask me, they forgot to fix some of the major issues on this franchise. First of all, collecting furniture in ferns is nice, but you SHOULD be able to see what you got right from the inventory, also changing anything for your house should have a "preview" feature, like buying clothes. Some other details would include having to save your tool before talking or entering a building, you could just walk in with in. Other than that, great game.… Expand
  5. VidsRule
    Jun 11, 2013
    7
    I can see this will become addictive. If played for an hour a day it could be played for years. But it still feels pretty barren. It has charm but there still isn't enough stuff to do. I don't want to run out after an hour and wait till the next day to play. Fun though.
  6. ThePatronGamer
    Nov 5, 2013
    7
    This game is just AC: Wild World with a few more features and 3D capabilities. I was struck by nostalgia, but it was not enough for me to have total enjoyment of this game. I felt like it did not offer a sustained amount of game play, just 20 minute increments a day. You need an active friend group to fully enjoy this game.
  7. Ernste
    May 13, 2014
    7
    A good game for sure even without a proper story line.
    Reason to buy this game.
    -When you saving money to buy something -When you saving money to build something -When you play online -When you play with your friends and do stupid things together -When you decorate your house Boring when playing the game. -When you try to save your money (you have to repeat the same progress)    A good game for sure even without a proper story line.
    Reason to buy this game.
    -When you saving money to buy something
    -When you saving money to build something
    -When you play online
    -When you play with your friends and do stupid things together
    -When you decorate your house

    Boring when playing the game.
    -When you try to save your money (you have to repeat the same progress) like training level in pokemon game
    -When you completed everything (even you can play online , but you will get bored eventually)
    -When none of your friend can play this game together with you
    -When playing with someone you don't know make you feel troublesome
    -When you are a boy but see a beautiful girl dress/ you are a girl but see a cool boy clothe (using female character may better for me ~.0 ,because man clothe is suitable for girl character too)
    -When someone keep calling you to open your gate when you in the middle of saving money(especially early game)

    OVERALL
    -Great game +
    -no story -
    -I WOULD RECOMMEND THE GAME FOR YOU (especially your friend own a 3ds)    … Expand
  8. koyukon
    Jun 17, 2020
    6
    It's a great relaxing game with few faults on its own. It could be better in a lot of ways however. Music, ambiance, exploration, better dialogue. They took a lot of the challenge out of the series with this game and I think it would have been better if people had to work harder for bells and rare items. Getting rare valuable bugs and fish on the island should was game breaking and removedIt's a great relaxing game with few faults on its own. It could be better in a lot of ways however. Music, ambiance, exploration, better dialogue. They took a lot of the challenge out of the series with this game and I think it would have been better if people had to work harder for bells and rare items. Getting rare valuable bugs and fish on the island should was game breaking and removed the need for every other bell making method in the game. Animal behavior was too repetitive and should be more like the previous titles or better.… Expand
  9. ReviewScope
    Mar 13, 2014
    6
    Animal Crossing: New Leaf does show some promise, but it can fade away after a while

    Pros: Full of charm The experience can be relaxing Cons: Most parts of the game can be tedious If you are a huge animal crossing fan, try this out, but if you are a newcomer, only play this if its what you strongly desire. It can last a reasonable amount of time, but it may start to fade away    Animal Crossing: New Leaf does show some promise, but it can fade away after a while

    Pros:
    Full of charm
    The experience can be relaxing

    Cons:
    Most parts of the game can be tedious

    If you are a huge animal crossing fan, try this out, but if you are a newcomer, only play this if its what you strongly desire. It can last a reasonable amount of time, but it may start to fade away after a while    … Expand
  10. brendo214
    Aug 9, 2019
    5
    I think that the Animal Crossing games just might not be for me. I find the gameplay kind of boring and a little bit pointless seeing as there is no end to the game.
  11. gamerz4life
    Oct 12, 2020
    5
    What can be said about this game? On paper, the game sounds like it should be fun. You become a mayor of a town in which you move in, you get control of designing the inside of your house and eventually the outside, and you are in charge of beefing up the town and bringing in new residents. It seems almost like it should be a Sims or SimCity type game. But then you start playing.

    First,    What can be said about this game? On paper, the game sounds like it should be fun. You become a mayor of a town in which you move in, you get control of designing the inside of your house and eventually the outside, and you are in charge of beefing up the town and bringing in new residents. It seems almost like it should be a Sims or SimCity type game. But then you start playing.

    First, you’re provided with a tent as you’re told you need to have a down payment of 10,000 bells for them to get you a one-room shack as though you just moved out west. Then once you finally get your house, Tom frickin’ Nook has the nerve to say you now owe 39,800 bells for the place and you can’t upgrade the house at all until you pay it off. Oh and don’t worry those expansions will be even more exorbitant fees. It would be okay if in like the Sims you had real ways of making money but oh wait, you don’t. You have to shake trees for fruit, go digging for fossils, pick up shells, some of the most mundane tasks imaginable and then the shop offers you a couple hundred bells if you’re lucky. And don’t forget that while you’re collecting things you have limited inventory! So after you pick up a couple items (your required tools count as pocket space) you have to run over to immediately sell or plant your items, hopefully it’s the right time of day and they’re open!

    As for upgrading the town itself, your assistant tells you a few Public Works Projects you can set in motion, but oh wait those cost hundreds of thousands of bells, that you’re pretty much expected to come up with out of your own pocket. You can set up a fund for the community to pitch in but they either don’t even notice that this is going on or they’ll give you 2 bells. Wow am I on my way now!

    The villagers are pretty annoying, many of them, especially the people at the stores that you have to interact with constantly, will say the same few lines over and over again, and you can’t speed through the lines of text! And sometimes you’re tasked with finding certain villagers but they’re not always at home, they’re busy wandering around the place at the same time you are so you’re most likely going to go through town several times before coming across them. Oh and then the real question. Why are you the only human in this town? And you’re not even given the option to be a different creature, you can just choose human boy/human girl.

    Time in-game is real time, there is no speeding up. You want nighttime? Well you better be playing at night. You have a contest during the day? Too bad if you’re not home to play. Time and day randomize the store items for you to buy as well. So if you want that fishing pole or butterfly net you have to check the store each day, crossing your fingers that it’s in stock today. And then there’s hardly anything to ever buy in store. What is the point?! Not to mention the awful clothing choices, where if you’re playing as a boy you can still be offered skirts and dresses?, where you can tell the only real reason those are still being sold is to cover up their lack of choices in that department. And not only that but you can also use your wallpaper colors and patterns to change your clothing patterns, like what?!

    At the beginning, you think this game is kinda fun until you get several hours in and realize that you’re expected to do the same thing day in and day out, it never changes. And you realize that you don’t have any real power in this town as mayor. The loan-shark Tom Nook has more power in this town than you. This game is just a major time-waster where you can do real world chores digitally. I don’t see the appeal of this series and I’d rather spend my time playing a game that has meaning, a story, and is FUN! (Or doing my chores in the real world, thank you very much.) This is more a game for little kids, people who don’t want anything out of a game, or hardcore Nintendo fans.    … Expand
  12. Jciam3
    Feb 15, 2020
    6
    I wanted to love this game. Its pretty, the characters are... nice, the music is amazing, and it had a lot of effort put into it. I love this game for these reasons, and i think it is a good game, but its just not for me. I dont find much of what you do entertaining, as it can get repetitive, the characters are all the same and quite bland, and, for me at least, there's not much to do.
  13. MarcSeriesX
    Mar 25, 2020
    7
    I love the game, but I think the graphic quality is improvable and more things could have been added to the video game. But if you want it for a small console, honestly it's fine!
  14. MrTheMan
    Feb 20, 2021
    5
    I understand why so many people love this game, but to me, it feels like an app I have to check on every day for an hour and do nothing gameplay.
  15. omniface
    Mar 8, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. already rated the other three animal crossing game
    but only one open so this is my second new horizons review
    since animal crossing is in the same series

    not my review but completely agree with this except i dont want to change my current
    review

    here it is https://www.ign.com/articles/animal-crossing-new-horizons-good-bad-opinion    … Expand
  16. AlexMakesToast
    Nov 23, 2022
    7
    New leaf = 7/10
    ...........................................................

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best 3DS Game of 2013
4
#4 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2013
4
#4 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 70 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 70
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 70
  3. Negative: 0 out of 70
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 7, 2013
    91
    Animal Crossing: New Leaf is excellent for meditation, coffee breaks, grinding, goofing around, self-expression and, naturally, having loads of fun. [Aug 2013]
  2. Level7.nu
    Sep 10, 2013
    70
    It is not too shabby to be a major. Animal Crossing New Leaf continues the series tradition of being as charming as it is relaxing. The repetitive nature of the tasks in the game has an allure that somehow never gets old. Fans will of course feel right at home and welcome the occasional tweaks and news the game has to offer. It’s just too bad that New Leaf while being a game with lots of content still offers very few surprises.
    Read full review
  3. Universo Nintendo
    Aug 26, 2013
    100
    Animal Crossing: New Leaf represents not only the pinnacle of the series, but also the ingenuity of the life simulation genre.
    Read full review
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