Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival

 Wii U
User Score
4.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 253 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 253
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 253
  3. Negative: 152 out of 253
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  1. TheQuietGamer
    Apr 21, 2020
    4
    This Mario Party style virtual board game is likely to garner mixed reactions at best from your friendly gatherings. The rules are simple enough. You and up to three friends compete to collect the most happy points and bells by landing on event spaces that will either increase or decrease your totals of both. It's not a very exciting process as all you're really doing is rolling the diceThis Mario Party style virtual board game is likely to garner mixed reactions at best from your friendly gatherings. The rules are simple enough. You and up to three friends compete to collect the most happy points and bells by landing on event spaces that will either increase or decrease your totals of both. It's not a very exciting process as all you're really doing is rolling the dice and reading a little mini-story about something your character did, rather than actually getting to do anything yourself. Occasionally, a familiar face from the series will show up and add new scenarios that only last for a single turn, but this ultimately doesn't do much to liven up the gameplay as they just amount to more text to scroll through.

    To make matters worse, physically playing it is an awkward experience. For whatever reason the entire thing uses only one controller. Which means you either pass the GamePad around every turn or let a single person hold onto it and roll for everybody, effectively limiting the amount of interactivity the rest will have with the game even further. Then there are the Amiibo themselves, which ARE essential as you can't even make it past the start screen without one. Instead of being able to push a button you're forced to scan the figurines each round in order to move and it's incredibly clunky.

    It's also worth noting that if you don't have enough of the toys to go around, there are generic in-game avatars that can be used. However, the player(s) stuck with one are at a severe disadvantage as those who get an Amiibo are awarded a bonus happy point each time the dice is rolled. So if you want to keep your sessions fair you'll have to invest in a full set of four.

    There are mini-games, but they're weirdly detatched from the main mode. They also require you to have Animal Crossing Amiibo cards (a separate thing from the figures), which add new characters to the world and play an integral role in controlling these side-diversions. Essentially making them even more mechanically frustrating than the core offering is. It's their cheap, disposable nature that's the real issue though. I simply have no interest in touching them again after trying them out once.

    Amiibo Festival is a dull, poorly designed cashgrab built around selling you outside accessories. I did enjoy things like the "stalk market" that sees you buying and reselling turnips against rapidly fluctuating prices before they expire, as it's the only part of the game that allows for any sort of strategy. I could even see myself returning for the grind of unlocking new features, such as the option to build new paths on the board. Still, I would be very leery of breaking this out at any sort of get together where I wasn't 100% positive everyone there enjoyed it, lest I run the risk of boring them. Which is about as bad as it can get for a party game.

    4.5/10    … Expand
  2. asjklasjklas
    Nov 19, 2015
    4
    The creators of Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival knew an inferior imitation of the Mario Party franchise for the Wii wouldn’t serve any relative purpose other than to sell more Amiibo figures. But it’s critically disappointing from one of the most critically acclaimed franchises from Nintendo, who have recently caved into more and more marketing gimmicks formerly exploited only by itsThe creators of Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival knew an inferior imitation of the Mario Party franchise for the Wii wouldn’t serve any relative purpose other than to sell more Amiibo figures. But it’s critically disappointing from one of the most critically acclaimed franchises from Nintendo, who have recently caved into more and more marketing gimmicks formerly exploited only by its competitors through third party co-developers, with Pokémon Shuffle and more coming to mind.

    If you were expecting amiibo Festival to be somewhat similar to the overall reaction to Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer on the Nintendo 3DS, prepare to be miserable. At least HHD incorporated addictive, even enjoyable qualities that made me want to continue playing for a couple of days. But amiibo Festivals to deliver “fun” by any definition. The mini-games aren’t very challenging and the visual board game design is poorly executed, making for a boring, dull experience. Even the Amiibo feature doesn’t function as well as it’s supposed to, becoming an annoyance during certain mini-games.

    The only majorly redeeming qualities aren’t gameplay related—it’s certainly charming, especially during the non-playable sequences. Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival could have been an add-on to 2013’s New Leaf or maybe even an upcoming main series console game; however, I couldn’t imagine paying for amiibo Festival as DLC either and would only download it for free if it were essential to completing a task. It’s only moderately more entertaining if you have a friend playing with you and even then, just play Mario Party. I couldn’t bring myself to call this a “terrible” game, it’s simply short of being pleasurable to any extent, only designed to cash in on an Amiibo feature many of us only used to decorate our shelves.

    Overall rating: 4.5    … Expand
  3. GAMERGUY25
    Nov 19, 2015
    4
    Watching the nintendo press conference and hearing animal crossing and wii u in the same sentance made me jump out of my seat I couldn't wait to see it and we got this. My initial reaction was what are you serious nintendo here is the wii u oozing with potential a huge wii u release of a true animal crossing game can happen with literally millions of things to do and we get a terribleWatching the nintendo press conference and hearing animal crossing and wii u in the same sentance made me jump out of my seat I couldn't wait to see it and we got this. My initial reaction was what are you serious nintendo here is the wii u oozing with potential a huge wii u release of a true animal crossing game can happen with literally millions of things to do and we get a terrible mario party rip off. The only positive this game has charming visuals and characters while running at a nice 60FPS. Other than that the charm of animal crossing can only do so much. Bland mini games terrible amiibo support and just a pure boring factor the only reason to buy this game is for the amiibo other than that a huge waste.… Expand
  4. TearsMacabre
    Jan 2, 2016
    4
    Sigh... I wasn't too excited about this game, but my brother got it as a gift, so I thought I'd try it. I was even less impressed after playing it. I've loved almost all of my Wii U purchases so far, but this fell short for me.

    The problem is that the game is entirely luck-based. Literally. There is practically no skill required whatsoever. So much so, in fact, that I considered playing    Sigh... I wasn't too excited about this game, but my brother got it as a gift, so I thought I'd try it. I was even less impressed after playing it. I've loved almost all of my Wii U purchases so far, but this fell short for me.

    The problem is that the game is entirely luck-based. Literally. There is practically no skill required whatsoever. So much so, in fact, that I considered playing it with my 2-year-old cousin. That's the main mode, anyway.

    Here's what saved me from giving this game a 2: For one, just the general charm of the Animal Crossing theme. I won't deny the game was nice visually for what it was, and it was slightly entertaining to see the journals of the characters as they land on each space.

    Second, the minigames. One in particular actually requires strategy during play and during teambuilding, and I actually enjoy playing it. The problem is that it's a minigame; the main mode of the game itself I found dreadfully boring.

    Overall, I unfortunately cannot recommend this game unless you have small children. Even then, beware: The very first game, there is absolutely nothing to do. You'll have to play a few times before you get the good stuff.    … Expand
  5. Sakamoto_San
    Apr 28, 2016
    4
    Resulta entretenido un rato pero que te vendan los persoanges como amiibo es algo muy feo llevaron a otro nivel la venta de DLC, con algo de suerte el juego te da 1 o 2 horas de diversión o si tienes otros 3 amigos que tengan un amiibo de animal crossing probablemente un rato mas.
  6. robertoiglesias
    Jul 3, 2020
    4
    Some of the minigames are decent, but this game sucks.
    The board game idea isn't the best, but I would be fine with it, as an extra mode. Making it the main mode doesn't work as well, unless it's very interesting. And this is really boring.

    This shouldn't have been the only Animal Crossing game on the Wii U.
    Imma go back to playing Mario Party 10 now.
  7. SaturnTheCoyote
    Nov 25, 2020
    4
    Received this game as a gift and it's not as bad as everyone says it is. The graphics are pretty decent, cute characters are there for you to smile at and the music is your average Animal Crossing music, just a little more upbeat.

    Doesn't mean it's a decent game though. I'm still unsure if this was just a cash-grab or not, but I'm pretty sure it was. I absolutely love the amiibo figures    Received this game as a gift and it's not as bad as everyone says it is. The graphics are pretty decent, cute characters are there for you to smile at and the music is your average Animal Crossing music, just a little more upbeat.

    Doesn't mean it's a decent game though. I'm still unsure if this was just a cash-grab or not, but I'm pretty sure it was. I absolutely love the amiibo figures that you can buy, but the fact you have to keep picking them up feels... unnecessary? To just roll a dice? There's also no minigames on the boards, and the 3 minigames you can play aren't Mario Party level or anything. They're cute though. The game also seems to go on for a long, long time.

    I don't know, if you're looking for an Animal Crossing spinoff game, just buy Happy Homes Designer. At least you don't need an amiibo to play the game there. Like I said, it's not the worst game but it's also not good.    … Expand
  8. lexgamer
    Nov 18, 2015
    3
    The first match I played I literally mashed the button but gave it no attention as I ended up chatting with a friend, was surprised to see I won the match, after literally nothing ever happening on screen of any interest. could be fun for the very young/old, but a painful experience for most else.
  9. kiwikelly
    Mar 20, 2016
    3
    This made me think of My Sims Party.. It isn't anything alike of Animal Crossing and the cost of the game plus all the characters are way too expensive for what you get (in my opinion)..
    It isn't that great, although it might be fun to play when you have people coming over and want some quality time.
  10. MrTacoBob
    Sep 6, 2017
    3
    It can be a bit of fun if you're REALLY bored but besides that it's a disappointment that lacks gameplay. The only good things about Amiibo Festival is the graphics and the cute little scenes in the game. Besides that it's an awful game.
  11. not134
    Dec 3, 2018
    3
    Its not a good representation of animal crossing. the only thing I bought it for were the 2 amiibo and the 3 amiibo cards. once I tried i was amused about how much it is "Furry Mario party"Do not buy the game unless its the bundle!
  12. Tobyvenom
    Jul 8, 2020
    3
    This is piss poor Mario Party clone. Sure the Mario Party games on the Wii U where **** but this is isn't much better. the game way to slow and to play it. get this to play this game which is played by 4 people you literally have to give someone else the gamepad. also the game only exists because some guy at Nintendo wanted Animal Crossing Amiiibos'. this is why the Wii U failed. noThis is piss poor Mario Party clone. Sure the Mario Party games on the Wii U where **** but this is isn't much better. the game way to slow and to play it. get this to play this game which is played by 4 people you literally have to give someone else the gamepad. also the game only exists because some guy at Nintendo wanted Animal Crossing Amiiibos'. this is why the Wii U failed. no mainline Animal Crossing game or mainline Kirby game. seriously the only franchises that had a mainline game on the Wii U where Mario, Zelda, Mii, Pikmin, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Smash bros, and that's it… Expand
  13. JetThePokeGuy
    Apr 28, 2020
    3
    Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is a really bad game; each game takes around an hour long, which is simply far too long for a party game. Rolling a dice requires you to scan an amiibo which is extremely annoying and clunky. There is no strategy in the game, just luck which is the case for most party games, but in certain good party games, there is some strategy that is needed. The miniAnimal Crossing: amiibo Festival is a really bad game; each game takes around an hour long, which is simply far too long for a party game. Rolling a dice requires you to scan an amiibo which is extremely annoying and clunky. There is no strategy in the game, just luck which is the case for most party games, but in certain good party games, there is some strategy that is needed. The mini games are decent, but is not enough to save this atrocity.… Expand
  14. Gammalad
    Nov 17, 2015
    2
    Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival fails at being an interesting party game and at being an Animal Crossing game. While the game maintains some of the wit and charm of the mainline games, it is drowned out by the mundane and RNG reliant gameplay. As a die hard Animal Crossing fan I cannot recommend this game to either fans of the series or people wanting to try out the series for their own.Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival fails at being an interesting party game and at being an Animal Crossing game. While the game maintains some of the wit and charm of the mainline games, it is drowned out by the mundane and RNG reliant gameplay. As a die hard Animal Crossing fan I cannot recommend this game to either fans of the series or people wanting to try out the series for their own. This game is not worth the $60 price point either, while you may argue "Oh it comes with two amiibos!" you cannot advance past the start screen without an Animal Crossing Amiibo, locking you out of the game unless you own one. It feels as if Nintendo dragged a very prominent series through the mud just for the sake of selling Amiibos.… Expand
  15. Mcmuffinburger
    Nov 25, 2015
    2
    It's cute, graphics are as good as a wii u game gets. I just wished it had more sustenance. I got the game as a bday gift, I only played it for 10 min by myself, my best friend came over (also an ac fan) tried to play at least a 2 player mode, passing the game pad back and fourth is annoying, and seeing that there was no other amiibo functionality it was just boring and repetitive. TooIt's cute, graphics are as good as a wii u game gets. I just wished it had more sustenance. I got the game as a bday gift, I only played it for 10 min by myself, my best friend came over (also an ac fan) tried to play at least a 2 player mode, passing the game pad back and fourth is annoying, and seeing that there was no other amiibo functionality it was just boring and repetitive. Too bad I cant return it :( I did return my Tom nook amiibo. I dont even want to have them as a collectible its so bad .… Expand
  16. thaesino
    Dec 9, 2015
    2
    Nintendo HAD to have known this was going to flop. I love Animal Crossing and cannot wait for the next actual Animal Crossing game. This is a waste of money and should only be purchased by collectors, the way they should own a copy of E.T. for NES.

    As soon as I had played for about an hour, I got this eerie feeling that Nintendo published this game as a way to pay for any extra toilet    Nintendo HAD to have known this was going to flop. I love Animal Crossing and cannot wait for the next actual Animal Crossing game. This is a waste of money and should only be purchased by collectors, the way they should own a copy of E.T. for NES.

    As soon as I had played for about an hour, I got this eerie feeling that Nintendo published this game as a way to pay for any extra toilet paper they may need in their offices. It's the only thing I can think of. I tried really hard to like it.    … Expand
  17. Kiramay
    Dec 5, 2015
    2
    Amiibo Festival falls severely short of other similar party games and offers very little to players. For a series that heavily features customization this game feels lacking.
    The first two games you play do not feature any minigames (unless you count turnip selling) and the game does not inform you that these features even exist until you finish that second game. Overall the gameplay is    Amiibo Festival falls severely short of other similar party games and offers very little to players. For a series that heavily features customization this game feels lacking.
    The first two games you play do not feature any minigames (unless you count turnip selling) and the game does not inform you that these features even exist until you finish that second game. Overall the gameplay is quite dull - I found myself playing on my phone for most of the time because there was nothing to look at - I didn't have to be worried about where other players were because there is barely any competition to the game and it is very hands off - all you do is tap your amiibo figure to take your turn and occasionally buy and sell turnips. I came in expecting it to be similar to Mario Party where there was a minigame after each round of turns. Instead it was an endless moving around of the board with very little choice, interaction, or even consequences.
    The other Animal Crossing games offer so much and I was hoping we would see some of these great things integrated into the game. Instead minigames must be unlocked after they're finally revealed to you. So far it seems like customization is really limited for the 8 preset human players for those who do not play with an amiibo figure. The series features a large amount of music - which is quite absent from this game that has a limited and disappointing soundtrack.
    On the bright side the game is cute and the amiibos are adorable. I dislike Wii controllers so at first I was happy to discover you only needed the gamepad - but then I realized it was because there were no minigames or other activities that required you to all play at the same time.    … Expand
  18. LinkTriforce
    Apr 22, 2016
    2
    que clase de pendejada es esta, tengo que comprar amiibos para disfrutar el juego al maximo, o es la copia barata de mario party, no lo se, no lo jueguen menos mal que no compre esta basura de hecho me lo regalaron y lo vendi de lo malo que era es porqueria recien hecha
  19. GamecubeLover
    Jul 3, 2016
    2
    *snores* mmmmhhh...AH! I fell asleep playing animal crossing amiibo festival yet again! That's the 1,584,535,430th time! This game is boring and a waste of time. Nintendo made this game just to sell more amiibos. The graphics are good though and the game does have a bit of animal crossing charm but overall this is a terrible excuse for a great series.
  20. wiiugamer
    Mar 24, 2020
    2
    I saw this game still sealed at game stop for $3 (It was 2.69 with my membership). So I bought it and two other animal crossing amiibo for a total of $22.69. I got home and tried play a round and I almost fell asleep because of how boring it was. The game has nothing interesting in it. it is like those old board games where the point is to get to the end, but much more boring. It has noI saw this game still sealed at game stop for $3 (It was 2.69 with my membership). So I bought it and two other animal crossing amiibo for a total of $22.69. I got home and tried play a round and I almost fell asleep because of how boring it was. The game has nothing interesting in it. it is like those old board games where the point is to get to the end, but much more boring. It has no mini games unless you want to spend even more money to buy 3 packs of amiibo cards. Even then the mini games are a snooze fest. And for some reason whenever it is your turn you have to re-scan the amiibo. Also it is very clunky to have to pass the Wii u game pad for everyone's turn. Why can't you just scan the amiibo, once at the beginning using the game pad and everyone uses Wii motes. Why couldn't Nintendo just give us a normal Animal Crossing game on the Wii u instead of this stupid cash grab for amiibos.… Expand
  21. MaddoxWhite
    Apr 25, 2021
    2
    You tap the Amiibo that you bought seperately and you watch a 2 hour cutscene and then you repeat it until you die

    Nice graphics tho
  22. Emperator_444
    Nov 19, 2022
    2
    No tiene personalidad. Es simplemente un tablero con temática de Animal Crossing. Jugar es aburrido. Se echan en falta minijuegos entre ronda y ronda. Es cansado tener que escanear el amiibo para lanzar el dado cada vez. La jugabilidad es mala. Si lo juegas tú solo, vas a pasar un mal rato.
  23. MistyFalls
    Dec 10, 2015
    1
    The most disappointing part of this game is there are no minigames like Mario Party. This is literally just roll the dice, read text, repeat. There is very few interactions in this game.
  24. Zorua
    Jan 31, 2016
    1
    Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival is a spin-off party game of the Animal Crossing series that in no right deserves to be a standalone game.
    The game has you control your character's movements by tapping one of several compatible amiibo - in fact, to play co-op each player must have a different amiibo and half of the game is locked unless you can buy the amiibo to unlock it.
    The fact that    Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival is a spin-off party game of the Animal Crossing series that in no right deserves to be a standalone game.
    The game has you control your character's movements by tapping one of several compatible amiibo - in fact, to play co-op each player must have a different amiibo and half of the game is locked unless you can buy the amiibo to unlock it.
    The fact that even the dice is controlled via amiibo diminishes the small amount of interactivity the game does have, with the only good thing being the graphics. Apart from that, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival is just a mockery of a fun, co-operative party game, instead just being a vain attempt to market merchandise.
    I don't believe it's the amiibo that ruins the game, as Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for the 3DS utilises them perfectly. What makes the game a failure is it's lack of interactivity or fun, and the fact it's a game retailed at full price is ridiculous. In my opinion, it should just be a side feature/minigame in a proper Animal Crossing game, and even then it would need some major improvements.    … Expand
  25. iliketrains
    Aug 16, 2017
    1
    I thought this was going to be a fun animal crossing party game. Sadly, you get anything but that in amiibo festival. If you want to bore your self play this.T he only thing close to fun is desert island escape.
  26. Plebastian
    Apr 29, 2019
    1
    This game is like the part in Groundhog Day when Bill Murray is just killing himself over and over.
  27. WhoDaDev
    Aug 6, 2021
    1
    Got this for Christmas, wish I asked for something else, honestly it might've been enjoyable if you didn't have to tap the amiibos down every time you want to roll the dice. The minigames that aren't part of the party mode are very fun, but they exist on New leaf, so why bother?
  28. TheLinkgirl
    Dec 13, 2022
    1
    Pathetic. While there's nice visuals.and one or two cute scenes, this game has about as much depth and replayability as a teardrop. Yeah, I love seeing my favourite villagers in HD, but that's just not enough to make a game good. The best part of this game was that I got some neat figurines and it only coated £5. The actual game is pure garbage.
  29. LuissDt
    May 3, 2022
    1
    The word boring and tedious is described as Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, a well-intentioned game but a terrible and boring spin off of a good saga.
  30. Lil_Caucasian
    Feb 4, 2022
    1
    Quite possibly one of the worst games Nintendo has released in years. It just isn't fun.
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Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Best Wii U Game of 2015
6
#6 Most Discussed Wii U Game of 2015
9
#9 Most Shared Wii U Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
46

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 20
  3. Negative: 8 out of 20
  1. Everyeye.it
    Jan 27, 2016
    80
    It's a nice way to put your amiibos to use. It's a party game, so don't expect deep or too complex gameplay mechanics, but cards and action figures are implemented in an original and interesting way.
    Read full review
  2. Gaming Age
    Jan 1, 2016
    58
    It's digital board gaming at its most basic, with a surprisingly sincere effort from a developer that seems burnt out on the genre.
    Read full review
  3. Impulsegamer
    Dec 27, 2015
    62
    Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival is Mario Party but lacking true content!
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »