Summary
Disney Dreamlight Valleypresents players with the opportunity to create a village filled with all of their favorite Disney characters, not dissimilar to Nintendo’sAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. After an event called “The Forgetting”, Dreamlight Valley is in ruin and players need to recreate it by reliving stories from the past. This storytelling device is ingenious because it invites players to revisit and warmly remember Disney characters and stories from their own past. Disney is keenly aware that an ever-growing chunk of its fan base is nostalgic adults, andDisney Dreamlight Valleyhas been designed with this in mind. It’s time that Nintendo provides its fan base with the same treatment in its sequel toAnimal Crossing: New Horizons.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonswas a smash hitfor Nintendo. Releasing as lock-downs begun around the world, the title provided new and old fans of the series with something cozy to lose themselves in. WhileNew Horizonswas a massive breakout moment for the franchise, the series debuted in 2001 and left Japan in 2002. The franchise has been around for over 20 years, and fans that grew up with the original are now adults. Nintendo has a strong opportunity to borrow fromDisney Dreamlight Valleyand do something they’ve never done before withAnimal Crossing: a substantial time jump.
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Animal Crossing Needs A Time Jump
Disney Dreamlight Valleyis one half adventure game and one half life simulator. This adventure game half in combination with “The Forgetting” allows the developers to use the concept of revisiting the past without actually advancing time. This creates an experience based around the player’s own nostalgia and love for the past. Nintendo doesn’t need to go so far forAnimal Crossing;a simple time jump would do. On top of bringing backmissingAnimal Crossingvillagers, they could all be aged up. Characters could have new hobbies, professions or even have retired. The potential is endless.
A time leap would allow forAnimal Crossingto adopt wider changes to gameplay and its characters as well. On top ofnewAnimal Crossingvillager personality typesand other expansions on existing systems, anAnimal Crossinggame set further in the future could see certain villagers married or with children. Rather than one villager to the house, the towns could be filled with families. Seeing which beloved characters end up together would be fun for fans of the franchise, and having families in the game would create the opportunity for more elaborate villager requests or even for small stories to play out.
A Nostalgic Animal Crossing Would Allow For More Features
A futureAnimal Crossinggame embracing a greater sense of time and continuity could also allow for some cool meta features. Technology has come a long way, and with Nintendo’s cloud save functionality, a future entry could allow players to import data fromNew Horizons.This addition could allow villagers to remember the player or for designs to be carried over between entries. For anAnimal Crossinggame attempting to pull on the threads of nostalgia fans have for the series, additions like this would be perfect. Running into an old villager from years past and having them remember the player would be great fan service and a way to integrateRPG features.
The nextAnimal Crossinggame has the opportunity to grow with its fan base and move its world forward. While a new entry in a storied franchise always has some element of nostalgia for returning fans, the cozy nature ofAnimal Crossingmakes it the perfect series to reflect on that feeling and incorporate it into the game itself. AdoptingDisney Dreamlight Valley’s approach to nostalgia could allow for Nintendo topushAnimal Crossingin a new directionwhile giving old time fans a heartwarming experience.
