Animal Crossing Puzzle League
Animal Crossing Puzzle League[nb 1] is a minigame in Animal Crossing: New Leaf added in the Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo update. It is an installment of the Puzzle League series with an Animal Crossing theme, with the player serving as the main "mascot" character. It is accessed by using a New Nintendo 3DS or New Nintendo 3DS XL furniture item.
Gameplay
Like previous Puzzle League installments, panels of various colors are stacked in a well. New panels rise from the bottom of the stack, slowly pushing the stack upward. If any part of the stack pushes at the top of the well for too long, the game is over. The player controls a cursor to swap two panels horizontally, or one panel with an empty space. If three or more panels of the same color line up horizontally or vertically, these panels disappear. Clearing more panels at once results in a "combo", and panels dropping into multiple separate clears results in a "chain".
New to the Animal Crossing installment are special abilities, unlocked by clearing panels and filling a meter on the Touch Screen. By default, the player is able to use Horizontal Wipeout, which clears a single row of panels, but they are able to change this ability by tapping in different amiibo figures.
Abilities given by amiibo
| Ability name | Description | amiibo |
|---|---|---|
| Back from the Dead | Gives you one last chance. | K.K. Slider |
| Random Fruit Change | Randomly changes one panel type. | Tom Nook |
| Sniper Wipe | Allows you to aim and delete panels. | Mabel |
| Slow Panels | Briefly slows down rising panels. | Isabelle (Winter outfit) |
| Vertical Wipeout | Deletes two columns of panels. | Digby |
| Max Fruit Change | Changes most-common panel type. | Reese |
| Garbage B Gone | Changes garbage blocks to regular panels. | Cyrus |
| Fruit Shortage | Reduces panel varieties by two. | Lottie |
| Big Reset | Randomly changes all panels. | Mr. Resetti |
| Panel Pause | Briefly stops panels from rising. | Blathers |
| Double Bonus | Doubles your score for a short time. | Celeste |
| Biggest Fall Hardest | Deletes the tallest column of panels. | Kicks |
| Cross Wipe | Deletes a two-panel-wide cross section. | Timmy and Tommy |
| Blight | Deletes one whole type of panel. | Rover |
| Surround Wipe | Deletes panels around your cursor. | Kapp'n |
| Horizontal Wipeout x2 | Deletes two lines of panels. | Isabelle (Summer outfit) |
Story Mode
The goal of Story Mode is to become the mayor of Puzzle League by gaining villagers' approval. In each stage, there are three "campaign" rounds and one boss round. Campaign rounds play similarly to the usual Puzzle League "Stage Clear" mode, where the goal is to bring the stack of panels below a set line. The faster the goal is reached, the more support will be earned, but campaign rounds will never give support beyond 60%. Boss rounds then have the player clear panels to raise approval rating further, until it reaches 100%. Each boss round after the first has a gimmick tailored to specific modes.
Stage 1: Tortimer, while still retired, now aims to become mayor of the league and make it a place where the elderly are treated with respect. There are no added gimmicks to this boss round, and completing it for the first time unlocks Score Attack mode.
Stage 2: A random villager from the player's town will set off to become mayor of the league, with their ambitions determined by personality type. In this boss round, the player must maximize their support in two minutes, or else they lose by default. Completing this stage for the first time unlocks Time Attack mode.
Stage 3: A second random villager from the player's town will push to become mayor. In this boss round, approval rating only rises when clearing candy panels. Candy panels are mainly cleared by clearing adjacent panels, but clearing candy panels by connecting three or more will create a bonus double candy panel, which can be cleared twice in a row. Completing this stage for the first time will unlock Candy Mode.
Stage 4: A random special character will then push to become mayor. In this boss round, garbage blocks will drop from above the stack in an effort to quickly fill the player's well. Clearing panels adjacent to a garbage block will break it down into more panels for the player to use. Clearing this stage for the first time will unlock Garbage Attack.
Stage 5: A third and final random villager from the player's town will compete for control of the league. This boss round combines garbage blocks with the two minute time limit.
Stage 6: Isabelle will then pitch to become mayor, expressing her understanding of the task through her current job as a secretary. This boss round combines garbage blocks with the candy panel requirement.
Stage 7: Cornimer makes a return, competing to supposedly set up acorn-themed holidays, as opposed to his true motive of respect for the elderly. There are no campaign rounds in this stage, so the player must gain approval from 0%. Additionally, approval rating can only rise through combos and chains, and garbage blocks are added into the mix. Completing this stage marks the end of Story mode, and clearing it for the first time will unlock Kinda Hard mode.
When playing Story Mode again, the player may opt to play in Kinda Hard Mode, which adds a new colored panel into the grid.
Extra MEOW tickets
- Beat Stage 1 in under 3 minutes
- Beat Stage __ in under 5.5 minutes
- Beat Stage __ in under 7 minutes
- Beat Stage 7 in under 30 seconds
- Make a x5 chain
- Earn 2,500 points or more in Time Attack
- Earn 100 pieces of candy or more in Candy Mode
Prizes
As the player achieves certain conditions, they will be mailed as prizes from Nintendo.
Animal Crossing Puzzle League items in Animal Crossing: New Leaf
| Item | Image | Type | Buy price | Sell price[nb 2] | Available from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit-panel cushion | _NL_Model.png)
|
Furniture | Not for sale |  3,000 Bells
|
 Nintendo (completing Animal Crossing Puzzle League's Story Mode) |
| Nintendo 3DS shelf | 
|
Furniture | Not for sale | 900 Bells
|
Nintendo (obtain a 10-chain combo in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
| Nintendo 3DS station | 
|
Furniture | Not for sale | 500 Bells
|
Nintendo (obtain a 5-chain combo in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
| Flower Fairy dress | 
|
Clothing | Not for sale | 250 Bells
|
Nintendo (obtain 10,000 points while playing Score Attack in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
| Flower Fairy wig | 
|
Clothing | Not for sale | 600 Bells
|
Nintendo (obtain 10,000 points while playing Garbage Attack in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
| Flower Fairy boots | 
|
Clothing | Not for sale | 300 Bells
|
Nintendo (obtain 2,500 points while playing Time Attack in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
| Fruit-panel umbrella | 
|
Clothing | Not for sale | 400 Bells
|
Nintendo (beat "Kinda Hard" mode in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
| Fruit-panel wall | 
|
Interior | Not for sale | 1,200 Bells
|
Nintendo (complete stage 6 in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
| Fruit-panel floor | 
|
Interior | Not for sale | 1,200 Bells
|
Nintendo (complete stage 6 in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
| Flower Fairy wand | 
|
Equipment | Not for sale | 300 Bells
|
Nintendo (destroy 100 candy blocks while playing Candy Attack in Animal Crossing Puzzle League) |
Music
Puzzle League contained new tracks which may have been composed by Shinobu Nagata, who was credited for Welcome amiibo staff. Fanfares from past Panel de Pon games composed by Masaya Kuzume were also used.
Animal Crossing Puzzle League audio tracks
| Title | Game | Track | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Tutorial | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Pre-Game Conversation | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Normal Round | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Normal Round (Critical) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Normal Round (Both Tracks) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Clear! | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Post-Game Conversation (Lost) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Post-Game Conversation (Won) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| 4-Chain | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| 5-Chain | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| 6-Chain | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Get Item | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Lost | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Boss | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Boss (Critical) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Boss (Both Tracks) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Boss Clear! | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Lost (Boss) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Final Boss | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Final Boss (Both Tracks) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Final Boss (Critical) | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Final Boss Clear! | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Story Mode Clear | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Puzzle Mode Menu | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| Puzzle Mode Results | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | ||
| New Record! | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo |
Trivia
On the Nintendo 3DS Shelf, the following Nintendo 3DS games can be seen, from left to right:
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
- Tomodachi Life
- Nintendogs + Cats: Golden Retriever & New Friends
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf
- Style Savvy: Styling Star
Notes
- ↑ Japanese: どうぶつの森 パネポン Hepburn: Doubutsu no Mori Panepon, Animal Forest Panel de Pon
- ↑ Re-Tail sell price; if item can be sold at Timmy and Tommy's store, it is 80% of the sell price; if item can be sold to Leila at Tortimer Island, it is 5% of the sell price.
Further details: Needs gameplay screenshots
Further details: Needs gameplay screenshots
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