Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival

	North American box art; North American box art;
	Image gallery
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD; NDcube
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Wii U
Release date(s)	November 13, 2015 ; November 20, 2015 ; November 21, 2015 ; November 21, 2015
Genre(s)	Party
Modes	Single-player ; Multiplayer
Ratings	ACB: G; CERO: A; ESRB: E; PEGI: 3;
Media	Wii U Optical Disc ; Nintendo eShop digital download
Input; methods	Wii U GamePad ; amiibo
	Guide at StrategyWiki

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is a party game for the Wii U released in November 2015. It features various game modes that make use of the Animal Crossing amiibo figures and cards, with the main mode being a board game where characters from the Animal Crossing series travel around a board and collect points. The game came packaged with Isabelle and Digby's amiibo figures and three amiibo cards.^[5] Additionally, the game features cross-compatibility with Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, where homes designed in the latter can be transferred to amiibo Festival.^[6]

A series of Animal Crossing amiibo figurines, including Isabelle, K.K. Slider, Tom Nook, Mabel, Reese, Cyrus, Lottie, and Digby, were released alongside the game. Blathers, Celeste, Kicks, and Mr. Resetti were released later in a second wave, and a third and final wave of amiibo consisting of Rover, Kapp'n, Timmy and Tommy, and a variant of Isabelle wearing her summer outfit was released in 2016, making the final character roster have 16 characters for the Board Game mode.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is the lowest-selling Animal Crossing game released outside of Japan. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics, who criticized its gameplay, arguing it did not justify its full price tag, and its complete dependency on amiibo functionality.

Gameplay

Only the Board Game is unlocked from the beginning. After the player completes two games in the Board Game mode, they will be able to unlock eight minigames using Happy Tickets.

Board Game

The Board Game mode

Main article: Board Game

Between one and four players can play the Board Game mode, where participants compete to earn the most Happy Points. Prior to beginning a game, each player must tap in an amiibo on the GamePad, in order to select the character they will play as. Players that do not tap in will use a player as their avatar. After the initial game, which takes place in the current month, the players select a month to play, which determines the events that can occur during the game (such as Bunny Day and the Fishing Tourney).

A player's turn begins with a die roll to determine how many spaces they will advance. After moving forward, an event will occur, causing the player to gain or lose Happy Points or Bells; collecting 1,000 Bells earns a player an additional Happy Point. When the game ends, the player with the most Happy Points is declared the winner.

Certain characters from the Animal Crossing series such as Katie and Joan will make regular appearances on the board and interact with the participants of the game.

Minigames

In addition to the primary Board Game mode, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival includes a collection of minigames, which can be unlocked with Happy Tickets. All of the minigames require the use of amiibo cards. There are eight minigames in total:

Acorn Chase – The player scans amiibo cards to move characters through a maze, collecting acorns while avoiding a cart.
amiibo Card Battle – Players draw amiibo cards to see which one has the highest die value.
Balloon Island – Players drop characters on an island, popping balloons for points.
Desert Island Escape – Three villagers must escape an island by acquiring the necessary materials to create a raft.
Fruit Path – Players compete to collect the most fruit.
Mystery Campers – The player guesses which villager is hidden in which tent.
Quiz Show – Players answer multiple choice questions based on Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival.
Resetti Bop – Players hit a Mr. Resetti doll with a hammer.

Development and release

A promotional image showcasing the amiibo included in the bundle release

According to director Aya Kyogoku, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival began development because "the team wanted to create Animal Crossing amiibo and needed a game to utilize them."^[7]

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival was announced during Nintendo's E3 2015 presentation on June 16, 2015, set for release in Q4 2015.^[8] The final November release date was revealed in October 2015, one month before the game's release.^[1]

The game was first released in North America on November 13, 2015, then later released in Europe on November 20, and in Japan and Australia on November 21. The game was exclusively released in a larger box that included amiibo figures for Isabelle and Digby and unique, Desert Island Escape-themed amiibo cards for Goldie, Rosie, and Stitches. A blurb on the box which denotes the Digby amiibo figure as a limited time offer suggests that a version with only the Isabelle figure was planned; however, such a version was never released, likely due to not enough stock selling of the initial print run.

Reception

Initial unveiling of the game in Nintendo's E3 2015 was overwhelmingly negatively received, with the video's like-to-dislike ratio skewing very heavily toward dislike (~3,000 likes as opposed to ~13,000 dislikes) while comments were disabled.^[9]

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival received generally unfavorable reviews from critics according to video game review aggregator Metacritic, on which the game received a score of 46 out of 100 from critics.^[10] Critics frequently cited the unengaging gameplay, which they boil down to simply rolling dice and reading messages. Critics also noted the game as cynical ploy to purchase more amiibo, along with the game's hefty initial price of $60 (a full price game). Nintendo World Report gave the game a 4.5 out of 10, calling the game "boring" and "nothing more than a simple board game", along with stating that its content "lacks variety and fun".^[11] IGN shared a similar sentiment, calling the game a "snooze fest" while giving it a score of 5 out of 10.^[12] While criticized for its gameplay, amiibo Festival's visuals were generally praised by reviewers for their "Animal Crossing charm".

Sales

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In its first week of sale in Japan, amiibo Festival sold 20,303 copies.^[13] The game launched at a $60 price point in the United States, and would see significant cuts to its listing price during the Wii U's lifetime.^{[citation needed]} Most of the amiibo figures compatible with the game would also see significant price drops.^{[citation needed]}