Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was first released in 2012 in Japan and later worldwide in 2013, it is the fourth main game in the Animal Crossing series. The player controls a human character who takes on the role of mayor in a town populated with anthropomorphic animals. The player has the ability to do activities such as bug catching, fishing, and befriending villagers. While retaining gameplay from older titles, Animal Crossing: New Leaf marks a change in the series, as the player becomes the mayor of the town, granting additional abilities such as to enact ordinances and start public works projects. With the help of the townsfolk and a secretary named Isabelle, it is now the player's job to make the town a better place to live. The game received critical acclaim, with many citing the improvements upon prior entries in the series. Although the title was re-released under the Nintendo Selects banner in North America and as Happy Price Selection in Japan, an updated version with amiibo support and new features was released for free on the Nintendo eShop in November 2016 for owners of the original version. A retail version of the update was released as Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo in late 2016. It was followed by Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch in 2020.

Source: Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0 — Animal Crossing: New Leaf · retrieved October 19, 2026

Developer

Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development, Monolith Soft Inc.

Publisher

Nintendo

First release

November 8, 2012

Series

Animal Crossing

Cover

Official thumbnail

Record ID

Q44462