History VideoGame / AnimalCrossingNewLeaf

* GirlyRun: You do this while wearing what the game considers "feminine" (like bottoms designed for females, or a dress), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CX94k1I7ao no matter which gender you are]]. (The exception is the default skirt that the female player character wears if they aren't wearing any other skirt or pants- they will do a non-girly run while wearing it, as well as outfits meant to resemble other clothing, like the raincoat).

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Players need one before they can actually do anything as mayor.

* GenderNeutralWriting: Player characters are almost always referred to in gender-neutral terms, including, but not limited to, the pronouns "they" and "them". The game uses this when NPC villagers refer to one another (i.e. "Thanks [player] for delivering that to [villager], I hope they enjoy it!"). The only real exceptions to this is when buying clothes, as the Able Sisters and Gracie comment what gender it'll look good on (meant for boys, meant for girls, gender-neutral). They'll also be surprised about pulling the look off if you buy a dress as a boy, for example, [[WholesomeCrossdresser but they won't admonish you for it.]] -- though in some languages that require it, what gender you are on your Mayor ID does imply ''grammatical'' gender. Villagers will also use "they/them" pronouns after you get a new neighbour to move in, likely because they've never met.

* Like in previous games Gulliver sometimes references other Nintendo franchises in his dialogue:
** He mentions that he hasn't had so much help since he visited [[VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine Ricco Harbor]].

* WholesomeCrossdresser: All clothes are available for any gender. Skirts, dresses, pants, shirts, and shoes are treated as different kinds of items rather than altering the clothing choices based on gender that past games did. So it's possible to start a game as one gender and eventually work your way to the point where the only way to tell the character's true gender is to look at their face (which even then, may not help, as some faces are gender-neutral, and you are able to cover them up with a mask), or the color of their ID card (Pink Girl, Blue Boy, naturally). The character's running animation is based what clothes you wear, so if a boy is wearing a dress, they'll still do a GirlyRun, and if a girl is wearing a shirt, they'll run like a boy villager.

* RenovatingThePlayerHeadquarters: Brought UpToEleven compared to previous games, with the player able to build up and customize an entire town.

* AntiPoopSocking: Like in past games, at nighttime villagers go to sleep and stores close up, except for the museum and Town Hall, which are open 24/7 (sometimes a villager or two will also be up late with you). In this game in particular, this also means you can't use the Able Sisters' design feature, since it's inside the Able Sisters' shop which is only open from 9 AM to 9 PM.

''New Leaf'' was the most revolutionary title since 2005's ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingWildWorld''. It boasts a revised art-style, many new characters, and significant changes to the mechanics, all of which [[NewbieBoom introduced many newcomers to the franchise]], launching it into mainstream success. Because of this, ''New Leaf'' is the second-best selling game in the series, moving 13.4 million units in its lifetime.[[note]]It was beaten by the following game, ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'', though its numbers are an order of magnitude larger due to the releasing right when lockdowns started for the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic; it currently stands at shy of 40 million units.[[/note]]

To everyone's surprise, on October 2016 a new update was announced and released for the game the following month, titled: ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf: Welcome amiibo'' (''Tobidase Doubutsu no Mori amiibo+'') or the "Welcome amiibo" update as players call it. This also meant newer physical copies of ''New Leaf'' all have the update built-in, while people who already own ''New Leaf'' can update their copy for free. The update, as the name suggests, adds Toys/{{amiibo}} compatibility, including specially made villager and NPC amiibo cards, the ''Animal Crossing'' amiibo figures, and other select amiibo. There are also various improvements to the gameplay, like shaking trees without putting away your tool, and sitting on rocks.

''New Leaf'' was the most revolutionary title since 2005's ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingWildWorld''. It boasts a revised art-style, new plot, and heavy changes to the mechanics, all of which were universally appreciated by the playerbase, of which [[NewbieBoom it also brought quite a lot more newcomers into the franchise]] and brought even greater success to the already popular series, turning it into one of Nintendo's flagship [=IPs=] with crossover content being made for ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', as well as solidifying the game in the mainstream. Because of this, ''New Leaf'' is the second-most popular game in the series, selling 13.4 million units in its lifetime.[[note]]It was beaten by the following game, ''New Horizons'', though the numbers are an order of magnitude larger due to the COVID-19 pandemic making it the perfect game to get stuck inside with, and it currently stands at shy of 40 million units.[[/note]]

The game has a {{spinoff}}, ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingHappyHomeDesigner'', which was released in 2015 and recycles most of its assets from ''New Leaf''.

To everyone's surprise, on October 2016 a new update was announced and released for the game the following month, titled: ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf: Welcome amiibo'' (''Tobidase Doubutsu no Mori amiibo+'') or the "Welcome amiibo" update as players call it. This also meant newer physical copies of ''New Leaf'' all have the update built-in, while people who already own ''New Leaf'' can update their copy for free. The update, as the name suggests, adds Toys/{{amiibo}} compatibility, including specially made villager and NPC amiibo cards, the ''Animal Crossing'' amiibo figures, and other select amiibo. There are also various improvements to the game (you can sit on rocks now!).

In a first for the franchise, there was no follow-up game, or even an [=HD=] port to the UsefulNotes/WiiU, so the home console versions skipped a generation from the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}'s ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingCityFolk'' to the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch's ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' 7-8 years later (though the gap was filled by the spin-off titles ''amiibo Festival'', ''Happy Home Designer'', and ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingPocketCamp''). The ''Welcome amiibo'' update is the closest ''New Leaf'' had to a traditional follow-up.

''New Leaf'' was the most revolutionary title since 2005's ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingWildWorld''. It boasts a revised art-style, new plot, and heavy changes to the mechanics, all of which were universally appreciated by the playerbase, of which [[NewbieBoom it also brought quite a lot more newcomers into the franchise]] and brought even greater success to the already popular series, turning it into one of Nintendo's flagship [=IPs=] with crossover content being made for ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', as well as solidifying the game in the mainstream. Because of this, ''New Leaf'' is the second-most popular game in the series, selling 13.4 Million Units in its lifetime[[note]]It was beaten by the following game, ''New Horizons'', though the numbers are an order of magnitude larger due to the COVID-19 pandemic making it the perfect game to get stuck inside with, and it currently stands at shy of 40 million units.[[/note]]

%%* TheGoldenRule: Alice's favorite quote in ''New Leaf''.

** It's fairly clear that shovels can hit rocks, but axes also work; this has been possible since the first ''Animal Crossing'', but was never needed nor mentioned. Here, it's basically pointless, as you get the basic tools at the same time from the Nooklings shop, and so you have no motivation to use an axe on anything but tree's unless your shovel has broken.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
** You are able to cycle through the tools you are using by pressing left or right on the D-pad, saving the hassle of opening up your inventory all the time.

** The town ordinances are basically this, allowing players to make the game more convenient for them in certain ways:

** With the re-addition of the "Save and Continue" feature in this game (which was absent from Wild World and City Folk), avoiding bees is a lot easier (as they despawn after the save). Not only that, but you can actually pick up their beehives and sell them.
** If you're trying to catch bees, the swarm will freeze in place when you open your inventory. This eliminates the rush to equip your net, allowing you to focus on the timing of your swing.
** Buying an art item from Crazy Redd was a LuckBasedMission in previous games. You never knew if the item was forged or not until you donated it to the museum. New Leaf makes it semi-easy to tell whether an art item is forged or not, though it takes a keen eye to tell (or more likely, a strategy guide).
** Having trouble finding a Villager? Don't know where to find the holiday villagers? Don't remember where you built your snowman? Just buy a megaphone from the Nooklings' shop and say someone's name in the 3DS's microphone; you'll find out where they are from their speech bubbles. Though it doesn't tell you if the villagers are inside non-home buildings, so if they don't respond and aren't in their house, they could be in any store, visiting a friend, or in the museum. Which is a nasty waste of time looking through all those places, and is just better to wait until they come back later.

** Normally, when talking to the villagers, the game allows you to quickly select the last option by hitting the B button. However, when making an important choice (such as deciding whether or not to release a catch or choosing what to put in someone's coffee in The Roost), pressing B doesn't select anything, preventing you from accidentally choosing the wrong thing.

*** Also in Welcome amiibo, you can get a Wii U and a New Nintendo 3DS as furniture to play all new minigames. However, these can only be obtained by getting lucky with fortune cookies, which only 2 of a day can be bought and it costs Play Coins... That is, unless you scan an Animal Crossing amiibo (either a figurine, including the Smash Villager, or certain Welcome amiibo cards), invite them to the campground and order the item from them.

* BreakoutCharacter: Isabelle has been very well received, to the point where she's considered to be a main character on the same level as veterans like Tom Nook, K.K Slider, and Mr. Resetti. She's a DLC character in ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', an Assist Trophy in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Smash 3DS/ Wii U]]'', while also being one of two of the pack-in Toys/{{amiibo}} figurine for ''amiibo Festival''. And then she was added to the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' roster.
* BreakableWeapons: The simple tools break fairly easily, while the silver tools take about 50 uses to break. Golden tools do not break.

* GirlyRun: You do this while wearing a dress, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CX94k1I7ao no matter which gender you are]]. (The exception is the default skirt that the female player character wears if they aren't wearing any other skirt or pants- they will do a non-girly run while wearing it, as well as outfits meant to resemble other clothing, like the raincoat).

* LighterAndSofter:
** Compared to the original, characters are much nicer in the newer games. Villagers used to make cruel remarks and force you to play "games" or buy items from them for a random amount of bells (often the exact amount you have on you) and give you junk in return. Aside from them, the snowmen went from outright hostile towards you if you mess up assembling them to forgiving of your mistake, Rover initially being passive aggressive if you refuse to let him sit across from you in the train after he comments about drooling on you, and Phyllis' snark was toned down from being passive aggressive to comments about closing the door when you leave.
** Resetti is optional here, unlike other games. If the player chooses not to build the Reset Center, Isabelle's "Oh, Mayor? Looks like you forgot to save last time." is ''much'' gentler then Resetti's former scoldings.

''New Leaf'' was the most revolutionary title since 2005's ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingWildWorld''. It boasts a revised art-style, new plot, and heavy changes to the mechanics, all of which were universally appreciated by the playerbase, of which [[NewbieBoom it also brought quite a lot more newcomers into the franchise]] and brought even greater success to the already popular series, turning it into one of Nintendo's flagship [=IPs=] with crossover content being made for ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', as well as solidifying the game in the mainstream. Because of this, ''New Leaf'' is one of the popular games in the series, selling 13.4 Million Units in its life[[note]]It was beaten by the following game, ''New Horizons'', though the numbers are an order of magnitude larger due to the COVID-19 pandemic making it the perfect game to get stuck inside with, currently stands at 22.4 million units.[[/note]]

** ''Welcome Amiibo'' added the ability to be able to shake trees while holding a tool. Not only does this alleviate the need to put away equipment just to harvest fruit, it makes catching wasps a lot easier, since you can keep your net out and simply use it as soon as the nest hits the ground.

* WholesomeCrossdresser: All clothes are equally available for any gender, as skirts, dresses, pants, shirts, and shoes are treated as different kinds of items rather than altering clothing based on gender. So it's possible to start a game as one gender and eventually work your way to the point where the only way to tell the character's true gender is to look at their face (which even then, may not help, as some faces are gender-neutral, and you are able to cover them up with a mask), or the color of their ID card (Pink Girl, Blue Boy, naturally). The character's running animation is based what clothes you wear, so if a boy is wearing a dress, they'll still do a GirlyRun, and if a girl is wearing a shirt, they'll run like a boy villager.

* EquipmentUpgrade: The initial set of tools the player will be able to buy are basic tools, but better tools present themselves when you furtyher progress in the game, with the endpoint being Golden Tools, which never break.

* GenderNeutralWriting: The game uses this when NPC villagers refer to one another (i.e. "Thanks [player] for delivering that to [villager], I hope they enjoy it!"). The only real exceptions to this is when buying clothes, as the Able Sisters and Gracie comment what gender it'll look good on (meant for boys, meant for girls, gender-neutral). They'll also be surprised about pulling the look off if you buy a dress as a boy, for example, [[WholesomeCrossdresser but they won't admonish you for it.]] -- though in some languages that require it. For language reasons, for some languages, what gender you are on your Mayor ID does imply ''grammatical'' gender. Villagers will also do this after you get a new neighbor to move in, likely because they've never met.

* GirlyRun: You do this while wearing a dress, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CX94k1I7ao no matter which gender you are]]. (The exception is the default skirt that the female player character wears if they aren't wearing any other skirt or pants- they will do a non-girly run while wearing it.)

** It's fairly clear that shovels can hit rocks, but axes also work; this has been possible since the first ''Animal Crossing'', but was never needed nor mentioned. Here, it's basically pointless, as you get the basic tools at the same time from the Nooklings shop, and so you have no motivation to use an axe on anything but tree's.

* CountingSheep: Luna does this before the player dozes off to a Dream Town in ''New Leaf''.

* DropTheHammer: The squeaky hammer introduced in ''New Leaf'' can be used to hit people with.

* {{Facepalm}}: The "Mistaken" emotion in ''New Leaf'', where a star falls on top of the characters' head, stands in this gestures' place.

* IronicFear: In ''New Leaf'', the way to obtain candy from villagers during Halloween is to wear a mask that scares them, one of them being the Werewolf Hood. Among the villagers afraid of the Werewolf Hood include Chief, Fang, and Lobo...all of whom are actual wolves.

** The Nookling stores in ''New Leaf'' all have a leitmotif.

** Resetti is optional in ''New Leaf''. If the player chooses not to build the Reset Center, Isabelle's "Oh, Mayor? Looks like you forgot to save last time." is ''much'' gentler then Resetti's former scoldings.

* LongSongShortScene: A different track plays when you're in one of the Nookling stores in ''New Leaf'' after it closes... but you're forced into a conversation with whomever is in the store with you and the conversation autoscrolls.

* MoneySink: The home loans in all the games, and public works projects in ''New Leaf''.

** ''New Leaf: Welcome amiibo'' lets you order giant furniture items if you have ''Happy Home Designer''.

** In ''New Leaf'', the pajamas you wear when visiting dream towns are this, as are the Town Pass Cards.

* {{Podcast}}: InUniverse. In ''New Leaf'', when the player gets an octopus, they say to find more about it on his [[{{Pun}} podcast]].

* WholesomeCrossdresser: All clothes are equally available for any gender, as skirts, dresses, pants, shirts, and shoes are treated as different kinds of items rather than altering clothing based on gender. So it's possible to start a game as one gender and eventually work your way to the point where the only way to tell the character's true gender is to look at their face (which even then, may not help, as some faces are gender-neutral, and you are able to cover them up with a mask), or the color of their ID card (Pink Girl, Blue Boy, naturally). The character's running animation is based what clothes you wear, so if a boy is wearing a dress, they'll still do a GirlyRun, and if a girl is wearing a shirt, they'll run like a boy villager.

%%* CoolBigSis: The Uchi personality type introduced in ''New Leaf'' is essentially this.

** Sometimes villagers will ask the player to catch certain bugs or fish for them. The villager will express their gratitude to the player by giving them a random gift after the delivery is made and there’s no consequences for not accepting the mission. One downside does exist in that if the player does accept the quest and changes their mind about it, they cannot back out of it or talk to the villager about anything else unless the delivery is made. Talking to the villager again only has the villager reiterate what they want and telling the player where to find it. The only way to back out of the mission from that point is to either wait until the next day or time-travel to it.

* ExtendedGameplay: As with games gone past, going to Club [=LOL=] on saturday evenings, and you can request a random song for everyone to listen to while the credits roll. There's still many things to do after the credits, of course. As well, you can view this ending scene again every time you request a song from K.K. Slider onwards.

* KarlMarxHatesYourGuts: Besides the standard problem of items being worth less when you sell them back, the Nooklings Shop is only open from 8 AM to 10 PM, and they also imposes an additional 20% earnings cut due to "handling fees" in comparison to Re-Tail.

''New Leaf'' was the most revolutionary title since 2005's ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingWildWorld''. It boasts a revised art-style, new plot, and heavy changes to the mechanics, all of which were universally appreciated by the playerbase, of which [[NewbieBoom it also brought quite a lot more newcomers into the franchise]] and brought even greater success to the already popular series, turning it into one of Nintendo's flagship [=IPs=]. Because of this, ''New Leaf'' is the most popular game in the series so far.