[N-Direct] Animal Crossing: New Leaf update available, details, new LINE stamps, more
Today, Nintendo streamed a brand new Nintendo Direct presentation, entirely dedicated to Animal Crossing and the update released… today. Indeed, the very first thing that was announced is that the update is already available for download from the Nintendo eShop.
The update brings the game to Ver. 1.4.0, and requires 2 051 blocks /256MB of free space on your SD Card. To download it, you have several options:
- launch Animal Crossing: New Leaf from the Home Menu of your Nintendo 3DS while being connected to the internet. You should get a prompt when doing so: simply follow the instructions on screen
- go to the Nintendo eShop, and select Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo (should be available straight away when you launch the Nintendo eShop), or search for it using the Search feature;
- use the option in the Nintendo eShop settings;
- use the option in the main menu of Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
Next, here’s the full Animal Crossing Direct presentation (European and North American presentation were exactly the same, except the bit about the Sanrio collaboration only available in Europe and Japan):
Next, here’s a collection of trailers for the update, including the Japanese overview video:
Next, here’s details about the update itself. Harvey (totally not Hisashi Nogami, what are you talking about?) decided to begin with the basics, and explained how to use amiibo with the game:
New Nintendo 3DS (XL)
1) Get your system ready
2) Get your amiibo
3) Tap it to your system
Nintendo 3DS (XL) / Nintendo 2DS
1) Get your system ready
2) Have your NFC Reader / Writer
3) Power on your NFC Reader / Writer
4) Place it next to your Nintendo 3DS system
5) Get your amiibo
6) Tap it to your system
In Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo, Wisp makes his comeback. If you rub his magic lamp, he can grant you a wish: that’s your cue to grab an amiibo (card). If you can scan an amiibo, Wisp possesses the mind and body of the animal scanned (ok, not really…). After that, you can go visit them at the camp ground by chosing “Come and Play”.
NB: you can only use the lamp to summon wisp once a day.
In the camp ground, there’s a special space for special friends, and one for “regular” animals: it’s in that second RV that the animal invited ends up. If you go inside, you can talk to the animal, but even spend some MEOW coupons in order to purchase the furniture and items they have with them.
Here’s some examples of animals you can invite thanks to amiibo:
- Stella, who is quite intro crafting;
- Vivian, who is intro fashion;
- Ike, who has a car… inside his car;
- and more…
You can use pretty much any Animal Crossing amiibo card or figure with the game,. That being said, only those from the latest series of cards, and all the Animal Crossing amiibo figures, get a special RV.
The Animal Crossing Direct also talked about the amiibo Camera, that Nintendo had previously revealed (click here for more details). You actually don’t need amiibo to use it, though obviously, you do need them to take pictures of your favorite animal(s).
Next, we have a new feature that doesn’t require an amiibo… Desert Island Escape, the mini-game from Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. You get to play as three villagers, who have to escape from an island within 7 days. You have to find a way to live off the island in the mean time, while trying to build a raft in order to escape.
To play Desert Island Escape, you need a new in-game item: the Wii U. You get one by scanning one of the Animal Crossing amiibo figures, or by getting fortune cookies at the Nooklings’ shop.
There’s another mini-game called Animal Crossing: Puzzle League. It’s basically a puzzle game, featuring some special moves and… some mutinous villagers. By making combos, you get the support of the other villagers, and when you get 100% support, you win.
To play Animal Crossing: Puzzle League, you need a new in-game item: the New Nintendo 3DS (XL). You get one by scanning one of the Animal Crossing amiibo figures, or by getting fortune cookies at the Nooklings’ shop.
Another new feature: the Town Initiatives. By doing things you do regularly on your own, like fishing, catching bugs, etc., you are rewarded with a new currency called MEOW Coupons (Mutual Exchange Of Wealth). You can use those coupons to shop at the campground, or buy items from the visiting animals.
Next: the Secret Storeroom. If you add it to your home (after buying it), you get access to an “invisible closet”, that lets you store various things inside. And with Organise Furniture, you can customise your home like you would in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, using the touchscreen. Talking of that game, if you have a save data file for it, you can order giant furniture in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
The Tropical Island, where you can play with other players, also get a couple of changes. For starters, you can now mute the chat at any time. Also, using the Go Home Button, you can teleport back home right away, and much more quickly than before.
And if you really want to turn a new leaf (pun entirely intended), you can now… sell the village, and get plenty of bells in exchange. A rather radical thing to do, but it might be better to start over than try to go back to a village you haven’t visited in years…
Back to amiibo, here’s the special collaborations you can enjoy using compatible figures:
- Sanrio: click here for more details. The special Animal Crossing x Sanrio amiibo cards launch on November 3rd in Japan, and November 25th in Europe. It doesn’t look like they will be released in North America;
- Splatoon: tap the Callie and Marie amiibo to get you Cece and Viché, in a special RV. If you scan the Inkling amiibo, you get a special animal, too!
- The Legend of Zelda: if you tap a compatible amiibo, you can get Medli, Ganon, Epona, and Wolf Link as special villagers. You also get access to special Zelda clothing and items;
- Monster Hunter Stories amiibo are also compatible (check out below for the segment from the Japanese presentation);
- 7-Eleven collaboration was also announced, with the same items as those distributed in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (only in Japan);
- Fueki-kun collaboration was also announced, with new collaboration items (only in Japan).
About the Japanese presentation, it did feature some extras:
- a brand new Nintendo Village to visit via the internet. Click here for a list of QR codes to scan;
- Sanrio characters badges are coming to Nintendo Badge Arcade;
- an Animal Crossing series portal has been opened in Japan: click here to check it out
- new LINE stickers will be released tomorrow.
Finally, here’s the list of animals featured in the 5th series of Animal Crossing amiibo cards:
- Vivian
- Hopkins
- June
- Piper
- Paolo
- Hornsby
- Stella
- Tybalt
- Huck
- Sylvana
- Boris
- Wade
- Carroe
- Ketchup
- Rex
- Stu
- Ursala
- Jakey
- Maddie
- Billy
- Boyd
- Bitty
- Maggie
- Murphy
- Plucky
- Sandy
- Claude
- Raddle
- Julia
- Louie
- Bea
- Admiral
- Ellie
- Boots
- Weber
- Candi
- Leopold
- Spike
- Cashmere
- Tad
- Norma
- Gonzo
- Sproclet
- Snooty
- Olive
- Dobie
- Buzz
- Cleo
- Ike
- Tasha
Finally, here’s pictures:
Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo (3DS) comes out at retail on November 23rd in Japan, November 25th in Europe, and December 2nd in North America. It’s just the base game with the update already installed, not a new version with extras.
Source: Famitsu / Nintendo PR
