Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo's biggest success stories. An off-beat game attempting a somewhat unprecedented genre mix was a hit from day one, and decades later, the series is bigger than ever. Plenty of changes have been made along the way, but certain core elements of the franchise have remained largely untouched.

Whether playing the GameCube release of Animal Crossing in 2002 or picking up New Horizons in 2025, there's a fundamental familiarity to Animal Crossing. You chat, fish, decorate, and otherwise occupy yourself in a charming, small-scale environment. That setting has shifted in minor ways over time, ranging from a village in the wilderness to an island getaway, but it's never grown more ambitious than City Folk's inclusion of an auxiliary town square.

Bigger Animal Crossing Maps Would Change Everything More Than A Matter Of Scale

While most people dismiss the general idea that bigger is better, it's still easy to casually fall into that way of thinking. When it comes to Animal Crossing in particular, there are so many ways that the games could expand. Larger maps could fit more decoration, more villagers, more shops -- more everything. It wouldn't need to be a gigantic open world, just a relatively larger take on the classic formula.

It's actually kind of surprising that Animal Crossing has never crept up in size. Until New Horizons, the original GameCube title actually held the record as the largest map in the franchise. Wild World shrunk things down to be more manageable on the DS, and neither New Leaf nor City Folk bumped things back up to the full GameCube spread. New Horizons merely brought things full circle with the same amount of usable space that the series started with.

Animal Crossing's Small Size Is The Key A Series With A Delicate Balance

There's definitely a reason for this, though, and it's not just that Nintendo is attempting to cut corners. Animal Crossing isn't about grand ambition, but about a modest emulation of daily life. Although the newer games give you more freedom to reshape things to your liking, there's still value in being content with your lot.

Relying on the whims of store inventories turns decorating into an interesting quest. Making peace with a random lot of villagers can lead to more memorable virtual friendships than aligning your perfect array of favorites. Animal Crossing's limitations aren't roadblocks, but core elements of its identity, making it more than a game that provides wish fulfillment with no strings attached.

The limited map size is a key part of this balance. New Horizons offers room to explore, whether visiting friends' islands or going on a boat tour, but it doesn't push the boundaries of your own island.

Stretch those dimensions, and you'd start losing the immediacy of interactions. Bringing fossils back to the museum would require a trek, and hunting for a specific villager could become a hassle.

These side effects could, of course, be ameliorated. Make it easy to sell items in a Nook app, and who would need to walk over to Nook's Cranny? Offer pinpoint locations for villagers on a GPS, and who would need to seek them out? But these concessions would start to trade away the soul of Animal Crossing, prioritizing convenience over the value of day-to-day interactions.

Animal Crossing's Map Size Could Change In The Future The Next Game Might Shake Things Up

Rumors have suggested an urban environment for the next Animal Crossing game, which does concern me regarding the franchise's direction. I don't think it's worth getting particularly worried about yet, though, as there's nothing concrete to go on. With the casual life sim Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream on the docket for 2026, there's no indication that Nintendo is planning to release a new Animal Crossing game any time soon.

Being overly dogmatic can have drawbacks, so I don't want to claim that a larger Animal Crossing game could never work. All the same, I'd bet on it being a downgrade. The balance of Animal Crossing gameplay is a fairly delicate ecosystem, and significant expansion seems like a surefire way to upset that equilibrium.

If anything, I still hold the most affection for Wild World's admittedly cramped setting. The game's limited scope has some drawbacks, like the removal of holidays, but I don't think the limited map size is one of them. Every inch of the town where I spent so many hours of my childhood is still etched into my head, and despite the random placement of houses and amenities, I'm not sure there's ever been a more perfect game layout.

I love expansive game worlds when the situation calls for it. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of all time, and a large part of that comes down to the meditative nature of cresting its hills to make small discoveries. That's not what Animal Crossing is about, though, and I'm happy it hasn't yet pushed itself in that direction. Hopefully, the long-running commitment to small Animal Crossing games will stick.

Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Like Follow Followed Animal Crossing Simulation Adventure JRPG 10.0/10 Released September 16, 2002 ESRB e Developer(s) Nintendo Publisher(s) Nintendo Engine Havok Franchise Animal Crossing

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