Animal Crossing 4K Remaster Is Like One Big Hug

This 4K remaster for one of Nintendo’s most beloved properties, Animal Crossing, is basically like a big digital hug.

It’s fair to say that the Animal Crossing franchise has garnered a very loyal and passionate community of fans over the years, befitting of its charming nature.

In a nutshell, Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series can be described as a chill, social sim game that lets you interact with charming NPCs and build cute villages on lush, remote islands.

Its most recent mainline entry, 2020’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch, has been credited for helping many gamers get through the COVID-19 pandemic during a woeful time of isolation and lack of face-to-face human interaction.

Fans across the world were able to interact with other Animal Crossing: New Horizons players by visiting their wonderful islands, making new friends in the process.

However, the Animal Crossing game that is the topic of this article takes us way back beyond 2020, with Animal Crossing: Wild World released on the Nintendo DS in 2005.

“Welcome to the friendly village of Animal Crossing! Every player's village is unique, and it's up to you to decide how you spend your time there and which characters you befriend,” reads the synopsis of the game.

“Unlike other games, Animal Crossing doesn’t pressure you to complete levels, achieve scores or learn complex controls; you simply play however - and whenever - you want.”

Understandably, being a Nintendo DS game that is two decades old, the visuals of Animal Crossing: Wild World are a tad dated. But thankfully, this gorgeous 4K remaster gives the game a much-needed makeover.

The remaster in question has been showcased by the YouTube channel ‘Emulators & Gameplay HD’ - and powered by an NVIDIA RTX 3080 i9-10900k, Animal Crossing: Wild World has never looked better.

Unless you own a physical copy of Animal Crossing: Wild World or purchased the game digitally before March 2023, emulation on PC is the only way to play this classic entry, not to mention, arguably, the best way.

“Aside from the mobile game, this is the only one in the series I have not played. I might do something about that someday,” said officedullard8722, in the comments section of the YouTube video.

There’s no telling when a new game in the series might be released, but hopefully, we won't be waiting too long for its highly anticipated arrival on the Nintendo Switch 2.

In the meantime, we can still enjoy Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as well as its expansion, Happy Home Paradise, on both Nintendo Switch consoles.