If you’re a member of the Animal Crossing fanbase, it may have surprised you when Nintendo announced a free update to the Animal Crossing New Horizons game. The update was announced on Oct. 30 in addition to the new Switch 2 coming out. Though, you don’t necessarily need the new switch in order to download version 3.0 of the game. This announcement was made into a big deal in the Animal Crossing community, as the game has not been majorly updated since its release in 2020, with the exception of their DLC expansion pack: Happy Home Paradise released on Nov. 5, 2021. Therefore, it’s understandable people would rush to dust off their consoles for the new content.
The Hotel
The main appeal of the update is the new hotel attached to your island, which is run by the Kapp’n family. It’s unlocked when your island has 3 stars at the minimum and sits at the dock where Kapp’n sits in his boat. The main attraction is the fact that you can customize the different rooms for visiting guests. In order to decorate, you have to talk to Leilani at the front desk where she’ll give you two themes for the room to choose from. These themes can also unlock new furniture items that can be purchased in the hotel’s catalog. If you have the Happy Home Paradise extension, you have more options when it comes to changing the size of the room and adding other constructional features. Decorating rooms will give you hotel tickets as well as crafting requested items in the craft box found outside of the hotel. The sole use of these tickets are to purchase furniture from either Grams’ souvenir shop or item catalog. Each new day on your island, two random villagers will appear on your island as tourists. They will both be wearing the outfits put on the mannequins, which you’re also able to customize. This new feature is a bit controversial within the fandom, as some players don’t want other villagers roaming their island. I personally can understand if they aren’t visually appealing, though I also find it fun that you can make them wear anything you want.
Building / Decorating
In addition to the hotel, other updates were made to make the game more practical. One of the updates I’m very thankful for is the new cardinal directions feature, where players are now able to move in certain directions without having to manually turn. This is makes terraforming and building rivers incredibly easier, as it was a constant struggle of misclicking and digging or building in the wrong spot. These directions can also be used in non-construction mode, which is a silly feature that can make you hop. Another added feature is the ability to reset sections of your island. By talking to Resetti, players can choose which parts of their island they want cleared with the cost of bells. The first request you make will be free of charge while the following requests won’t. This feature is especially useful for items left on the beach, as I know my beach was cluttered with random items when I didn’t have enough home storage. To request a cleaning from Resetti you will need to talk to Isabelle at residential services.
Home Storage
Another amazing update is the new ability to access your home storage from anywhere on the island while crafting or customizing. Before the 3.0 update, players had to visit their home each time they wanted to craft in order to have the materials, which would get redundant after so many times. Now, players can interact with a crafting table from anywhere on the island–and so long as you have the required items in your storage–you’re able to craft whatever you please! You could even craft multiple items, as players can also create up to ten objects at a time. These same features apply when customizing your crafted goodies. Another storage update was added, as players now have the ability to store dug up flowers, bushes and trees.
Customization Kits
In the Nook’s Cranny shop, the customization kits are an essential part of crafting items in order to change its appearance. That’s the reason behind the majority of players stocking up on the kits so they don’t run out quickly. Instead of pressing the “buy 10” option over and over, Nintendo gracefully decided to add a third option which allows you to buy 50 kits at once. Granted, it does cost 30,000 bells, but I would say it’s completely worth it for the simplicity.
Villager Dialogue
While the villagers’ repetitive phrases and sentences have not been changed much, I have noticed a few new lines from some of the villagers on my island. When talking to them, there are occasional sentences they’ll say that I haven’t heard from them before. Additionally, in my mailbox I’ve gotten letters with new lines as well. It could be my terrible memory but I’m quite sure that Nintendo has added more sentences for each of the personality types.
Collaborations
More games and companies have collabed with Animal Crossing for the 3.0 update. Previously, Sanrio and Mario have collaborated with the game, but now Zelda, Splatoon and Lego have joined the list as well. The Lego collaboration can be found in the Nook Shopping app located in the game, found in the tab “promotions.” There players can obtain Lego-themed clothes and furniture pieces to decorate with. Along with the update, Nintendo has released four Zelda and Splatoon amiibo cards that have villagers from each game. The two villagers you can get from the Zelda cards are Mineru and Tulin, which unlock exclusive Zelda themed items as soon as you scan them. The other two villagers earned from the Splatoon cards are Cece and Viché, which also unlock exclusive items. These cards are sadly sold separately and there are no other methods to get the new furniture pieces.
Dream Island
This last feature is only for those with the Nintendo Online membership. When going to sleep in the game and visiting the dream world, Luna will introduce you to a new action. This will lead you to a bare island where you’re able to decorate it however you desire. It’s essentially like decorating your island from scratch using items in your catalog. Players can create multiple different dream islands that can be saved and shared for other players to visit. Though I do not have the membership, I am incredibly jealous of those that do because this is such a neat feature especially for players who like to experiment with various aesthetics.
This 3.0 version update definitely is more focused on decoration and customization. Personally, I find it very similar to the Happy Home Paradise DLC at least for the hotel aspect, solely because of them both being centered around interior design. Though, for it being a free update and all of the other added features, I overall feel that it’s a pretty good update especially for those who enjoy decorating!
