Animal Crossing: New Horizons Launched with many fun new features, all implemented to give players an enhanced level of creativity. Terraforming was the addition that initially got everyone talking, but after more than 300 hours of gameplay I’m so in love with the mechanics of the Mystery Island Tour game and the ‘island jump’. After all, once you jump you can’t stop!
In New Horizons, island jumping is the act of moving through a series of islands in rapid succession. This is generally to reap the rewards of each unique Mystery Tour or to search for a specific item, villager, or bug. It’s a lot of fun visiting unknown lands, and the randomized element (no two islands are exactly the same) means there is forever A surprise in the store.
Because I’m crazy?
Jumping on the floatplane to a Mystery Tour island will cost you 2,000 Nook Miles. It’s quite expensive, but given the variety of islands and guaranteed goodies you’ll be leaving with, it’s worth heading to the Nook stop at the residence services and redeeming some tickets.
Specifically, the Mystery Island Tour features around ten island templates, each with different features and benefits. But these island templates vary in rarity. For example, one type of island that is difficult to find is home to large numbers of bells, while other more common islands provide many flowers and fruits. Because the rarest islands are so few and far between, this is where the island’s jumping mechanic comes into play, which visits many islands in quick succession.
Collecting lots of Nook Miles tickets and heading out to the Mystery Tour islands in abundance is a sure way to win bells and fill your museum. In addition, each Mysterious Island you visit includes an item of furniture hidden in the trees, rocks that will provide raw materials you may have depleted in your hometown, the occasional gold nugget, and a message in a bottle.
Available year-round, my favorite Mystery Tour island is Fin Island. Fin Island is one of the rarest island templates, and for good reason. The waters of this island are home to exclusive finned fish, the most valuable of all. Fin Island is the perfect place to make a profit, but it is also a great location for finalists eager to complete their Critterpedia like Whale Sharks, Suckerfish and even the elusive Ocean Sunfish swimming in its waters. If it weren’t for Fin Island, my museum wouldn’t be as complete as it is!
And my castaway this week is …
Island hopping becomes even more exciting if your home island meets some criteria. If you have an open lot, an empty house waiting for an occupant, or less than ten villagers, you will discover castaways wandering the Mystery Tour islands. And there are over 300 potential friends to find!
If you like a particular castaway, you can invite him to move to his island. When I first got New Horizons, villager hunting quickly became my favorite part of the game, and the unwavering need to spend up to fifty Nook Mile tickets at once to find the villager of my dreams soon became a frequent occurrence. . As you may have guessed, I gave in to the urge a lot.
Before New Horizons and the amiibo update on New sheet, the players had no control over who came to live with them, and the residence of the entire city was decided by luck. In New Horizons, players who don’t have access to amiibo cards can still muster a large number of their most wanted furry friends. Also, even if the initial villagers you meet don’t tickle you, who doesn’t kinda like window shopping?
Although it may take many Nook Miles tickets before being face-to-face with the villager of their dreams, for some people this mechanic is an addictive and rewarding process that fits Nintendo’s overall goal for New Horizons. Which of course is allowing the player enhanced levels of customization. New Horizons has already changed the course of the franchise, but now you can go find your ‘dreamer’ (an adorable term coined by the Animal Crossing community for the villager of their dreams) just to make things more special.
Play The Stalk Market
There is also another way to go from island to island. With a large group of players mixing in the Animal Crossing community, multiplayer sessions are no longer defined by groups of close friends or family. Thanks to the Stalk Market (a way to buy turnips inexpensively and sell them at great profits), there have been a lot of travel around the world, with players opening their Dodo doors to strangers so other players can reap the rewards of his turnip. price.
New Horizons was also launched at a time when many people found themselves unexpectedly isolated from friends and family due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With no means to physically connect in a socially distant world, the game filled that gap for many people, including myself. Visiting my friend’s islands and chatting via the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app was honestly a lifesaver during a very stressful time, and I know it was the same for many other people as well. Also, I was able to steal amazing design ideas from Animal Crossing players who are much more creative than me!
Island hopping may be new to the franchise, but I hope future Animal Crossing games will be implemented and even expand on the overall concept. Jumping from island to island is more than an addictive aspect of the gameplay, it reimagines the player’s ability to collect items that would otherwise be exhaustible and find the villagers of their dreams. It even offers a fun way to interact with your friends at a time when it’s not always possible. It’s a well-known adage that you can’t choose your family, but at least you can choose your friends and, thanks to the island jump, your Animal Crossing villagers.
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