Animal Crossing/Version Differences

Animal Crossing has had four different versions, with plenty of differences between them:
 * Doubutsu no Mori, a Japan-only game on the Nintendo 64.
 * Doubutsu no Mori+, a Japan-only enhanced port of Doubustu no Mori released for the GameCube.
 * Animal Crossing, the localized version of Doubutsu no Mori+, released for the GameCube.
 * Doubutsu no Mori e+, the Japan-only enhanced re-release of Animal Crossing, released for the GameCube.

Aesthetic Differences

 * The logo seen upon startup varies. In Doubutsu no Mori, it was a Nintendo 64 logo which would pop up similarly to a piece of furniture being dropped in a house. In succeeding games, it was the Nintendo logo: white in Doubutsu no Mori+, red in Animal Crossing, and blue in Doubustu no Mori e+.
 * In Doubustu no Mori and +, a Bell Shrine would appear beside a large tree in a lower acre. In Animal Crossing and e+, the Bell Shrine was replaced with a Wishing Well. Along with this, the interactivity with the large tree on New Year's Day changed: in the N64 and + versions, the player would shake the rope on the face of the shrine, making the bells on the rope ring. In the US and e+ versions, the player would throw a bell (as in the currency) into the well.
 * The Resettis wear a white shirt in the N64 and + versions, and a set of overalls atop the shirt in the US and e+ versions.
 * Various articles of clothing, stationery, wallpaper, and carpeting in the N64 version were redesigned in later versions (i.e., the N Logo Shirt became the G Logo Shirt).
 * Jane was redesigned in the US version. In the Japanese versions, she had white fur, brown skin, tired eyes, and large pink lips. To avoid possible racial tension, she was given purple fur, smaller lips, pinkish skin, and irritated-looking eyes.
 * Various other villagers, such as Bluebear and Stella, were redesigned in the GameCube versions.
 * Tom Nook and Redd have slightly different uniforms in the N64 and + versions. In those versions, their uniforms contain Japanese characters, which were replaced or removed in the US and e+ versions.
 * In +, Tortimer wears a zucchetto and glasses with light-blue crystal. In the US and e+ versions, he wears a top-hat and glasses with clear crystal.
 * Katrina wears a white robe and matching headband in the N64 and + versions. In the US and e+ versions, she wears a traditional red Roma outfit.
 * Various buildings, such as Tom Nook's Store, the Dump, and the Post Office, have their logos redesigned in the US and e+ versions, removing all Japanese characters.
 * The Herabuna was replaced with the Brook Trout in the US and e+ versions.
 * Released fish in the N64 version bounce along the ground once before diving into the water. In later versions, they dive straight into the water to conserve time.
 * During the Cherry Blossom Festival, villagers have picnics on tatami mats, surrounding the Bell Shrine/Wishing Well in the Japanese versions. In the US version, they simply dance around the Wishing Well. Likewise, the music for the festival is changed in the American version.
 * In the Japanese versions, igloos contain woks with slowly bubbling blocks of tofu. In the US version, it is replaced with a cauldron full of chowder.
 * In e+, the notes on the Town Tune board are represented with katakana letters rather than Latin characters or "Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do" abbreviations.
 * Shadow sizes of certain fish vary between versions.
 * Diaries dropped on the floor in Animal Crossing appear as objects stuffed inside a brown paper bag with Tom Nook's symbol printed on it. This symbol is also used for saplings. In e+, diaries appear as envelopes.
 * The ink meter (seen when writing letters, diary entries, or bulletin board posts) is absent in e+.
 * The font in e+ is crisper and bolder, compared to the thinner, blurrier font used in previous versions.

Gameplay Differences

 * The Japanese versions use a dial-based typing system. The Control Stick selects a letter, A types the letter, and pressing Down on the Control Stick switches the dial to a different set of characters (ABCDE to FGHIJ, etc.).
 * In the N64 version, insects aren't restricted to Acres yet are restricted from flying out to sea. With the exception of bees, these limits are reversed in the GameCube versions.
 * Upon being awoken, Gulliver will give the player a random furniture item in the N64 version. In the GameCube versions, he gives the player a rare furniture item from the "Gulliver's Treasury" set.
 * The "Handhelds" section in the catalog is restricted to umbrellas in the N64 version.
 * In the N64 version, only one item can be stored in storage compartments and only one song can be stored in a radio. In the GameCube versions, three items can be stored in storage compartments and all 55 songs in the game can be stored in radios.
 * In the N64 version, stationery is bought one sheet at a time instead of in packs of four (as is the case in the GameCube versions).
 * House debts are slightly different in e+.
 * In Animal Crossing, Gyroids inside a house will begin to move the minute the player enters the room they are in. In e+, Gyroids in a neighbor's house will pause for a moment before they all begin at the same time, while Gyroids in the player's home can be set to be synced with each other or a song playing in the room, and will stay synced even when the player goes out and comes back.

Features added in Doubutsu no Mori+
Note: The following features are ones not listed in previous sections.


 * Tortimer is introduced as the town mayor, and gives out gifts on special occasions.
 * The Museum, Able Sisters, and Island are introduced, along with their corresponding characters (Blathers, Mable, Sable, Kappn', and Islanders).
 * More Famicom games are added, the most notable one being the Famicom Disk System version of The Legend of Zelda (despite being inaccessible).
 * A second floor and basement are added as available house expansions.
 * Using the C-Stick, the player can participate in the Morning Aerobics.
 * Eight more fish (Sea Bass, Red Snapper, Barred Knifejaw, Jellyfish, Arapaima, Crawfish, Frog, and Killifish) and eight more bugs (Pill Bug, Mole Cricket, Mosquito, Pondskater, Ant, Bagworm, Spider, and Snail) are added.
 * Mushrooming Season is removed.
 * e-Reader support is added.

Features added in Animal Crossing
Note: The following features are ones not listed in previous sections.


 * American holidays are added (and Japanese ones changed or removed) to compensate for cultural differences.
 * Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, April Fool's Day, Nature Day, Spring Cleaning, the Fireworks Show, Founder's Day, Hometown Day, the Harvest Moon Festival, Explorer's Day, Halloween, Mayor's Day, the Harvest Festival, Sale Day, Snow Day, and Toy Day were added, as well as the reintroduction of Mushrooming Season from Doubutsu no Mori.
 * As well as Famicoms being redesigned as Nintendo Entertainment Systems, the Famicom games Gomoku Narabe and Mahjong were replaced with Soccer and Excitebike. Strangely, although it is inaccessible, the FDS version of The Legend of Zelda is replaced with the NES version, indicating that it was once meant to be accessible.

Features added in Doubutsu no Mori e+
Note: The following features are ones not listed in previous sections.


 * The player can adjust their fluency with kanji in the main menu.
 * During the part-time job segment of the game, the player is no longer required to do favors for villagers.
 * If the player hits the door of Tom Nook's store, using a shovel or an axe, after-hours three times, the shop will open for the player. However, as Tom Nook was sleeping, he moves much slower, prices of his wares are inflated by 17%, prices of your wares are deflated by 30%, and you can only buy or sell what is on display in the shop. There is also a special "after hours" theme that is basically a groggy, legato variation of Tom Nook's theme.
 * Tom Nook will sell party poppers at his store in the later half of December to celebrate New Year's Eve. This does not happen in Animal Crossing, which involves Jingle visiting town before New Year's Eve. He also offers much more of a variety of items during his sales, including holiday knickknacks such as the party poppers, fans, balloons, and pinwheels.
 * The player has the option of hiring Tom Nook to build objects found around town for display for a fee. These include objects such as a water mill, sewer lines, street lamps, and so on. Several of these decorations were reused as Public Works Projects in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, 10 years later.
 * The player's final loan is slightly under one million bells, for a private island, exclusive to them. More specifically, the island from the + and North American versions.
 * Each player will own their own private island.
 * K.K. Slider will perform for the player's birthday. The song he plays was later accessible in New Leaf, as K.K. Birthday. Villagers will also acknowledge the player's birthday by congratulating them and sending them gifts, and the player's mother will mail them a birthday cake.
 * Medicine is added, which can cure bee stings and help heal villagers, who can now become sick. This feature was later implemented overseas in Animal Crossing: Wild World.
 * There are over 60 new neighbors featured in e-Reader cards, and it is possible to choose which neighbors the player wants to move into the town by collecting their e-Reader card and then swiping them. The player can also make neighbors perform a few more actions than usual if one becomes good friends with them, such as waving to the player when they see them. This is not available in Animal Crossing because the e-Reader cards only cause the character on the card to send the player a letter with a gift and further give another gift through a written password on the back of the card. The added friendship actions that neighbors will perform also is not seen until g: Wild World.
 * The player can eavesdrop on conversations held between two neighbors in e+. The neighbors in Animal Crossing talk only for a split second, preventing the player from doing the same. This feature appears again in Wild World.
 * In Animal Crossing, asking for errands will cause them to either ask for an item from another neighbor or give an item to the player to deliver to a select neighbor. These items, however, are always either open or non-usable even if they were the same kind of object that could be normally used (like clothing or tools). In e+, they will do the same, but sometimes give wrapped items instead. If the player chooses to unwrap the present and/or use it, the one who gave the player the errand will be angered with them and avoid talking to them for a while. They also sometimes offer errands involving the player personally giving another neighbor a letter, which they can choose to read. This is another featured added into Animal Crossing: Wild World.
 * The player can transfer players and towns from + to e+. The imported player can only take a few things with them, such as their name, birthdate, fishing and insect catching records, their personal patterns, and their item catalog. The migrated subjects are not deleted from the + version, and are still fully playable.
 * The Post Office can now hold up to five sections for saved letters, each with 160 slots, on the same Memory Card or different ones, allowing the player to save up to 800 letters.
 * All holidays in Animal Crossing were transferred over to e+ version as well, but additional events were vaguely mentioned, including how certain neighbors will wear hats during Christmas Eve and the Harvest Festival, and how the player's mother will send letters about Tanabata (Festival of the Stars) and Mamemaki (Bean Throwing Festival).
 * The Reset Monitoring Center can be accessed after encountering Mr. Resetti twice. After the player smacks every rock every day for up to a week, a rock will smash open and reveal the entrance. Mr. Resetti can be found in here as well as Don. This was not available in Animal Crossing.
 * Eight new fish (Horse Mackerel, Puffer Fish, Dab, Olive Flounder, Squid, Octopus, Seahorse, and Blue Marlin) and eight new insects (Birdwing Butterfly, Hercules Beetle, Diving Beetle, Flea, Crab, Hermit Crab, Coconut Crab, and Dung Beetle) are added.
 * New furniture sets are added.
 * In addition to the Famicom games, the player can play minigames on a linked Game Boy Advance.
 * New songs are added, twelve of which are available through e-Reader cards.
 * In addition to new songs, looped live versions for play on the radio exist. All songs can be obtained by becoming friends with villagers. Each villager has their own specific song.
 * Data can be transferred via a Nintendo Secure Digital Memory Card Adapter that can be used to duplicate and save data on separate SD cards and use that data to upload on the PC or via photo printers.
 * The promotional Memory Card that comes with Animal Crossing allows the player's first character to be made in that town to receive a special letter from Nintendo, as well as a grab bag with two NES games and a song from K.K. Slider. For e+, the grab bag holding these items arrives as a gift in a letter from Mom.
 * After completing a delivery, the sender will ask for the recipient's feedback. This feature was later implemented in Wild World and onward.
 * During the Fishing Tourney, Chip will give the player a fishing rod if they don't have one in their inventory.
 * Jacob's Ladders are introduced, and only grow in perfect towns.
 * This is the only Animal Crossing game where the player can pluck flowers and carry them around as novelty items.
 * The main theme is more instrumentalized than in previous versions: