Hello Kitty Island Adventure has made waves in the simulation genre that could serve as thrilling inspiration for the Animal Crossing franchise. After all, fans and critics alike have speculated that the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 could debut with a new Animal Crossing title. Regardless of whether the franchise’s next game releases with the new console, it’s clear that Nintendo needs to offer more to gamers with the next Animal Crossing title, as the franchise’s many competitors, like Hello Kitty Island Adventure, offer new and exciting takes on well-established gameplay in the simulation genre.
Not every simulation game that has followed in Animal Crossing’s footsteps has the exact same gameplay as the franchise. Though hit features like the Museum are not present in Hello Kitty Island Adventure by name, the Sanrio-themed simulation game does have its own equivalent to the feature. While expanding Animal Crossing’s Museum could drive Blathers a bit bonkers, players would be ecstatic if the franchise’s next title followed in the footsteps of Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
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The Animal Crossing franchise should be inspired by a key Hello Kitty: Island Adventure feature as it preps for its next title.
Hello Kitty Island Adventure Lets Players Go One-on-One with Critters
Rather than donating creatures to a Museum, Hello Kitty Island Adventure players send any Critters they are lucky enough to catch to the Nature Preserve, located in Spooky Swamp. Critters are on display at the Nature Preserve and placed in one of five rooms based on where they were caught: Bog (Spooky Swamp), Seaside (Seaside Resort), Reef (Rainbow Reef), Gemstone (Gemstone Mountain), and Volcano (Mount Hothead). Players can also donate a select few Critters to the Merry Meadows Critter Corral and the Cloud Island Critter Corral, though they only accept Critters from their titular regions. Most Critters fall into the same species as the various animals that can be donated to Blathers’ Museum, like bugs, sea creatures, and amphibians.
However, Hello Kitty Island Adventure lets players interact with Critters much more than the Animal Crossing franchise. While Animal Crossing does allow players to take insects to their home instead of giving them to Flick to create models or donating them to Blathers, much to his relief, these insect displays are fully considered pieces of furniture. Compare this to Hello Kitty Island Adventure’s version of Critters, which can be placed in interactive terrariums. While this doesn’t equate to having Critters as full-on pets, these bare-bones interactions are still a bigger offering than Animal Crossing’s.
Animal Crossing Should Make Blathers Bug Out
Further interactions with bugs, fish, and sea creatures in the next Animal Crossing title would be a small expansion that could pack a big punch. With Blathers’ hatred for bugs, implementing interactive terrariums in the Museum specifically would be the perfect gateway for more comedy in the game. Perhaps players could chase Blathers with bugs or players and Blathers could feed the various creatures on display at the Museum. There are plenty of funny moments in the Animal Crossing franchise, but players would certainly love more.
Introducing new creatures to the Museum, inspired by Hello Kitty Island Adventure’s offerings, is yet another route Nintendo could take. As mentioned previously, most Critters in the Sanrio-themed simulation game are in line with Animal Crossing’s creatures, but Hello Kitty Island Adventure also features birds in both its PC and console versions, with more birds accessible in the Apple Arcade edition of the game. Hello Kitty Island Adventure’s player avatars are notably animals, compared to Animal Crossing’s humans, with one optional animal being a bird.
If Hello Kitty Island Adventure is comfortable having both Villagers and Critters classified as the same animal, Animal Crossing could do the same while avoiding species already present in the game, like eagles and owls. There are plenty of features Animal Crossing could take inspiration from when reviewing Hello Kitty Island Adventure, but its version of Critters would not only make players generally happy, but peel with laughter over Blathers’ dismay.
