Sign up to FREE email alerts from Daily Star - Gaming Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

(Image: Nintendo of America)

E3 2019 is now under a month away and we’re counting down the hours until the Nintendo Direct and (hopefully) more Animal Crossing 2019 details.

But, naturally, info-starved Animal Crossing fans have had plenty to say on the upcoming Nintendo Switch instalment already. We’ve been through all the speculation and found the best, most plausible fan theories out there. Have a read and see which ones you think might be true.

Will Isabelle be Mayor?

When Animal Crossing 2019 was announced late last year, a few key hints might have been dropped in the short reveal trailer. One of the more interesting sections of dialogue comes from Isabelle during the announcement that she would be joining the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster.

Just before she’s revealed to be the newest Smash fighter, Isabelle says: ‘Maybe I should be the Mayor instead?’ This titbit has left fans wondering whether this is a hint at her new role in Animal Crossing 2019.

Up until New Leaf the player was always a simple villager, but when New Leaf was released in 2012 the player was upgraded to Mayor, with a number of mayoral responsibilities and tasks to complete if they chose to.

Perhaps this newest game might see your villager playing as Mayor Isabelle’s assistant? Then there would still be freedom for casual players to mess around in-game without the full responsibilities of being Mayor.

Will the Villager have a cool new job?

Fans are also wondering what role the player will have if Isabelle does indeed become Mayor, but you don’t play as her assistant. In previous games, the villager can work in a number of establishments, including Tom Nook’s store, and in The Roast Café for a temporary amount of time.

These jobs are simplistic and require the villager to get to know the residents of the town, as well as getting used to the features of the game including how to write letters and deliver presents.

In past games, these jobs have been pretty enjoyable for the short amount of time that they run for. Fans are saying that this could well be an area of the game Nintendo will expand upon.

Perhaps you could work a shift with the Able Sisters or be hired to collect certain species of insect for Blathers? Maybe it could be something totally new and unexpected? Astronaut villager on the moon anybody?

Will there finally be proper villager customisation?

Via a series of questions during the opening cutscene, the appearance and outfit of the player is determined. Each question takes the player down a customisation flow chart, leaving the player somewhat in the dark about their appearance until the game actually starts.

Clothes can be bought and designed throughout the course of the game and hairstyles can be changed at the Shampoodle store once it has been unlocked in the town. But, annoyingly, base features will remain the same throughout the whole game.

Some fans are certain that, in this new Animal Crossing game, there will be the option to skip randomised customisation and chose the hair, facial features and skin tone of their character before getting into the game. After all, it’s a feature prominent in many other modern video games.

More personalisation would certainly help the player feel as though the villager was a more accurate representation of themselves, and could even add another level of immersion to Animal Crossing.

(Image: Nintendo of America)

Will the game make use of Switch specific features?

The Nintendo Switch is undeniably the most powerful console to host an Animal Crossing game. Due to lack of hardware power, Wild World, Let’s Go to The City and New Leaf have consisted of just 15-25 acres of playable area which made towns feel relatively compact.

Could the Switch provide the power to host a larger town with more residents or even utilise other console features? Fans say it’s highly likely.

Maybe gyro controls could be utilised for fishing or other mini-games? One particular feature which is likely to make a comeback is the Amiibo function, accessed through the touchpoint on the Joy-Con.

Amiibo have been used throughout the franchise to allow gamers to bring specific villagers to your own village, and fans are hoping for more of the same. Especially if there are all new characters or returning favourites to be collected.

Will there finally be bigger options for storage?

Animal Crossing games largely revolve around the practice of collecting items and selling them for profit. Players find themselves storing fruit, carpet and even furniture in the villager’s pockets before selling them on.

While you can stack fruits and store certain items inside letters to marginally increase storage, it would be nice to see more room for collecting and storing items. Whilst this perhaps seems like an inevitability rather than insightful fan speculation, it really is all over Animal Crossing fan posts.

Considering that for the first few days of the game your main profit will likely come from harvesting seashells and fruit, you spend a large amount of time running around the town looking for these items before returning to stores to sell them.

In New Leaf you only had 16 slots for storage so increasing this number would make simple tasks in the game so much easier to enjoy.

(Image: Nintendo of America)

Will older events return from earlier games?

When New Leaf was released back in 2012 gamers were quick to notice that some of the most-loved events and themed days were now absent from the calendar.

Notable such missing events included Acorn Festival from Wild World and the Flea Market which was featured in both Wild World and City Folk. These events both encouraged collecting items for rewards as well as interacting with the residents of the town while purchasing their furniture.

Though Fishing Tourney’s and Bug Off’s are exciting, their frequency means that these events sometimes lose their charm and can often be won very easily by the player.

Some fans are saying that Nintendo will have no-doubt heard this criticism, and events with more interaction such as the Sports Fair (which hasn’t been in an Animal Crossing game since the first game) are bound to come back.

Will collectable NES games make a comeback?

When the original Animal Crossing game was released on the GameCube back in 2001, it came with a nifty retro treat.

Ten free NES games were included and could be found through a number of means, including giveaways and use of e-reader cards. As well as this you could find NES games during everyday tasks such as collecting fossils or fishing.

Taking these games back to your house allowed you to play these retro classics, with Animal Crossing acting as a kind of NES emulator and it was awesome!

A few fans are speculating that this feature might be coming back and that the lack of SNES games currently playable via Nintendo Switch Online is because SNES games are due to appear in Animal Crossing 2019! Please let it be true!

Still need more Animal Crossing? Check out our list of the 7 new gameplay features we most want in Animal Crossing 2019 here.