The Animal Crossing franchise has always been very popular among Nintendo fans, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons has catapulted the series to a whole new level of mainstream success. A second wind, relaxing island life has been a great boon for many players during the turbulent year 2020 has proven to be.

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New Horizons may be the newest and biggest entry, but it isn’t perfect. In fact, it doesn’t have certain features from earlier in the series. Some fans prefer previous installments as a result. Let’s take a look at 2005’s Nintendo DS entry, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and why it just might be the best of the bunch to date.

10 Introduced The Watering Can & Slingshot

The player character holding a watering can in Animal Crossing: Wild World

A lot of series fans are keen virtual gardeners. They spend countless hours meticulously arranging beautiful flowers, even going so far as to carefully crossbreed them for exclusive colors to get those patterns just right.

Even if players aren’t that committed to flower arrangement, they’ve surely indulged in some balloon-popping with their slingshots. Either way, it’s Wild World that’s to thank for both of these crucial Animal Crossing mechanics, having introduced both of these tools for the first time. In a subtle way, these tools revolutionized Animal Crossing’s gameplay.

9 First To Use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

Multiplayer in Animal Crossing: Wild World

It’s no secret that Nintendo are notorious for being a little behind the times when it comes to online services and functionality. Their approach in this area has always been tentative, but Wild World pioneered online play in the franchise.

In fact, it was one of their very first Wi-Fi enabled titles ever, behind only Mario Kart DS. Memories of these first multiplayer sessions still have a special place in the hearts of franchise fans around the world.

8 Made Multiplayer Far More Convenient

Animal Crossing: Wild World's box art

Animal Crossing launched on the GameCube in Japan in 2001 (arriving in the west the following year). At the time, multiplayer was strictly a split-screen couch affair only (online play, especially for consoles, was in its infancy), which wasn’t really workable at all where Animal Crossing was concerned.

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With newfangled Wi-Fi functionality and the ease of communication between DS systems, though, Wild World made it a breeze to visit friends’ towns. The multiplayer system has been based on this title –more or less— ever since.

7 Introduced Animal Crossing To Most Fans

A screenshot of Animal Crossing: Wild World gameplay

As with Pokémon Red & Blue (and Green), Animal Crossing was far from obscure when it arrived on western shores, but it wasn't the phenomenon it would soon become. An odd concept for a game that proved a hard sell for some, many missed out.

With Wild World, the series really broke through. As such, it was many gamers’ first experience of the series. Those who became long-time fans as a result will never forget it. Nostalgia, you’ve done it again.

6 Gave Villagers More Life

Two villagers talking next to the player character in Animal Crossing: Wild World

What is the Animal Crossing experience really about? The player character themselves? The special characters? The town? The events? The villagers who inhabit the town along with their new human friend? It’s a combination of all of these things and more, really, but a lot of fans place the villagers first.

The series’ wide and quirky selection of anthomorphic animals are a major draw. From conventional critters like cats and dogs to more outlandish animals like octopi and anteaters, there are a lot of different species and each individual is very different. Really, it was Wild World that brought them to life and made them far more interesting to interact with. The original’s villagers weren’t very active, but the second title in the series gave them more purpose and personality.

5 Villager Photos Were Added

A collection of villagers photos in Animal Crossing: Wild World

In making the animal villagers far more interesting and interactive, Wild World gave players a genuine reason to spend time with them. Their hilarious and priceless dialogue is more than reason enough, but let’s not forget another fantastic addition the DS game made to the series: villager photos.

When the player develops a close enough friendship with a particular villager, the cat/goat/rhino/bear/etc in question will eventually give them a framed photo of themselves as a sign of their bond. These can take quite some time to acquire and are some of the most prized items in the series. The feeling of finally ‘earning’ a favorite villager’s picture (even the richest Bellionaires can’t buy these) for the first time on DS was enough to make Wild World many players’ favorite game in the series forever.

4 Portability Fits The Franchise Like A Glove

The player character outside Nook's Cranny in Animal Crossing: Wild World

Generally speaking, Animal Crossing doesn’t tend to be a series that players enjoy for hours-long sessions. It’s a quick dip-in-and-dip-out experience for the most part, well suited to quick daily sessions. Equally well suited for play on handheld devices, then.

RELATED: 10 Hidden Gems On The Nintendo DS And 3DS

Players of New Horizons might well find themselves enjoying the game more often in handheld mode, perhaps tending to their plants and visiting special characters in bed before settling down to sleep. With all of this in mind, Wild World’s greatest addition to the franchise may simply have been portability by virtue of the console it released for.

3 Defined Much Of What Makes The Series What It Is Today

Brewster's cafe, The Roost, in Animal Crossing: Wild World

Clearly, the second game in the series offered a tremendous leap forward in terms of the Animal Crossing formula. Many other central mechanics, features, and beloved characters fans take for granted today made their debut here.

The much beloved Brewster (still yet to be added to New Horizons, outrageously) first appeared here, as did the delightful scrolling background system that defines the player’s traversal of their town. In the first game, the environment was divided into clunky ‘acres.’ The look and feel of towns, iconic NPCs and so much more owe their existence to Wild World, perhaps the most influential title in Animal Crossing history.

2 Outdoor Patterns Paved The Way (Literally)

A pattern placed as outdoor tiles in Animal Crossing: Wild World

When an Animal Crossing: New Horizons trailer showed the player character building a path outdoors for the first time, non-fans may have wondered just what the heck the fuss was all about. Series devotees, meanwhile, were delighted by the opportunity to actually create real paths at last.

In the original game, patterns were very limited. With Wild World, the option to place them outdoors (as tiles) became available. What this meant was that paths could be created, one laborious tile at a time (brilliant custom patterns are still available in New Horizons, though an equally-laborious building option now allows the creation of ‘real’ paths). This basic principle would go on to be the norm in the series for 15 years, until the Switch entry.

1 Fans Were Able To Discover/Rediscover It On The Wii U

An outdoor scene in Animal Crossing: Wild World

Of course, the Wii U doesn’t represent Nintendo’s finest hour, but the quirky system did serve as a sort of prototype for everything the Switch would be. It deserves its due for that, at least.

What else does the Wii U deserve its due for? Featuring a Virtual Console release of Wild World in October 2016, that’s what. Newer fans who hadn’t played this genre classic could then do so, while those who may have forgotten all about it otherwise found it fresh in their memories once more. To an extent, the Virtual Console release kept all of these other Wild World aspects super relevant.

NEXT: 10 DS Games That Deserve A Remake For Nintendo Switch