Animal Crossing Coming to Switch, Isabelle Joins Smash Bros. Ultimate Roster

Even after its slight delay, Nintendo’s latest Direct this evening did not disappoint. A heap of new titles were announced including Luigi’s Mansion 3 for Switch and more info on NES classic titles. The headline act of the livestream however came in the finale, when it was announced Isabelle from Animal Crossing would be joining the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lineup.

Nintendo has become synonymous with misdirection in their announcements lately, especially ones involving Smash Bros. Ultimate. Examples of this include the original game announcement with the inklings leading the charge, and King Dedede dressing up as King K. Rool before his reveal. Town Mayoral assistant Isabelle’s eagerly awaited inclusion is yet another on a ever growing list. However, the Animal Crossing star’s invite to the brawler was wrapped in a slightly more pleasant deception. Less of a trick, more of a present.

Adding another character to a Smash Bros. roster in the weeks building up to a new title is almost expected at this point. Isabelle’s reveal whilst highly anticipated was slightly predictable. It’s generally expected that her move set will be similar to the villager already included in Smash Bros., but with some slight variation. It was even widely suggested that If Isabelle was included, it would most likely be in an echo fighter role. This would be most likely added to the existing ‘villager’, similar to Daisy and Peach. Her moves shown in the announcement trailer show her riding a bus, pouring out a water bucket and performing other whimsical actions to match her character personality. Our Animal Crossing fun didn’t end there however…

Animal Crossing is coming to the switch.

Far be it from Nintendo to leave us wanting more. It was also announced that Animal Crossing is coming to the switch in 2019. Whether this title will be a brand new game or a port of the series’ previous main titles is unknown. In fact, very little is known about the new title and what gameplay might be like. Classic character Tom Nook is a guaranteed inclusion, as he was featured comically at the tail-end of the trailer. Your villager mayor character from the 3DS version, Animal Crossing: New Leaf is apparently “busy with camping and smash” which is now the case for Isabelle as well. Due to this we may see the involvement of some new and different main characters in this iteration. Fans of the series will be hoping favourites such as the owl Blathers and musical dog K.K. Slider keep their places.

The improved hardware and big-screen capabilities the Switch has over the 3DS are exciting for a beloved series in Animal Crossing and the possibilities certainly bountiful. We’ll all be waiting anxiously for more news and, of course the game’s release some time in 2019.

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