Getting started and town life
Build a life in your DS town, from your first tools to long-term collections.
Original Nintendo DS game; New Leaf and New Horizons features do not apply.
Game at a glance
- Developer
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Original platform
- Nintendo DS
- Genre
- Life simulation
- First release
- Japan · November 23, 2005
- Australia
- December 8, 2005
A life in your town
Animal Crossing: Wild World is about building a life over time: befriending villagers, expanding your house, collecting objects, completing the museum, gardening, and participating in seasonal events.
Real-time seasons
The game follows a real-time calendar. The hour, month, season, and weather affect shop availability, visitors, wildlife, and events. There is no conventional final level or ending; you choose your own goals.
Residents and multiplayer
Up to four human residents share one house in a town. Multiplayer allows up to four people in one town at once. Your town begins with three animal villagers and eventually supports eight.
Activities and rewards
- - Fishing and catching bugs
- Bells, donations, encyclopedia completion, tools.
- - Digging
- fossils, gyroids, pitfall seeds, and buried objects.
- - Shopping and trading
- catalog completion, clothing, and furniture collections.
- - Talking to villagers
- friendship, errands, presents, and photographs.
- - Gardening
- fruit income, hybrid flowers, and a perfect town.
- - Decorating
- a personalized home and Happy Room Academy rewards.
- - Events
- trophies, seasonal furniture, and special interactions.
- - Visitors
- exclusive items, patterns, hairstyles, and emotions.
- - Saving and spending Bells
- house expansions and financial rewards.
A portable Animal Crossing
Wild World brings the town routine to Nintendo DS: build friendships, collect museum specimens, decorate a shared home and design patterns. The museum includes Brewster’s café and Celeste’s observatory. Local DS multiplayer remains separate from the discontinued official online service.
Overview credits
Nintendo DS mechanics. Wii U differences and historical distribution restrictions are noted where relevant. Based on the supplied Wild World guide (23 September 2026).
References
Adapted text attribution
The illustrated community reference tables are reformatted and their surrounding descriptions edited. Credit: Animal Crossing Wiki contributors. Adapted text is shared under the source’s CC BY-SA terms, unless otherwise noted. The new playthrough-planning recommendations are editorial additions. Game images have separate rights and are not licensed by this text notice.