Guide – Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ NES, SNES, and Game Boy games: What they are, where to find, and how to play

The highly anticipated Version 3.0.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons is finally here, and we’re very excited to dip back into our beloved virtual island lives yet again to check out the new features.

Among the many new additions to the game, you might have heard that Nintendo has added some classic playable games from its extensive library. This is the first time we’ve seen playable NES games in an Animal Crossing game since the 2002 GameCube title – and this time, we’re getting SNES and Game Boy games, too!

Obtaining these games isn’t quite as simple as you might hope, however. So, to help clear up the widespread confusion we’ve seen online around getting hold of these playable classics, we’ve put together a handy guide to get those retro rarities into your virtual hands as soon as possible.

Let’s get started!

 

What are the technical requirements for accessing classic Nintendo games in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

 

The first thing you will need to play the newly added retro games is an active Nintendo Online Membership.

Next, you’ll need to ensure that you’ve applied Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ free Version 3.0.0 update. As long as your Switch is connected to the internet, you should be prompted to install the update when you launch the game. Otherwise, you can initiate the process manually by pressing the + button on the game icon in your Switch menu, scroll down to the “Software Update” tab, then select “Via the Internet.”

 

What I do after launching the game?

 

Next, there are a number of steps to perform within New Horizons in order to access the classic Nintendo games.

First, you’ll need to have progressed far enough in the game to achieve a three-star island rating, and have your museum upgraded with the art wing. Meeting these requirements will add the new Resort Hotel to your island. The hotel can be found on the pier, which has been expanded to incorporate the new building.

 

 

Upon entering the hotel, you will be greeted by Tom Nook, who will request that you assist Leilani in setting things up. To help her, you will need to decorate the hotel’s guest rooms following specific themes.

 

 

How long will it take to complete the Resort Hotel’s renovations?

 

There are eight rooms to design (nine if you count the VIP room), and you can design up to two rooms per day.

Fortunately, the game does not care how you decorate these rooms, so if you want to speed things along, you only technically need to place one furniture item in each room.

 

 

Regardless, it will take four or five real days to complete this task.

 

I don’t want to wait four or five days! Can I speed this up?

 

You can!

If you have no issues with what some may consider “cheating,” you can use a technique commonly known within the Animal Crossing community as “time traveling.” This involves manipulating your Nintendo Switch’s system clock to trick the game into thinking days have passed.

If you want to finish the hotel quest in one real-life day, just follow the following steps:

 

• Decorate two rooms, and save your game.
• Press the Home button to reach the Switch’s system menu.
• Press the X button to close the game.
• Select the gear icon at the bottom of the system menu to access the System Settings.
• Scroll all the way down to the bottom to the System tab.
• Select “Date and Time.”
• Ensure that “Synchronize Clock Using the Internet” is toggled off.
• Select “Current Date and Time.”
• Advance the clock by one day, and select “OK.”
• Launch the game again, and repeat the process until you have completed all eight or nine hotel rooms.

 

The hotel rooms are done. What’s next?

 

You’re almost there! Now you just need to boost the hotel’s brand recognition a little bit more. To do that, you need to go to Kapp’n’s kiosk outside the hotel and donate any crafted items that he requests.

Keep donating and checking in every so often with Grams, who you can find in the hotel. Once the hotel has reached a certain level of brand recognition from your decorating and donations, Grams will tell you she has acquired some “very rare finds.” This means that a new “Special” tab has opened in her shop, which is where you can purchase the many new Nintendo items – including those playable classic games.

 

 

 

How do I access the classic games after unlocking them?

 

You will need to buy Nintendo consoles from Grams, which each cost 500 Hotel Tickets. You will have acquired plenty of these by now, both from Leilani and Kapp’n. If you ever need more, though, you can do some more donating.

Once you have purchased a console, you can then place it down in your house or on your island, and interact with it to begin playing.

 

What games have been included?

 

There are a total of six playable classic games. Each title is tied to a particular system – for example, you will need to buy the Game Boy to play Dr. Mario.

The consoles and their corresponding games are as follows:

 

• Famicom: Clu Clu Land
• NES: Ice Climber
• Famicom Disk System: Ice Hockey
• Game Boy: Dr. Mario
• Super Famicom: Panel de Pon
• SNES: F-Zero

 

Note: You can purchase two different versions of the SNES – the US and the European version – but both will run F-Zero.

 

 

 

How are these versions different than the Nintendo Switch Online versions?

 

All of these games are already available to Nintendo Switch Online members outside of Animal Crossing via the Switch’s various retro system apps. There are, however, a few subtle differences between New Horizons’ versions and the NSO app versions.

In the Animal Crossing versions, you can press in the right stick to toggle an onscreen guide on or off. This appears to the right of the screen outside the game’s border, and displays all of the game’s inputs while you play so that you know what each button does.

Unfortunately, unlike the NSO versions, the New Horizon retro games do not include the ability to use save states or a rewind feature. Also, multiplayer is not supported, and you can not save your progress or high scores.

Limitations aside, these playable titles are a very cool addition to New Horizons, and the consoles alone will add some real style to your house or your island. Here’s hoping we’ll see more games in future updates!

Have fun!

 

More Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides

 

Looking for more help with Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Check out our other guides!

 

 

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