Summary
It’s hard to avoid comparisons betweenLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s Dondoko Island andAnimal Crossingsince both feature life sim elements as players build up an island from scratch. While Dondoko Island isn’t as feature-full as a game likeAnimal Crossing: New Horizons,Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealthstill gives players plenty of reasons to get sucked into this side activity. One feature that Dondoko Island includes is the ability to fend off attacks by the Washbucklers, which could translate to a similar mechanic in the nextAnimal Crossing game.
Fans ofAnimal Crossingwill likely notice a lot of similarities between it andLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s Dondoko Island, with mechanics like bug-catching, fishing, and DIY crafting being a core part of the experience. Much likeAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, the goal ofDondoko Islandis to create a 5-star island to attract as many visitors as possible. However, standing in the way of success are the Washbucklers, who seek to use the island as their personal dumping grounds and will attempt to destroy parts of the island if players don’t defeat them quickly.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s Dondoko Island Raids Could Add a New Twist to Animal Crossing
During Kasuga’s quest to clean up and revitalize Dondoko Island, he will have to face off against the garbage-dumping pirate crew known as the Washbucklers. These enemies will periodically show up on Dondoko Island and attack the player, who can defeat them by fighting back usingweapons like Kasuga’s bat. As their island begins to attract more tourists, the Washbucklers will become increasingly aggressive, to the point where they will attempt to raid the island and destroy the structures the player has built while harassing visitors to the island.
While combat in this mode isn’t as robust as the rest ofLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which features turn-based RPG mechanics, it adds another layer of strategy for players trying to manage the affairs of Dondoko Island. It can be tricky to fend off these Washbuckler attacks as the island starts to grow and players have to balance tasks like completing Dondoko Dailies, gifting souvenirs to tourists, and crafting new items to place around the island. The amount of activity required to successfully defeat the Washbucklers meansLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthplayers will never be bored while on Dondoko Island, creating a gameplay loop thatAnimal Crossingcould copy.
How the Next Animal Crossing Could Feature Raids
It might sound odd for a series as peaceful asAnimal Crossingto include combat against raiders, but the inclusion of characters likeVillager and Isabelle in theSuper Smash Bros. seriesshows that they know how to fight when they need to. There are several ways a futureAnimal Crossing gamecould include raids that wouldn’t need to be as violent as those ofLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and could center around the use of traps to stop raiders from reaching certain parts of the island or town. Using tools like the axe might be taking the violence of raids too far forAnimal Crossing, so a tower defense-like system of traps would be a good middle ground.
Pitfall seeds have been a part of theAnimal Crossingseriessince its original GameCube entry, but have never had much of a use outside of pranking town visitors or other villagers. Including raids in a futureAnimal Crossinggame could finally give these items the utility they’ve been lacking, while also acting as the basis for other types of traps players could potentially craft. TheAnimal Crossingseries could also feature its own version of the Washbucklers as the primary enemy during raids by building on the lore of the pirate crew led by Gulliver inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons.
