The Animal Crossing series is home to a number of adored characters, with a certain musical dog at its helm. Spotlighting the success of series' mascot K.K. Slider, Nintendo might have a good opportunity to delve into a new genre.
With K.K. Slider's popularity and success amidst the world of the Animal Crossing series comes the chance for Nintendo to shed light on just how he reached the heights of his career. A potential Animal Crossing social simulator/music game mashup could focus on the character's origin story, giving further context to the album covers that make up the artist's musical repertoire.
Shining a Spotlight on K.K. Slider
A game centered on K.K. Slider wouldn't be the first time Nintendo has dabbled into music game spinoffs. Cadence of Hyrule took an action-adventure approach to the rhythm game genre, making use of beloved Legend of Zelda tracks and characters. It was just one example of music's astounding applicability in genre mash-ups, a feature further evident from the success of 2023 titles like Tango Gamework's Hi-Fi Rush and Square Enix's Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line, the former having players focus on performing DMC-like combos to the beat, with the latter incorporating RPG abilities to shake up its more conventional gameplay.
K.K. Slider's immense popularity could serve as a transition point for Animal Crossing to delve into more musical endeavors. Narratively, there are a few avenues that a potential game could pursue while retaining the attributes that make the series so successful. Taking the designer/social simulation approach, the player could assume the role of a manager for the character, helping to set up and decorate venues as K.K. Slider transforms from a budding musician to a traveling star. This could allow for two separate mechanics that form the basis of its gameplay: the first being more traditional Animal Crossing fare, and the second being a rhythm game format that requires players to hit proper notes in tune to K.K.'s music.
A game with these features could tie into resource management as a staple of the Animal Crossing series, while further utilizing the range that K.K. Slider has to offer. With so many of K.K.'s songs taking on different musical approaches, the decoration of venues could play into the themes and aesthetics of the tracks. For example, 'K.K. Chorale' could have players see a church as the backdrop for K.K.'s performance, while 'K.K. Disco' could be set in a nightclub teeming with 70s styled decor and clothing. Some of K.K.'s more regionally inspired music could also play into settings, with tour environments spotlighted by certain tracks, like 'K.K. Flamenco' being used for a Spanish-inspired location.
The rhythm-based portion of gameplay could be just as versatile, considering the character is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to music. This could have K.K. donning anything from an acoustic guitar, as seen in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, to spinning turntables as he reprises his role as DJ K.K., having players follow to the beat with certain button presses. It could even feature co-op situations through tracks like 'K.K. Fusion,' making use of multiple players through a variety of instruments, which in turn could allow for familiar villager faces from past titles to help along his tour.
As the tour continues, players could gain more money to set aside for future performances, opening up their arsenal of decorations and collaborative opportunities to help K.K. reach true stardom. Like New Horizons' star rating system, players could see earnings based on the cumulative points of how well they decorated venues plus how well they performed in its rhythm-based gameplay, which could aid in the game's replay value. Showcasing K.K. Slider through this type of game format could be a way to contribute more backstory for the character, providing diversity in its mechanics while retaining what makes Animal Crossing so special.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.
