Key Points
- Reach 3-Star Island Rating, access the new Resort Hotel on the Pier, and earn Hotel Tickets by decorating hotel rooms to unlock classic Nintendo Consoles.
- 3.0 update offers six classic consoles, and each console lets you play one classic Nintendo game.
- You must have an active Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) subscription to play these classic titles.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0.0 update has delivered the ultimate nostalgia trip in the form of six playable retro Nintendo games. I have spent the last 24 hours grinding through island evaluations to reach a 3-star rating, just to have a shot at playing some of my childhood favorite titles. If you are looking forward to getting cozy with some Dr. Mario in the new update, read on, and I’ll tell you how you can get it up and running!
Classic Nintendo Games Playable in Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 – Overview
| How to Unlock | Decorate Resort Hotel Rooms to gain Hotel Tickets |
| Required Currency | 500 Hotel Tickets per Console |
| Key Requirements | 1. 3-Star Island Rating 2. Nintendo Switch Online membership |
| Unlockable Consoles | NES, SNES, Game Boy, Famicom, Famicom Disk System, Super Famicom |
| Special/ Additional Features | Every game has on-screen input guides Every console has interactive power animations |
How to Play All Classic Nintendo Games in Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0
First things first, you must have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription if you want to actually play these games. If you don’t have an active subscription, the best you can do is unlock these consoles as room decorations. So, if you don’t have one, consider getting a subscription.
Now, let’s start your journey towards playing these classic NES, Game Boy, and Famicom titles. Follow these steps to unlock them all:
- Reach a 3-Star Island Rating.
- Add an Art Wing to your Museum.
- Head to your island’s Pier.
- Once you get to the Pier, meet up with Tom Nook.
- He will introduce you to Leilani at the new Resort Hotel at the Pier.
- Assist Leilani in decorating the rooms at the Resort Hotel.
- You will be rewarded 200 Hotel Tickets for each room you decorate.
- Donate some crafted items to Kapp’n at his Kiosk outside the Hotel.
- Go to Gram’s Souvenir Shop and purchase the desired consoles from her Specials Tab.
- Place the purchased console in your Home and press A.
- If you have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription, the game will start immediately.
Important Things to Keep in Mind
- You won’t be introduced to Leilani unless you have added an Art Wing to your Museum.
- I have noticed that you can just place one piece of furniture in each room, and technically, you’ll have completed the decoration requirement.
- Donating items to Kapp’n will increase the hotel’s Brand Recognition, which will let you unlock rare items, i.e., the classic Nintendo Consoles.
- Grams will only open her ‘Special’ Tab after you have amassed at least 5000 Hotel Tickets. You need to collect at least that much to buy the consoles.
A trick to unlock all six consoles on the same day –
There are multiple rooms to be decorated, but you can only decorate two rooms per day. If you want to complete all rooms in a single real-life day, there’s an easy trick:
- Decorate two rooms, and save and exit the game.
- Go to your Switch’s System Settings, advance your Switch’s System Date by one day, and relaunch the game.
- Make sure that you turn off the ‘Synchronise Clock Using the Internet‘ option in the same menu.
- Now you can decorate two more rooms without having to wait one real-life day to pass.
- Repeat this step as many times as you want and complete all the rooms.
Grams may restrict the purchase of Special items to five purchases a day. You can use the same method mentioned above to buy all six consoles from Grams in a single real-life day.
All Playable Classic Nintendo Games in Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0
Each console in Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 offers a single playable classic Nintendo game. If you want to play all six of these, you will need to purchase all six consoles.
| Game | Console | Cost (in Hotel Tickets) | Game Genre |
| Dr. Mario | Game Boy | 500 | Puzzle/ Action |
| Ice Climber | NES | 500 | Platforming |
| F-Zero | SNES | 500 | Racing |
| Ice Hockey | Famicom Disk System | 500 | Sports |
| Clu Clu Land | Famicom | 500 | Arcade/ Action |
| Panel de Pon | Super Famicom | 500 | Puzzle |
FAQs
Can I play these games without an NSO subscription?
No. You must have an active Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) subscription to play these games. Even if you are playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons offline, you’d still need NSO to play these classic games. If you don’t have this subscription, you can still unlock and purchase these consoles. However, in that case, they will simply be house decorations.
How will I find out the controls for Classic Nintendo games?
This is one of the features I greatly appreciated. You can just press the right control stick to pull up the on-screen controller guide. Doing so will open a small list that tells you what each button does in that particular game. The best thing? You can press the right stick once, and the controls will keep being displayed. Press it again, and they’ll disappear.
Is purchasing all six consoles necessary?
You need all six consoles if you want to play all six games. However, if you only have a couple of games that you want to play, simply unlock the associated console, and you’re good to go. Refer to the table above to see which console hosts what game.
Can I save the progress of these classic Nintendo games?
Sadly, no. Staying true to the classic, arcade-style gameplay, all these retro games come without save states. Your high scores and progress will reset as soon as you exit the console in-game.
