One of the key aspects of the Animal Crossing games is creativity, along with turnips, but mostly creativity. From the very first game, you are given free rein to craft the perfect village and within it, a spacious home. In more recent outings, the focus on creating the perfect home interior became an art form. The Happy Home Showcase team judges home decor. This particular LEGO Animal Crossing set showcases the game’s creativity through one of the game character’s houses. Here’s a closer look at Isabella’s House Visit.
Product Details
Set Name: Isabella’s House Visit | Set Number: 77049 | Pieces: 389 | Theme: Animal Crossing
Number of Bags: Bags x 5 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: N/A | Characters: Isabella & Fauna | Insiders QR: Yes
RRP: £34.99/$39.99/39.99€/CAD49.99/AUD69.99/NZD79.99
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
Most of the dwellings in the Animal Crossing games have a similar style, which is a small cottage-like building, with TARDIS-like qualities with a much larger, multi-room set-up. The house in this set belongs to Fauna but doesn’t match the style of her house in the game, it’s far more generic but still in keeping with the aesthetics of the New Horizon. The house’s exterior features a few interesting elements such as the half-circle round flat tiles on the roof, which offer a much better visual finish compared to what the 1×1 quarter tiles would offer. There’s also a brand new door frame and door, along with two sets of window frames.
The house’s interior is quite plain and compact, but just as you can in the games, the furnishings can be added in different configurations. These include a bed, stove, sink, clock and table. I quite like that these can be moved around the house to your liking as it’s a nice link to the gameplay of the game.
I had reservations about the use of the island plates, which were introduced in the Mario sets, in the Animal Crossing sets. But they work much better for Animal Crossing sets. Not only do they perfectly replicate the gridlock landscape of the game, in LEGO form, they allow the outdoor areas of the set to be mixed around, again just like the game.
It’s quite clear the design team behind the LEGO Animal Crossing sets are certainly big fans of the game. This is shown by some of the set’s other features including an Apple Tree, which hides some Bells. A present connected to a balloon and some of the set’s excellent printed elements. These include a 2×2 round tile featuring a crack, which is a signal to get digging in the game and a 1×1 tile doubling for a fossil find. There’s also another workbench and a printed 2×2 tile featuring famed singer K.K. Slider.
The set includes two Animal Crossing minifigures including the game series’ new mascot, Isabelle and Fauna, a villager. Both characters were introduced in the Nintendo DS Animal Crossing game, A New Leaf, released in 2013. Isabelle began life as the mayor’s assistant in A New Leaf before working with Tom Nook in the Nintendo Switch game, New Horizons. In her LEGO minifigure form, she’s wearing her outfit from A New Leaf, which is a green plaid shirt and a dark blue skirt. She’s joined by Fauna, who is a doe or deer, a female deer. As with all villagers in the game, they can wear different outfits, but her default threads are what is known as a Shearling Coat. Both minifigures sport poseable shorter legs and unique head moulds.
I know the Animal Crossing sets have been compared to the much-loved Fabuland theme. While it may seem like a bit of a stretch, I must admit the comparison is valid. Fabuland was known not only for its animal character but for its use of unique elements, many of which are still in use today. Regardless, this is another fun set and a great base should you wish to craft your own home as you would in the game. The LEGO Animal Crossing sets are available now.
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