Isabelle notifying the player that the island rating has risen inNew Horizons

Theenvironment rating (conjectural name)^{[nb 1]} (known as theField Rank^{[nb 2]} inAnimal Crossing andisland evaluation inNew Horizons) is an aspect of the player'stown in theAnimal Crossing series that indicates the quality of its environment. The quantity offlowers,trees,weeds, and dropped items throughout the town impact its rating. Additionally,public works projects inNew Leaf andfurniture placed outside inNew Horizons affect the environment rating, both positively and negatively.

The rating of a town can be checked by speaking to a specific character that differs between games: thewishing well in thefirst-generation games,Pelly orPhyllis attown hall inWild World andCity Folk, andIsabelle at town hall andResident Services inNew Leaf andNew Horizons, respectively. The town's general rating is indicated through dialog, and the player is told in what ways the rating could be improved, although the exact value of the town's rating is never revealed to the player.

Once a town passes a certain threshold in its environment rating, it reaches "perfect town" status, which affects the town in certain ways. Reaching and maintaining perfect town status rewards the player with thegoldenaxe in the first-generation games, and the goldenwatering can in all other games. Additionally, beginning inDoubutsu no Mori e+,lilies of the valley grow in perfect towns.

Appearances[edit]

InAnimal Crossing[edit]

Checking the wishing well inAnimal Crossing

InAnimal Crossing, the town's status is determined by the number of trees, weeds, flowers, and garbage in each acre of the town. There are 7 different ranks of quality determined by a simple hidden points system. Each acre has its own point value and these points are added to determine the town's overall rating. The rating can be determined by interacting with thewishing well. This rating affects the chance that a fish or insect will spawn in an acre, the rate that balloon presents spawn, the chance that new villagers move in, and the frequency at which special visitors come to town.

For fish and insects, the chance that a fish appears and the chance that an insect appears are calculated separately when the player enters an acre. Only one fish and one insect can be spawned from an acre at a time. At the lowest town rating, the chance for them to spawn is 50% and at rank 3 or higher, the chance is 100%. Below is a table that shows the points required for each rank, what the wishing well says at each rank, and the chance that a fish or a bug will spawn under that rank.

For villager move-ins, it is assumed that the town has less than 15 villagers currently living there, each villager currently living there has been spoken to by the player, and it has been at least 24 in-game hours since the last time a villager moved in when the game was loaded. Under these conditions, at rank 0, the chance of a villager moving in when the game is loaded (even within the same day) is 40% and the chance goes up 10% per rank until reaching 100% chance at perfect town status.

Each acre's points are calculated based on the number of trees or tree saplings planted within the acre. Wilted saplings count as well. Acres must have between 9 and 17 trees or saplings to receive points. If any required acre has an amount of trees or saplings outside of this range, the wishing well will tell the player that there is too little green in that acre. Acres that are not required to have trees but will receive points include the wishing well acre,train station acre,player house acre,lake acre,museum acre, or anybeach acre. The town's points and the wishing well's message are updated immediately upon any changes. Below is a table that shows the points an acre is worth based on the amount of trees or saplings it contains and what the well may say.

Perfect town status[edit]

In addition to the points rankings, a "perfect town" status can also be reached. In order to reach this status, the town must be rank 6 and each acre in the town must pass the following conditions:

• There must not be anytrash (Empty Can, Boot, or Old Tire) dropped anywhere outside or the town drops to rank 0 and the wishing well will say"I can abide this no more. There is no feeling worse than the prospect of being slowly buried in rubbish. You must clean up the trash in Acre <Y-X>!" Trash dropped at the dump does not count.

• There must be less than 5 weeds or 4 fewer weeds than flowers in the acre. A flower offsets a weed, so an acre can contain 5 or more weeds only if there are enough flowers to offset them. If any acre contains too many weeds, the wishing well will say"When there are too many weeds... ...and areas in need of care and attention... ...a town feels very unsettled. Go to Acre <Y-X> to see what is amiss."

In addition, all of the non-exempt acres (train station, player houses, museum, lake, beaches) must have between 9-17 trees (i.e. contribute more than 0 tree points).

Once a perfect town status has been reached, the wishing well will say"Everything is perfect! <Town> is a very livable place." If the perfect town status is maintained for 15 days in a row, the well will say,"Your toil has made <Town> a truly wonderful place. Your efforts shall be rewarded with a golden axe," and the spirit of the wishing well,Farley, appears and gives the player the unbreakableGolden Axe.

Japanese version differences[edit]

InDoubutsu no Mori andDoubutsu no Mori+, the wishing well is instead a shrine. However, inDoubutsu no Mori, there is no appearance of Farley or the Golden Axe.

Unlike inAnimal Crossing andDoubutsu no Mori e+, inDoubutsu no Mori andDoubutsu no Mori+, garbage placed in the dump will affect Field Rank.

InDoubutsu no Mori e+, a perfect Field Rank also results in theLily of the Valleyflower growing around town.

Rare messages[edit]

The following messages are nearly impossible to get. This is because the wishing well always opts to tell the player where there are too few trees instead of rating the town and if there are enough trees in every acre, the town must be rank 4, 5, or 6 at that point. When receiving one of these messages, checking in the town status again defaults back to telling the player about where there are too few trees.

InWild World[edit]

InAnimal Crossing: Wild World, when talking withPelly orPhyllis about the town's environmental status, the designated pelican will relay messages that other villagers have given her. Her response will inform the player if the town is prospering or not. Here are the responses that either Pelly or Phyllis will tell the player:

• Horrible:"This place is the pits! Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong! There's not a single thing I like in this town!"

• Bad:"I'm not sure what good it will do to write this, but... Could you try and be a bit more thoughtful about your town? Because at this rate..."

• Neutral:"Hmm... it's not a passing grade, but it's not a failing grade either. It's like more than milk, but not quite a milk shake, you know what I mean?"

• Good:"This town is fantastic! But even so, it still seems to be missing something"

• Perfect:"Fantastic! <Town> is in great shape right now! Yep, it's pretty sweeeeet!"

After Pelly or Phyllis relays the message, she will give a player a hint regarding how to make the town healthier. For example, at the "getting there" phase, Pelly may tell the player that some areas have inadequate green, which is a tip to plant more flowers and trees in areas lacking them. Phyllis's messages tend to be a little more straightforward about what the player needs to do.

Generally, for perfect environmental status inWild World, eight of the acres should be classed as 'perfect' and the rest as 'good' or better. This can be achieved by disposing weeds and trash, planting trees and flowers, and using watering cans to prevent dead flowers. Maintaining a perfect environmental status for 15 days will result in the player being rewarded thegolden can by Pelly or Phyllis.

InCity Folk[edit]

To-do list: This section could do with some improvements!

Edit this page and add a little something to make it just right.

• Add Pelly/Phyllis quotes
• Note the effects of each ranking on the town.

InAnimal Crossing: City Folk, the town's environment rating is determined by a hidden points system. Each acre begins with 100 points; this score goes up and down based on the number of trees, flowers, and dropped items in the acre. The combined scores of each acre in town are used to determine the entire town's rating. The town's current rating can be checked by speaking to Pelly or Phyllis at town hall.

An acre's score is determined by various factors such as number of trees, weeds, dropped items, and flowers. The only way to increase an acre's score from the default is by planting flowers.

An acre's score corresponds to one of five acre rankings:

The combined rankings of each acre determine the town's overall ranking:

If a perfect town rank is maintained for at least 15 consecutive days, speaking to Pelly or Phyllis about the environment results in them giving the player thegolden can.

InNew Leaf[edit]

InAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, a points system is used instead, which is divided into three hidden categories.Public works projects are necessary for a positive rating, and the requirement for a specific number of trees/flowers in each acre no longer applies. Obtaining perfect town status can be achieved by building more public works projects (with the exception of building the trash bin and tire toy) and keeping the town clean of weeds and/or trash. The latter can be remedied with theKeep <Town> Beautiful ordinance or by askingLeif to clean their town from weeds.

Advice to get a perfect town is given by various special characters in the game, relayed throughIsabelle when speaking to her at theTown Hall. Each quote designates what the quality of the town is.

"Hmmmm... It's not a passing grade, but it's not really failing either...So middle ground! It's like this town is more than friends but not ready to be a couple yet. It needs real commitment!"

—Timmy and Tommy, Needs work

"I think it's riding the so-so rails.So average!"

—Timmy and Tommy, Needs work

"Well, they're certainly giving it their all! The difficult challenge is the reason town building is so worth it!"

—Digby, Almost perfect

"Goodness gracious! Even from an academic standpoint, I must say this town is becoming quite good! If the town grows like this, I have no doubt that its value will keep soaring even higher, eh wot?"

—Blathers, Almost perfect

"It seems that <town> is starting to gain some attention as a popular sightseeing destination! I hope they continue to work hard to really keep revitalizing this town! Eek eek!"

—Porter, Almost perfect

"It's great! The very best town ever! I wouldn't mind being mayor again for a town that looks like this!"

—Tortimer, Perfect

"Why, it's amazing, and I truly mean that! This town is simply the best! They've clearly worked very hard! This old man is really pleased!"

—Phineas, Perfect

"Great galloping grasshoppers! Were I to give this town a rating, I'd say that it's exemplary, old bean!"

—Nat, Perfect

"Woohoo! What a glorious town! Pavé wants to just sprawl out right here and caress the ground... Viva <town>!"

—Pavé, Perfect

"Goodness gracious! I can say that, even from an academic standpoint, this town is simply the best! Hoo!"

—Blathers, Perfect

In New Leaf, the Flower Clock and Town Hall renovation Public Works Projects become available after the town achieves perfect status. Maintaining a perfect town status for 15 days will result in Isabelle giving the player the Golden Watering Can.

InNew Horizons[edit]

Isabelle relaying a quote from a resident — in this case, implied to come fromDaisy Mae.

InAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, the player's island is rated on a five-star system, based on two main factors: development points and scenery points. Both thresholds need to be surpassed in order to achieve the desired evaluation. The island's rating can be viewed by speaking to Isabelle atResident Services only after the 6th villager has moved in and unpacked. Isabelle will also relay a quote from another character about the island and suggest actions the player may take to improve their island rating (for example, placing more outdoor furniture and fences, planting or trimming foliage, moving in villagers, or building more stores). If the rating is five stars, Isabelle will congratulate the player for achieving a perfect score.

The environment rating plays a key role inTom Nook'sProject K, in which obtaining a 3-star rating is required forK.K. Slider to visit the island. Thenext day after getting a 3-star rating, K.K. Slider will visit and play "Welcome Horizons" in theplaza. Afterwards, he begins making his usual weekly visits, even if the rating drops below 3 stars. A 3-star rating is also required for the player to receive theIsland Designer Construction Permit. Once the island reaches a 5-star rating, Isabelle sends the player theGolden Watering Can DIY recipe via the NookPhone.

Development[edit]

The island's development points are based on buildings, the number of villagers living on the island, and items placed outside.

If there are six or more of the same item in the same 8x8 area on the map, 0.5 development points are deducted for each duplicate. If there are eleven or more, 0.75 points are deducted for each duplicate.^[1]

Scenery[edit]

The island's nature points are based on the number of trees, bamboo trees, bushes, flowers,produce, and DIY furniture items on the island.

Factors[edit]

Vegetation/Plants[edit]

Various plants impact the player'stown's environment. Sometimes,villagers will also comment about the town's environment when talking to the player.

Trees[edit]

Main article:Tree

The town's environment rating can decrease if there are not enough or too many trees in one or more acres. They can only contribute to a town's rating when fully grown. The same rules apply tobamboo andbushes, both of which first appeared inNew Leaf.

InAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, each tree, bamboo, or bush adds one point to the island's nature score. However, having more than 220 nature points contributed through trees will render the player's island unable to reach perfect status, in which caseIsabelle will notify the player that the island is overgrown.

Flowers[edit]

Main article:Flower

Flowers are one of the simpler ways to improve the town's environmental status (with the exception ofAnimal Crossing, where they don't affect it). Placing at least one flower in eachacre improves the town's environment immensely—a very high amount of them may cancel out other flaws in the environment, such asweeds. Any type of flower can be grown anywhere, but the player can keep it evenly distributed for a better environmental status. In all games beforeAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, players mustwater their flowers often, as wilted flowers impact the town status negatively.

InNH, a different amount of nature points are given towards the players score depending on the growth stage of the flower; stage 1 flowers (seeds) are worth 0.5 points, stage 2 and 3 flowers (stems and buds, respectively) are worth 0.7 nature points, and stage 4 flowers (fully grown) are worth 1 point each.

Weeds[edit]

Main article:Weed

A small number ofweeds (two or three in most games) appear each day. The weeds will accumulate if they are not picked, so it is best for the town's status to pull weeds whenever they're seen. For a perfect town, no weeds should remain in a town overnight.

InNew Horizons, the island receives 30 development points if there are less than 100 weeds on the island; every 30 weeds after 100 removes 1 point. At 1000 weeds or more, the point bonus is zero.

Trash[edit]

Main article:Trash

Boots, cans, and tires fished out from theriver orsea, as well as spoiledturnips, must never be placed on the ground, as they are considered trash and the environmental status of the town will immediately decrease. These items also attract thefly, an inexpensivebug. Trash should be placed in thedump, disposed for a fee atRe-Tail, thrown away in a trash bin furniture (which can be found in homes, built as apublic works project, or placed outside), used in aDIY recipe, or sold.

Dropped items[edit]

Furniture, accessories, and other dropped items are considered trash. Therefore, items should not be left on the ground to reach perfect town status.Seashells,fruit, or other items naturally spawning on the ground (such as sticks or rocks) are not counted as dropped items.

Decorations[edit]

Public works projects[edit]

Main article:Public works project

InAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, a certain amount of public works projects are required to achieve perfect town status. Some projects, such as the Garbage Bin, detract from the town's score (but will not permanently keep it from attaining perfect status).

Bridges and Inclines[edit]

InNew Leaf,bridges andinclines are considered Public Works Projects. However, inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, they're counted separately within the development points of a player's island. There may be up to 10 bridges and 10 inclines on an island (8 of each pre-2.0), with each project contributing 15 points once they are installed.

Furniture[edit]

Main article:Furniture

As a new feature inNew Horizons, players are able to decorate their island with any type of furniture that is notwall-mounted (the only placeable wall-mounted furniture outside are door plaques, which have no impact on the island's rating). In accordance with this, furniture is no longer counted as trash as long as it is displayed rather than dropped. Villagers will also gift the player furniture items and recommend that they place them outside to improve the island's rating (although doing so with that specific item is not mandatory).

Either the island's nature score or development score will improve depending what kind and how much furniture is displayed. Every piece of non-DIY furniture is worth at least 1 development point, and an additional 0.5 point is added to items that are labeled as "outdoor furniture".DIY furniture contributes to the nature portion of the points system; any furniture that is at least 3 squares wide is worth 1 point, while anything smaller is only 0.25 points. There is also a penalty for having more than 6 of the same exact item (not counting customizations) within a 64-square block of the island.

Fences[edit]

Main article:Fence

InAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, the player may place fences around their island. Each fence piece is worth 0.2 points towards the island's development score.

Trivia[edit]

• One of the quotes Isabelle restates fromWisp during the island evaluation is "It's a place I've been quietly watching. It's a secret to everybody. I don't want it to be famous." The "It's a secret to everybody" part is a reference to an identical quote commonly used in theThe Legend of Zelda series.
• Flick's description of the player's island when giving a 5-star evaluation is a truncated parody of the "this royal throne of kings" monologue from the 1595William Shakespeare playRichard II.

Notes[edit]

This article requires attention to improve its quality.

Pleasehelp improve this article if you can; thetalk page may contain suggestions.The specific needs are:

• ExpandWild World,City Folk, andNew Leaf sections, then remove the "Factors" section.

This page could be improved with the addition of images.

You can help byuploading one or more images and including them on this page.

Gameplay elements

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