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As one of the more popular franchises at Nintendo’s disposal, Animal Crossing has given itself a reputation for receiving an installment on every platform the company releases, and it has been that way since the series first made its North American debut on the Gamecube in 2002. As gamers can attest, there's something indescribably appealing about the series, but fans almost certainly weren't expecting the latest addition to the franchise – Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival.

During the latest Nintendo Digital Event for E3 2015, the house of Mario unveiled the newest iteration of the series. As is evident by the debut trailer for Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, the game is an entirely different venture than standard entries in the series that instead focusses on Nintendo's toys-to-life genre.

The new game may have been prematurely spoiled thanks to the leaked batch of amiibo that hit the Internet not all that long ago, but the way in which these character figures will be used is interesting to say the least. Featuring well known Animal Crossing mascots like Tom Nook and K.K. Slider, players will go through what appears to be a Nintendo version of The Game of Life board game.

Various events will occur during the run of a game, in which characters will earn money based on what occurs. At the end, the player that's secured the most Bells (the series' in-game currency) and music notes (referred to as happiness) will be proclaimed the winner. Admittedly, rolling dice is more akin to Mario Party than The Game of Life, but the end result is really a fusion of both titles under the AC brand.

It wasn’t long ago that the Big N announced another spin-off for the 3DS, called Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, which is another unique take on the series. Add in the crossover content that has appeared in Mario Kart 8, and it's obvious that Nintendo thinks quite highly of this series as support for it likely won't be wavering anytime in the near future.

That said, fans are sure to be a little thrown off by the lack of a true installment on Wii U thus far. With the Nintendo NX currently on the horizon, it's hard to say if the series will get a true to form entry on the current platform. While they wait for that answer they can enjoy amiibo Festival though, as it is set to arrive later this year.

What do you think of Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival? Get at us in the comments.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival will release exclusively on the Nintendo Wii U in Holiday 2015.

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