The successor to Animal Crossing: New Horizons could be modelled after a component from Persona 5, which would allow players to earn bells and interact with other members of the community. Animal Crossing: New Horizons maintained its focus on bells as the primary form of in-game currency, making it imperative for players to complete menial tasks all over the island to build their bank accounts. With a life-sim approach that is comparable to one-half of Persona 5's gameplay, the successor to Animal Crossing: New Horizons could work from Persona's feature of part-time jobs, which would serve as a means for players to earn bells, interact with their villagers, and afford more decorations for their spaces.

Previous entries in the Animal Crossing series have made use of part-time jobs, albeit to a much lesser extent, and these jobs served more as early-game tutorials than as established game mechanics. Players in Animal Crossing, Wild World, and City Folk were tasked with completing a variety of missions for Tom Noo. These missions included planting flowers, delivering items to villagers, and advertising his shop on a communal bulletin board. On the other hand, the more recent New Horizons Happy Home Paradise downloadable content was on the opposite end of the spectrum, as its focus was on the player's role in the construction of idyllic vacation homes for the customers of the villagers. The next mainline title in the series may serve to strike a balance between the two approaches, separating leisure and work in a manner that is similar to that of Persona 5.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Successor Might Include Jobs Resembling People to Help Players Earn Bells

• Through its depiction of the crowded streets of Tokyo, complete with plenty of opportunities for dining, entertainment, and shopping, Persona 5 emphasized the life simulation aspect of its gameplay.

• Because these pursuits, just like in real life, cost money, players would need to earn their keep if they wanted to experience everything that the game had to offer they wanted to get the most out of it.

• Even though Joker starts Persona 5 with almost no money in his wallet, he can acquire funds by fending off enemies within Persona 5's Palaces or by working part-time jobs, the latter of which is integrated ingeniously into the game's mechanics.

• As players work at various establishments, such as convenience stores, beef-bowl shops, and others, they can build their Social Stats and earn some extra cash, which makes it easier for them to progress through subsequent Confidant levels.

The side jobs in Persona 5 helped establish the game's characters and setting more thoroughly, which in turn made the Joker's influence and interactions throughout the city feel more genuine. These sequences were made more difficult in Persona 5 Royal by the addition of certain elements, such as a quiz given to the player about the location of item barcodes while they were working in a convenience store. The emphasis placed on expanding Joker's social repertoire through these tasks to earn currency worked to help both sides of the game's gameplay, namely the life-simulation aspect, which was made more nuanced, and the combat side, which was made more accessible through the purchase of equipment.

A game that comes after Animal Crossing: New Horizons could use a model very similar to that one to take advantage of its lovable cast of characters who contribute to the economy of the title. In addition to Tom Nook, the game's inventory system can be accessed through the assistance of specialized vendors such as Redd and Kicks. By utilizing them, New Horizons's potential successor could implement a mechanic à la Persona 5 that contributes to the player's contribution to part-time work and builds upon the player's relationship with vendors by having them earn bells through various tasks. For instance, a player who works for Kicks could be given a pair of shoes that they are tasked with selling to their fellow villagers. The player would then be required to select certain dialogue prompts that correspond with their sales pitch, a feat that could be successful depending on the nature of their fellow villagers.

Alternately, more involved mini-games could be used to take up a longer amount of a player's time, with the objective being to force the player to weigh the benefits of earning bells against the completion of other, more leisurely activities. This could make use of gameplay mechanics such as memorizing button prompts or tracing lines, for example, if it were a sewing game based on Sable. Work on the side could even be tied into the triggering of events, such as a food festival in which the player is tasked with preparing a variety of dishes according to the tastes of the villagers. This is an activity that could be adapted from the New Horizons cooking minigame, which features timed button prompts. The Isabelle or Tom Nook characters from Animal Crossing could provide funding for such an event, which would allow players to earn bells while also strengthening their relationships with villagers.