Neko Atsume – Kitty Collector

Neko Atsume – Kitty Collector also known as Neko Atsume is a Simulation game developed and published by Hit-Point Co., Ltd. for the  Nintendo 3DS. It was released exclusively in Japan on April 26, 2017, and was translated to English by Lycan911. In Neko Atsume, you own a suburban backyard, and your goal is to leave out food, toys, and decorations that will attract neighborhood cats. Once the cats arrive, they’ll be documented in a codex called the Catbook, and you can use an in-game camera to take photos of them as they play and relax. Cats are cautious animals, so they won’t arrive if you continuously watch the yard.

Instead, you need to suspend the game and occasionally check back to see if anyone is visiting. In order to attract cats, you’ll need a wide range of food and goodies. A starter cat toy is provided during the tutorial, and basic food is freely available with no limit. However, additional toys and higher-quality food need to be purchased from the in-game shop. The currency in the game is fish, which comes in silver and gold varieties. Both are obtained as gifts from the feline visitors as thanks for your hospitality, but goldfish are rarer.

Therefore, there is also an option to make in-app purchases to get more goldfish. Additionally, the shop allows the two types of fish to be converted back and forth. Bonus fish can be earned once a day by inputting a password found on the news menu. The Catbook keeps track of every cat that has visited the yard, and details statistics such as the cats’ personalities, the goodies they’ve interacted with most, and how many times they’ve stopped by. If you check in while a cat is interacting with one of your goodies, you can take a photo of that cat that will be added to their individual in-game photo album.

You can also take a picture of the whole yard at once, which will be saved to your device and can be uploaded to Twitter from the game. A favorite picture can then be added to that cat’s profile in the Catbook. A cat that has played in your yard many times may leave you a rare memento as a sign of friendship. Collected mementos are displayed both on the profile of the cat that gave them and in a menu that shows every memento you’ve obtained.