SimAnimals (DS) - RetroAchievements/guides GitHub Wiki
1) Synopsis
| Set Difficulty | 4/10 |
| Approximate time to master | Unsure |
| Minimum numbers of playthroughs needed | 1 |
| Number of missable achievements | None |
2) Introduction
Hi! I made this set. This was one of my favorite games when I was a young teenager, and I played it often for many years. I'm excited to get to share this game with you! This set has no missable achievements. This is mostly going to be a strategy guide; I will explain each area, the goals you have to complete in it, which rare effect achievements can be gotten by the plants that spawn there, and some strategies to do all of those things. This set supports every available language in the EU version, plus the Korean and Japanese versions. Thank you for playing! Set and guide by: ChaoticAdventure
3) Walkthrough Links
4) Rare Plant Chart
Here is a full chart of the rare plants and what spawns them. Base plants will respawn on their own if you manage to kill all of them; every other plant in the chain must be attracted by a base plant. If a plant isn't in this chart, it doesn't attract anything and also isn't attracted by anything. The effects in the final column directly connect to the rare plant achievements.
| Area | Base | Middle | Rare | Effect |
| Tiny Creek | Sundial Lupine | Rose Bush | Luke's Dream | Increases trust |
| Tiny Creek | Maple Tree | English Marigold | Jesseroot | Makes the animal full |
| Thin Woods | Crocus | Walnut Tree | Humbleflower | Decreases trust |
| Thin Woods | Dandelion | Daffodil (sometimes bugged) | Dugganweed | Makes animals hungrier |
| Abandoned Farm | Azalea Bush | Purple Foxglove | Hungfoil | Allows prey to defend themselves against predators |
| Abandoned Farm | Blue Flax | Cherry Tree | Mark's Shimmer | Keeps the animal awake |
| Waterfall Pool | Willow Tree | Red Poppy | Lamhorn | Increases trust |
| Waterfall Pool | Chanterelle | Spiny Kataria | Makes the animal grumpy | |
| Junkyard | Juniper Bush | Forking Larkspur | Catocap | Makes the animal stinky |
| Junkyard | Fly Agaric | Sweet Tiffany | Makes the animal cowardly | |
| Big Lake | Raspberry Bush | Baby's Breath | Gary's Crate | Grows a baby into an adult |
| Big Lake | Bulrush | Marshmallow | Prestongrass | Makes the animal very happy |
| Big Lake | Purslane | Samleaf | Keeps the animal awake | |
| Abandoned Cabin | Panther Cap | Justinstem | Makes the animal leave the area | |
| Abandoned Cabin | Pecan Tree | Cornflower | Sharp Matthew | Makes the animal full |
| Big Meadow | Apple Tree | Glasswort | Giant Magnuson | Makes the animal tired |
| Big Meadow | Honeysuckle Bush | Sweet William | Quiet Zoer | Makes the animal very happy |
| Creepy Bog | Chestnut Tree | Summer Pheasents Eye | O'Neill's Darkleaf | Makes the animal never die of old age |
| Creepy Bog | Sunflower | Birch Tree | Rawsonbane | Makes the animal friends with everyone in the area |
1: Backyard
Progression
Backyard Friends [5]
Reach maximum happiness in the Backyard and unlock Tiny Creek
Goals
Squirreling Around [5]
Complete the squirrel goals in the Backyard by petting a squirrel
A Gaze of Trash Pandas [5]
Complete the raccoon goals in the Backyard by petting a raccoon
The Backyard is essentially the tutorial area. The goals here are easy, not requiring you to see babies for either species. You won't be able to pet an animal unless it has high trust.
A note about the garden plants: which one spawns depends on your emulator clock. Yes, really. It's the only thing in the game that relies on real time, and for 100% plant completion, you need to change your clock to every season to see them all.
Squirrels eat nuts and berries.
Raccoons eat nuts, berries, and seasonal garden plants.
2: Tiny Creek
Progression
The Softly Babbling Brook [5]
Reach maximum happiness in Tiny Creek and unlock Thin Woods
Goals
A World of Fluff [10]
Complete the rabbit goals in Tiny Creek by seeing a baby rabbit
The Sweetest Serenade [10]
Complete the songbird goals in Tiny Creek by seeing a baby songbird
Rare Plant Effects
Artificial Trust [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to increase its trust in you
All-in-One Meal [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to make it feel full
This area is still somewhat of a tutorial. If you keep rose bushes planted while completing the rabbit goals, you will learn that upon unlocking a rare plant, you will get a free one immediately if you have its spawn requirement already in the area. Keep that in mind for the future - it's harder to have large amounts of some plants than others, so having one upon unlock is a good idea.
As you may have also noticed, rare plants don't always unlock at the end of the goals. In fact, some animal goals unlock two rare plants while completing them. So just be aware of that!
Rabbits eat flowering bushes, regular flowers, and weeds.
Songbirds eat nuts, berries, and bugs.
3: Tiny Woods
Progression
Into the Woods and out of the Woods [5]
Reach maximum happiness in Thin Woods and unlock the Abandoned Farm
Goals
Child of the Void [10]
Complete the crow goals in Thin Woods by seeing a baby crow
Quick Clean-Up [3]
Complete the junk goals in Thin Woods by destroying all of the junk
Rare Plant Effects
This Is Your Own Fault [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to decrease its trust in you
This area may have a bugged plant: dugganweed. Getting it won't count towards any achievements, but if you want to try, try keeping a lot of daffodils.
The main "challenge" of this area is weeds, which spawn everywhere - especially if you still have trash on the ground, but also even if you don't. Try to keep your other plants out of the dirt, where the weeds spawn more frequently. If a tree or bush is being attacked by a weed, it will show an alert above its head, so it won't be hard to notice.
Crows eat nuts, berries, and bugs.
4: Abandoned Farm
Progression
The Old Farm [5]
Reach maximum happiness in the Abandoned Farm and unlock Waterfall Pool
Goals
Prickly Escort [10]
Complete the hedgehog goals in the Abandoned Farm by seeing a baby hedgehog grow up
The Wisest Children [10]
Complete the owl goals in the Abandoned Farm by seeing owl eggs hatch
Rare Plant Effects
You Can Fight Back! [2]
Feed a prey animal a special plant to help it defend itself against predators
Give the Squirrels Caffeine [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to reduce its need for sleep
This area is the first one I would call "hard". This is for two reasons:
- You now have one animal that's awake at night, and one that's awake during the day.
- One of your animals is a predator.
Managing sleep can get difficult. There's some overlap, which means that hedgehogs coming out of their homes in the morning can get eaten by owls. Of course, any hedgehog sleeping on the ground can also get eaten. You can cheat a bit by putting them in your bag for the night if you're worried - but they also won't age while they're in there, so you can't do this to cheat the goal of protecting a hedgehog baby until it grows up.
Getting your owls to like you can also be hard. The best strategy I've found is to catch a bunch of fish during the daytime, and then feed them until they trust you - or use a rare plant to do it for you. Animals who don't trust you won't make homes or have babies, alongside not letting you pet them. Keep this in mind for future predators, as well.
If a hedgehog is scared, try putting it next to its home. Usually that's what they want - that, or if it's a baby, to be next to their parent - so helping them get there faster is always beneficial, especially for hedgehogs, who are very slow. Keep this one in mind for the future, too.
Owls eat fish and small animals.
Hedgehogs eat bugs, berries, and mushrooms. I highly recommend bringing blackberry bushes into this area for them from somewhere else, or growing a cherry tree as fast as you can, as otherwise there isn't much for them to eat here. You may have seen an example by now of what happens if you have too many plants at once...
5: Waterfall Pool
Progression
A Rushing Waterfall [5]
Reach maximum happiness in Waterfall Pool and unlock the Junkyard
Goals
Quack! [10]
Complete the duck goals in Waterfall Pool by befriending a baby duck
An Unlikely Friendship [10]
Complete the weasel goals in Waterfall Pool by seeing a weasel befriend a duck
Rare Plant Effects
That Didn't Taste Good! [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to make it grumpy
This is kind of another predator/prey situation, but not really - weasels won't attack ducks. What they will do, though, is eat duck eggs. Though, they are bad at doing it when you want them to. The quest to have a weasel eat a duck egg is actually very difficult, because the eggs hatch really quickly. I'd suggest keeping two hungry weasels in your bag, and bringing them out right next to the nest when the eggs appear. Don't forget to take the mother duck off of the nest, too. (I promise we're not monsters, it's just nature running its course...)
Meanwhile, the duck goals are pretty easy. You may have noticed this with songbirds, but birds multiply extremely quickly. The best food source for them is going to be willow seeds - water plants are just too hard to maintain. Keep this in mind for Big Lake later...
Weasels eat fish, eggs, and bugs.
Ducks eat water plants, willow seeds, and bugs.
6: Junkyard
Progression
Nature's Reclamation [5]
Reach maximum happiness in the Junkyard and unlock Big Lake
Goals
Mephitis Mephitis [10]
Complete the skunk goals in the Junkyard by seeing a baby skunk
A Cete of Diggers [10]
Complete the badger goals in the Junkyard by befriending a baby badger
Rare Plant Effects
Ew... [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to make it stinky
Scaredy-Cat [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to make it cowardly
This area combines three previous challenges: nocturnal animals, predators and prey, and weeds. The trash is not so bad to deal with this time - if you don't want to wait for rainclouds, you can bring in lightningstorms from other areas to nuke them.
Skunks eat berries and bugs.
Badgers eat berries and small animals.
7: Big Lake
Progression
A Lesson in Plant Management [5]
Reach maximum happiness in Big Lake and unlock the Abandoned Cabin
Goals
Fluffy Feathers [10]
Complete the swan goals in Big Lake by petting a baby swan
The Ugly Duckling [10]
Complete the goose goals in Big Lake by seeing a baby goose befriend a baby swan
Rare Plant Effects
Skipping the Terrible Twos [2]
Feed a baby animal a special plant to grow it into an adult
If You're Happy and You Know It... [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to make it very happy
Big Lake has no predators. So why is it unlocked so late? It's because it is actually extremely difficult with the resources you're given. Trying to maintain the water plants when the swans and geese both have 2-3 babies each time they breed can be a real challenge, especially because you need a lot of bulrush to attract a rare plant while completing goals. Also, having too many plants at once causes thunderstorms to spawn randomly, which can wipe out fully-grown trees in one strike. I highly suggest planting a few willow trees here instead of spamming water lilies, as both animals can eat willow seeds.
Swans and geese both eat water plants and willow seeds.
8: Abandoned Cabin
Progression
Grandma's Cabin [5]
Reach maximum happiness in the Abandoned Cabin and unlock Big Meadow
Goals
Ouch! [10]
Complete the porcupine goals in the Abandoned Cabin by petting a baby porcupine
Please Don't Eat Me... [10]
Complete the fox goals in the Abandoned Cabin by seeing a baby fox befriend a baby rabbit
Rare Plant Effects
Exiled [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to force it to leave the area
Other
This Might Have Been a Mistake [2]
See an animal get injured by a porcupine
This area introduces foxes and porcupines. You need to complete a lot of fox goals before the porcupine goals even become available, so I'd suggest either catching a lot of fish during the daytime and feeding them to increase their trust, or getting a rare plant to do it for you.
The interaction that causes this optional achievement may happen on its own, but you can also force it to happen if you want. Hold a porcupine by a hungry fox and see what happens...
Foxes eat fish and small animals.
Porcupines eat nuts and berries.
9: Big Meadow
Progression
It's Just Grass [5]
Reach maximum happiness in Big Meadow and unlock Creepy Bog
Goals
Fragile Growth [10]
Complete the deer goals in Big Meadow by seeing a baby deer grow up
Beary Good Friends [10]
Complete the bear goals in Big Meadow by seeing a baby bear befriend a baby deer
Rare Plant Effects
Melatonin [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to make it fall asleep
As long as you keep your bears fed, they won't prey on the deer at all. They will eat fish on their own, as all predators do, but also snack on any berries you plant, and apples that fall off the trees.
Deer eat flowering bushes, normal flowers, and weeds.
Bears eat berries, nuts, fish, and small animals.
10: Creepy Bog
Win Condition
Happy Animals Everywhere [10]
Reach maximum happiness in Creepy Bog and beat the game!
Goals
Finally, a Pet! [10]
Complete the wolf goals in Creepy Bog by petting a baby wolf
Rare Plant Effects
Hot Singles in Your Area [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to make it friends with every other animal
You've Just Created a God [2]
Feed an animal a special plant to make it live forever
Challenge
All Animals Go to Heaven [2]
Have 5 Eternal animals in the same area
Creepy Bog can be very difficult. Its singular new animal is a predator, and there are no fish here. You can just try to maintain the duck population, but since the wolves scare the ducks even when they're sleeping, it can be very difficult to get them to stay. I mostly brought in fish from other areas to feed the wolves with. You may want to use a rare plant on the baby, as well.
The challenge achievement can be done in any area, but the plant you need comes from here. You'll need five of them, so pick out five animals who you want to live forever. Careful, though, that none of them get eaten, or get unhappy and leave...
Wolves eat fish and small animals.
100% Collection
Eighteen's a Crowd [1]
Attract every animal species at least once
The Birds and the Badgers [10]
See a baby of every animal species
Good Overlord! [25]
Make a member of every animal species very happy
Regional Guide [1]
See 50% of the plant species
Selective Breeder [5]
See 75% of the plant species
Species Discoverer [25]
See 100% of the plant species, excluding dugganweed
I said this in the Backyard section, but I'll repeat it: the garden plants that spawn in the Backyard rely on your emulator time, specifically what season it is. You'll need to change it (or wait a full year) to get all of them. I am FULLY ENDORSING time-traveling to do this.
Nothing much else to say here; refer to the chart to see how to get each plant. You should get them all in the process of getting the rare plant achievements. There is only one plant that spawns randomly that you don't need for rares, and that is witchgrass; it spawns randomly in Tiny Creek.
Outro
I hope you enjoyed the game! And my second set. Enjoy your cute mastery badge and points.