Not including spin offs, New Horizons will be the first Animal Crossing game in eight years, and it seems like fans have gone delirious after such a dry spell.
Admit it though, seeing people celebrating cartoon knees like they’ve just seen their favourite player score a hat-trick, touchdown or whatever against their biggest rivals — or something normal people find exciting — has probably gotten you a little bit curious.
With that in mind, this beginners guide talks you through the basics of Animal Crossing, including what it is, how it’s played, and why people care so darn much about knees.
Who is Tom Nook (and why should you be afraid of him)?
If you’re familiar with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you’ll be aware of a couple of Animal Crossing characters: Villager (the player character), and Isabelle.
The Shih Tzu secretary debuted in the previous Animal Crossing game, New Leaf, and became an instant fan favourite. We’ll meet her in more depth later in this guide, but all you need to know for now is that she was as close as the series got to having a mascot, even running an official Twitter account.
Recently though, this Twitter account has been taken over by Tom Nook, a tanuki who fills Animal Crossing veterans with both dread and begrudging respect.
You know those lovely, high-definition kneecaps? Well, he’s here to break them.
In the original Animal Crossing games, Tom Nook was just a simple business tanuki. He owned the town shop, and you and he existed in perfect harmony. By 2012’s New Leaf though, he’d moved up in the world. No longer just a shopkeeper, Nook had moved into the world of real estate as he climbed the entrepreneurial ladder.
When you first arrive in town, Nook greets you with a smile and gives you a house… before demanding 19,800 Bells from you. Bells, of course, being legal tender in Animal Crossing. The only hitch is you only have 1,000 Bells on you right now, so you have to work off your debt.
Oh, and every time you clear the debt, Nook comes along and whacks an extension on your house… for a fee, obviously.
In New Horizons, rather than a house, you’ve instead bought a vacation getaway package from Nook. You’ll start out on a private, uninspiring island, and slowly you’ll spruce it up and new characters will arrive.
All while you struggle to pay back Tom Nook.
Hells Bells
This ‘work’ that you have to do to keep Nook off your back is actually the bread and butter of Animal Crossing.
As a non-linear, real-time life simulator, the game trades on relaxation. Despite the constant and slightly too close to home pressure to pay off your mortgage, Animal Crossing is a largely tranquil experience. You explore the village — in New Horizons, your island — freely, completing a wide array of tasks like fossil hunting, bug catching, chopping down trees, planting gardens, and fishing.
The tasks on offer change with the real life seasons, while the things to do in your village change with the real life time, offering variety for long term play. There’s even still a massive community keeping up their villages from 2012’s New Leaf.
There is no real way to win in Animal Crossing, but then there’s no real way to lose either, which is where the appeal comes in.
Animal Crossing's Key Characters
Aside from Tom Nook, there are a few other key characters you need to know to fully get to grips with Animal Crossing. The previous game, New Leaf, had 333, while New Horizons is set to have another 50 to take it up to a nice, round 383.
Despite the plethora of species, the player character can only be human, which continues to be a contentious issue for the community. Among the townsfolk themselves though, we see a lot of variety, with the three below just a snapshot of what Animal Crossing has to offer.
Isabelle
As briefly touched on before, Isabelle is your secretary in New Leaf, and has become an iconic figure in the franchise despite only appearing in a single game. She’s by your side constantly and always there to help out, meaning your journey is always shared with her.
She’s confirmed for New Horizons, though her role will likely change slightly, making her more independent.
KK Slider
Taylor Swift probably has a KK Slider poster in her bedroom. Two dogs might not sell the variety the game has, but it was impossible not to put these two in the spotlight.
The voice of a generation, Slider is an acoustic guitar-playing Jack Russel and is based on famous Nintendo composer (and voice of Yoshi) Kazumi Totaka. He’s also a very good dog.
Original artwork by visual development artist Sally Kang. Find more of her amazing work here.
Mayor Tortimer
Tortimer has been part of Animal Crossing since the first game, serving as the mayor until New Leaf, when you took his place. He’s still in New Leaf though, sauntering about town slowly. He’s even been known to run aerobics sessions on Sunday mornings.
The problem though is you might have already missed your chance to meet him. The most recent Nintendo Direct showed a headstone near a tree, leading many to speculate that Tortimer has gone the way of Monty Python’s parrot. He will be missed.
An Island Divided
As you might expect, Animal Crossing’s nature means it’s a peaceful game for peaceful people.
BTS-army style screams at the most banal of features aside, with a lack of competition or meta, the fan base largely gets along. There is one issue which deeply divides the community, however: should the townsfolk be jerks?
If Animal Crossing: New Horizons is set to be your first Animal Crossing experience then, Tom Nook’s debt collection aside, you can expect that most of the characters will be sweet, cheerful and chipper throughout your time on the island.
New Leaf was a largely similar affair, but in the earlier games, the animals were mean. The cats had claws, and so did everyone else.
Though the general, relaxing tone existed in the original title, the animals were much more sarcastic, dismissive and generally had an air of ‘you can’t sit with us’ smugness about them.
For some reason, a lot of players miss this attitude, but the fact that the biggest war in the fanbase is over whether the NPCs should be very nice or just kinda nice tells you all you need to know about Animal Crossing.
Still, it’s probably for the best that you read the whole guide, not just the final paragraph!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons lands on Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2020. Check out our review by following the link below!
Does Animal Crossing New Horizons meet the expectations of the franchise fans? With great new features and the basic principles, let's take a look at this long-awaited game from Nintendo Switch.
Images courtesy of Nintendo.
