Animal Crossing is a social simulation game, dubbed a 'communication game' by Nintendo. It is open-ended, and the player's character can live a separate life with very little set plot or mandatory tasks.Players assume the role of a new resident to the town. The gender and looks of the character depend on answers given to a cat named Rover, whom the player meets on the train the character. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a simulation game that gives you mayoral or town representative powers over an island community full of animals. That means you can make decisions for your animal compatriots, such as what your town theme song will be, what your town flag will look like, and where your new animal neighbors will put their houses once they move in. Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo and created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In Animal Crossing, the player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals, carrying out various activities such as fishing, bug catching, and fossil hunting. Animal Crossing has become a global phenomenon, and as a result, dedicated creators have designed special Animal Crossing stuffed animals for all to enjoy. Here's a list of our favorites!
Give us a nice thing, and we shall ruin it!
It's been less than a month since Animal Crossing: New Horizonsgraced the world with its wholesome presence. The delightful island-set, sandbox game from Nintendo has inspired stunning user creations, beautiful fan art, and heartfelt homages to other pop culture worlds we love.
But it has also brought out the cursed, the horrid, and the truly terrifying.
There are the atrocities we've committed, like trapping our neighbors, attacking visitors with axes, and amassing huge collections of tarantulas to sell to children for profit. And then there are the institutional terrors: the unexplained mysteries and disturbing evidence indicating a seedy underbelly to the 'paradise' we've come to call our own.
From haunting speculation to alarmingly believable explanations, here are 9 of the darkest ACNH fan theories to ruin the last escape any of us have.
9. K.K. Slider is an unabashed nudist.
if all the other animals wear clothes why the fuck did kk slider pull up to my island butt naked
— koo (@acnhtofu) April 6, 2020
Turns out, K.K. Slider brought his clout — and his junk — to liven up your island.
As numerous Animal Crossing lovers have observed, the world renowned musician (the importance of whose arrival structures a good portion of initial gameplay) rolls up to players' neighborhoods wearing zero clothing. While you and your neighbors don shoes, socks, pants, shirts, hats, backpacks, and more, this pup is rolling in 100 percent pure K.K. Dude isn't even wearing a collar.
Yes, his most important 'bits' are covered by his guitar.. but his arrivals and departures must provide some sort of peek behind the curtain. Is that why everyone loves him? Is that why Tom Nook loves him? Is that what 'The K Funk' really means??
8. Every 'free' gift you get carries a terrible, inescapable curse.
Are they cursed? They're definitely cursed#AnimalCrossing#ACNH#NintendoSwitchpic.twitter.com/FynFIPnpd1
— ⋐Brebstik⋑ (@Brebclips) April 10, 2020
For a faraway island with limited resources, Animal Crossing sure does offer you a lot of free stuff. But what if those items come at a terrible cost?
Of course, no one can prove a direct correlation between present acceptance and bad in-game luck. Still, it does seem like once you're handed an awesome addition for your house — a record player, a neon sign, a tasteful bidet, etc. — your resource collecting goes straight to shit. It's sort of a Monkey's Paw situation. (No offense to Tammi, Monty, Simon, and the like.)
7. Gulliver is the victim of multiple murder attempts.
Gulliver, I should let the tide take you. #AnimalCrossing#ACNHpic.twitter.com/BoX1J2KweH
— Your🏳️🌈Friend🐥Thaum! (@ThaumPenguin) April 10, 2020
Plenty of us have gotten blackout drunk, fallen off a ship, and washed up on the shores of a mysterious island. But no one does that once every few days!
Whether you enjoy helping Gulliver reassemble his communicator or find his repeat presence a nuisance, you have to admit there is something very suspicious about what's happening to this seagull. Not only do his shipmates never seem eager to pick him up, they don't appear to have come up with any system to avoid his 'accidents' in the first place. It's all highly suspect.
6. Tom Nook is a loan shark and he's coming for you.
the rhetoric of tom nook as predatory loan shark is totally disconnected from reality. the man will approve literally anyone for a zero interest home loan which you absolutely don't have to pay off, and if you want to you can do it by selling him trash that washes up on the beach
— shut up, xavier (@XavierRN) April 11, 2020
As the old saying goes: Well-behaved raccoons seldom make history.
Although players serve as the most influential townspeople in ACNH, there's no denying sugar daddy Tom Nook is the one who makes island living possible. He provides critical explanations, assigns crucial tasks, and gives out hefty loans with limited concern for having them recouped. You can get upgrades and home expansions worth thousands — just pay it back whenever!
And yet, we can't help but worry that some day that 'understanding' will catch up to us. What happens when you let too many bells hang over your head? Does your furniture get repossessed? Do Timmy and Tommy refuse to sell you to you? Does Tom show up with a wooden-block chair, some extra tight Bunny Day Glow Garland, and a flimsy baseball bat to teach you a lesson?! Yikes.
5. Isabelle has a drinking problem.
Isabelle stop drinking booze in the middle of the day. You have a problem! #AnimalCrossing#ACNHpic.twitter.com/epnyx9Wahz
— The Great Clement (@ClementJ64) April 5, 2020
Every morning, the inhabitants of ACNH receive local news updates from Isabelle — a franchise favorite and member of the Resident Services staff whose life teeters on the verge of collapse.
It seems the charming Shih Tzu can't make it through a single broadcast without the courage provided to her by a mysterious brown beverage. OK, it could be iced tea, soda, or watered-down coffee. But one would think even a sip of caffeine would keep her train of thought more on track. She gets distracted, confused, and hopelessly lost nearly every morning.
What's more, there's little to indicate Isabelle has it together outside of her daily updates. Does she ever change clothes? Does she ever go home? Why did she come here? What is she hiding??
4. Your island is a simulation from which you cannot escape.
Animal crossing conspiracy theory confirmed!Tom Nook has you in some sort of 'TRUMAN SHOW' scenario where everyone has to act around you, your the star of a show, and the only one unaware is you. The show is actually for you irl and no one else unless someone else is watching! pic.twitter.com/HesoQUsujl
— Frosted Fricks! (@FrostedFricks) April 1, 2020
What if you're the only resident experiencing this island as reality?
In a haunting-yet-delightful conspiracy theory posted to Twitter, one player detailed their belief that Tom Nook has set up a Truman Show-like simulation where everyone is actor but you. The theorist didn't speculate on Tom's motivation, but it's easy enough to imagine.
Everything About Animal Crossing New Horizons
We've never seen anyone else spending bells, and the bells we get back from Timmy and Tommy are our own. We're just bank rolling this entire operation. How did we even get here? What happened to our families? Can we escape or is this just life now?!
3. The Nook economy is built on child labor and they need our help.
with timmy and tommy running the main goods store and daisy mae running the stock market, inexplicably, children essentially control a large share of the economy in animal crossing new horizons
— Pagliacci the Unkillable Fool (@clown_depot) March 29, 2020
This one isn't a fan theory. It's a fact. Timmy and Tommy, two of ACNH's most reliable vendors, are children. Daisy Mae, the sole keeper of the Turnip Stock Market, is also a child.
SEE ALSO: Nintendo confirms Mr. Resetti lost his job thanks to 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons'
Under the control of Tom Nook and Daisy Mae's off-screen 'grandmother,' these kiddos are responsible for the majority of retail labor on our islands. Open everyday from 8 a.m. Movavi com vc buy. to 10 p.m., Timmy and Tommy's 'Nook's Cranny' doesn't even allow for breaks. There are laws to protect against this kind of injustice. We just have to make a case to Nintendo.
2. Something very, very bad happened to Curlos.
Guys I don't think Curlos is okay from AnimalCrossing
Curlos, a smug sheep with exceptional taste in rain gear, is one of the more pleasant villagers to welcome onto your island — but a disturbing conversation surrounding his workout plan has one Redditor concerned. Why was he screaming? Does he even have a basement? Oh, Curlos.
1. Zipper T. Bunny will have his revenge.
Thinking about how Zipper T Bunny probably hand painted all those eggs and hid them all over our islands and we all respond by whacking him with bug nets whenever we see him
— Loey 💖 (@Loeybug) April 5, 2020
Since Bunny Day hype began at the beginning of April, Animal Crossing malcontents have harassed one Zipper T. Bunny with unrelenting cruelty. There have been insults, net attacks, and memes. So many memes. Mashable staff writer Jess Joho even claims to have murdered him.
But there are those who believe Zipper T. will have his revenge. No one really knows what April 12 Bunny Day will bring. We hope for fun festivities. We fear the worst. All hail, Zipper T. Remember some of us did nothing wrong and actually liked all the eggs.
it's actually a little known fact that if you don't craft enough Bunny Day items by Sunday, Zipper comes into your home at 3am and kills you
Blender computer program. — fm synthesis stan (@samholtzen) April 10, 2020
Since the release of the first Animal Crossingon the Nintendo 64/GameCube way back in 2001, Katsuya Eguchi's beloved, open-ended, social simulation game has been lauded for being a peaceful space where players can connect with one another and create experiences that are tranquil and…
You what? Animal Crossing is none of these things. Let us tell you what Animal Crossing is. It is the most messed up, dystopian hellscape Ninty have ever put their name to; full of cannibals, mutants, inappropriate sea turtles, ghosts, tax barons, massive testicles and some weird religious stuff that we've just thought about that's really freaked us out.
With the latest game in the series, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, due on the Switch this March 20th, we thought we'd take a scalpel and cut open this beguiling monster, pulling its diseased heart out and raising it towards the sun. What follows are five reasons why the Animal Crossing series should be locked in a stony tomb and forgotten about, forever…
IT'S A GAME THAT REVOLVES AROUND A BIN DWELLING LANDBARRON
The first character you meet when you boot up Animal Crossing is Tom Nook. He looks nice. He is, after all, a racoon, and aren't racoons adorable? That'll be racoons who are the U.S.A's biggest carrier of rabies; according to the Center for Disease Control, the masked bandits account for 28.6% of all animal rabies reports. Or ask the 82-year-old New Jersey man who, just last September, was left with gaping wounds in his back, legs and arms after a racoon attacked him while he was sitting in his yard. No, take our word for it. Tom Nook is a total dick.
It's never explained how Nook came to be Animal Crossing's sole trader, but we can bet you that broken windows and intimidation played a part. There are serious Mafioso vibes at play here. First, he offers you a home – unfurnished, obviously – putting you in debt from the moment you start the game. Then he'll offer to sell you furniture – for an inflated price – but to get it you'll have to deal with Timmy and Tommy, two-child raccoons, the relationship of which to Tom is never established.
Child labour was abolished in the UK in 1933. In Animal Crossing the fight goes on. And think about all those packages you're asked to deliver in the game, no questions ask. This guy is running a racket. Can we mention the widely held belief that Tom Nook isn't a racoon at all – but a human in a racoon suit?
'We think he is very misunderstood,' one of the game's two directors, Aya Kyogoku, told Kotaku back in 2013. 'He's just passionate about his business. He's not like a loan shark. He doesn't add a handling fee or anything like that. He can wait as long as it takes for you to pay back. He's not as bad as other people might think he is…' Note that in early Animal Crossing games Tom will ‘joke' about sending some cousins of his to see you if you haven't made a down-payment on your house in a while. Nintendo has actually worked to make the character less aggressive in recent years.
Incidentally, Tom isn't based on any regular racoon, but the Japanese Tanuki racoon dog. In Japanese folklore said creature is depicted as a shapeshifter, a prankster – and is known for having massive, magical testicles (maybe the answer as to why Mario can put on a Tanuki suit and fly in Super Mario 3 has finally been found). Just think of that next time you turn over all your hard-earned bells to the Nookster.
IT'S NOT JUST A GAME. IT'S A CAPITALIST FANTASY
2017's iOS/Android game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a fun bite-sized appropriation of the series bigger games. It's also the perfect microcosm of the fragility of friendship. Here you make friends by doing things for them, always being rewarded with goods or cash. Nobody ever just wants to hang out.
And of course, just like in the real world, cash is king. You can get a jump on your progress in the game via the digital leprosy that is microtransactions. And who is running said online trading post? Tom Nook, obviously, who is depicted lying in a bath of banknotes, like he's f***ing Tupac. Oh, we should note that you can literally buy him – like the greediest of Comic-Con alumni, 250 leaf tickets and he's all yours.
But Animal Crossing has never been shy about showcasing its capitalist ideals. This is, after all, a game where resources aren't limited and are never in decline. Running short on cash? Go chop down a forest and sell the lumber (and while we're on an environmental tip, what kind of fertilizer peppers this land's soil – these trees grow back in days!). Hungry? Why not empty the ocean of fish; eat them yourself or sell them on, there are no fishing quotas here!
As you read this, in the real world, the earth finds itself in the grip of a climate emergency. And yet, if we carried on like the inhabitants of Animal Crossing do, then… well, look out for Nintendo's forthcoming Mad Max/Animal Crossing crossover forthwith.
IT'S A GAME WITH TERRIFYING POSIBILITES FOR EVOLUTION
It is Russia. The year is 1920-something. And the controversial scientist Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov has just impregnated three female chimpanzees with human sperm. His aim? To create the world's first human-chimp hybrid, the ‘Humanzee'. He fails. Is banished to exile in the Kazakh, SSR. Then in 1932 he dies of a stroke, his crazed vision unfulfilled. Hey, everyone needs a hobby.
And the relevance of this to Animal Crossing is? Well, think about it. This is a game filled with many different types of animals – and just one human. Who will keep you warm on cold, wintery nights? It's only human to want to be loved…
While we're at it, what's the deal with Stitches, the game's nightmarish stitched together teddy bear? Or Sprocket (who we think is a robotic ostrich)? Or Ribbot (a robotic frog)? Or, God forbid, Hopkins – an inflatable rabbit! More so, dare we even consider how these unnatural creations came to be?
IT'S A GAME THAT DOESN'T KNOW WHETHER TO BE FRIENDS WITH ANIMALS. OR EAT THEM
It's a conundrum that's plagued humanity from the very moment someone drew a cute anthropomorphic chicken. We speak of course, of the uneasy relationship between wanting cute animal motifs in our lives – and tasty animal meat on our plate. This is a problem that bothers the Animal Crossing verse, also. This is a world where nature's apex predators, creatures like wolf and bear, live peacefully with rabbits and deer.
But why, pray tell, are some animals anthropomorphised and some not? This is a game in which you can keep a caged bird – and invite a bigger bird over for tea. Where you can eat a squid – and share it with your octopus neighbour. AND NOBODY GIVES A S**T! EVERYONE JUST THINKS THIS IS NORMAL! None of this is quite as dystopian as those real-world animatronic pigs who chop sausages in the window of high street butchers – but it runs them close.
We sort of want to talk about Chadder, a character in the game who appears to be a mouse, only made out of cheese – but frankly, we're exhausted.
THIS IS A SERIES WITH CREEPYNESS AT ITS VERY CORE
You barely have to look for creepiness in Animal Crossing; it's there everywhere you look. Explain the character Coco to us, a character who appears to be a rabbit – only wrapped tightly in bandages, a bit like some horrifically disfigured burns victim – with coal-black holes for eyes and a mouth, meaning her head looks not unlike a mask one of Slipknot might have worn back in the days when they didn't write wimpy ballads.
Let's not dwell on Mr. Resetti; a character that creeped so many younger players out with his agitated guilt trips about resetting the game, that Nintendo responded to the huge amount of complaints from player's parents and reworked the character.
Consider the strangeness of many of the villager's utterances. There's Pierce the eagle and his request for the player to bring him a skeleton. Sea turtle Kapp'n and his observations on the smell of your hair or uncomfortably direct inquiries about your relationship status – all whilst trapped on his boat in the middle of the ocean (sample quote: 'you look a touch queasy, do I scare you me lass?)!
But perhaps strangest of all is Annabelle's fourth-wall breaking retelling of her dream during the DS era, 'where a giant, disembodied hand keeps poking me with a stylus.' Wait, is this how Jim Carrey felt in The Truman Show?
Animal Crossing About
If both Easter (renamed Bunny Day) and Christmas (that'll be Toy Day) exist in the world of Animal Crossing, does that mean… Jesus does? Does that mean Satan does? And what about other religious deities? Is Margie the elephant actually Ganesha? Is Kyle the wolf in fact Anubis? Are we being too blasphemous yet? Or is this whole thing some kind of Jamestown cult, with Tom Nook at the heart of it? Last we checked; Tom's store Nook's Cranny was all out of Kool Aid.
Animal Crossing Download
It feels excessive to even mention that Animal Crossing has a character in it who is actually a ghost (actually a wisp, named – um – ‘Wisp'). She only appears, at between 12pm and 4am. Sure. That's not creepy. Nope. Not at all.
