One of Nintendo's most successful franchises is the Animal Crossing series that includes social simulation games. Installments like Wild World and New Horizons have been noted for their open-ended gameplay and world-building activities that take place in real time.

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Given the global reach the games have had on Nintendo consoles, Animal Crossing has drawn a cult fanbase. Among these fans, it is only the truly dedicated ones that would know interesting tidbits in the online gameplay along with the behind-the-scenes buzz.

New Horizons Became A Platform For Hong Kong Protests

An island from Animal Crossing New Horizons featuring a mat reading Free Hong Kong

In 2020, publications like BBC reported that Animal Crossing: New Horizons was removed from online Chinese marketplaces as some players used the game as a platform for Hong Kong protests. Players added anti-China banners and posters reading "Free Hong Kong" to their islands, condemning the likes of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Despite the game's ban in Chinese territories, the moment showed the possibility of holding virtual protests in a post-pandemic world. This isn't the first time the game has been political as New Horizons has had several brand tie-ins like Joe Biden's presidential campaign.

The Concept Of The Games Was Inspired By Katsuya Eguchi's Younger Days

Split images of Katsuya Eguchi smiling in front of a laptop and the cover art for Animal Crossing

As mentioned in a feature on Nintendo LifeAnimal Crossing head honcho Katsuya Eguchi based Animal Crossing on his experience of moving from his native place Chiba Prefecture to Kyoto. At the age of 21, he migrated to the big city with hopes of working at Nintendo's Headquarters.

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A decade after working on Nintendo games like Super Mario Bros 3 and Star Wing, Eguchi created a game that recreated the feeling of moving to a new city and starting a new life altogether. This is reflected in creating and settling on new islands in Animal Crossing.

Wild World Received An Anime Film Adaptation

A ninja stretching out his hand and looking at a girl in Animal Crossings (film)

Dōbutsu no Mori aka Animal Crossing: The Movie was an official anime movie adaptation of the games released in 2006. Retaining themes from Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing: Wild World, the movie revolves around an 11-year-old girl who visits a new village and befriends animal characters.

While it was produced by Nintendo, the movie was distributed in Japan by Toho which is otherwise most popular for producing some of the best Godzilla movies. Not many Animal Crossing fans might have watched this adaptation as it was released only in Japan.

New Horizons Is The Second Highest-Selling Switch Game

A human character in an office in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Since the time of its release, New Horizons has been the biggest success in the franchise and even ranks as the second best-selling Switch game of 2021. Sales increased in the course of the COVID pandemic with NBC even calling it "the coronavirus distraction that we need."

Virtual trips to islands and making new friends and communities proved to be an exciting experience for those who were trapped in times of social isolation.

Multiple Legend Of Zelda References Can Be Found In The First Game

Split images of Anju's skirt and Anju from Legend of Zelda and Link standing in front of the Master Sword in Animal Crossing

One of Nintendo's best franchises is The Legend of Zelda games, elements of which are subtly referenced in the Animal Crossing series. For instance, Gulliver says that he lost his fish in Hyrule in the first Animal Crossing game. Legend of Zelda fans would identify Hyrule as the medieval based-fantasy settlement in the series.

Additionally, there are name drops of Hyrulean loach (a kind of fish) and Hyrulean prisons. The outfits in the first installment also include Anju's Shirt and Kaffee's Shirt while the Master Sword also appears as an item.

The Game's Composer Also Voiced KK Slider And Mario's Yoshi

Split images of a composer Kazuki Totaka and KK Slider playing a guitar in Animal Crossing

Kazuki Totaka has served as the sound designer music composer for many an Animal Crossing game. He's such a regular member of the franchise that even the character KK Slider bears similarities with him. Slider's Japanese name Tokakeke and its similarity with "Totaka" is a case in point. Further, the Animal Crossings dog is an avid music buff and can often be seen playing the guitar.

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Interestingly, Totaka has also voiced the character in the games. In fact, Totaka's voice-acting credits also include the dinosaur Yoshi and other Super Mario characters like Professor E Gadd and Birdo.

Villagers in Animal Crossing New Horizons

Since 2008's Super Smash Bros Brawl, the Super Smash Bros franchise has been featuring elements from Animal Crossing as well as its main characters. In Brawl, one of the stages is the animal village called "Smashville" which keeps on changing its appearance according to the Wii system clock. This is a clear reference to the transient, clock-driven nature of Animal Crossing's gameplay.

The so-called "Villagers" from the franchise also appear as playable characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Fan-favorite Isabelle also appears as a fighter in Ultimate.

The First Game Was Originally Released For The N64

Cover art for the first Animal Crossing game

North American gamers would remember Animal Crossing as a GameCube classic but the original version was launched for the Nintendo 64 in Japan. Released in April 2001, Dōbutsu no Mori (that translates to "Animal Forest") was supposedly designed for the 64DD floppy drive on the N64. But with 64DD's failure in Japan, the game was released for the regular N64.

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This was then ported to the GameCube Advance as Dōbutsu no Mori+ in December of the same year. It is this enhanced version that was officially sold as Animal Crossing in territories like North America and Europe.

Literature References Include Shakespeare And Dan Brown

A key stuck behind a Vitruvian Man painting

Dramatic monologues are a quintessential element of several Shakespeare plays and their movie adaptations. One classic example is the "this royal throne of kings" speech from Richard II which has been reinterpreted in several ways ever since. Even Flick's 5-star evaluation of any of the player's islands in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a parodied version of the monologue.

Another literary reference in Animal Crossings is related to Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick as one of Kapp'n's sea shanties goes like, "Ahoy there, Moby Dick! Ye wanna stop rockin' the boat?" Coming back to New Horizons, a key is taped to the back of duplicates of the Academic Painting of Vitruvian Man, a practice observed in the Dan Brown mystery The Da Vinci Code.

The Creators Worked On Other Nintendo Properties

A character in Splatoon 3 shoots a point-filled arrow

Animal Crossing was the brainchild of Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami, both of whom had considerable experience with Nintendo games before launching their magnum opus. Eguchi started out with designing Super Mario Bros 3 and directing the iconic 3D rail shooter Star Fox 2. He also went on to direct other installments of these franchises like Star Fox 2, Yoshi's Story, and so on.

Nogami has also been involved with these two franchises but his post-Animal Crossings character mainly included producing the Splatoon franchise.

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