The Animal Crossing games are arguably some of the most popular and iconic games that Nintendo has ever released. This could be due to the games' comforting soundtrack and calming gameplay with the older games providing a sense of nostalgia for gamers that grew up playing the games.
The first Animal Crossing game simply titled Animal Crossing was initially released in Japan in 2001. Since there have been a number of spin-offs, some of the most popular include City Folk which came out on the Wii in 2008, Wild World, and New Leaf, which were released on the Nintendo DS in 2005 and 2012. Throughout the games, there have been a number of Easter eggs linking each game to one another as well as subtle nods to other games created by Nintendo.
10 New Horizons Alien Broadcast
An interesting yet unforgettable aspect of the popular 2012 Animal Crossing: New Leaf was the inclusion of aliens. On Sundays and Mondays when playing New Leaf at 3:33 am precisely, a strange alien broadcast would play on the TV in the game showing static and UFO, an interesting addition to the game and perhaps suggesting that something stranger is going on in the Animal Crossing Universe. This however was not the first hint about aliens in the Animal Crossing Games. The first suggestion was actually in the 2005 Wild World game where players could use a slingshot to shoot a UFO from the sky. This feature was also included in the 2008 game City Folk.
This interesting feature was removed from the games that followed New Leaf and was nowhere to be found. It seemed Nintendo had forgotten about this strange Easter egg in the series, that was until Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released in March 2020. This strange broadcast suddenly returned to the franchise, with the strange 3:33 am broadcasts from New Leaf returning in the exact same way. This could have been to give players a nod to the older games or could mean something deeper and be hinting at something else that is involved with the Animal Crossing games.
9 Splatoon References In New Horizons
Animal Crossing New Horizons is littered with references to the Splatoon games. These references are subtle and embedded in dialog but once players begin to notice these references to other games, they become increasingly obvious. The references to Splatoon are found when players catch a squid in the game.
When catching a squid, the player character will exclaim either, 'I caught a squid, it is off the hook!' or 'I caught a squid, I had an inkling I might!'. Obviously referring to the squid characters in Splatoon. When donating to the museum, Blathers may also make a reference to the game by stating, 'How would we resolve differences? Perhaps some sort of ink-squirting contest of champions?' clearly referring to the ink-related combat present within the Splatoon games.
8 The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina
It is almost impossible for gamers to see or hear of an ocarina without thinking of the iconic Zelda game, The Ocarina of Time. An ocarina much like the one found in the Nintendo 64 game can be crafted in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a clear nod to the fellow Nintendo game series.
The adorable ocarina is a craftable item in the game and can be held by players like a tool. When pressing A, the ocarina produces musical notes for players to enjoy. The recipe for the ocarina can be obtained by buying the DIY for Beginners book from Nook's Cranny. This will give players the recipe, all that is needed after that is five pieces of clay and a DIY bench to create the instrument.
7 Tokata's Song
Tokatas song is a short melody that doubles as a multi-game Easter egg featuring in many of the Animal Crossing games as well as a number of Mario and Zelda games. The simple 8-bar jingle first appeared in Nintendo games in X a 1990 game released on the Game Boy. In Animal Crossing, Tokatas Song was first included in Wild World where players can request that KK Slider performs the song.
The jingle acts almost as a trademark for Nintendo sound designer Kazumi Tokata who included the melody in most of the games he has worked on. Even if it is a subtle jingle or a featured song like in Animal Crossing, Tokatas Song can be found in a surprising amount of Nintendo games.
6 The Hylian Loach In The Original Animal Crossing
Even from the very first Animal Crossing game, there are references to other Nintendo classics. When fishing in the game players can catch a range of different fish, when players catch a roach, their character will exclaim, 'I caught a loach! You don't suppose it's Hylian do you?'
This is a reference to the Hyrule Loach that players could catch in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This fish became known among Nintendo fans as incredibly hard to catch, perhaps this is why the famous fish even made its way into Animal Crossing.
5 Nintendo Console References In New Horizons
After cars and vehicles were added to the game as objects, it did not take players long to notice the clever Easter egg that Nintendo had decided to sneak in. If players place one of the in-game cars onto their island and look closely at the registration plate, references to other Nintendo consoles can be spotted.
For example, the Luxury Car in the game has the plate number, N6J 0914 which is a nod to the Game Cube which was released on the 14th of September 2001. This registration number 0914 is clearly referring to the release date of another iconic Nintendo Console. Other cars also have numbers referring to other consoles such as the iconic N64.
4 Kiki The Cat Villager
KiKi is a villager who has been in the game since its very beginning, appearing in every release within the series since its launch in 2001. Interestingly, the villager is a reference to the 1991 Studio Ghibli film, Kiki's Delivery Service.
This is clear in her design which is obviously inspired by the film's main character, Kiki's cat, Jiji. Interestingly, her name is also a small joke with Kiki meaning caviar in Japanese, referring to a cat's love for snacking on fish.
3 Two Days Ago
The K.K. Slider songTwo Days Ago is filled with references. The first one is the cover for the in-game track which has a striking resemblance to the album With The Beatles by The Beatles. Many of the albums in the game have covers similar to real-life ones.
The song's name is also a reference to The Beatles' song Yesterday as it is called Two Days Ago, as opposed to Yesterday which would be one day ago. Finally, the song shares some melodies with other songs created by the iconic group including I Am The Walrus and Let it Be.
2 Super Sentai Reference
The famous Power Rangers, television series actually originated in Japan, under the name Super Sentai. Nintendo and Animal Crossing are known for referencing Japanese pop culture in the in-game items and furniture, however, this popular series was referenced in the game through villagers.
The villagers Kid Cat, Agent S, Big Top, and Rocket are seen wearing the iconic colors of the Power Rangers and are wearing numbers suggesting they too are part of a team.
1 Villager Names
Of the hundreds of villagers in the game, a wide range of them act as references or have jokes in their names. Food references and jokes relating to the villagers' species are some of the most common. Angus the cow, Elmer the horse, and Rasher the pig are a few of the villagers with more morbid names, their names referring to products their animal is used for in real life.
Some less morbid examples include Fauna the fawn, Emilia the bird which is a reference to Emilia Airheart, and Hamphrey the hamster which plays on the name Humphry and the word hamster. Players can discover a huge range of Easter eggs, references, and jokes by discovering all the villagers in the game. There is a wide range of Easter eggs to uncover within the Animal Crossing series and players can not wait to see what more there is to discover.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on the Nintendo Switch.