There are plenty of iconic Animal Crossing characters that are easily recognizable, but Tom Nook is one of the more well-known ones. Unlike Isabelle, Tom Nook has been with the series from day one, helping the player find and earn a place to stay in the new town they've moved to. In the original GameCube release, he gave fans a head start by telling them about the townsfolk and providing other tutorials as a way to make the debt they've found themselves owing easier to swallow. This was a great way to combine basic work tasks with learning how Animal Crossing itself worked.
As long as the cozy social simulation franchise has been around, so has the idea that Tom Nook is bleeding the player's well-earned bells dry. He gives fans mortgages on their homes in every Animal Crossing game with no deadlines, but it may come from house upgrades being one of the only progression methods. When one debt is paid off, just walking into a room where fans can find Nook will trigger cutscenes where the next is put into place. Players may enjoy seeing him as a mean-spirited capitalist due to this, but this may be exactly what Tom Nook wants fans to believe. On his birthday of May 30, it's worth looking at how Tom Nook's greedy nature is simply a facade, with a generous creature hiding behind this deliberate act.
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Tom Nook Doesn't Mind Being Seen as a Capitalist Villain
Nintendo's quirky game about animal neighbors has evolved over time in many ways. Its shift in focus toward interior design compared to its more societal aspects can be felt between games, for example. Another one of the changes between titles is the subtle ways that the passage of time impacts Animal Crossing's staple characters. With some characters, like Sable of the Abel Sisters, adjustments have been hit-or-miss, but many appreciate how Tom Nook has steadily grown his business over time to where he now runs Nook Inc., which handles the Deserted Island Getaway Package in New Horizons.
It's nice to see a success story like this unfold, but of course, Tom Nook couldn't do it without the profits he earned from the players and other customers. Sometimes, in the older games, other villagers would gossip about Nook and his practices behind his back. It's oddly similar to what real-world fans say regarding Tom Nook, albeit maybe less scathing, as the games are Rated E. Nook is rather aware of what people say about him, however, and doesn't mind the idea of being seen as a greedy raccoon for the unity such a thing provides people.
In Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, players have a chance to make a house for him. Once it's done, if fans speak to Tom, he does address the long-standing idea that he lacks compassion and will make good on his promise to send the "raccoon goons" after those that don't pay up. Here, he confesses that he donates a considerable amount of the Bells players earn to orphanages while saying that he aims to teach a lesson about debts. Tom wishes for people to understand how important debts are, and that he'll allow himself to be made into a villain as much as it takes for that lesson to sink in.
With this in mind, everything comes full circle. Tom Nook can either be a kind or an unforgiving creditor to the player as long as the core lesson of his character, the importance of debts, is something his customer walks away with. Even with how Animal Crossing has changed in many ways, this part of Tom Nook has remained and even adapted to fan feedback. This portrayal helps him remain as one of the most important members of Animal Crossing's large NPC roster, and there's a chance his story may evolve even further. After all, Animal Crossing as a series has allowed him to progress from Nook's Cranny to Nook's Inc. Wherever he goes next, he'll still find a way to teach players how important it is to stay on top of debt while also remaining kind to even those who only want to see his greed.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- March 20, 2020
- ESRB
- Everyone / Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Expansions
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
