The Animal Crossing series features in a number of Nintendo games, as well as other media, making cameo appearances in games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and WarioWare: Smooth Moves.
References to other video games in Animal Crossing[]
References in Animal Crossing[]
- When talking to Gulliver, he says he might have "lost his Goldfish in Toad Town or Hyrule" which are references to Toad Town from Paper Mario and the Mario series and Hyrule from The Legend of Zelda series. Gulliver also might tell the player about the time he "fought the sea snakes at Pinnacle Rock," only to realize that it was Link (in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask) who did this. Gulliver states this by saying "Wait... that wasn't me!"
- Kapp'n rarely may sing a song about how he think Mario acts. Kapp'n also references The Legend of Zelda series in some sea shanty verses. He may say," Ever spend a night in a Hyrulian Prison?".
- When the player catches a Loach, the comment about it being Hyrulian is a reference to the rarest fish in The Legend of Zelda series, the "Hylian Loach".
- Louie is a cameo, made to look like Donkey Kong.
- There are clothes based on Anju and Kafei (misspelled as 'Kaffe') from Majora's Mask.
References in Wild World[]
- After repairing Gulliver's U.F.O, he asks the player if they have ever seen "A space fox or a bounty hunter who can roll into a ball". These are references to Fox of the Star Fox series and Samus Aran of Metroid.
Finding 10 rupees in a closet in Wild World
- Occasionally when opening a villager's drawer or closet, it will say "What are Luigi's clothes doing in here?!" Also, the drawer may say, "You found 10 rupees! Talk about lucky! Too bad you can't use them in this town..."These are references to Mario and The Legend of Zelda.
- Villagers may say, "I met this cute boy in green when visiting a distant town. He used to shoot things out of the sky with his boomerang. I wonder if Nook sells magical boomerangs, if he doesn't, then what else could we use to shoot things?" which is a reference to Link from The Legend of Zelda.
- On La-Di-Day, some residents may sing well-known themes from games, such as Super Mario, Big Brain Academy, and Yoshi's Story.
- One of the passwords say that 'Redd is 35', much like Tingle that spreads his age from Majora's Mask.
References in City Folk[]
- Through the Tom Nook Point System, Nintendo-related items are available for purchase as a reward for spending large amounts of Bells at Tom Nook's, including a Wario Hat, Peach's Parasol, Samus and Link outfits, and even a Mario Kart. For the full list, see here.
- After trading an item with a jock villager, they might say: "Raise it above your head like a trophy", which is a reference to Link's way of holding a newly obtained item, raising it above his head.
- There are also Mario items found in the game, which are part of the Mario theme. The player can get Mario items by using a slingshot when a present is overhead. There is a rare chance that the present attached is one of the items from the Mario theme.
References in New Leaf[]
- After agreeing to help Gulliver, he'll mention that he's "never met a skipper so kind since Bobbery of Rogueport". This is a reference to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
- Gulliver may say You're really amazing! Perhaps you have a link to the past with that country or something?, referring to a Zelda game A Link to the Past.
- Gulliver he sometimes says '...Gasp! Gasp I say! Am I in the Overthere?' when he wakes up. The Overthere is a place in the game Super Paper Mario.
- One of the locations Gulliver mentions having washed up on is Isle Delfino. This is a reference to Super Mario Sunshine.
- A Tingle hat can sometimes be bought from Katrina on Main Street to increase luck.
- A Triforce can be found in the stump of a tree when cut in New Leaf.
- The player can also find a Triforce on the ground near the entrance in Katrina's tent. The Triforce is a reference to The Legend of Zelda games.
- All of the items found in the Fortune Cookie are related to other Nintendo games.
- Sometimes, snooty villagers will say "I'm here today to eat prunes and yell at kids to stay off the lawn. And I'm almost out of prunes." This is a reference to the 1988 film, They Live.
References Throughout the Series[]
- When cockroaches are stepped on in a player's house, their silhouette floats up to the sky much like Pikmin do when killed in the Pikmin series.
- The song Rockin' K.K. sounds almost like the song "New Age Retro Hippie Battle" from Earthbound.
- Players can also buy "Big Bro" and "Little Bro" hats and mustaches at the Able Sisters shop; "Big Bro" pertaining to Mario, and "Little Bro" referencing Luigi. There is also a Wario Hat available in the same way. But in New Leaf, Wario's mustache is called 'Bad Bro's Stache'.
The 'SMB3 Stationery'
- In Wild World, City Folk, and New Leaf, the 'SMB3 Stationery' is available for sale. It has motifs related to Super Mario Bros. 3 on it.
- In Animal Crossing and onward, every item of the complete Mario Theme is sold for 256 Bells, which is a reference to the 8-bit style of the original NES title Super Mario Bros. 8-bit means 8 binary slots, which means that the player can get values ranging from 0 to 255, which makes 256 possible values.
- In Happy Home Designer, an easter egg for amiibo Festival can be seen as an Amiibo Festival Board Game featuring Isabelle, Reese, Tom Nook, and Rover with a dice and four cards shaped similarly to an Amiibo Card on the side of a room.
The Legend of Zelda[]
The Animal Crossing series makes several references to The Legend of Zelda series, including:
- The Master Sword is the main weapon in the Zelda series. It is a furniture item in the Animal Crossing series.
- Redd himself looks like a magical creature from the Zelda series, called the Keaton.
- The player can buy clothes that look like Link's clothes such as the Hero's clothes and the Hero's hat. The Majora's Mask, Midna's Helmet/Midna's Mask, and Fi Mask are also available.
- In the back of Katrina's tent, there is a Triforce, as well as on the doormat.
- Katrina will sometimes refer to a star named "Triumph Forks"; this is a reference to the Fishmen's misinterpretation of the "Triforce" legend in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
- Makar's Mask from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker can be found at the Able Sisters shop.
Animal Crossing in other video games[]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[]
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, three trophies (Mr. Resetti, Tom Nook, and Totakeke) from the Animal Crossing series are obtainable.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a wider variety of Animal Crossing trophies are obtainable, along with music, stickers, and even a stage appear. On the Animal Crossing stage, Smashville, red balloons float around with food, a reference to floating presents. A new item is also introduced, the Pitfall Seed, which can be thrown and trap enemies in a hole. Mr. Resetti also appears as an assist trophy, where he starts yelling at players, much like when the player resets in an Animal Crossing game. Also, "KAPPN" can appear from one of the random nicknames.
Super Smash Bros. (Wii U and 3DS)[]
In Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS, the playable character makes an appearance under the name of Villager. This is the first time an Animal Crossing character is a playable fighter in the Smash Bros. series, with previous games only containing non-playable background characters. Isabelle appears as an Assist Trophy, tossing healing fruit to whoever summoned her.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Villager returns as a playable character while Isabelle becomes a new playable character. Despite the two having a slightly similar moveset and similar Final Smashes, Isabelle is not considered to be an Echo Fighter.
WarioWare: Smooth Moves[]
Wild World Mini-game[]
The Warioware mini-game.
During the 9-Volt level in WarioWare: Smooth Moves, one mini-game involves the player controlling a character from Wild World (either a male or female, depending upon the player's gender). The player must pull up the Wii Remote in order to catch a fish from the river. There are three difficulty stages to this game, Easy, Intermediate, and Difficult.
All fish from Wild World are potential catches in this mini-game. Failure to pull up the fishing rod will result in the player losing a life.
'Silhouette' Mini-game[]
In one mini-game in the Ashley level, a player has to rotate a silhouette of an object in order to work out what the object is- after a time, they are given a selection of objects that it could potentially be, usually all quite similar in shape.
Sometimes, a thin version of the typical gyroid may show up- objects similar to it in shape include a cacti and an eraser.
Kid Icarus: Uprising[]
In Kid Icarus: Uprising's Together Mode, several bots are named after iconic Animal Crossing characters, including Resetti and Moppina.
Kirby Planet Robobot[]
Kirby with a stone ability will sometimes transform into Tom Nook as a golden statue.
Kirby Super Star Ultra[]
In Kirby Super Star Ultra (a remake of the SNES title Kirby Super Star), there is a sub-game called "The Great Cave Offensive". The objective of it is to escape with the most items possible, and some of these items are references to other games from Nintendo. One of these items is the Gold Watering Can, a reference to the Golden Watering Can from both the Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon series.
Kirby's Epic Yarn[]
In Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby can rent an apartment and collect items with which he can decorate his apartment. This is similar to decorating one's house in the Animal Crossing series. Certain items in various levels resemble pitfall seeds.
Miitopia[]
In Miitopia, costumes of Isabelle, K.K. Slider, Mr. Resetti, and Tom Nook can be unlocked if the player scans the corresponding amiibo.
Wii Music[]
The Animal Crossing theme and K.K. Blues (known as Animal Crossing—K.K. Blues) both appear as songs. The descriptions are for the Main Theme and K.K. Blues respectively; "The cats, dogs, and others in the world of Animal Crossing know this melody. It's one of Nintendo's cutest tunes, so play it with a song in your heart!" and "If you've got the blues, this tune by the musical pooch from Nintendo's Animal Crossing series is just what you need. Play it with soul!"
Wii Fit +[]
In Wii Fit + there is a game called Segway® Circuit, in which the player (with the help of a pet) has to stop moles from taking beach balls. These moles resemble Resetti and are shown digging through the ground and where the player starts the game.
Pikmin 2[]
In Pikmin 2 there is a treasure called the "Gyroid Bust". It is found in the Bulblax Kingdom and is the final treasure in the cave, following the Scorch Guard that is inside the Emperor Bulblax. The "Gyroid Bust" represents the Gyroids that can be found in the Animal Crossing series.
Mother[]
The presents in Animal Crossing games resemble the presents from the Mother series.
Mario Kart 8[]
In Mario Kart 8, Isabelle and the Villager along with other kart customizings, cup and race track, are DLC content in Mario Kart 8. There are two packs and can be purchased for ¥1200 (JP), $11.99 (NA), £11.00 (UK), €12.00 (EU), $16.00 (NZ), and $20.00 (AUS).
Tomodachi Life[]
The Tomodachi Life clay figure description in the US version
The clay figure’s US description is, "This clay figure looks sort of familiar. Did you find it in the ground?", which is a reference to gyroids. The EU description also is a reference as it says, “Can't help feeling we've seen this odd clay figure somewhere before..." . In the island menu in the summer, the player can hear bug sounds like cicadas. These sound effects are directly reused from New Leaf.
Non-Nintendo games[]
Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumete Tomodachi Daisakusen![]
Isabelle, Resetti, and Tom Nook and others can be unlocked in Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumete Tomodachi Daisakusen! by using amiibo figurines and or cards that allow the player to unlock various soundtracks from New Leaf and other games, figures, elements in the Kisekae shoot mode for pictures, and features in the Dress-Up studio. Isabelle, Resetti, and Tom Nook are on Wada-don while playing soundtracks from New Leaf.
Gallery[]
Transformice[]
In Transformice, the leaf from New Leaf, Reese's head and hair, Isabelle's hair, a Molly skin, and fossil ball skin appear in the shop.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate[]
In Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Isabelle and Resetti are unlockable DLC as Guise Palico skins, which unlock Animal Crossing related missions in the game.
Gallery[]
Other media[]
Yuru Yuri Nachuyayumi!+[]
The title screen of Oidemase Happashimura, as seen in Yuru Yuri Nachuyayumi!+
In Yuru Yuri Nachuyayumi!+ (ゆるゆり なちゅやちゅみ！＋?) episode 2, the main characters are seen playing Come on Over: Happy Bridge Village (おいでませ ハッ橋村 Oidemase Happashimura?), a pastiche of New Leaf, at a sleepover. The characters use pitfall seeds, public works projects, fishing rods, and take part in a bug-catching island tour.
Progressive Auto Insurance[]
A twitter ad for the company featured a GIF ad called "Welcome to Savings Town", with the art style and logo resembling that of the Animal Crossing series.[1]
Gallery[]
