A glitch is a program error in any piece of software, including the Animal Crossing series. They can be beneficial or harmful, but no glitch is purposefully put in a game.
Animal Crossing Glitches
Levitation Glitch
When the player grabs an item off the ground, it loses gravity. However, this can not be seen because the player is always on the ground. To perform this glitch, the player will need to be on a slope. Pick up any item off the ground, then while the player is doing a picking up animation, get pushed down the slope by a villager or ball. The player stays in mid-air for a few seconds. It is also possible to make villagers levitate if the player pushes them down a slope after hitting them with a net.
Snowball Glitch
Step 1:
Make sure the date is set from December 11th to February 24th in order for snowballs to appear.
Step 2:
Find the snowball and try to get it near the ocean, then grow it to a size large enough so that the player does a pushing animation. Make sure it's not taller than the player. Also, if the snowball becomes too big, just roll the snowball on cement, a dirt patch, or bush to shrink it. The bigger the snowball is, the slower the process of this glitch will be.
Step 3:
Roll the snowball to the point where the beach and grass meet and make sure it is next to a cliff. Then, place an item on the spot where the snowball is.
Step 4:
Stand on the beach and then quickly run towards the snowball, pick up the item, and then run back. If the snowball didn't start rolling down the shore, put the item back where it was dropped. And repeat the process.
If successful, the player will be pushed into the ocean by the snowball while picking up the item. At this point, the player may walk anywhere in the ocean, and may visit the island. If the player talks to Kapp'n at the dock while in the water, the player will get stuck walking in place forever.
A video performing the glitch.
Typing voice glitch
A glitch that can change the pitch of the voice used for typing letters or posting bulletins. This glitch occurs when two animal villagers are talking to each other. If one of them becomes sad after the conversation, then talk to the sad villager, and their voice should sound distorted and squiggly.
(Unknown if this glitch will work without a female animal being sad.) The pitch of the squiggly voice will cycle from high to low pitch, then back to high. It's important to remember the pitch of the animal's voice it was last at when they were last spoken with. This indicates what the typing voice's pitch will be.
A video performing the glitch.
Villager Glitch
Hit a villager with a net while they are standing on a stone bridge, then run over to push them into the river. This will cause the villager to fall into the river. The player cannot talk to the villager in the river, but it is still possible to hit them the net. The villager will hop out of the river once the player moves into another acre.
A video performing the glitch.
Blathers Voice Glitch
When talking to Blathers, ask him "What's this?". After he starts talking, rapidly press B to speed up the conversation. If done correctly, after pressing the B button for long enough, his voice should have a higher pitch until the conversation ends.
Disappearing Redd Glitch
On Sale Day, if the player buys all of Crazy Redd's items, Redd's tent will move to a different location. However, if the player revisits the sign post where Redd's tent was originally, Redd will be standing in front of the sign post, but his tent will be gone. After talking to him, he will walk into the sign post and disappear.
A video performing the glitch.
Animal in Pitfall Glitch
If the player talks to one of the villagers at the exact moment the villager falls into a pitfall, the villager will talk to the player normally, however the villager's idle animation will be replaced by the animation of them squirming in the pitfall.
A video performing the glitch.
Far View While Talking Glitch
Every 3 times the player hits a villager with a net or axe, a conversation will trigger in which the villager will tell the player to stop hitting them. However, if the player breaks their axe on a villager's head on this third time, another text box will appear in which the player says that their axe broke. While this text box is on screen, the villager the player hit will be able to move around the acre freely. If the player lets the villager wander far enough away from them, and then closes the "My axe broke!" text box, the "Stop hitting me!" conversation will trigger like normal. However, if the villager is far enough away from the player, this will cause the camera to zoom out way farther than usual, in order to fit both characters on screen.
A video performing the glitch.
Trapped in House Glitch
If the player orders the furniture in their house a certain way while their inventory is full, it is possible for the player to trap themselves inside their house, with no way to pick up any of the furniture or move it out of the way.
A video performing the glitch.
Sign Board Boost Glitch
If the player uses a bunch of sign boards to squash themselves between a board and a giant snowball, and then moves in a certain way, it is possible for the player to be pushed on top of the sign boards. Doing this next to the railroad tracks or buildings will allow the player to be able to walk on top of them.
A video performing the glitch.
Wrong Warp Glitch
Whenever it is time for a time-based special event, such as the Sports Fair, to occur, a cutscene will play in which an announcement is made at the Train Station that the event is starting. If the player enters a building the moment the hour rolls over, the cutscene will not play until immediately after the player leaves the building. However, if the player enters the post office at the moment an event cutscene is supposed to play, then pays off all of their house debt, when they leave the post office, a cutscene will trigger in which the player's character celebrates that they are now debt-free. However, the game will also attempt to play the event cutscene at the same time. Attempting to play 2 cutscenes at once will cause the player's character model to bug out for a second, and then they will be wrong-warped. If the post office is located in acre A-4 or A-5, the player will be warped to acre A-1. If the post office is located in acre A-1 or A-2, however, the player will be warped out of their town, and end up in a normally-inaccesible beta town that was used for testing the game.
A video performing the glitch.
Item Duplication Glitch
For this glitch, the player must make a line of furniture in their house. Then, they must hold on to one piece of furniture, and immediately run forward, along the line of furniture after letting go. Then, when the player gets in a "sweet spot" right between 2 tiles, they must pause the game, and place a 2x1 table in the room. After dropping the table, they must continue to run forward for a split second and then stop. Doing this will cause the player to be pushed on top of the line of furniture. From there, the player is able to walk off the furniture, and on top of the table. The player must then place the item they want to duplicate on one space on the table. Then, they must carefully turn away from the item, and pick up the table. The to-be duplicated item will now be floating. This is because the item has now been corrupted, and it has taken some of the properties of the table, which means items can now be placed on top of it. The player must then place another item on top of the corrupted table-item. Then, when the player leaves the room and comes back, the two items will have swapped places, meaning the to-be duplicated item is now on top of the other item. The player can then grab the to-be duplicated item, and when they leave and come back, the item will be back again. Speedrunners have used this glitch to pay off their house debts in a significantly short amount of time by duplicated extremely valuable items, such as sports fair medals. Strangely, if fish or bugs are duplicated this way, the game will consider the duplicated versions of them to be furniture, rather than fish or bugs. This means that they cannot be released, donated to the museum, or given to Chip or Nat, but they can be dropped on the ground, or even buried.
A video performing the glitch (Skip ahead to 18:46 for glitch).
Gracie Glitch
Before Gracie visits a town, if the player places a custom-design sign on the tile where Gracie usually stands when her car is at that particular sign post, when Gracie does come to town, she will be standing on top of the custom-design sign. She cannot be spoken to while she is on top of the sign, and if the player takes down the sign, she will land back on the ground and the player will be unable to place the sign there again.
A video performing the glitch.
Wild World Glitches
Music Glitch
This glitch can be done only in Wild World. First, place two stereos in two different rooms, which means some mortgage may have to be paid to acquire more than one room. Next, have both stereos play the same music. Then, take out the song in one stereo. The other stereo will still play the music. If the music list is seen, no song will be highlighted in orange. If the player tries change to song, the same song will keep playing. If the player goes anywhere outside of their house, no music at all will play, only sound effects. This glitch can be reversed by resetting the game.
Duplication Glitch
If a player sets down any walk-through item in their house (bells, tools, paper, etc.) by their feet, then sets down any walk-through item and a cardboard box after it very quickly, the game will act as if no item is on the box, but will show the item on the box. The player then can set down any walk-through item on the box. They can pick it up once from the corner, then can push the box and pick it up again. Whatever was on the box in the first place will be gone.
A video performing the glitch.
Sad villager voice glitch
Sometimes when a villager is sad, their voice keeps getting lower and lower until the calm down or if the player talks to them enough while they're sad.
City Folk Glitches
Watering Can Glitch
- Purchase or equip a watering can.
- Use the water can anywhere in the village.
- While the watering can is in use, pause the game using the HOME button and then re-enter the game.
- The watering can sound effects will stop playing.
Stuck Inside The Villager Glitch
To perform the glitch the player must have a villager in their town with a chair one walkable space away from a solid object. Then the player must push the villager in the space between the chair and the solid object. The player must sit on the chair, and then get off the chair on the side where the villager is standing.
Two outcomes are possible:
- The villager will just move out of the way, or
- If the villager is standing in just the right place, the player will go through the villager.
If the villager moves out of the way, just keep trying again. The glitch ends when the villager/player walks away.
New Leaf Glitches
NB: In the Welcome Amiibo update, some (if not all) of these glitches have been rectified or removed, such as the net glitch.
Duplication Glitch
To perform the glitch, the player must bring the desired items to another town, and place them on the ground. They must be the last person to enter the town and must not save once the items are dropped. Then, the host should end the session. While the game is loading up the player's town, the wireless switch on the 3DS must be switched off. Timing depends on the strength of the Internet connection. If timed correctly, the player will have the items in their inventory, and the other person will have the items still on the ground.
A video performing the glitch.
*This depends on the Internet connection. If the players both have faster connections, the wireless switch must be toggled off when the loading wheel hits the bottom the first time.
Infinite Multiplication Bug
There's no known English source on how to perform this glitch, but Japanese explanations are available here, and here.
The glitch can still be performed in the Japanese version even if Animal Crossing: New Leaf has received any update data because the update data can be removed if preferred. The glitch also requires update compatibility between the host and a visitor of the session as follows (this is only a rough translation):
The English version of the game cannot use the glitch because the game automatically comes with the Japanese update v1.1, which cannot be removed.
Not yet updated×Not yet updated → Can perform glitch via Local Wireless only.
Not yet updated×Already updated → Cannot perform glitch.
Updated already×Updated already → Can perform glitch via both Internet and Local Wireless.
It appears the glitch takes place between patterns, and must be done by somehow getting the player's character to stop reacting normally to the ground (such as digging and covering holes). The patterns appear to have to be placed in a specific area with trees (probably fruit), of which there are two possible combinations:
■ = Designs
□ = Tree
Pattern 1 ↓
■ □ ■ □ ■ □ ■
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
□ ■ □ ■ □ ■ □
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
■ □ ■ □ ■ □ ■
Pattern 2 ↓
■ □ ■ □ ■ □ ■
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
■ □ ■ □ ■ □ ■
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
■ □ ■ □ ■ □ ■
Designs may be substituted for items if the player is on an area where designs cannot be used, such as the island. However, all spaces must be filled with items if the glitch is performed on an island. Most likely the glitch is done by placing patterns on the ground with one character, then using another character to "kick" the patterns that don't belong to them. The glitch requires a shovel and the item to be duplicated.
There is also a single player variant that involves using a neighbor's house after they move away found here.
A singleplayer island variant can be found here, if the player does not want to change their town. This version cannot be performed if update data has been received.
There is also a single player variant (shown here).
Vanishing Fruit Glitch
Occasionally, some fruit trees may appear with less than three fruits on a tree. Also, when the player shakes a tree in an area taken up by flowers/custom designs, the fruit disappears as soon as it hits the taken tile.
Infinite Fleas Glitch
When a villager is visibly stalking an insect with a net in New Leaf, if a flea is present on them, it can be caught an infinite number of times by the player until they stop creeping.
Infinite Bug Glitch
Using this glitch, the player can catch an infinite amount of bugs on the beach and walk underneath the world. To perform this glitch, the player will need:
- Any tool or item that will allow glitching into something (the tweeter, the beans)
- Any net
Any number of players can perform this glitch. Steps:
- Glitch onto the train tracks
- Go to the top of the stairs
- Glitch above the invisible wall there
- Run north until the player can't anymore
- Glitch into the wall there
- The player will fall into the bottom of the town into the water, but will appear to be in a blank area. To see where the player is in the town, use a tool (like the net). Go to the nearest beach.
- Use the net to catch a bug
- Use the net again anywhere to catch the bug repeatedly until the player's pockets are full
- Save and continue to return to normal
- Sell the bugs at Re-Tail
A video performing the glitch.
Out-of-Boundaries Glitch 1
This glitch can only be performed in multiplayer. It allows the player to walk outside most boundaries, including rivers and buildings. For a player to perform it, a player must get a Tweeter (obtained from StreetPass at the HHA), have another player in his/her town, and follow these steps:
1. The player must find an area desired to walk on (cliffs, rivers, houses, etc.).
2. The player with the tweeter* faces an empty area (Or the other player).
3. Have the player with the tweeter repeatedly press the "A" button on the 3DS, while the other player runs into them.
4. Once the other player cannot push the player with the tweeter anymore. The player can move into the glitched area.
*If the player has throwing beans it can be substituted as the tweeter.
A video performing the glitch.
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Out-of-Boundaries Glitch 2
This glitch can be performed even when only one player is present. When a player finds a diagonal part of a river, they can dig holes in a specific manner, as shown in the picture, the player must run towards the river wearing a King Tut Mask (or on a day where the player has bad luck) until the player eventually trips and falls into the river. This lets the player walk in the river. However, the effects of the glitch are reverted if the player walks too close to the bridges or the edges of the river. The player can fish while standing in the river. While in the river, the player may walk into the top ocean waterfall. This will allow the player to walk on the cliff above the town. The player can only get back down if they have a wetsuit, as they will be able to jump back in the ocean. As of version 1.5, however, this glitch can no longer be attempted.
A video performing the glitch.
Out-of-Boundaries Glitch 3
This glitch allows the player to walk on top of the walls inside one's own house.
Requirements for the glitch: one four-spaced piece of furniture and one any sized piece of furniture.
To perform the glitch, the player must first place the character exactly one space and a half away from the house's entrance area. After that, the player must turn left and drop a piece of furniture. And just a little after the leaf hits the ground, a four-spaced piece of furniture must be dropped. After that, what should happen is, the player should not get pushed out of the piece of furniture that has just been dropped, making the player able to pass through the piece of furniture by walking down if the character was deep enough inside of it at the time. When the character is inside of the piece of furniture, the player must start walking toward one of the corners next to the entrance area. Once the player starts walking toward one of the corners, the player should start to merge with it. If the player walks toward one of the corners at the right angle, the player should teleport on top of the walls in the house.
Bench Glitch
The player takes a seat on a bench or tree stump while a mosquito is chasing after them. With the mosquito hovering around them, the player uses one of Dr. Shrunk's emotions. Once the mosquito bites them, they will perform the itchy animation thus causing them to stand on the seat.
This happens because when the player sits somewhere in the town, he/she cannot be bit by mosquitoes. However, when an emotion is used while the mosquito is near the player, there is a split second of vulnerability.
When performed on a bench, the player will stand on top and can walk off anytime, but when performed on a tree stump, the player will stand inside of the stump. Walking out of it will result in the game temporarily lagging when trying to sit on the stump again, and the player will not be able to sit on it. To get rid of this, simply enter and exit a building and the glitch ends.
Metallic Furniture Catalog Glitch
Sometimes, when highlighting a furniture with a metallic shiny surface in the catalog, it may show a weird coloring (pictured). When highlighting another item and going back to the metallic shiny furniture, it will return to normal. Continuation of this will lead to different results.
Net glitch
If the player stands in front of a wall or object, the player can go through (or over) the wall while holding a net by holding A. The player must walk as slowly as he/she can towards a wall/object until eventually the player reaches the other side. Any change in pace will disrupt the process. However, if the A button is released and held again during the glitch, the player will still move if the circle pad is still held down in the same place. The glitch won't work on trees, rocks, dug holes, and villagers. This glitch can be applied at every spot that the tweeter glitch can be applied to.
A video performing the glitch.
Menu Glitch
If the player uses the Out-of-Bounds Glitch 1 to walk on the buildings of Main Street, the menu bar on the bottom screen will appear at the bottom of the top screen.
A video performing the glitch.
Villager Glitch
If the player builds a Public Works Project near to the town's cliffs, during the completion celebration, a villager may be present celebrating on top of the town's cliff.
Stump Glitch
If a player were to sit on a stump then another were to save, the second player will be able to sit on the same stump. Once the first player has gotten off, they cannot get back on.
Endless Villager Clapping Glitch
If the player uses the Bench glitch when a villager is present nearby and uses an emotion which may cause the villager to clap (such as Showmanship), if the villager is clapping when the player gets bitten, they will clap infinitely until the player talks to them, performs another clap-enforcing emotion or exits the glitch (by entering and exiting a building).
Running Animation Glitch
This glitch must be done in multiplayer. If one player enters their inventory and the other runs against an obstacle in one direction, the running animation will show up as a walking animation on the first player's screen.
Isabelle on the beach Glitch
When doing a Public Works Project, go to a cliff, dig up two holes using a Shovel, and bury something on one hole and push Isabelle at the corner between the hole and the item. Then dig up the item on the hole. After that, Isabelle will be stuck between the cliff and the air. Then, run to her and when touched, talk to her quickly. If done correctly, Isabelle will fall off the cliff and land to the beach. However, the player will not exit the project placing cutscene until he/she saves and quits.
Invisible Shovel Glitch
There is no known method on how to activate this glitch, but doing so effectively makes the shovel's model invisible.
Floating Present Glitch
Sometimes when the player delivers a present to a villager, if they use a Dr. Shrunk emotion (eg. Clapping) the present will be floating.
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Glitches
Strangely-colored Curtain Glitch
If the player designs a home with completely black walls and completely black floor, along with completely black curtains, the curtains will appear an odd yellow/green color.