Why Tom Nook is "Misunderstood" According to Animal Crossing Devs

Tom Nook is seen by many as the villain of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. After all, he withholds information about the cost of his deserted island getaway package, he slaps the player with a large loan for his services, and then he sits back, waiting for the money to roll in.

According to Animal Crossing developers Aya Kyogoku and Hisashi Nogami, Tom Nook isn’t actually a bad guy. He’s misunderstood. If you look at things from another point of view, he’s actually the hero of the games, providing resources to those in need, giving them as much time as they want to repay him, and never asking for a penny more than he lends.

Tom Nook is a tanuki, a real life animal in Japan, but also a large part of Japanese folklore. Tanooki are often associated with business and wealth, and they have a habit of turning leaves into other things (mostly money). Sound familiar?

Unlike Mr Resetti, Tom is still serving the same role in New Horizons that he’s had in all previous Animal Crossing games. He certainly has been toned down a little, so as not to be quite so intimidating.

But why have a character that obsesses over money in the first place? Well, Tom Nook serves the important purpose of giving the player something to do. A reason to dig up iron nuggets or trap spiders. He provides the game with some form of challenge, in that players work to earn money so they can pay him off.

Yes, according to the developers of Animal Crossing: New Horizons: life only has meaning because wealthy businessmen give poor people something to do with their time. Hmm…
Anyway, here’s hoping you’re staying safe and keeping out of trouble.

Lots of love,
BretonStripes (http://twitter.com/bretonstriped) and Kotor (http://twitter.com/kotorcomics)

Sources:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21184928/animal-crossing-new-horizons-nintendo-switch-interview-tom-nook
https://uk.ign.com/articles/2019/06/20/how-tom-nook-uses-his-money-and-14-more-details-about-animal-crossing-new-horizons-e3-2019
https://kotaku.com/nintendo-tom-nook-is-misunderstood-506751609
https://www.nintendo-insider.com/animal-crossing-new-horizons-interview-multiplayer-turnip-prices-tom-nook-and-more/

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