Nintendo's Animal Crossing is dominating the video game world. Fans spend hours discussing every tiny detail on message boards, from describing their character's new clothes to sharing any tips and hacksothers might have missed.
If you're one of those fans, you might know more about playing the game than about the Animal Crossing series itself. Tear yourself away from island-hopping and fossil-digging to learn some little-known Animal Crossing facts.
The popular Dharma Dolls in the game were inspired by Daruma dolls. In Japan, these dolls are seen as symbols of good luck.
When someone purchases a Daruma doll, they make a wish while painting in the figure's left eye. When the wish comes true, the owner paints the other eye.
In 2006, Nintendo teamed up with the Japanese production companies OLM Inc. and VAP to create the first (and, so far, only) Animal Crossingmovie. Released through Toho, Dōbutsu no Mori, or Animal Crossing: The Movie, focused on a little girl named Ai and her adventures in a world full of animals.
The animated movie was a success, with 1.7 billion yen earned at the box office. The film hasn't been officially released outside of Japan.
K.K. Slider has been delivering rocking tunes to everyone on the island. The character is based on Animal Crossing composer/sound director Kazumi Totaka. K.K. Slider's real name, Totakeke, sounds a lot like Totaka's shortened name, Totaka K.
Outside of Animal Crossing, the longtime Nintendo composer has done work on The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Wave Race 64, and Luigi's Mansion.
Over the years, Animal Crossing has made various references to the Super Mario franchise. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario's squid-like creatures, known as Bloopers, get some recognition.
After catching squid in the game, the player will say one of three things. On occasion, the player will say, "I caught a squid! Do they... not actually 'bloop'?"
'Animal Crossing' Is Featured In 'WarioWare: Smooth Moves'
With Animal Crossing's success, the game has been seen inhabiting other Nintendo titles.
The first Animal Crossing crossover took place in 2006's WarioWare: Smooth Moves. The party game features a slew of minigames available for players. One minigame has the player trying to catch fish using a character from Animal Crossing: Wild World.
'Animal Crossing' Was Originally On The Nintendo 64
Although Animal Crossing first found success on the Nintendo GameCube, the game made its debut on the Nintendo 64. Released only in Japan as Animal Forest, the Nintendo 64 version of Animal Crossing felt unfinished compared with the GameCube version.
The main reason was the lack of an internal clock in the Nintendo 64, which developers tried to fix by placing a battery-backed clock in the Nintendo 64 cartridge. Unfortunately, the in-game clock would stop if the battery petered out. The Nintendo 64 version also didn't have such noticeable characters as the Able Sisters, Mayor Tortimer, and Blathers, who were all added in the GameCube version.
