As one of Nintendo’s heaviest hitters of the year,Animal Crossing: New Horizonswas always bound to do well, but no one realized how quickly it would take the world by storm, and it’s undoubtedly one of the reasons thatNintendo is currently seeing a new high on the stock market. In a time when most of us are in lockdown, the game provides a peaceful way to explore the great outdoors and take our mind off of the real world while we indulge in our digital lives.
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Future Press’s Official Companion Guide to the game has already made its way overseas, though America is still expecting some delays due to the current climate. Here, we round up the most interesting trivia, tips, and facts from the guide to keep you going while we wait for it to arrive.
10Weather Forecast for the Next Day
If you have a TV on your island, you can tune into the weather forecast that happens multiple times a day. Forecasts after 6:30 PM will show you the weather for the next day, including whether you’re going to have a meteor shower, which is handy if you’re desperately looking to get more star pieces. Additionally, certain critters only show up during rain or have increased chances of appearing during bad weather, such as thecoveted Coelacanth, so knowing if a downpour is imminent is helpful.
The weather forecasts for the next day air at the following times: Monday - Friday 6:30 PM and 10:45 PM, Saturday 6:45 PM and 10:45 PM and on Sunday at 10:45 PM.
9Grinding for all Reactions
Reactions are a great way to show how you’re feeling inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, but, if you want all of them, it may take you a while. You begin with four initial reactions, and then you are taught the others from your fellow villagers. Sometimes, when your island residents call your name and run up to you all excited, it’s because they want to teach you a new one, so look out for this!
However, reactions can only be learned from certain personality types, and the final eight reactions can only be learned once you achieve a high level of friendship with certain personalities. So, to get all the reactions, you need to have at least one kind of each personality villager and befriend them to the max to get all emotes.
8Rusted Parts
There are a few crafting materials that are hard to come by, and, if you’re looking tobuild the Robot Hero, you’ll need to scavenge a few rare items, including 30 rusted parts. you may always find one rusted part in the recycle bin in the Resident Services building the day after Gulliver has visited. Although Gulliver can visit multiple times a week, getting all 30 still presents a grind.
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Fortunately, the companion guide details a better way to get these parts. During Gulliver’s visit, he’ll ask you to dig up five communicator parts for him. However, if you keep hold of these for yourself, they’ll become rusted parts the very next day. You’d miss out on the reward of one of Gulliver’s exotic souvenirs, but, as there are only 13 of these in total, after a few visits, you may have all the items you want already.
7Flick and C.J. are Roommates
Animal Crossingfans have been “shipping” C.J. and Flick as a gay couple since the release ofNew Horizons. These two special NPCs visit your island on occasion and pay extra money for your fish and bugs. One of the reasons for this fan theory is that the two refer to each other as “partner,” and, while it is explained that they are business partners, fans have decided to take this as an indicator of more of a romance than a bromance.
The guide book is sure to add more fuel to this fan-fire with the revelation that C.J. and Flick are roommates, as well.
6You Can Make Orville Cry
Though many of your island’s residents and special NPCs will react to your emotes, the guide reveals that Orville has a unique reaction all of his own. If you happen to have learned the apologetic emote and direct it toward’s Orville in the airport, the poor dodo will tear up immediately.
According to the guide, this is because “he never wants a patron of Dodo Airlines to feel unhappy”. If you fancy making Orville a little bluer than usual, you know what to do. Fortunately, you may cheer him up afterward with a happier emote if you’re feeling bad.
5Wrapped Presents Increase Friendship Faster
Becoming besties with your favorite residents means they might gift you with a special photo of themselves. There are a few ways that you can increase your friendship with them; talking to them daily, sending letters, giving gifts, completing requests, and selling them an item they want.
The store sells wrapping paper, and, while most have assumed this is just a nice novelty to make things look prettier, the guide explains that gifting wrapped items to your residents increases your friendship more than gifting an unwrapped item would.
4Some Bugs and Fish Have Extra Hidden Requirements
One of the main features ofAnimal Crossingis fish and insect collecting, which you may donate to the museum, sell, gift, or decorate with. The bugs and fish you can catch change with the season, time of day and weather, meaning you’ll have to play all year round if you want to complete your encyclopedias.
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However, the guide reveals that some of the fish and bugs are locked behind other requirements, too. Some only appear after you have caught a certain number of fish/bugs in total, with the top requirement being 100 catches. For example, if you want the coelacanth, you need to have 100 total catches. Size and rarity don’t matter, just crank those numbers by catching anything and everything.
3Label’s Style Session Can Net You More Rewards
Now and then, Label will visit your island and will ask you to help her out with a style session. Label will tell you a theme and give you a piece of clothing that fits the criteria as an example. If you just equip the item she gives you without bothering to build a whole outfit and speak to her, the next day you will get an Able Sisters coupon in the post. If you have two items that fit the theme, you’ll get one item from the Labelle fashion line and a coupon, and three themed items will net you a Labelle item and two coupons.
Additionally, the guide mentions that the more items that match the theme, the more your friendship with Label will increase. When you unlock items from the Labelle fashion line, they have a chance of appearing in the Able Sisters' shop so you can buy it in other colors.
2Gyroids Coming Back?
Fans have been missing the inclusion of a certain item type in the latest iteration ofAnimal Crossing:gyroids. These cute little musical furnishings were collectible inAnimal Crossing: New Leafwhere you could dig them up from the ground after it had been raining. Noticeably, the only gyroid inNew Horizons so far seems to be Lloid, who takes donations on your behalf for building projects.
However, a trivia section in the guide might hint that they are set to return, as it says “Gyroids appear in the ground after it has been raining. Lloid, on the other hand, appears anytime you need him”. It would seem odd to mention this if they weren’t going to eventually be added to the game.
1Incomplete Guide
The biggest takeaway of the companion guide is that it doesn’t detail everything. While there is a mention of a New Year’s event and other seasonal changes, noticeably set events such as Bunny Day are missing, with no breakdown of rewards or event information. There’s also no mention of any of thenew features that were recently discovered by data miners.
This means that the game undoubtedly has a lot more to offer, and fans can be sure to expect plenty of surprises to keep their island getaway fun and enjoyable.
