Dear Reader:

You are viewing a story from GN Version 5.0. Time may not have been kind to formatting, integrity of links, images, information, etc.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons devs say Tom Nook has "always been a good dude," and has gone through some self-reflection lately

A new, different Tom
by rawmeatcowboy
25 April 2020
GN Version 5.0

Animal Crossing: New Horizons director Aya Kyogoku, and producer Hisashi Nogami are really out to defend Tom Nook. This is the second time we've seen them come to bat for Nook, saying he's not as bad as people think. Check out what the pair had to say in Nook's defense in a CNET interview below.

Nogami: Well, I do want to make a note that Tom Nook has always been a great guy, he's always been a good dude. Maybe you felt that way because his role in this game has changed a little bit. Tom Nook has always played a key role in maintaining the motivation of the player to continue to play the game. But then as a host character, we've always had somebody else.

And because New Horizons is set on a deserted island, and the first person you see is Tom Nook introducing you and welcoming you to the island, and then he continues to support your life on the island -- maybe because he's taking care of the player a little bit more than the previous series, maybe you may sense that he's gotten nicer.

Kyoguku: Even if the player didn't have any money, he would offer you a new home. And he'd even offer you a loan. And then if you can't pay him back, then he'll wait forever without really bothering you, and he'll never get angry that you've never paid him back, either. That said, he's always been a pretty good guy. But then in the past games, players may have only interacted with him when they were making big purchases, like buying a home, and then once that's paid off, Tom would just go ahead and expand the home without even checking in with the player, so maybe the impression that the players got back then was that he was money-hungry and he was always out to get your money. But he is a really caring guy, a bit of a busybody. And so he might give a wrong impression. But I do want to mention that he's had a self-reflection since the past series. Now, he actually asks the player whether the player wants an expansion to their home or not. I want to encourage the fans to pick up on a good side of Tom Nook when they play the game.

[Link]