Tom Nook

Tom Nook
Animal Crossingcharacter
Tom Nook as he appears inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons
First game	Animal Crossing(2001)
Created by	Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development
Designed by	Noriko Ikegawa Yoshihisa Morimoto
Voiced by	Naoki Tatsuta (Dōbutsu no Mori)
In-universe information
Species	Tanuki(Japan) Raccoon(International)

Tom Nook,known in Japan asTanukichi(たぬきち),is a fictional character in theAnimal Crossingserieswho operates the village store (or the Resident Services building inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons). He first appeared in theNintendo 64gameDōbutsu no Mori,released in Europe and North America on theGameCubeasAnimal Crossing.Nook sells a house to the player at the beginning of each title in the series (withAnimal Crossing: New LeafandAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsbeing an exception, as Nook sells the player a tent at the start of those games), giving a set mortgage for them to pay, and offering to upgrade it after the mortgage is paid off. He has also made several appearances in theSuper Smash Bros.series.

Concept and characteristics

Tom Nook is based on thetanuki,the raccoon dog. Rich Amtower and Reiko Ninomiya, members of Nintendo's Treehouse localization team, described him as "that first Boss you ever had", adding that, "despite him being all business and not always having the time for pleasantries, Nook isn't a bad person; because he hired someone new to town. Due to that involving risk, it shows generosity". Ninomiya agreed, and both felt that Nook's perceived greed is diminished by the city's price index compared to that of his shop. Amtower jokingly alludes to an "anti-Nook bias" several times throughout an interview with1UP.

Role in the series

Tom Nook first appears in theNintendo 64titleDōbutsu no Mori(ported to theGameCubeasAnimal Crossingin non-Japanese regions) as the town's main shop owner, and continues his job in the next two installments. Nook's role in the series remained virtually unchanged from 2001 until 2012 with the release ofAnimal Crossing: New Leaf.In addition to being the main shop owner, Nook will also sell the player a house at the beginning of the game for around 19,800 Bells (the in-game currency). Because the player will only have 1,000 Bells in their pocket inDōbutsu no MoriandAnimal Crossing(and no Bells at all in the rest of the main series), Nook will request that the player work in his shop for a bit to pay off some of the debt. The chores Nook assigns the player to do are meant to help them get used to the controls of the game. After planting flowers, writing letters, and talking to villagers, the player is sent off to do whatever they want, but have to pay the remaining amount of their mortgage on their own. Each time a mortgage payment is completed, Nook will upgrade or add on to the player's house, each time putting the player into greater debt to Nook, with the last addition being the most costly.

Nook's store also goes through four upgrades and changes throughout the game. The time of the upgrade depends on how many bells are spent in the store. Eventually his humble "Nook's Cranny" shack-like store with basic tools and very little objects to buy will become "Nookington's Department Store" —a large, three story building with a wide variety of items for purchase. It is in this expansion that the player meets his two apprentices, Tommy and Timmy, who run the second floor of the store. In every game, no matter what upgrade the store is on, the items in the store will be changed every day. This means that theoretically, no two days will ever have the exact combination of items for sale.

• InAnimal Crossing,at the end of the month Nook will host a raffle with rare items to win. This was not continued in any sequel.
• InWild World,with the Nookington's expansion the player meets Harriet, apoodlewho will do the player's hair for 3,000 Bells.
• InCity Folk,Harriet has moved her shop to the city. With the Nookington's expansion, Nook will randomly ask the player a series of questions. How the player answers could change the store to a former appearance.
• Nook returns inNew Leaf.Instead of being the local shop owner, Nook is now in charge of "Nook's Homes" and instead offers exterior renovations for the player's house. He also will expand the player's house for a price, which increases with each expansion. His apprentices, Timmy and Tommy, now run the town shop by themselves.
• Nook makes a minor appearance inPocket Campwith the player being able to purchase him to put in their camp for 250 Leaf Tickets (Only available for purchase 45 days after starting the game). He later appeared as a free log-in gift to promote the release ofNew Horizons.He also appears on the button to buy leaf tickets.
• InNew Horizons,Nook and his apprentices Timmy and Tommy offer an island getaway package, and help the player to facilitate the setup and progression of the island; eventually, the player helps Timmy and Tommy to establish the town shop which they again run by themselves. Nook offers the player a new program known as the Nook Mileage program as a secondary form of in-game currency. He can again arrange expansions to the player's house, with the loan amount increasing each time.

In other media

Tom Nook has made several minor appearances in theSuper Smash Bros.series of video games,appearing as various collectibles inSuper Smash Bros. Melee,Super Smash Bros. BrawlandSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate,as well as a background character on the Smashville stage, which is based on the Animal Crossing series.Tom Nook's shop music also features inSuper Smash Bros. Brawlas part of "Town Hall and Tom Nook's Store".Tom Nook also appears in theAnimal Crossinganimated film,and has been featured in several promotional items, including plush toys.

Reception

Tom Nook has received mixed reception since his appearance inAnimal Crossing.IGNlisted him as the ninth most-wanted character to appear inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl.They describe him as devious, diabolical, and sinister, commenting that while he may not be a good fighter due to being from a video game without any fighting, they would enjoy seeing him get beaten up.Another article byIGNcompares a talking baton given to the protagonist ofMajor Minor's Majestic Marchto Nook, calling it the second only to Nook in annoyance.GameSpylisted Tom Nook as one of their favourite Boss es; editor Brian Altano specified that he passionately loves to hate Nook, stating that while he provides appreciated services to the small village, he keeps his reality grounded in that he lives in Nook's town, not his own.UGOranked him the fifth bestAnimal Crossingcharacter, stating that while Mr. Resetti was an irritant, Tom Nook was a jerk. They added that they love to hate him, jokingly suggesting that he was a "kingpin".Junkeealso offers a fairly negative assessment of Tom Nook's personality, while also pointing out his transformation over different games in the franchise, and arguing that his personal qualities are not as important as the intrinsically exploitative system he represents and benefits from.

Tom Nook has received some positive reception as well. In author Katherine Isbister's book, "Better game characters by design: a psychological approach", she cites Tom Nook as an example of a mentor character, one who indirectly helps players.GamesRadaralso listed him as one of the 25 best new characters of the decade, stating that he has earned his place amongst the hearts of gamers and people on the Internet as both a viral meme and a deceptively devious character.In 2012,GamesRadarranked Tom Nook as the 80th best villain in video games in their 2013 "Top 100", saying although raccoons are "stripy, furry and cute", "Tom Nook can go to Hell."That same year,Complexplaced him as the 49th coolest video game villain of all time.

Game-studies scholarIan Bogostdescribed Nook as central toAnimal Crossing's effective depiction of the economics of consumption and debt:

None of the townsfolk ever appear in Tom Nook's shop... In contrast, the player participates in a full consumer regimen; he pays off debt, buys goods, and sells goods. Tom Nook buys goods, which he converts to wealth.... While the player spends more, Nook makes more. By condensing all of the environment's financial transactions into one flow between the player and Tom Nook, the game proceduralizes theredistribution of wealthin a manner even young children can understand. Tom Nook is a kind of condensation of the corporate bourgeoisie.

Parody and analysis

Tom Nook has been satirized in several articles, often compared to amob Boss,kingpin or otherwise a bad person.IGNlisted him among the top 100 video game villains, suggesting that Tom Nook has a nice face, but the "cold, dead heart of a megalomaniac whose sole desire is to make a quick bell".FellowIGNeditor Patrick Kolan described Nook as theAnimal Crossingequivalent ofAl Swearengen,a pimp from the 1800s, due to his business sense, as well as both the character's position and disposition.Tom Nook has also been personified as a devious character, as well as a gangster, including an issue of theweb comicVG Cats,which depicts him roughing up the player's character for his rent money.He has also appeared in the web comicPvP,in which Tom and Rowan threaten to destroy the player's home for owing 500,000 bells.In a satirical article written byGamesRadar,they suggest that the cast ofAnimal Crossing,most importantly Tom Nook, were setting the player up into a "furry cult".GameSpylisted Tom Nook as a video game character who would be disliked in real life, stating that he is annoying in the video games, and would be terrifying if he were a landlord in real life.1UPeditor Jeremy Parish, in his review ofAnimal Crossing: Wild World,makes a parody documentary of the in-game world. In it, he suggests that Tom Nook's keen business sense allows him to effectively control the village.In the TV showRobot Chicken,Tom Nook is parodied in the sketchThe Racoon of Wall Street,where he is portrayed as a business tycoon who made trillions of bells by using illegal practices.