Tom Nook For Smash Bros. Ultimate: Double Final Smash Duty (New Horizons Avaiable Now!!)

[Laniv]

Welcome to the Tom Nook support thread!

Who is Tom Nook?​

Tom Nook is a character from the Animal Crossing series. Depending on the region, he is either a tanuki (in Japan) or a raccoon (everywhere else). In the games he plays a vital role, being the owner of the town shop in the first three games, and owning a real estate store in New Leaf. After spending a certain amount of money in the shop, he will remodel to include a wider range of items. In New Leaf, Tom Nook still sells you a house but also offers exterior home decorations.

The Animal Crossing series received minimal representation in Smash Bros., until Super Smash Bros. 4, where the Villager was added as a playable newcomer. Now that the series has its foot in the door, Tom Nook has his road paved to be playable in Smash Bros.!

But what can he do?
​

Good question! Here is a sample moveset by yours truly.

Spoiler: Laniv's Moveset

Jab: A simple one-two punch. Total 6%.
Forward Tilt: Nook pulls out a cash register to open the drawer. 9%.
Up Tilt: Nooks playfully tosses up a bag of Bells. 7%.
Down Tilt: Nook bends down to pick up some Bells. 8%.
Dash Attack: The animation for suddenly turning around in Animal Crossing. 12%.

Forward Smash: Nook pulls out a leaf, which daintily floats to the ground while charging. Depending on the charge, the leaf turns into one of two pieces of furniture:

Uncharged: End Table. The weaker of the two. 10%

Fully charged: Lamp. The stronger, with much more vertical range. 17%

Up Smash: Nook shoots a balloon present with a slingshot. This has three hitboxes: The pellet Nook shoots, the balloon getting popped, and the falling present. Total 11%.

Down Smash: Nook literally pulls a rug from under the opponent. Causes opponents to trip. Total 16%.

Neutral Aerial: Nook spins around, hitting with his tail. 8%.
Forward Aerial: Nook bring down a bug-catching net. 15%.
Back Aerial: Swipes behind himself with his tail, similarly to Mewtwo. 12%.
Up Aerial: Nook shows off a rare arapaima (!!) which flops around in his hand. 14%.
Down Aerial: Nook swings a shovel downward with a digging motion. 3%.

Grab and Pummel: A ranged grab. Nook grabs with a fishing pole, and hits opponents with the Toy Hammer. 2% per pummel.
Forward Throw: Nook shoves the opponent forward with both hands, dealing 16%.
Back Throw: Nook twirls the opponent around by their hands to fling them backwards. 10%.
Down Throw: Nook buries the opponent into the ground with a shovel. Similar to Villager’s down smash, but leaves opponents buried for much longer. 13%.
Up Throw: Nook slips a leaf under the opponent. This leaf morphs into a sofa, which bounces them upwards. 17%.

Neutral Special—Purchase: Nook extends a hand in greeting. If an opponent is close to him, then they will take be stunned for a bit, and a cash register sound plays. As the opponent is stunned, Nook will gain a leaf item, which he can throw at opponents for 6%. If it hits the ground, it turns into a chair.
Custom Neutral Special 1--Discount: The leaf is much weaker and faster, and doesn’t transform. 2%
Custom Neutral Special 2—Wholesale Purchase: This is much slower and stronger and the opponent is stunned for longer. The leaf transforms into a large sofa. 14%.


Side Special—Shake Tree: A tree spawns in front of Nook, and he shakes it. Three possible items can fall out:

Fruit: Yum, yum, a delicious fruit! It heals 8%.

Leaf: A leaf. It behaves identically to the leaves detailed in Purchase.

Beehive: Bees!! They’re everywhere!! Even Nook looks shocked! The bees swarm a nearby opponent to sting them repeatedly, dealing 2% damage per second, for 6 seconds.
Custom Side Special 1—Pine Tree: The tree hurts opponents that touch it, similarly to Villager’s Timber Counter.
Custom Side Special 2—Wilting Tree: When Nook shakes the tree, all of its leaves fall down16%.


Up Special—Sofa: Just like in his up throw, Nook bounces up on a sofa. Identical to Sonic’s Spring Jump.

Custom Up Special 1--Armchair: Nook bounces even higher. The spring cannot be used by opponents.
Custom Up Special 2—Sloppy Sofa: If opponents try to bounce on it, they’ll be slowed down.

Down Special—Resale: If Tom Nook is holding an item, he converts it into Bells that he stows away. He gains a small power boost that lasts for 12 seconds.

Custom Down Special 1—Quick Sale: The animation is much faster, but the power boost lasts for only 5 seconds.
Custom Down Special 2—Hard Bargain: Instead of keeping the Bells, Nook shoves them forward, damaging opponents for 12%.

Final Smash—Real Estate: Nook’s eyes aglow, he builds a house for the opponents, a luxurious three story apartment with prime insulation and two bathrooms! Things seem pretty good for the opponents… until they have to foot the bill. The price of the bill is so ludicrously high the opponent takes 30% damage from inability to pay. Seeing the opponents’ lack of coin, he promptly smacks them away with a shovel for 20% damage.


Taunts
Up Taunt: The Joy emotion. Nook smiles as flowers bloom behind him
Side Taunt: Inspiration. Nook’s eyes grow wide as a light bulb shines over him.
Down Taunt: Nook takes out some Bells and counts them.

Victory Poses
1. Nook takes out a sofa, and sits on it with Timmy and Tommy.
2. Timmy and Tommy cheer for Nook as he proudly stands with several bags of Bells.
3. Nook is seen shaking hands with Lyle.

And take a look at this other moveset by another loyal customer!

Spoiler: Moveset By FunAtParties

Been thinking about Tom Nook's moveset, if you aren't interested in moveset ideas you should stop here lmao
I think Nook has some interesting things he can work with, moreso than any other AC character, so I came up with some ideas.

Special Abilities:

Running Glide: From a running start, if you hold the jump button Nook will steadily rise up for a duration of 3 seconds. He can cancel it by attacking or double humping out of it.

Glide: Nook can also slow his fall by holding his double jump after the jump animation is completed.

Bell Bribery: Nook has multiple attacks that make use of his game's currency. If a coin hits his opponent, their next attack's damage and knockback will be halved. This effect only lasts for a limited amount of time (normally 3 seconds)

Specials:

Neutral Special: Exchange
Nook grabs whatever projectile is thrown at him, pockets it, and exchanges it it for bells. The stronger the projectile, the more bells get thrown back. The bells will skip along the ground until falling offstage or hitting the opponent.

If the opponent is hit, their attacks power will be halved. The more bells that hit them will determine how long the effect lasts.

Side Special: Market Crash
Tom Nook will sit down, and read the paper; as he does, a large black arrow will appear in front of him and slowly ascends diagonally the longer you hold the attack. The arrow does not have a hitbox when it is black. When let go, the arrow turns red, and quickly descends diagonally.

The attack has incredible range, and hits hard, but is hard to control, and has slow start up. It also doesn't work in the air

Down Special: Tanooki Statue
Nook turns into a golden statue, and plummets straight down. The physical statue works similarly to Kirby's down special when used in the air, only it cannot be cancelled until hitting the ground. If done on the ground, the statue can slowly hop forward, and tank attacks.

An additional effect this attack will have is coins will pop out as he plummets or every time he hops around. Each coin that hits will once again "bribe" the opponent to hit half as hard for the next 3 seconds.

Up Special: Tanooki Spin
This attack is simpler than the others, Nook will spin around, and get a small boost. He can do this up to 5 times. This attack can reflect projectiles.

Other attack ideas:

Debt (forward Smash): Nook holds out a piece of paper in front of him, if the paper makes contact with the opponent, a house will drop on top of them crushing them in debt.

This attack works a little differently than other Smash attacks. The paper comes out almost immediately, and the longer the attack is charged the longer Nook holds it out. It can be held out indefinitely, but the attack never becomes more powerful (tbf it's already really strong). The downside is it takes a bit for Nook to put it away.

Sale (up smash): Nook tosses up a leaf in the air, once the leaf makes contact with the ground, it turns into a piece of furniture. The longer the attack is held, the higher the leaf is thrown up, and the larger the furniture that comes out.

The leaf falls to the ground slowly, and Nook can move immediately after it's thrown.

The leaf is technically a projectile, but can't do any harm to Nook if reflected in his direction.

What about Isabelle?

​

Isn't Villager enough for the series?

​

In recent years, Animal Crossing has gotten plenty of attention, with two spinoff games and an update to New Leaf three years after the game came out in 2013. This suggests that the Animal Crossing series is big enough to justify two or three characters.

Tom Nook's Loyal Customers:
Laniv
Kirbeh
Jason the Yoshi
Yomi's Biggest Fan
TipO'TheMorning
FunAtParties
Tortilla Noggin
Cutie Gwen
Mrrgle
@Luminario
@smashkirby
Guybrush20X6
@BluePikmin11
@Rockaphin
@Folezicle
S SEGAGameBoy
Dreamking
DeltaSceptile​

 

[Kirbeh]

Checked the moveset ideas to make sure it was there. KO by debt as the FS was included. This pleases me. I support.

 

[Laniv]

Checked the moveset ideas to make sure it was there. KO by debt as the FS was included. This pleases me. I support.

Of course, that is the only option, besides purchasing the stage itself.

 

[Jason the Yoshi]

I'm retired from Animal Crossing, but I liked Tom Nook, so I will support his cause in Super Smash Bros.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Oh snap, Nook is finally here. I still support.

I definitely in favor of getting him out of Villager's Final Smash. Not like the Nooklings can't handle it themselves.

FunAtParties

 

[FunAtParties]

Oh snap, Nook is finally here. I still support.

I definitely in favor of getting him out of Villager's Final Smash. Not like the Nooklings can't handle it themselves.

FunAtParties

Yeah yeah I'm still here. If Nook makes it he should just take Villager's Final Smash tbh.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

Finally, a thread for Tom Nook! I support!

I'd be happy to see Mr. Nook or K.K. playable, to be honest - the Animal Crossing series is a big system-seller, and it's absolutely capable of providing more content for Smash than it's been allowed to thus far.

 

[FunAtParties]

Finally, a thread for Tom Nook! I support!

I'd be happy to see Mr. Nook or K.K. playable, to be honest - the Animal Crossing series is a big system-seller, and it's absolutely capable of providing more content for Smash than it's been allowed to thus far.

I've been saying this for a while. AC could reasonably have 3-4 characters in Smash without it being too big of a stretch due to the series' popularity. It'd be controversial, but it'd make sense. Point is, Smash needs more AC in general.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

It'd be controversial, but it'd make sense.

There's no reason for it to be controversial for a big, popular long-tail system-seller series to have more representation in Smash.

The only thing that should be an issue at all is whether characters and other content can be represented appropriately or not.

 

[FunAtParties]

There's no reason for it to be controversial for a big, popular long-tail system-seller series to have more representation in Smash.

The only thing that should be an issue at all is whether characters and other content can be represented appropriately or not.

I mean look where we are. Nook should be a popular choice, but he only has his few dedicated supporters here. Isabelle, KK, etc.. none are as popular to be in Smash as some randoms from other series, that's just how it is. So even with 1 more rep, some would question the choice, 2-3 more? You can expect controversy.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

I mean look where we are. Nook should be a popular choice, but he only has his few dedicated supporters here. Isabelle, KK, etc.. none are as popular to be in Smash as some randoms from other series, that's just how it is. So even with 1 more rep, some would question the choice, 2-3 more? You can expect controversy.

Ah. You mean within the highly-focussed online community?

Remember, the entire online fandom, which covers many games, does not even come close to matching the sales numbers of even the lowest-selling singular games in the Smash series, and it doesn't even come close to representing what all of the customer-base would like to see. I believe Ryu and Cloud Strife are good recent examples of much-demanded characters who had little support on this site.

Out there in reality, nobody is going to care if a handful of people online see these choices as controversial, because they aren't.

 

[FunAtParties]

Ah. You mean within the highly-focussed online community?

Remember, the entire online fandom, which covers many games, does not even come close to matching the sales numbers of even the lowest-selling singular games in the Smash series, and it doesn't even come close to representing what all of the customer-base would like to see. I believe Ryu and Cloud Strife are good recent examples of much-demanded characters who had little support on this site.

Out there in reality, nobody is going to care if a handful of people online see these choices as controversial, because they aren't.

Everyone keeps saying this, but I don't know; I think the one community is more at the heart of these issues, if we can call them that, then people here claim.

Ryu and Cloud are different, 2 gaming icons that kind of weren't seen as likely due to a myriad of factors, and really people here weren't that familiar with them because if their lack of a Nintendo presence. Regardless their reveals also bummed a lot of people out initially. It took time for them to be as excepted as they are now, and the hate is drowned out by the people that'll jump down anyone's throat who attempts to criticize them as choices.

I don't know what point I'm trying to make really, but yeah these fans are obviously more familiar with AC as a whole, and still don't really want them.

I think the main criticism most have is move set potential. I'm not sure people hate AC characters, but don't really see the point of them, we have a direct example of a good moveset changing peoples minds with Villager, and it could be the same thing at play here.

Thinking about Nook specifically, taking on some Tanooki suit attributes, molded with some of his AC personality can really turn out well imo, and I think people would respond to it, then again I've had enough fights with people here to know that there's a general disconnect between my opinions and their's so I'm not really sure.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

Everyone keeps saying this, but I don't know; I think the one community is more at the heart of these issues, if we can call them that, then people here claim.

The online community is always an echo-chamber that's largely disconnected from the masses.

Case in point, look at everything surrounding Smash 3DS/Wii U.

EDIT: To make that a bit clearer, that is to say, anything that happens here will never influence a character's inclusion one way or another, and it certainly doesn't make any given choice controversial. This community is not an official source and has no bearing on those making the games.

 

[TipO'TheMorning]

When I saw the title, I thought this was ridiculous. And when I read it, I still thought it was ridiculous. But a good ridiculous! This moveset is so creative, and could work so well. I really do hope we get Isabelle and Tom Nook in the next big Smash installment.

 

[FunAtParties]

The online community is always an echo-chamber that's largely disconnected from the masses.

Case in point, look at everything surrounding Smash 3DS/Wii U.

EDIT: To make that a bit clearer, that is to say, anything that happens here will never influence a character's inclusion one way or another, and it certainly doesn't make any given choice controversial. This community is not an official source and has no bearing on those making the games.

Maybe. Hopefully we'll see soon enough.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

Maybe. Hopefully we'll see soon enough.

We've already seen, though. Every single "shoe-in" and fan-made rule that originates from the online fandom is consistently proven wrong, because it's not us that makes up the wider market.

For example, "Nobody wanted Wii Fit Trainer", but at the time of her inclusion the Wii Fit software had sold more in just a few years than the entire Smash series had in 15; And though it was stated that she was partially chosen as a surprise oddball character, that would never have been the only reason - far from it, because that's just not how decisions about commercial products are made. And though you said before that Ryu and Cloud are somehow different, they aren't - that's just the result of fan-made rules that took root within the online fandom that's focussed around this site, while, out there, regular, non-super-enthusiast customers were asking for these characters for years (the "Link vs. Cloud" example is a particularly strong one, but "Ryu has been in lots of fighting crossovers" was almost as strong). The same goes for the dog from Duck Hunt - I've often seen folks around here say how "unlikely" he was, whereas I can tell you that out there in the wider market, people were asking where he was ever since Melee was released.

I know that, with all the hard work that people put into fictional movesets, artwork, and so on, it's a nice belief that someone out there is listening to what's being said, but at the end of the day, there's probably a few hundred people who regularly take part in speculation on narrowly-focussed sites like this one, versus (for example) the roughly 14 million people who bought Smash 3DS (about 9 million) and Smash Wii U (about 5 million). The sway we have here is minimal, and it then gets dismissed with phrases like "Sakurai is unpredictable", and similar.

They aren't paying a team of expert translators to keep the team in Japan updated on what a tiny sliver of the customer-base are posting in varying standards of English here, or in various other languages elsewhere. When they want information from their customers that they intend to have an influence on future products, they solicit it via surveys with the correct disclaimers and legalese in place - they've done so for every Smash game barring 64 and 3DS/Wii U, and it's what the Smash Ballot was for. (And the ballot did the rounds a lot further than you'd think, outside of the super-enthusiast sphere - whilst it's often said around here that it was poorly-promoted to try to explain why the results weren't what people expected, I was hearing about it from people I know who aren't hugely into Smash, as it reached as far as random anime groups and all sorts of other places, thanks to the way it spread across various social-media platforms.)

They're also likely to reference other companies' surveys of customers in the wider market, too. For example, there's a magazine in Japan that regularly polls its readership about their favourite video game characters - Isabelle from Animal Crossing has consistently placed at number one for the last three years or so, and other top choices are ones that some fandoms wouldn't necessarily expect, too. That's valuable survey data about a wider market.

Anyway, my point is, I don't believe that there's anything to worry about regarding what people on Smashboards might think of Tom Nook, K.K. Slider, or whoever else being added, because at the end of the day, Nintendo aren't soliciting feedback from their customers to feed back to any development teams right now.

 

[FunAtParties]

We've already seen, though. Every single "shoe-in" and fan-made rule that originates from the online fandom is consistently proven wrong, because it's not us that makes up the wider market.

For example, "Nobody wanted Wii Fit Trainer", but at the time of her inclusion the Wii Fit software had sold more in just a few years than the entire Smash series had in 15; And though it was stated that she was partially chosen as a surprise oddball character, that would never have been the only reason - far from it, because that's just not how decisions about commercial products are made. And though you said before that Ryu and Cloud are somehow different, they aren't - that's just the result of fan-made rules that took root within the online fandom that's focussed around this site, while, out there, regular, non-super-enthusiast customers were asking for these characters for years (the "Link vs. Cloud" example is a particularly strong one, but "Ryu has been in lots of fighting crossovers" was almost as strong). The same goes for the dog from Duck Hunt - I've often seen folks around here say how "unlikely" he was, whereas I can tell you that out there in the wider market, people were asking where he was ever since Melee was released.

I know that, with all the hard work that people put into fictional movesets, artwork, and so on, it's a nice belief that someone out there is listening to what's being said, but at the end of the day, there's probably a few hundred people who regularly take part in speculation on narrowly-focussed sites like this one, versus (for example) the roughly 14 million people who bought Smash 3DS (about 9 million) and Smash Wii U (about 5 million). The sway we have here is minimal, and it then gets dismissed with phrases like "Sakurai is unpredictable", and similar.

They aren't paying a team of expert translators to keep the team in Japan updated on what a tiny sliver of the customer-base are posting in varying standards of English here, or in various other languages elsewhere. When they want information from their customers that they intend to have an influence on future products, they solicit it via surveys with the correct disclaimers and legalese in place - they've done so for every Smash game barring 64 and 3DS/Wii U, and it's what the Smash Ballot was for. (And the ballot did the rounds a lot further than you'd think, outside of the super-enthusiast sphere - whilst it's often said around here that it was poorly-promoted to try to explain why the results weren't what people expected, I was hearing about it from people I know who aren't hugely into Smash, as it reached as far as random anime groups and all sorts of other places, thanks to the way it spread across various social-media platforms.)

They're also likely to reference other companies' surveys of customers in the wider market, too. For example, there's a magazine in Japan that regularly polls its readership about their favourite video game characters - Isabelle from Animal Crossing has consistently placed at number one for the last three years or so, and other top choices are ones that some fandoms wouldn't necessarily expect, too. That's valuable survey data about a wider market.

Anyway, my point is, I don't believe that there's anything to worry about regarding what people on Smashboards might think of Tom Nook, K.K. Slider, or whoever else being added, because at the end of the day, Nintendo aren't soliciting feedback from their customers to feed back to any development teams right now.

I meant with Tom Nook specifically lol.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

I meant with Tom Nook specifically lol.

Ohh, hahaha! Please pardon me for misunderstanding!

I still reckon he's got as good a chance as anyone else.

Also, a random thought occurs: Between his four shop uniforms, his modern outfit, and his golf outfit (seen in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo), he's got a decent set of alts ready-made. It's unfortunate that it falls short of the required eight, though...

Even if you include his pyjamas, seen when waking him up during the night in Doubutsu no Mori e+, it's still only seven. This outfit absolutely deserves to be included, though!

Am I missing an obvious eighth outfit?

 

[Laniv]

Ohh, hahaha! Please pardon me for misunderstanding!

I still reckon he's got as good a chance as anyone else.

Also, a random thought occurs: Between his four shop uniforms, his modern outfit, and his golf outfit (seen in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo), he's got a decent set of alts ready-made. It's unfortunate that it falls short of the required eight, though...

Even if you include his pyjamas, seen when waking him up during the night in Doubutsu no Mori e+, it's still only seven. This outfit absolutely deserves to be included, though!

Am I missing an obvious eighth outfit?

Well, we do have these options:

 

[FunAtParties]

Ohh, hahaha! Please pardon me for misunderstanding!

I still reckon he's got as good a chance as anyone else.

Also, a random thought occurs: Between his four shop uniforms, his modern outfit, and his golf outfit (seen in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo), he's got a decent set of alts ready-made. It's unfortunate that it falls short of the required eight, though...

Even if you include his pyjamas, seen when waking him up during the night in Doubutsu no Mori e+, it's still only seven. This outfit absolutely deserves to be included, though!

Am I missing an obvious eighth outfit?

Yeah, this one

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

Well, we do have these options:

The top one's the golf outfit that I mentioned. Is the bottom one the King Nook costume from Happy Home Designer? If so, that's perfect! (I haven't dealt with any of that - I just know it's in there.)

EDIT: Wait, I got it wrong, this is King Nook;

this one

What the hell?

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

What the hell?

People don't call him Pimp Nook for nothing.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

People don't call him Pimp Nook for nothing.

I've never heard anyone call him that before in my life. Only a mobster.

And you can bet that that meme will be doing the rounds all over again if Mr. Nook does make it into Smash!

"He said he'd break your kneecaps if you didn't pay, and now he's here to SMASH them!".

 

[Kirbeh]

I've never heard anyone call him that before in my life. Only a mobster.

And you can bet that that meme will be doing the rounds all over again if Mr. Nook does make it into Smash!

"He said he'd break your kneecaps if you didn't pay, and now he's here to SMASH them!".

A Villager/Nook team in doubles would be absolutely terrifying. A mobster and his hired hitman/political puppet.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

A Villager/Nook team in doubles would be absolutely terrifying. A mobster and his hired hitman/political puppet.

Considering the way that Tom Nook's Smash trophies jokingly imply that he's not entirely above-board, I can easily see this happening, especially since official promotions would probably riff off of it to some degree (since they started it with the whole sinister Villager thing).

 

[Cutie Gwen]

I support Tom Nook, the greatest pimp in history, breaker of kneecaps

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Villager has a moveset based around tending the town and collecting everything you can get your hands on. Tom Nook has a lot of room to work with the other major aspect of Animal Crossing, Social Climbing!

In my unfinished moveset, Tom Nook has a Bell stash that he both uses as his default Strong weapon (For Smash attacks ect) and the fuller it is the more power his attacks have but he can also "invest" that money to power himself up in other ways.

All I've got for getting money is that his grabs literally shake down his opponents and he has a move where he grows fruit trees and the fruit is exchanged for cash charge when he picks them up but his foes can take them for health.

 

[FunAtParties]

Villager has a moveset based around tending the town and collecting everything you can get your hands on. Tom Nook has a lot of room to work with the other major aspect of Animal Crossing, Social Climbing!

In my unfinished moveset, Tom Nook has a Bell stash that he both uses as his default Strong weapon (For Smash attacks ect) and the fuller it is the more power his attacks have but he can also "invest" that money to power himself up in other ways.

All I've got for getting money is that his grabs literally shake down his opponents and he has a move where he grows fruit trees and the fruit is exchanged for cash charge when he picks them up but his foes can take them for health.

What if he uses the coins to "bribe" other characters to hit him less hard or something? Sounds like it would be in character.

 

[FunAtParties]

I was reading up about tanuki's in Japanese mythology, and learned some interesting stuff. You could easily see how much the mythology inspires Tom Nook as a character, but one thing stuck out a little bit more in particular.

Warning mild sexual content:

Let me preface this by saying, I think Nintendo is making a very subtle, but very prominent dirty joke in the AC games.

To understand this, traditionally in Japanese folklore Tanuki's have comically large testicles. They are so big that they are known to use them as drums, or toss them over their shoulders just to be able to carry them around. Oddly enough, they are meant to represent financial luck. Hmmmm.

Obviously money plays a big part in Nook's character, so I think my theory already has legs, but it's really how it all wraps up that makes it seem like Nintendo made a long lived testicle joke in their games.

Like it takes a dirty mind to think a couple of money bags look like, well you know, but what is AC's currency called? Bells. What's another name for bags? Sacks. Bell Sacks. Hmmmmmmm.

Yeah I guess it's a stretch, but Nintendo's made some off color jokes before, I can easily believe they are capable of something like this.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Well we now have a "cultural" reason for Tom Nook to swing a bell bag around rather than the generic "he takes money therefore" one.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

I was reading up about tanuki's in Japanese mythology, and learned some interesting stuff. You could easily see how much the mythology inspires Tom Nook as a character, but one thing stuck out a little bit more in particular.

Warning mild sexual content:

Let me preface this by saying, I think Nintendo is making a very subtle, but very prominent dirty joke in the AC games.

To understand this, traditionally in Japanese folklore Tanuki's have comically large testicles. They are so big that they are known to use them as drums, or toss them over their shoulders just to be able to carry them around. Oddly enough, they are meant to represent financial luck. Hmmmm.

Obviously money plays a big part in Nook's character, so I think my theory already has legs, but it's really how it all wraps up that makes it seem like Nintendo made a long lived testicle joke in their games.

Like it takes a dirty mind to think a couple of money bags look like, well you know, but what is AC's currency called? Bells. What's another name for bags? Sacks. Bell Sacks. Hmmmmmmm.

Yeah I guess it's a stretch, but Nintendo's made some off color jokes before, I can easily believe they are capable of something like this.

As hilarious as these facts all are, there are a few other things to consider;

1: Tanuki in family-friendly media are instead portrayed as portly or fat. That's what they've done with Tom Nook, who has a round belly. If they've done this, they're probably not trying to portray a strictly traditional mythological tanuki.

2: The Bells thing is very English-language specific. In Japan, it's "ベル" (Beru) - simply, "Bell", in much the same way as you wouldn't say "Yens".

3: There's an uncensored tanuki statue available as a furniture item in-game. It's listed as the "Raccoon Figurine", but it does have the famous trait of the mythological version of the species.

Well we now have a "cultural" reason for Tom Nook to swing a bell bag around rather than the generic "he takes money therefore" one.

There's actually a traditional song about this.

 

[FunAtParties]

Well we now have a "cultural" reason for Tom Nook to swing a bell bag around rather than the generic "he takes money therefore" one.

Lol do it for the culture Sakurai

As hilarious as these facts all are, there are a few other things to consider;

1: Tanuki in family-friendly media are instead portrayed as portly or fat. That's what they've done with Tom Nook, who has a round belly. If they've done this, they're probably not trying to portray a strictly traditional mythological tanuki.

2: The Bells thing is very English-language specific. In Japan, it's "ベル" (Beru) - simply, "Bell", in much the same way as you wouldn't say "Yens".

3: There's an uncensored tanuki statue available as a furniture item in-game. It's listed as the "Raccoon Figurine", but it does have the famous trait of the mythological version of the species.


There's actually a traditional song about this.

Posted from wikipedia:

The legendary tanuki has eight special traits that bring good fortune, possibly created to coincide to the hachi symbol (八, meaning 'eight') often found on the sake bottles the statues hold. The eight traits are these:

• a hat to be ready to protect against trouble or bad weather;
• big eyes to perceive the environment and help make good decisions;
• a sake bottle that represents virtue;
• a big tail that provides steadiness and strength until success is achieved;
• an over-sized scrotum that symbolizes financial luck;
• a promissory note that represents trust or confidence;
• a big belly that symbolizes bold and calm decisiveness; and
• a friendly smile.

So actually, the portly belly is actually just one of the many traits tanuki's traditionally have anyway. Outside of the tail, he doesn't really have any other of these traits. I think it'd be funny if he had a special ingredient he likes to add to his coffee in the future, to rep the sake.

I had thought the Bells thing was probably a stretch, as it probably wasn't as similar sounding in Japanese. Thanks for confirming it and dashing my hopes.

Anyway on the topic of tanuki folklore, apparently they're shapeshifters. Isn't there some AC theory the Tom Nook is actually the guy that hands out balloons or something? EDIT: I can't find it, I guess there isn't

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

So actually, the portly belly is actually just one of the many traits tanuki's traditionally have anyway.

I know, but certain traits are very often dropped in modern media, with the belly being one that's favoured for being kept.

I had thought the Bells thing was probably a stretch, as it probably wasn't as similar sounding in Japanese. Thanks for confirming it and dashing my hopes.

Hah, sorry about that.

Bells appear to be based on Yen, incidentally, so the singular name in Japan doesn't surprise me.

Anyway on the topic of tanuki folklore, apparently they're shapeshifters. Isn't there some AC theory the Tom Nook is actually the guy that hands out balloons or something?

I actually don't know about that.

I only noticed the transforming of items into leaves, and the reference that some cranky villagers would make in older games, to suggest that Tom Nook wasn't a raccoon, as localised text states, but actually a tanuki claiming to be one (I distinctly remember Wart Jr. telling me about how Nook seemed like a canine, in Wild World). I thought it was a cool little nod, so as to keep things open for explaining series-lore in the future.

 

[FunAtParties]

I actually don't know about that.

I only noticed the transforming of items into leaves, and the reference that some cranky villagers would make in older games, to suggest that Tom Nook wasn't a raccoon, as localised text states, but actually a tanuki claiming to be one (I distinctly remember Wart Jr. telling me about how Nook seemed like a canine, in Wild World). I thought it was a cool little nod, so as to keep things open for explaining series-lore in the future.

Yeah i edited my earlier comment,couldn't find any references to it. Could swear I saw that theory somewhere.

Anyway the leaf transformations is actually in the folklore as well. Apparently tanuki and kitsune (fox's like Redd) could transform anything into leaves. So the game is obviously heavily rooted in Japanese folklore, in some areas at least.

It is true Tom Nook isn't completely believed to be a raccoon/tanuki by the inhabitants. In one of the games, I know Dr. Shrunk says Nook 'puts on a raccoon face', but that could mean a lot of things really.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

Anyway the leaf transformations is actually in the folklore as well. Apparently tanuki and kitsune (fox's like Redd) could transform anything into leaves.

And into other things that are far less pleasant, which I think we can all be thankful aren't in the games.

In one of the games, I know Dr. Shrunk says Nook 'puts on a raccoon face', but that could mean a lot of things really.

I really like how this is a pretty literal description of how tanuki resemble raccoons.

 

[Mrrgle]

Ah, nice! Can I be a Tom Nook Loyal Customer?

 

[FunAtParties]

So if Nook made it, I think he should get Villager's Final Smash, and Villager should get this...

Spoiler: Villager New Final Smash

He just goes fishing in the background, pulls up a massive Whale Shark, or Wailord or whatever, he then ducks. The catch then wipes out the stage, one-hitting whatever is around that area.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

So if Nook made it, I think he should get Villager's Final Smash, and Villager should get this...

Spoiler: Villager New Final Smash

He just goes fishing in the background, pulls up a massive Whale Shark, or Wailord or whatever, he then ducks. The catch then wipes out the stage, one-hitting whatever is around that area.

Yes.

If there's one glaring flaw in Villager's current moveset, it's the lack of fishing material.

This Final Smash would make up for it. I've always found the current one more fitting for Nook than Villager.

 

[FunAtParties]

Yes.

If there's one glaring flaw in Villager's current moveset, it's the lack of fishing material.

This Final Smash would make up for it. I've always found the current one more fitting for Nook than Villager.

Tbh I never understood why his Fsmash wasn't him dropping an anchor or something. Like when did he start using bowling balls lol?

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

Tbh I never understood why his Fsmash wasn't him dropping an anchor or something. Like when did he start using bowling balls lol?

They probably looked at the bowling furniture and said "A bowling ball would be a funny way of KO'ing someone".

http://animalcrossing.neoseeker.com/wiki/Games_Set

The anchor would definitely suit the wide variety of locales more.