Reviled by many gamers due to his slumlord-ish ways, Animal Crossing’s Tom Nook is a character I will forever be thankful for. Tom Nook, you see, is single-handedly responsible for easing my wife into the world of video games.
Back in 2004, I met my now wife at a Halloween event hosted at the college we both attended. We literally bumped into each other in the darkness of night. From that moment on, we dated and got to know one another as all couples do. As things began to grow more serious, I knew that I needed to share my love of video games with her. So, I went out and bought her a Nintendo DS and two copies of Animal Crossing. Two copies? One copy for her; one copy for me.
Soon we were enveloped in the chatty world of talking animals and weed pulling. Random bouts of letter writing, fishing, and strange conversations consumed our gaming time. Every once in awhile, we would visit the other’s town and exchange items—it is because of these visits that I was able to obtain a wide variety of fruit trees—. We were both enjoying the time spent playing the game and hanging out with each other.
Our love of Animal Crossing lasted almost a year. I don’t think that I have ever played a game for such a duration of time. One of our final gaming sessions in the game revolved around checking out the New Years celebration. Fireworks exploded in the sky with great bursts of volume and intensity. A sign, situated in the town square, proudly proclaimed, “Happy New Year”. We were surrounded by virtual buddies we had spent countless hours with. It was a happy new year indeed.
Looking back, we both fondly talk about our New Year’s Eve spent in Animal Crossing. If it wasn’t for Tom Nook and his gateway drug game, I’m not sure that my wife would still be playing games like she does today. A big thank you Tom. Your evil squirrel ways will not be forgotten.
JohnnyBGamer 
Animal Crossing is one of the few games that my family played together. Me, my sister, and my dad all had characters in the same town. We probably played for over a year, enjoying all of the seasonal celebrations and events. Great memories.
Long story short: I know where you’re coming. I love Animal Crossing.
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Which version did you play? Gamecube or Wii?
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We had the original one for Gamecube. I also got it for DS a while later, but didn’t play it nearly as much.
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Cool! I somehow missed the Gamecube version. Have been thinking about picking up the Wii version but have read that it is just like the DS version of the game. Why bother, right?
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Yeah, people are getting pumped for the new one now. Might as well wait for that, though it may not be released for a while.
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