Hi everyone, and welcome to my new Animal Crossing: New Horizons blog! The game came out today, and I’m excited to start my new life on a (previously) deserted island! Before setting off, Timmy and Tommy gave me four islands to choose from.
I had a hard time choosing, especially between the top two, which are more symmetrical. I ultimately chose #2 (top-right), because both river sources were up on the highest levels. So I should have some nice waterfalls, or at least, that’s what I’m hoping for.
When my plane arrived, I saw that I had apple trees! 🍎 This is the first version of Forest that has apples as the town fruit! My GameCube and Wild World towns have oranges, and my City Folk and New Leaf towns have peaches. But I’m just glad that I didn’t get pears. 😀
I came out of the airport to find a gorilla and a monkey…definitely not what I was hoping for! The gorilla turned out to be Louie; he’s the gorilla that looks like Donkey Kong. (Even though Al plays the role of D.K. in my Mario Plays ACCF series, Louie clearly makes the better Donkey Kong). So he has, by default, become my new friend.
I’m generally not a fan of the monkey villagers (other than Champ), but my new neighbor isn’t even a typical monkey: It’s Shari, the CLOWN monkey! Ugh! And in this moment, I also realized that Louie walks around with his bare butt cheeks hanging out. What a lovely image.
Well, that’s how this game works. You work your way up, improving your town, after starting at the bottom. The bare bottom.
After a brief introduction at the plaza, it was time to find a spot for my tent. I picked a spot just south of the plaza, and near the beach. This way, I won’t have far to go when catching and selling fish.
Louie and Shari had spots picked out, but they wait for you to confirm (or change) their choices. Louie had a spot picked out pretty close to mine, and I just let him go with that. I didn’t want to get involved with him pitching his tent.
But for Shari, I wanted her to be as far away as possible. So I put her in near the river to the northeast.
Next, Tom Nook wanted me to gather 10 tree branches for a campfire and six apples for a snack. As night fell (the tutorial isn’t in real-time), we gathered near the campfire and suggested names for our new island.
We decided to vote, and everyone liked my suggestion of Forest (as if they had a choice). I know a lot of people think Forest is a boring or uncreative name, but it’s become a tradition for me. I’ve been naming my first (and main) town in each game Forest, going all the way back to the GameCube game in 2002. It wouldn’t feel right to me any other way.
Since my suggestion was the unanimous choice, Tom Nook declared me to be the “resident representative” of Forest. I believe this is basically like being the mayor in New Leaf, just without the title and phony elections. 🗳️
Tom Nook gave a toast to our new island and we enjoyed our glasses of apple juice. 🥂
Afterwards, Tom Nook gave me a camping cot, which I took back to my tent. There was also a portable radio and a lantern inside my tent. I went to sleep, and dreamed of K.K. Slider! This was a nice throwback to the GameCube game, where a similar scene of K.K. under a spotlight started the game. 🎸
When I woke up, the clock was set to real-time. Tom Nook gave me my NookPhone so that he can spy on me. Since I didn’t have any bells on me, he told me that I can pay him back in Nook Miles. That’s a type of currency you get for completing different tasks, much like the MEOW Coupons in New Leaf.
I browsed through the features of the NookPhone, and I earned some miles by taking a picture with the camera app and adding a note to my profile. I had two letters in my mailbox, both from Nintendo. One thanked me for downloading the game update, and it contained a Nintendo Switch. The other letter was just a generic letter for getting started, and it had a simple DIY workbench included.
Shari shared a recipe for a leaf umbrella, and Louie gave me an outdoor hat. It was ugly, so I did not leave it on.
Tom Nook offered me a free DIY workshop to show me how to use the workbench for crafting. I crafted a flimsy fishing rod, and that allowed me to start fishing!
I thought the fishing felt a little different (stiffer?) in this game, like maybe the bobber doesn’t move as freely? It kinda just sits there. I mean, it still flows with the water, but maybe not as swiftly as in the other games. It’s not a big deal though, and I’m sure I’ll get it used to it in no time. And still, I had no trouble catching fish. This bitterling was my first catch.
I also caught a horse mackerel, yellow perch, sea bass, a black bass…and an empty can. The can gave me an idea for a DIY recipe: a succulent plant.
When I showed the bitterling to Tom Nook, he wanted to send it to his friend (Blathers) for a closer look. Tom gave me a new app, the Critterpedia! It shows the times of day (and months of the year) that each critter you’ve caught can be found. Very helpful!
I then collected more tree branches to craft a flimsy net. I immediately tested it out on Tommy’s head.
After giving him a few whacks on the head, I spoke to him and he was happy to see me. I guess NPCs still don’t get angry over things like that. But with that bit of fun over with, I decided to use my net for its real purpose: Hitting Shari.
Unlike Tommy, she got mad after a few hits. Hey, someone had to test this out and make sure it still worked, right? 😉
I tried using the NookPhone camera app to take a picture of Shari while she was mad. But unlike the camera feature in Super Mario Odyssey, time doesn’t stop. So it’s hard to capture a moving target, and she kept walking off-screen. I suppose it’ll be easier once I get used to the camera controls, but I’ll need more practice.
Anyway, I also used the net to catch some bugs. A yellow butterfly was my first insect, and then I also caught a tiger butterfly and common butterfly.
I spotted a balloon present, but there was no way to shoot it down. Out of desperation, I tried shaking it when it was near a tree, but that didn’t work. 😛
After playing a bit more, I felt like I basically reached the limit of what could be accomplished today. A dodo told me the airport won’t open until tomorrow, so I can’t play online yet. And I don’t have a vaulting pole, so I can’t even cross the river to explore the rest of my town!
But before I ended my day, I wanted to test out some messaging aspects of the game. The good news is that USB keyboards work with the game. Unfortunately, you have to press the R button first to activate the keyboard, for every line you type. So you can’t set the controller down and just type. In City Folk, you could just type on the keyboard at any time, as long as you weren’t in a menu.
Not only that, but chat messages only stay on-screen for about five seconds, just like in New Leaf. And they still disappear when you go through a doorway! This could make communication difficult again, and that’s the main reason I didn’t enjoy playing New Leaf online as much as City Folk. It’s a curious decision, but hopefully this can be addressed in a future update?
Overall, I’m definitely enjoying my new island adventure in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There is so much to look forward to, and so many things yet to unlock. It’s going to be a great time, and I hope you’ll follow along! I’ll be posting a new entry just about every day, and there will be frequent videos as well. Here is the video of Day 1:
How are your towns going? Get some good villagers? Leave a comment below! I’ll see you all next time! Never Stop Crossing!
Buy ACNH Guide at Amazon – Buy ACNHUpdate: I just want to share a tip I got from Megan: Instead of selling weeds directly, use them to make leaf umbrellas and earn more money!
Did you know every gorilla has a little booty?
oh wow, i had shari before in my nl and i liked her lol
this is an “old” post now i know, but i figured it was time i read your new horizons blog and catch up now that i’ve taken a step away from my switch lmao.
Similar to you, I named my island Playland which is a very lame name to most people, but it is always what I named my towns when I was like 5 playing the Gamecube version in like 2004, and then again when I played Wild World and City Folk. Changing it up in New Leaf has always bothered me, so I went back to my roots. It makes me feel better knowing that someone else uses the same name they’ve had since the GameCube days.
I got Renee and Hamlet for my starters, and I hate Renee so much. She’s absolutely the worst.
I had Shari in my New Leaf village and really did not care for her, but her banana feet have always made me laugh. She refused to move from my town in New Leaf for like a year though, I think I ended up forcing her out with an Amiibo card eventually.
Hey jeff what did you get your NES. How many years have you had it. I have an NES but it is not plugged in. I have games for it too.
I got mine in 2004 from a family member. I haven’t played it in a long time, though.
You don’t have to use your Nookphone to take pictures (except when it’s a miles-earning task). The regular capture button works, too.
True! You just can’t use the zoom feature and filters that way.
I got the game today and my starters are Renee the rhino and Sheldon the squirrel (both I dislike). I caught some fish and bugs and unlocked the museum. I do want to get the vaulting pole, but I crafted a fishing rod and net.
I got Renée and Snake. Kinda disappointed, but more villagers will come. My town fruit is oranges again, which is the third game in a row it happened lol 🍊
Quad Isle is now up and running. Just like you, I have apples and Louie. Instead of Shari, I got Flo, who was the first resident to move into my New Leaf town, Quigley, after beginning that town five years ago, and the only resident to move out then return. I guess I’ll just go with the Flo…
I got Reneigh and Mac and I gotta say… I love Reneigh! Mac is just average but cute, like a Bulldog kinda cute.
Let us know when you you’ll open your town for the first time!
Loving the game!
My island is named Eventide (from Zelda Breath of the Wild) and my starters were Diva and Dom (the new jock sheep!)
Honestly, I like Shari and would much rather have her than Diva.
Hope you enjoy the game!
I never realized Shari was a clown type :d I love their color palette though, I wonder if you can still yoink villagers from your friends in NH.
I got Muffy and Tank! I really like them, although I’d much prefer having Shari (my favourite female villager) and Louie on my island.
On my island, Starside, the fruits are pears. I’d prefer having apples instead of pears because in my City Folk town the town fruit is apples. 🍎🍐
My island fruit is apples too! I named my town Ikustan, which is a name backwards, and I made it up last year, for my new leaf town. My starting villagers were Bill and Tammy, not who i was hoping for but I’ve definitely had worse. I love the game!
Glad you’re enjoying the game! I got Renée and Tybalt, which wasn’t too bad. (Regardless of the fact I’ve never heard of him.) My area was releasing the game a day early, so I got a little head start! I’ve got some stuff in the process of building that’ll be done tomorrow. I hope you play online soon! I’d love to join you!
Hi! You’re so lucky you got apples! I got pears ;-; and the villagers i got were Shari and Antonio! Absolutely LOVING the game! I mainly go fishing, bug catching, and drawing on the bulletin board XDD can’t wait to see any future videos! Have fun playing, everyone! ❤
I’ve never had pears in any of my ac games. I saw so much hatred for pears online and I think it made me not want pears. But then…I got pears….and I actually think they look really cute XD. I actually got like green everything. 2 green villagers, green airports, and green fruit. I’m just taking it as a sign that me and pears were meant to be lol.
Good to see you again, Jeff! I wanna note that there’s a NookPhone app that lets you see past chat messages, so it should create a bit of a compromise.
That should definitely help! Although I still wish they stayed on-screen longer anyway, haha. I’ll have to give that app a try once I unlock it. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
I havent played it yet but too bad they don’t have cliffs. In acnl you could use a net for a balloon as long it was over a cliff.
There are cliffs in the game, I just can’t reach them yet.
Awesome! I started out with Kid Cat and Phoebe, who aren’t bad, but I’m super jealous of my friend who got Boots (my favorite villager)as his starting villager. I spent my night catching fish to be able to pay off my loan immediately tomorrow.
Hi! I love your blogs and videos, I’ve been a fan of yours for a few years now. My town is named Clover and I’ve cleared almost all weeds, expect the top pier ones. I have peaches, apples, coconuts, oranges and cherries so far. In NH, they only have the original fruit and bamboo (apples, peaches, oranges, cherries, pears, coconuts). The note in a bottle and daily glowing spot returned, I’m happy about that! My starting two were Teddy (I had him in WW and NL. He was scary. I’ve also had encounters of him in CF) and Reneigh, the new horse. I invited Hugh, Celia and Wendy to my island. Getting museum built and soon Nook’s Cranny! Have a good night,
-Liz of Clover
If you give five creatures to Nook, Blathers will come the next day and you’ll get the recipe for the pole vault.
I named my island Farway (like the Farway Museum in the original), and my starting fruit is pears. My villagers are Agnes and Biff.
my starters are reneigh (new horse) and boone! they’re both super cute, i’m very happy with them. i had a tarantula spawn the night i downloaded it. scared me, and i tried and failed to catch the stupid thing.
hey jeff when your planning on opening your gates can you make an anouncment on your twitter and or instigram? it would help alot!
Love the first blog entry, excited to see how forest ends up.
(I love the name forest When I think of you I think of forest)
Poor Shari she’s in for a wild ride, even if she is ugly.
I lucked out… I managed to start the game at ~11 p.m. my time…. So even though I played past midnight last night, when I loaded the game up this morning, it was like I traversed time a day, and I was on my “2nd” day 😀
I’m jealous you got Louie. I was hoping he would be my starting jock villager. (I got Goose instead.) By the way, I also got apples.
Do you plan on playing online tomorrow when the airport is open, I added you to my friend list a loooooonnnng time ago, back when this game was first announced one and a half years ago.
I will probably play online at some point tomorrow, at least to try it out.
That’s neat that Louie made a big return from the gamecube game! And I agree, i really dont like Shari as much. She deserves that net hit lol Great introduction to New Horizons! I’m gonna start my island soon!
I just got animal crossing new horizons today and I’m having lots of fun!
Awesome! I can’t wait to see your island build up!
You got apples too! Everyone else that I’ve watched had gotten pears (as well as my brother)! You got Shari like my brother lol. I got Biff and Cannbera as my starters..hopefully I get some better people soon😂
I got Shari and a new sheep villager, Dom. Weird!
Congrats Jeff, I’m as happy that you finally get to play it as I am that I get to play it! My starters are Lyman and Shari. I adore Lyman and have him in my new leaf town so it was great to see him. Shari I’m not quite as keen on but I seem to like her more than you though.
I thought Louie looked like Donkey Kong too lmao.
I’m Glad to see you enjoy another new journey and of course you would “test” the net on someone haha!
When is Wifi-Moments gonna be up? Because I would love for you to visit my town right now or whenever! 👍
P.S. Im your switch friend already with the Tom Nook profile picture.
I don’t know yet. I still haven’t even played online. 🙂
This release of AC is amazing, it’s only the first day and I’ve put in 8 hours!
Hi Jeff!
I can’t believe the wait is finally over! I’ve been waiting for this day for what feels like years. 😀
I got very lucky because my copy of new horizons and my special edition switch got delivered yesterday, so I was able to start playing a day early! And now that I have two switches, I can have two islands. 🙂
I named the first one Sundrop. My villagers are Mac and Rocket and my fruits are pears. I’m very happy with that. 🙂
My second island is called Eastpoint, my villagers are Mott and Sylvia and my fruits are oranges. I’m happy with that as well. 🙂
I’m kinda sad you didn’t pick the island on the top left, because the middle part kind of looks like a dog laying down. 😀
I’m looking forward to your videos on new horizons and the next blog entry. Keep up the great work!
Starters are Iggly & Phoebe.
Loving the game so far, I started last night so I was able to travel today and already acquired 4 different fruits! My native is peaches though.
I was excited to see your first moments of acnh! I started out with peaches as my native fruit and the villagers i started with were Ursala and Sheldon. I was expecting Ursala to be mean like how she can be in the first game (i only really saw her through your gamecube town) but shes actually very sweet!
the starting villagers in my shared island with my brothers are flo and tank
I share a town with my family and so far it’s been good even though I hate how the sky turns orange. We got a brown bear and I forgot his name but the white sheep is named Don. I love your videos! Have fun cutie pie!