Animal Crossing: New Horizons JPN Box Art/Ad and Screens

Happy new year! We made it to 2020. I thought we'd kick off the new year with a post about a game I am very much looking forward to, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Sure, I don't have a wealth of stuff to talk about in this post and to any big Animal Crossing fans, they've more than likely seen this stuff already, but I am jazzed for this game and it has been six years since the last (proper) Animal Crossing title. If you're anything like me, this tidbit of material will have you licking your lips with anticipation and might make make the wait for the game a little more bearable. Or it could make the wait that much more difficult. As Mario would say, here we go.

First off, we've got a Japanese ad for New Horizons where Tom Shnook, Crook, Nook takes the stage to present the island where the game will take place to the residents. Among the animal crowd is everyone's favorite dog and mayor assistant, Isabelle. I would say that I miss her since I haven't touched New Leaf in forever, but I see her all the time in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Marshall was also in the audience. I had hoped to get him as a resident back in New Leaf but it was never meant to be. Here's hoping he shows up as an island resident for me in New Horizons.

The Japanese box art for New Horizons has also surfaced. North American box art for Animal Crossing games has matched the Japanese versions for nearly 20 years and outside of a logo change,  I have no reason to doubt the box art will be any different for this release. Every version I've come across on the interwebs has been blurry except for this one that was posted on reddit. It doesn't have the Nintendo Switch red and white logo in the top left corner but it is the cleanest image I've seen thus far, so I went with it.

Finally, we've got some new screen shots thanks to the folks at Nintendo Life. The simple, yet charming visual style that series is known for is still on display but the Switch makes the character models look a bit more crisp and sharp. That first image where the dude is staring at his phone when he's on an island surrounded by nature? Man, if that doesn't sum up how people are today, I don't know what does.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons launches March 20, 2020 on the Nintendo Switch and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.