During the surprise Nintendo Direct Mini last month, the company revealed that Animal Crossing: New Horizons would be receiving an update to coincide with Earth Day. Earth Day, for those unaware, will be happening on April 22. A national day dedicated to restoring the planet we live on, there’s an absolutely perfect character within Animal Crossing to host it: Leif!
The Direct Mini showed a picture of Leif, so we already know he’ll be returning. With one event under our belts -the much-maligned Bunny Day-, what exactly can we look forward to with Earth Day? Will it even be called Earth Day this time around? Is there going to be an abundance of eggs again?
Probably not. We can look to the past of Animal Crossing to draw some conclusions about what this latest event will be about. Come, take a short journey with us as we look back at similar events from past titles to see what the future might hold.
Those wondering about Leif should know he was introduced in New Leaf alongside Isabelle. There isn’t much history to draw from with his character. He previously ran the home and garden section of T.I.Y. and T&T Emporium, allowing players to buy flowers and saplings to decorate their town. One thing he did host was “Weeding Day,” a random event where weeds were pulled around town.
As for Earth Day events, the holiday has previously been called “Nature Day” in both Animal Crossing: City Folk and New Leaf. It was hardly an event in the GameCube original, though mayor Tortimer would give you a tree model to decorate your house after speaking with him. This is similar in City Folk, with Tortimer giving out a Cool Globe between certain hours if you spoke to him.
New Leaf developed the holiday a bit more by having some decorations around the town plaza in the day. Players could take a picture for the Miiverse, pal around with their friends, and even get the Cool Globe after speaking with Isabelle. Leif wasn’t even a part of the event, which is a bit odd.
So for New Horizons, we’ll probably get a combination of everything listed above. I’d be surprised if the Cool Globe doesn’t make a reappearance as a DIY item, but you can absolutely bet that weeds will play a part. Leif has a history there and he likely wants revenge.
As for when the update will land for New Horizons, we’re not sure. Nintendo is being quiet right now, but Earth Day is next week. We’ll probably get an update a day or two ahead of the event, so make sure to keep your Switch online to receive it. It would be crazy for the update to appear the same day as the event, which would be confusing.
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