Rediscovering a Charming Homemade Guidebook for the Original Animal Crossing Game

Highlights

A dedicated Animal Crossing enthusiast has stumbled upon their homemade manual for the classic GameCube version, shedding light on the overlaps and disparities between the initial installment and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

The homemade guidebook offers insights into fishing, bug catching, town tunes, and buying items, giving an idea of the challenges players faced in the early 2000s.

In contrast to the official guidebook, Lyssepoo's personalized guidebook contains information sourced from different references and does not include illustrations, depicting the scarcity of resources prior to the emergence of online gaming communities.

A dedicated Animal Crossing fan has recently stumbled upon their homemade guidebook for the original GameCube game. With each new installment of Animal Crossing, the franchise has gathered a growing community of fans, and this devoted player still possesses their personalized guidebook from the early days.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons shares several resemblances with the original GameCube version. Both games revolve around interacting with animal villagers, engaging in fishing and bug catching activities, and creating customizable homes. However, due to the evolution of Animal Crossing over time, New Horizons incorporates exclusive features that are unique to this installment. The game introduced crafting, terraforming, the ability to decorate doors, and more. In this homemade guidebook belonging to the GameCube Animal Crossing fan, these similarities and differences are highlighted.

Reddit user Lyssepoo recently shared five images of their personalized GameCube Animal Crossing guidebook. The guidebook contains a wealth of printed information about the game, including valuable tips on fishing and bug-catching locations and timings, item prices and availability, and even town tunes. The town tunes featured in the guidebook range from Disney's "A Pirate's Life For Me" to famous Scooby-Doo and Peanuts theme songs, and even Silent Night. One notable difference from the more recent Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the ability for players to change the theme of the GameCube title at the song billboard next to the Post Office.

Although there existed an official Prima guidebook for Animal Crossing on the GameCube, many players discovered hidden secrets and valuable tips through other means. This official guidebook was rich in illustrations, providing visual aids to accompany the secrets, tips, and tricks it offered, unlike Lyssepoo's predominantly text-based book. It appears that Lyssepoo compiled information from various sources to create their unique guidebook, which was quite a resourceful approach in a time before the widespread availability of internet guides. In addition to the helpful tips and tricks found in Lyssepoo's Animal Crossing guide, players could also utilize special codes at the Post Office to receive exclusive items, wallpapers, and substantial amounts of Bells.

During the early 2000s, the internet gaming community was not as thriving as it is today. The Animal Crossing guide created by Lyssepoo offers a glimpse into the dedication and efforts some players had to put in during that time. Although Lyssepoo's homemade guide contains a decent number of furniture pieces, the GameCube version of Animal Crossing had a vast collection of hundreds of items, as well as numerous wallpapers and carpets. It is uncertain at present whether Lyssepoo successfully collected all the bugs and fish they were aiming for, as there are no checkmarks indicating completion. Animal Crossing is currently available for GameCube.