After New Horizons 3.0, Animal Crossing Needs To Acknowledge This Fan-Made Collaboration

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After years since the last update introducing Happy Homer Paradise back in 2021,Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting an even more exciting addition with the launch of its 3.0 update to reignite interest in the series. While there was plenty of hope and rumors that we might be getting a newAnimal Crossing game with the release of the Switch 2, the update is a great way to pass the time until then.

Easily one of the most interesting aspects of theNew Horizons3.0 update is its inclusion of several crossover characters withThe Legend of Zelda series, potentially opening the door for even more to come in the future. With theAnimal Crossing series growing more comfortable with references and other meta jokes as time goes by, it's the perfect chance to make one unexpected but long-in-the-making crossover a reality.

Animal Crossing & DOOM Have Had A Unique Relationship Over The Years

A Bond Forged Over Half A Decade Ago

The Doom Slayer ad Isabelle Nendoroids pose together.

Having both been released on March 20, 2020,Animal Crossing: New Horizons andDOOM Eternal have been linked ever since, with countless memes and fan-made content celebrating the two iconic franchises. Out of all the headcannons and even a music video byThe Chalkeaters with over 77 million views, the most popular aspect was easily anycollaborative fan projects featuring Isabelle and The Slayer himself.

Although the memes of the unconventional pair have died down significantly over the years, the phenomenon has still had a lasting impact on both franchises, with in-jokes and fan creations persisting to this very day. Despite being complete tonal opposites, the differences between the two franchises are exactly what made them such a great pair with their surprisingly wholesome fan art.

While a similar shared release date connection also repeated itself with the release ofOppenheimerandBarbieon the same day, it still didn't have as much collaborative embracement from both sides of its fanbases asAnimal Crossing andDOOM did, making it easily one of the most iconic mashups in recent years.

Even if it's unlikely that Nintendo would ever goso far as to open a direct collaboration with ID Software and itsDOOMfranchise, that doesn't mean there isn't potential for plenty of Easter eggs and subtle nods that could delight both sides of their respective communities.

Animal Crossing Is Already Opening The Door To More Crossover Content

Zelda Could Open The Floodgates For More Creative Collaborations

Having already leaned more heavily on in-house collaborations withMario,Splatoon,Metroid, and the upcomingLegend of Zelda content arriving in the free 3.0 update, it's not too much of a stretch to reach out to other franchises outside of Nintendo's control.New Horizons evenfeaturesAnimal Crossing-themed parodies of existing works and bands, such as Red's museum items and K.K. Slider's various albums.

Although the reintroduction of crossover villagers with Tulin, Mineru, Cece, and Viche fromThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom andSplatoon 3 is an exciting prospect on its own, it's unfortunately hard to believe that Nintendo would everadd an entirely new character based on another equally established franchise that it didn't already own.

PreviousAnimal Crossing games have had their own character crossovers as well, with severalSplatoonandZeldacharacters appearing inAnimal Crossing: New Leaf andAnimal Crossing: Welcome Amiibo.

Even if we won't be able to invite the Doom Slayer over to our own islands to hang out with Isabelle anytime soon, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of other creative ways to host a cross-dimensional collaboration in the future. Whether it's themed clothes, decorations, Gyroids playingDOOM's iconic soundtrack, or even a few tongue-in-cheek lines of dialogue, there are plenty of ways to incorporateDOOM intoAnimal Crossing's tone without being overly intrusive.

WithAnimal Crossing thriving on hidden references like The Da Vinci Code's key behind a fake painting, or riding the line between paying homage and straight-up borrowing from franchises likeGodzillaandGundamwith its in-game decorations, the nextAnimal Crossing game could take this even further with more pop-culture references that acknowledge its passionate fanbase.

Unique Dialogue Would Go A Long Way To Improving Animal Crossing's Daily Life

Spicing Up Character Interactions Is An Easy Way To Win Over Fans

Given that one of thebiggest complaints about New Horizons to this day is easily its lack of interesting or unique villager dialogue, characters often have very little to say or do after talking to them a handful of times.

With the more abrasive and unique personalities ofAnimal Crossing's characters having been watered down with each following entry, adding in even a few dialogue references through updates or from the ground up in a full-blown sequel would be an excellent start to addressing this issue.

Whether it's Isabelle making jokes about having a friend that loves heavy metal, slaying her daily tasks, or other characters mentioning seeing her next to a scary-looking villager with an affinity for rabbits, there are plenty of creative ways to reference other games likeDOOMwithout ruining its immersion.

Rather than breaking the cozy vibe that games likeNew Horizons have going for them, these small nods would help to enhance the overall experience by giving its characters more flavor and reasons to check in with them each day, with even more iconic franchises likeStardew Valley and anything from Studio Ghibli being welcome additions as well.

This isn't to say thatAnimal Crossing: New Horizons needs anything like a full-blown crossover withDOOM Eternal or any other non-Nintendo franchise, but the series deserves, and could easily benefit from clever Easter-eggs that pay homage to some of the most influential and heartwarming moments in the franchise's history moving forward.