With the introduction of terraforming and outdoor decorating,Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas become a near-boundless platform for creative expression. Plenty of creations have been shared online since the game’s launch that are crossovers with other Nintendo properties likeThe Legend of ZeldaandPokemon, commonly with recreations of entire areas like theBattle Frontier fromPokemon Emerald.
One recent endeavor posted to the r/AnimalCrossing subreddit Thursday by Redditor assaultepic takes this a step further by recreating the map of the Sinnoh Region fromPokemon Diamond,Pearl, andPlatinum. The design is restricted to being an island shape rather than a full recreation of the game’s sprites and models like a recentPokemon GoldandSilverremake produced by YouTuber Hinotch, but that doesn’t mean the detail isn’t a sight to behold — right down to roads spaced out likeDiamondandPearl’s town map.
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According to assaultepic, the design was created by importing a map into the Happy Island Designer web application that splits a theoreticalAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsmap into grids, and it took about a day to actually terraform. The island is apparently cramped because almost the entire middle surrounding Mt. Coronet is made from cliffs, but in an update comment Saturday they say are going to move villagers and buildings into specific areas to represent towns and locations like Snowpoint Temple.
Another fun bit about assaultepic’s island is that their Able Sisters shop has hoodies featuring Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup so villagers can “choose their starters.” They have also apparently been trying to dress villagers up like Gym Leaders, and have made their cranky squirrel Ricky look like Sunyshore’s leader Volkner. These elements and more have madeDiamondandPearlfan-favorite Pokemon games, andremakes have been consistently asked forsince the release ofOmega RubyandAlpha Sapphirein 2014.
At the end of the update comment, assaultepic encourages others to “try and make their own regional islands,” andAnimal Crossingplayers have certainly been active in that pursuit before. One fan has made a recreation ofMelemele Island fromPokemon SunandMoonthat takes elements from the games and anime.
For those who don’t playAnimal Crossingto take part in the more creative side of the game and prefer the life-simulation aspects, there’s plenty of content continually being added. Until May 7, players can celebrateMay Day by visiting a hedge maze island.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis available now on Nintendo Switch.
MORE:Animal Crossing: New Horizons Player Creates Impressive Zelda Dungeon in Game
