Animal Crossing: City Folk places players in a rural village populated with anthropomorphic animals. This title released in the United States on November 16, 2008, before making it to the rest of the world a few days later. Unfortunately, the game released to mixed reviews. Critics and fans considered the game way too similar to the previous Animal Crossing titles but despite its detractors, the game still became one of the best-selling games on the Nintendo Wii console. You can read our review here.
©Screenshot from Animal Crossing: City Folk. – Original
Animal Crossing: City Folk Premise
The Animal Crossing franchise is a series of social simulation games developed by Nintendo EAD. City Folk is built upon the game design of the games that came before it and it doesn’t really change much. This could be seen as a bad thing however, fans of these games don’t really expect much from them. As long as the game understands the core values of comfort and whimsy that bring people to these titles it will always be a success. Hence, this title is a top-selling game on its console.
©Nintendo
Animal Crossing: City Folk Main Characters
Town Workers
- Tom Nook: The raccoon who runs the town’s store, Nook’s Cranny (upgraded through expansions).
- Mabel and Sable: The hedgehog sisters who operate the Able Sisters clothing store.
- Blathers: The owl who runs the museum.
- Celeste: Blathers’ sister manages the museum’s observatory.
- Pelly: A pelican who works at the town hall during the day.
- Phyllis: A pelican who works the night shift at the town hall.
- Tortimer: The elderly tortoise who serves as the town mayor.
Traveling Characters
- K.K. Slider: A dog musician who performs at the Roost in the museum every Saturday night.
- Joan: A boar who sells turnips every Sunday morning.
- Saharah: A camel who trades for carpets and wallpapers.
- Gracie: A giraffe who appears in the city with her fashion brand, GracieGrace.
- Redd: A fox who runs a secretive art and furniture shop in the city.
- Katrina: A fortune-telling panther in the city.
- Dr. Shrunk: An axolotl who teaches emotions in the city theater.
- Pascal: An otter who appears occasionally near the river to share wisdom.
- Gulliver: A seagull found washed up on the beach.
- Wendell: A starving walrus who trades you patterns for food.
- Lyle: An insurance-selling otter who also manages the Happy Room Academy in the city.
Special Characters
- Isabelle: Not present in this game (introduced in later titles).
- Resetti: A mole who appears if you reset the game without saving.
- Don Resetti: Resetti’s calmer brother, occasionally seen in the Reset Surveillance Center.
- Kapp’n: A kappa who drives the bus to the city.
- Brewster: A pigeon who runs The Roost cafe in the museum.
- Harriet: A poodle who styles hair at Shampoodle in the city.
- Cornimer: Tortimer’s alter ego during the Acorn Festival.
Other Animal Crossing Titles In The Series
- Animal Crossing (2001)
- Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005)
- Animal Crossing: City Folk (2008)
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012)
- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (2015)
- Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (2015)
- Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (2017)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise (2021 DLC)
Animal Crossing: City Folk Cheat Codes
Unlockables
Connection bonus
Transfer your saved game file from Animal Crossing: Wild World. All your previously unlocked items will now be available for sale in the catalog at Tom Nook’s store.
Bank unlockables
Deposit the indicated number of Bells at the bank to unlock the corresponding bonus:
Shopping Card: 10,000 Bells
Box Of Tissues: 100,000 Bells
Gold Card: 1,000,000 Bells
Piggy Bank: 10,000,000 Bells
Green Feather: 100,000,000 Bells
Blue Feather: 200,000,000 Bells
Yellow Feather: 300,000,000 Bells
Red Feather: 400,000,000 Bells
Purple Feather: 500,000,000 Bells
White Feather: 600,000,000 Bells
Rainbow Feather: 700,000,000 Bells
ABD: 999,999,999 Bells
Town Fund unlockables
Donate the indicated number of Bells to the Town Fund at Town Hall to unlock the corresponding item or structure. Note: These items and structures have no effect other than to show off what you donated.
Bridge is built: 200,000 Bells
Fountain is built: 400,000 Bells
Windmill or lighthouse is built: 1,000,000 Bells
Tom Nook’s store prizes
You can earn 1 point for every 100 Bells spent at Tom Nook’s store. They can be used to earn the following prizes:
Bad Bro ‘Stache: 2,500 points
Banana: 500 points
Hero’s Cap, Majora’s Mask, or Samus Mask: 6,000 points
Hero’s Clothes, Varia Suit, or Wario Hat: 5,000 points
Kart: 10,000 points
Midna’s Mask: 6,500 points
Peach’s Parasol: 4,000 points
Toad Hat: 3,000 points
Triple Shells: 800 points
Yoshi’s Egg: 1,000 points
Tom Nook’s store upgrades
After playing the game for at least one week, successfully complete the indicated task to have Tom Nook’s store upgraded to the corresponding level:
Nook N’ Go: Spend or sell 25,000 Bells at Nook’s Cranny, and wait one week from the day Nook’s Cranny first began.
Nookway: Spend or sell 90,000 Bells at Nook N’ Go, and wait two weeks from the day Nook N’ Go first began.
Nookingtons: Spend or sell 250,000 Bells at Nookway, and wait three weeks from the day Nookway first began. Note: Unlike Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing: Wild World, you do not have to have someone come to your village to buy one thing as well to get Nookingtons.
House improvement costs
Improvements to your house will cost the indicated amount of Bells:
Normal house: 19,800 Bells
First expansion: 120,000 Bells; results in larger first floor
Second expansion: 248,000 Bells; results in largest first floor
Third expansion: 368,000 Bells; results in second floor
Final expansion: 598,000 Bells; results in basement
Better tools
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding tool upgrade:
Golden Axe: Throw an axe into the town fountain to randomly turn it golden.
Golden Fishing Rod: Catch every species of fish.
Golden Net: Catch every species of insect.
Golden Shovel: Bury a normal shovel, then dig it up four days later.
Golden Slingshot: Knock down eight balloons to have a random chance of obtaining it from a balloon.
Golden Watering Can: Earn a “Perfect” town rating for fifteen days, then talk to Pelly at Town Hall.
Silver Axe: Throw an axe into the town fountain.
Silver Fishing Rod: Purchase from Tom Nook’s store.
Silver Net: Purchase from Tom Nook’s store.
Silver Shovel: Obtain from Resetti’s Surveillance Center in the city.
Silver Slingshot: Purchase from Tom Nook’s store.
Silver Watering Can: Purchase fifty bags of seeds from Tom Nook’s store.
Contest trophies
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding trophy for your house:
Bug Trophy: Catch the largest bug by the end of the Bug Contest.
Fish Trophy: Catch the largest fish by the end of the Fishing Contest.
Secrets
Easy Bells
Set the system date to December 24th of any year in the future and the time to after 8:00 p.m. Walk around and find Jingle, a reindeer in a Santa suit. Talk to him, and he will ask you two questions. No matter how you answer, you will get a piece of the Jingle set. If you sell any piece to Tom Nook, he will pay over 12,000 Bells. Repeat this as many times as desired.
One of the rocks in your town will randomly give Bells when it is hit repeatedly. Note: To hit a money rock quickly, dig holes on either side of it and another hole behind you in order to trap your character in position. By doing this, you cannot recoil away after hitting the rock, allowing you to repeatedly smash it quickly.
After getting the Golden Shovel, use it to bury money. It will grow into a tree. Shake that tree, and moneybags will fall from it instead of fruit.
Go fishing in late July or early August at about 7 p.m. to catch the more expensive fish. You can catch a Hammerhead (8,000 Bells), Napoleanfish (10,000 Bells), Red Snapper (3,000 Bells), or Shark (15,000 Bells).
When fishing in winter, catch and sell the following fish: Red Snapper (3,000 bells), String Fish (15,000 bells), and Tuna (7,000 bells).
If you find an Elegant Mushroom, it can be sold to Tom Nook for 10,000 Bells.
On Bunny Day, dig up all the bunny eggs with a shovel. Open the bunny eggs. If they are candy, eat them. If they are bunny foil, keep them. Then, go to the bunny man in front of the main hall. After you get the prizes, sell them to Tom Nook, and save the game. Play a different day, save the game, then start Bunny Day all over again.
Easy fruit
Use the following trick to get lots of fruit. Send your town’s native fruit in a letter to a resident, and include the word “Fruit” in the message area. Eventually, they will reply with fruit (either the same or different) or furniture.
Easy Golden Slingshot
The present balloons that need to be shot down to get the Golden Slingshot will appear when the last number of the time is “5” and the hour is either 10 a.m. or 3 p.m., giving you twelve chances per day. To find the balloons easily, go to the north side of your town. Do not stay there all the time, just run up there when you see a balloon. Your running movement can be used to control the balloon. After you shoot down eight balloons, one of the next balloons you shoot will have the Golden Slingshot. This version can fire three pellets.
Buying multiple numbers of the same item
Go to Tom Nook’s store, and buy everything desired. Then, go upstairs in your house, lie in the bed, and select “Save and Quit”. At the very beginning screen, press A, then instead of starting, go to “Others” at the bottom of the menu, and press A. At the next screen, select “Date and Time” at the top of the menu screen, and press A. Set the day to one day before the current date, then go back to the first screen, and start the game. Go to Tom Nook’s store to find all the same items that were there before. Repeat this as many times as desired. Note: If you did not save the game before you did this, the mole will appear when you start, and this will not work. – From: Cory Solo
Bug net
Talk to Tortimer the mayor during the Bug Catching Contest to get a free bug net.
Fishing rod
Talk to Tortimer the mayor during the Fishing Contest to get a free fishing rod.
Harvest furniture set
Talk to Tortimer the mayor after 3 p.m. on Harvest Day (varies by year) to get a Fork and Knife. Find Franklin the turkey, and trade him the Fork and Knife to get one of the following Harvest furniture items: bed, bureau, chair, clock, dresser, lamp, mirror, rug, sofa, table, television, or wall.
Jingle furniture set
Talk to Jingle after 8:00 p.m. on December 24th to get one of the following Jingle furniture items: bed, carpet, chair, clock, dresser, lamp, piano, shelves, sofa, table, wall, or wardrobe.
Mario items
Buy a slingshot from Tom Nook. Shoot down balloons to occasionally and randomly get one of the following items from the Mario series: 1-Up mushroom, “?” block, brick block, brick flooring, cannon, coin, Fire Bar, Fire Flower, flagpole, green Koopa shell, green pipe, mushroom mural, Starman, or Super Mushroom.
Mush Furniture set
Look under the various mushrooms that appear in your town during the fall. They usually appear around 3:00 p.m. daily in front of trees. Note: Some new mushrooms can also be seen at about 8 to 9 a.m. You may find an item from the Mush Furniture set (which includes furniture, carpet, wallpaper, and appliances). You can sell unwanted pieces at Tom Nook’s store.
Pirate ship items
When Pascal is in your town, have any scallop except white, and approach him. Talk to him, and he will give you one of the following items: anchor, barrel, ship’s helm, keg, sea view wallpaper, ship’s cannon, ship’s compass, or ship’s deck flooring.
Snowman Furniture set
After it snows, you can randomly find two small snowballs on the ground. Roll one of the snowballs around, and make it large. Roll the other snowball around, and make it medium. Place the medium-sized snowball on the larger one to make a snowman. The snowman will come to life and mail you a random piece of Snowman furniture.
Spooky furniture set
Look for Jack after 6:00 p.m. on October 31st. Note: The real Jack does not follow you around like the villagers dressed like him. Have candy, and talk to Jack. Give him the candy to get one of the following Spooky furniture items: bed, bookcase, carpet, chair, clock, dresser, lamp, sofa, table, vanity, wall, or wardrobe.
Coconut trees
Find a coconut that has washed up on the shore. Then, plant it near the ocean on the coastline.
Town Hall model
After one year has elapsed in your town, you will get a letter from Tortimer with a Town Hall model.
Whisp’s wish
Go to the southeast corner of town on a Monday night after the stores have closed but before 4 a.m. A voice will talk to you. Follow its directions until you find Whisp the ghost. He will ask you to find his lost lamp. After you find it, go to the your house’s attic. Whisp will give you a wish for finding the lamp. You can ask him to get rid of all your town’s weeds, remove all the cockroaches, or get a random item.
Alternate shoe color
Find Kicks the skunk, sitting on a set of stairs. Have him shine your shoes, and their color will now match your hair. Note: You can change your hair color at The Shampoodle. Select “Change style” to return your shoes to their original color.
Alternate clothing change sound
Equip one of the Zap Suits to change the sound into a heroic fanfare.
Birthday cake
Talk to your neighbors on your birthday.
Valentine’s Day gift
Visit the Roost on February 14th. Order a coffee from Brewster, and you will instead get hot cocoa, and Brewster will wish you a happy Valentine’s Day.
New message notice
A canary will perch on top of the Message Board outside of Town Hall if you have an unread message there.
Lucky items
Place any of the following items in your house for 7,777 HRA points. They can be obtained as indicated:
Arwing (Star Fox): Spotlight item at Nook’s
Dracaena: Spotlight item at Nook’s
Ivory Piano: Spotlight item at Nook’s
Jack in the Box: Have Jack play three tricks on you on Halloween
Lafty Lucky Cat: Buy from Redd
Lovely Phone: Gift from Katie and Kaitli
Lucky Black Cat: Buy from Redd
Lucky Cat: Buy from Tom Nook
Lucky Gold Cat: Spotlight item at Nook’s
Master Sword (The Legend Of Zelda): Spotlight item at Nook’s
Music Box: Gift from Katie and Kaitli
Piggy Bank: Put 100,000 Bells in the bank
Raccoon Figure: Buy from Redd
Samurai Suit: Spotlight item at Nook’s
Treasure Chest: Spotlight item at Nook’s
Triforce (The Legend Of Zelda): Buy from Redd
Washer/Dryer: Buy from Tom Nook
Fish values
The following fish can be sold for the listed amount of Bells:
Anglefish: 3,000 Bells (rare)
Arapaima: 10,000 Bells (rare)
Arowana: 10,000 Bells (rare)
Barbel Steed: 200 Bells
Barred Knifejaw: 5,000 Bells
Bitterling: 900 Bells
Black Bass: 300 Bells
Blue Marlin: 10,000 Bells (rare)
Bluegill: 120 Bells
Butterflyfish: 1,000 Bells
Carp: 300 Bells
Catfish: 800 Bells
Char: 3,800 Bells
Cherry Salmon: 1,000 Bells
Clownfish: 650 Bells
Coelacanth: 15,000 Bells (rare)
Crawfish: 250 Bells
Crucian Carp: 120 Bells
Dab: 300 Bells
Dace: 200 Bells
Dorado: 15,000 Bells (rare)
Eel: 2,000 Bells
Football Fish: 2,500 Bells (rare)
Freshwater Goby: 300 Bells (rare)
Frog: 120 Bells
Gar: 6,000 Bells (rare)
Giant Snakehead: 5,500 Bells
Goldfish: 1,300 Bells (rare)
Guppy: 1,300 Bells (rare)
Hammerhead Shark: 8,000 Bells (rare)
Horse Mackerel: 150 Bells
Jellyfish: 100 Bells
Killifish: 300 Bells (rare)
King Salmon: 1,800 Bells
Koi: 2,000 Bells (rare)
Loach: 300 Bells
Lobster: 2,500 Bells
Moray Eel: 2,000 Bells
Napoleonfish: 10,000 Bells
Neon Tetra: 500 Bells
Octopus: 500 Bells
Olive Flounder: 800 Bells (rare)
Pale Chub: 200 Bells
Pike: 1,800 Bells
Piranha: 2,500 Bells (rare)
Pond Smelt: 300 Bells
Popeyed Goldfish: 1,300 Bells (rare)
Puffer Fish: 240 Bells
Rainbow Trout: 800 Bells
Ray: 3,000 Bells
Red Snapper: 3,000 Bells
Salmon: 700 Bells
Sea Bass: 160 Bells
Sea Butterfly: 1,000 Bells
Sea Horse: 1,100 Bells
Sea Sunfish: 4,000 Bells (rare)
Shark: 15,000 Bells (rare)
Squid: 400 Bells
Stringfish: 15,000 Bells (rare)
Surgeonfish: 1,000 Bells
Sweetfish: 900 Bells
Tuna: 7,000 Bells (rare)
Yellow Perch: 240 Bells
Zebra Turkeyfish: 400 Bells
Fossil values
The following fossils can be sold for the listed amount of Bells to Tom Nook:
Amber: 1,200 Bells
Ammonite: 1,100 Bells
Ankylo Skull: 3,500 Bells
Ankylo Tail: 2,500 Bells
Ankylo Torso: 3,000 Bells
Apato Skull: 5,000 Bells
Apato Tail: 4,000 Bells
Apato Torso: 4,500 Bells
Archaeopteryx: 1,300 Bells
Coprolite: 1,100 Bells
Dimetrodon Skull: 5,500 Bells
Dimetrodon Tail: 4,500 Bells
Dimetrodon Torso: 5,000 Bells
Dinosaur Egg: 1,400 Bells
Dinosaur Track: 1,000 Bells
Fern Fossil: 1,000 Bells
Icthyo Skull: 2,500 Bells
Icthyo Torso: 2,000 Bells
Iguanodon Skull: 4,000 Bells
Iguanodon Tail: 3,000 Bells
Iguanodon Torso: 3,500 Bells
Mammoth Skull: 3,000 Bells
Mammoth Torso: 2,500 Bells
Pachy Tail: 3,000 Bells
Pachy Torso: 3,500 Bells
Pachy Skull: 4,000 Bells
Parasaur Tail: 2,500 Bells
Parasaur Torso: 3,000 Bells
Parasaur Skull: 3,500 Bells
Pecking Man: 1,100 Bells
Plesio Torso: 4,500 Bells
Plesio Neck: 4,500 Bells
Plesio Skull: 4,500 Bells
Ptera Right Wing: 4,500 Bells
Ptera Left Wing: 4,500 Bells
Ptera Skull: 4,000 Bells
Rapter Torso: 2,500 Bells
Rapter Skull: 3,000 Bells
Sabertooth Skull: 2,500 Bells
Sabertooth Torso: 2,000 Bells
Seismo Chest: 4,500 Bells
Seismo Hip: 4,000 Bells
Seismo Skull: 5,000 Bells
Seismo Tail: 4,500 Bells
Shark Tooth: 1,000 Bells
Stego Skull: 5,000 Bells
Stego Tail: 4,000 Bells
Stego Torso: 4,500 Bells
Styraco Skull: 3,500 Bells
Styraco Tail: 2,500 Bells
Styraco Torso: 3,000 Bells
T. Rex Skull: 6,000 Bells
T. Rex Tail: 5,000 Bells
T. Rex Torso: 5,500 Bells
Tricera Skull: 5,500 Bells
Tricera Tail: 4,500 Bells
Tricera Torso: 5,000 Bells
Trilobite: 1,300 Bells
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Nintendo.