File:How Japan's Government Got Mr Resetti Fired.ogg

English: Animal Crossing: New Horizons is finally here, and so, apparently, is Mr Resetti. The irate mole is no longer the head of the Reset Surveillance Centre, but he does make an appearance in the game, taking phone calls for the Rescue Service and, we can only assume, flying a helicopter.

It’s early days, we wrote this video before the game came out. If we’re way off with our understanding of his role, we’ll have to chalk it up to our lack of psychic powers.

Anyway, Mr Resetti’s role in Animal Crossing has changed a lot over the years. He was initially introduced as a fun if passive aggressive way to convince the player to save their game before turning it off, but he’s morphed into more than that. He’s a mainstay of the series, just as recognizable and lovable as Tom Nook or Isabelle.

If you’re not getting yelled at by Mr Resetti, you’re not playing Animal Crossing. Or, at least, not playing an older Animal Crossing, before the games started autosaving.

It’s fun just how much of Animal Crossing’s odd quirks are based on Japanese popular culture and even politics. The decision to fire Mr Resetti came as a response to real world spending cuts that the Japanese government was undertaking.

Anyone who wants to keep politics out of games should therefore boycott Animal Crossing on principle, as Mr Resetti’s turbulent career reflects real world politics and the challenge of balancing public spending.

Anyway, here’s hoping you’re playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and absolutely loving it. We’ll see you soon.

Lots of love, BretonStriped (https://twitter.com/bretonstriped) and Kotor (https://twitter.com/kotorcomics)

Sources: https://web.archive.org/web/20031205115536/http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200310/N03.1010.1805.22997.htm https://mashable.com/article/mr-resetti-animal-crossing-new-horizons-laid-off/?europe=true

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/animalcrossing-newleaf/0/1