Tom Nook – The Worst Villain of All

I have conquered the likes of Ganon and Bowser several times, defeated Nazi zombies, taken down Team Rocket, and thwarted many other villains over the years. But there is one antagonist in the video game world who cannot be defeated. He is a raccoon with nothing but pure evil in his heart and gold in his pockets, and his name is Tom Nook.

I’ll never forget my first Animal Crossing experience. I was around six or seven years old and had no clue what I was doing. All I knew was that I needed to rack up bells to pay off my mortgage debt to Tom Nook. It took me days to figure out the best ways to save up, and finally, I did it. I paid off my mortgage! Then Tom asked if I wanted to upgrade my crib, and I couldn’t refuse. I thought I beat the game, but then I got word that I now owed the sly salesman even more bells than before. I knew at that moment that this raccoon is a freaking con-artist.

Tom Nook is one of the greediest characters I have ever met. All the man cares about is money, and he’s good at what he does. Tom Nook is a business genius. He has a monopoly in the town and runs the only place where you can buy the necessities for your adventure. The basics are a shovel, net, fishing rod, and watering can. Tom Nook knows this and keeps all of those in stock. Nook somehow finessed all the businesses in town, driving away the competition until he was the only one left standing. He knows he can push the prices up since there’s no one else to compete with him — what a sickening creature, a master of supply and demand.

Nook knows how to keep his customers coming back as well. He entices you by upgrading his shop the more and more bells you spend there. I honestly don’t even know if any of the other characters shop there, you might be his only customer. Tom Nook gets away with being able to upgrade his shop because of one consistent buyer over and over every day. That is ridiculous. Maybe he’s making money off the side elsewhere. I don’t know how he could be balling out as this small convenience store owner. There is some shady stuff going on with this sketch-ball, and someone needs to get to the bottom of it.

The way that Nook takes you in at first and offers you a job with him all seems like a ploy as well. It makes you think he’s a good guy, but by the time you get the hang of the job, he sends you on your separate ways. So long, figure out how to earn money in this foreign land all by yourself. Nook is such a tool and probably just wants the interest to run up on your mortgage so you have to end up paying him more. I would love to see how big his house is, Mr. Bellbags!

Maybe, just maybe Tom Nook is a nice guy. After all, he welcomes you to a brand new town, provides you with a place to live, gives you a short-term job, and sells you all the items you need to take on the Animal Crossing world with full force. Maybe he wants to be like a father figure and see you grow as a character into the mature, responsible person you were always meant to be. Or maybe he’s a selfish con-man who will do anything for a quick bell. The answer is for you to decide.