An ingenious user has recreated Pokémon Gold and Silver in Animal Crossing

As the fame and popularity of Animal Crossing: New Horizons continues to grow at an astronomical pace, players in Tom Nook's world are getting more and more creative with their in-game renditions of their favorite clothing, films, art, memes, and — of course — other games and game-related fare. One gamer has shared his recreation of the classic Pokémon Gold and Silver’s Johto region on Twitter. And the attention to detail is stunning.

Johto gets Animal Crossing'ed — The user, who goes by ヒノッチ on Twitter (and Hinochi on YouTube,) paid special attention to details like an adorable Cyndaquil outfit (made out of a long dress alongside a baseball cap), pixel art to recreate waterfalls, paintings that act as replacements for the Poké balls, a trail that leads to Vermillion City, and more. To make the entire affair even sweeter, Hinocchi shared the designer code in the YouTube video for people who want to create Johto and Kanto on their own islands. It sounds like a lot of work, but the resultant masterpiece is, in our view, worth the diligence.

Animal Crossing is everyone's canvas — One thing is crystal clear: Animal Crossing was made for the era of COVID-19. With people under lockdowns, both partial and full, all over the world, Animal Crossing players have recreated their own worlds inside New Horizons.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then creativity is the product of extreme boredom. The results of these efforts have been hilarious and (amusingly) creepy. Some have gone ahead and recreated scenes from the feverish Lighthouse (down to the strange old-timey dialogue) and the absolutely unsettling Midsommar and Hereditary. In other examples, gamers have recreated music videos, made their own versions of Marina Abramovic's "The Artist is Present," their own takes on Portrait of a Lady, The Shining, The Blair Witch Project, and of course, memes like this one.

AC:NH is at its zenith right now — Business is booming for Nintendo, the creator of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Since its official launch on March 20, according to The Wall Street Journal, the company has sold more than three million copies in Japan alone. Its popularity has garnered the envy and censorship of Chinese competitors and led to price gouging by third-party sellers in the U.S. It's become a quasi-marketplace in its own way, too, as streetwear designers are using the virtual paradise as a platform to promote their designs.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons' success, which is one of Switch's fastest-selling titles, is absolutely undeniable. Watching gamers recreate intricate versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver’s Johto region is just a sweet bonus for fans and Nintendo alike.