Are you sitting comfortably? Good. We’re about to blow your mind with an Animal Crossing fact that we just learned.
Everyone knows Isabelle, right? She’s Animal Crossing’s friendly Shih Tzu secretary and has been a regular part of the series since 2012. You may have noticed that Isabelle’s head is shaped like a bag of bells, the game’s currency. Well, brace yourself because her name Is-a-bell too (insert galaxy brain meme here).
That’s right, Isabelle’s name is a pun related to the shape of her head. The discovery was pointed out by the YouTuber Thomas Sanders on Twitter, who shared their revelation on the platform:
“I was today years old when I realised Isabelle’s head is shaped like the Animal Crossing currency, called bells, and her name literally is “Is-a-Bell”.
While this was personally my first time hearing the fact, apparently, others have heard of it long before now. It also turns out that Isabelle’s name changes based on language. For example, the Shih Tzu’s name in Japan is Shizue, which sounds like her breed being pronounced. In France, Isabelle’s name is Marie, which is a pun for “Mairie”, which means town hall in French.
Nintendo Puns and Secrets
Nintendo loves a good pun and often gives its characters literal names. Pokemon has the likes of Ekans and Arbok, a pair of danger noodles that are literally named after what they are spelt backwards, a snake and a cobra. The Legend of Zelda also uses punny names, with Navi being named due to being the player’s “navigator” in Ocarina of Time.
There are probably countless other puns and secret names within Nintendo’s legacy of games. After all, even Mario was named after Nintendo of America’s landlord, Mario Segale. If you’re bored this weekend, then why not try and spot some more. We’d love to hear them. Make sure to let us know over on our Discord!
GameByte Shop
You can pick up Animal Crossing: New Horizons, along with other Animal Crossing goodies, on the GameByte Shop.
Featured Image Credit: Envato/Nintendo