Earlier this week I got the chance to speak with Mayor Mori, a fantastic Animal Crossing YouTube content creator. With over 70,000 subscribers at the time of writing, Mayor Mori showcases different aspects of the Animal Crossing community, as well as news & rumors as they're revealed.
Theo:
With over 70,000 subscribers it's hard to think anyone in the Animal Crossing community wouldn't already know your name, but for anyone clicking this that doesn't know you, can you introduce yourself?
Mayor Mori:
Sure. First of all, thank you so much for inviting me for this interview.
I’m already a fan of the work your team are doing, so it’s was an exciting opportunity for me.
So, my name is Mayor Mori, I’m just an extremely passionate fan of Animal Crossing and have been playing the game since the original.
I also adore the amazing Animal Crossing community and spend a lot of my time making videos about the franchise on my YouTube channel. You can also find me on most socials @MayorMori.
Theo:
We completely agree with the Animal Crossing community being amazing which leads directly to our next question: What would you say your favorite thing about the community is? What about the least favorite?
Mayor Mori:
That’s a really great question, but a difficult one because the community has so many fantastic qualities. I would say my absolute favourite is seeing everyone helping each other out and just spreading such a positive energy amongst each other.
I’m not really sure what I would say my least favourite thing about the Animal Crossing community is. I guess it’s on the rare occasion gate-keeping pops up and people are made to feel bad when they play a game differently to others. But it’s very rare to see. The community is so wholesome and positive.
Theo:
Yeah, for the most part the community does a great job at weeding out bad behavior as well, I've noticed. It really is great seeing how everyone comes together & supports each other. You mentioned that you've been playing since the first game, what originally drew you to the series?
Mayor Mori:
Well honestly, I stumbled across the game online and because it had great reviews I imported it out of curiosity. It wasn’t out in England at the time.
After only a few gaming sessions I just fell in love with the charm of the characters and the quest of completing a furniture set. Even back then, the attention to detail was so quirky and adorable. I’d never played anything like it before and have been hooked ever since.
Theo:
I remember learning about it in Nintendo Power and feeling that exact same curiosity, there really wasn't anything like it at the time. Who was your favorite villager back then? Are they still your favorite?
Mayor Mori:
My favourite back then was probably Gonzo. He’s a cranky koala and we definitely had a love-hate relationship. I loved him and he hated me!
But no matter how grumpy he was, or what he complained about, he never moved away and you could tell he secretly enjoyed our town!
I would say he’s still a favourite yes.
Theo:
Gonzo is one I don't see mentioned often, I even had to look them up. I'm surprised they don't get more attention! Alright, one more Animal Crossing question: You've shown a lot of what New Horizons has to offer in your videos, and your recent forced-perspective secret beach area was very well done. What features would you love to see implemented? If Nintendo came to you and offered one idea to be included in the next patch, what would you add?
Mayor Mori:
Yeah, I try to show off as much as the game as possible whilst still keeping videos relevant and somewhat news related.
In terms of features, personally I would love for some of the original features to return from previous iterations of Animal Crossing.
Most notably Gyroids. They were always fascinating to me and offered another goal in the game in terms of collecting. Of course they’re quite recognisable to the franchise now too, so I was surprised not to see them when New Horizons released. I am hoping we see them in a future update though, along with many other fan-favourite features such as the diving mechanic and the Roost.
Theo:
It feels weird that Gyroids aren't around, especially when there's still traces of them around, I know I noticed one on Rover's Suitcase. I don't want to take up too much time, so one last question! When you're not working on content for videos, what other hobbies do you have? Any other games you've been playing?
Mayor Mori:
That's a good question! I don't seem to have too much free-time these days, but I do play other games when I can, including Call of Duty. I'm a big Warzone and Battle Royale fan, so I really enjoy that too. However, outside of playing video games and creating content for youtube I mostly spend time with my family, which quite regularly involves binge-watching things on Netflix or Youtube.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank you again for inviting me for this interview and of course for all your hard work and bringing super easy-to-use tools to the Animal Crossing community.
Theo:
We do the best we can & appreciate the support! The community has really shown just how accepting & kind they can be, and we're happy to be a part of it. I appreciate you taking the time to answer some questions, anything you want to shout out before we wrap up?
Mayor Mori:
Thanks again for having me. For any Animal Crossing fans out there, please be sure to check out my YouTube channel, where you’ll find the latest AC News as well as other fun Animal Crossing videos. See you over there. Thank you so much and stay safe.
