The wildly beloved new installment to the Animal Crossing franchise has given fans the freedom to design and decorate their personal islands to almost no end. There are so many unique items in the game, many of which have the ability to be customized to fit each player's theme perfectly.
Along with custom patterns for items, players can terraform and bring their dream island into reality. There are so many creative people out there, and that has become quite clear with all of the intricate island maps that have popped up all over the internet. For inspiration, or just to get a laugh, players can check out these incredible Animal Crossing: New Horizons maps that are too good to be true.
Updated January 20, 2022 by Jourdan Silva: It's no surprise that Animal Crossing continues to be one of the most played games on the Nintendo Switch almost two years after its initial release. With the continued popularity of the latest game in the Animal Crossing franchise, old and new players alike continue to design their islands in fun and creative ways, impressing their island guests and showing off to their followers on the internet. From cat-themed islands to Halloween islands to islands based on other video games, there are endless maps that will amaze fans with their pure creativity and hours of hard work.
20 Planet Earth Island
One Animal Crossing player turned things realistic by creating a beautiful replica of the World Map on their island. The land was terraformed to map out the shape of every world continent, including Antarctica down at the bottom. Spend some time fishing from North America, then pick some flowers in Africa before heading up to Russia to catch some butterflies!
All the homes are placed down at the bottom to really expose the shapes of the Earth's countries. This map surely took hours of hard work from the creative player who wished to bring it to life.
19 IKEA Island
It's clear that there are some big IKEA fans out there in the world. But someone making an IKEA themed Animal Crossing island pushes the limits of being a fan of the Swedish chain. This fantastic and hilarious map is laid out exactly like an IKEA department store, complete with the floor pathways and sections of the store.
All of their villagers' homes are laid out in a line outside the giant store, which is so funny to think about. The villagers were simply kicked out of their own island to make room for the gigantic furniture shop. This is absolutely an island that Swedes and meatball lovers need to visit.
18 Disneyland Island
This beloved theme park only has a few locations across the globe, so it's not always accessible for those who wish they could visit every single weekend. That's exactly why these New Horizons players made their islands into their own versions of Disneyland.
From recreating the actual map of the park to forming the shape of the iconic Cinderella castle, players are recreating their favorite vacation destination in a beautiful, digital way. The game also has items that could be added into a theme park, including food stalls, carnival rides, cotton candy and popcorn machines, fun costumes, and much more.
17 Massive Maze Island
Are you over making an island where it's easy to get around? Ready create a real challenge where it's possible to time and rank friends and visitors who attempt to visit this island? Then take a page from this hilariously creative player's book!
Reddit user DragonSinPhoenix spent hours transforming their island into a maze, complete with a clock to time one's journey through it. They stated that the best time recorded was 6 minutes, but the average time was 10-11.
16 Mickey Mouse Island
There are clearly a lot of Disney fans playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as seen with this Mickey Mouse shaped island and the Disneyland maps seen earlier in this list. This adorable player created the famous mouse's head by terraforming the land and creating a water moat around their island's homes and buildings.
All the villagers' homes are placed in a circle around the center square, adding to the cutesy circle design. It takes a lot of effort to create a map like this, making this awesome Mickey map one to be jealous of! The next Disney-loving player needs to create a Donald Duck themed island.
15 Super Mario World Map Island
Known by many Mario fans as perhaps the best 2D Mario game to date, Super Mario World is a forever classic that has stayed in the hearts of players ever since 1990. One amazing player decided to express such love by recreating the entire world map on their island, complete with paths, bridges, and the town hall as the Sunken Ghost Ship.
Not only did they manage to fit all shops and villager houses onto the map in a genius way, but the water is about as accurate as can be for an Animal Crossing approximation. Plus, the parallel of Tom Nook and Bowser is pretty funny to muse over.
14 Stardew Valley Island
Stardew Valley and the Animal Crossing series are two of the most beloved lifestyle simulation games out there, and both can be played on the Nintendo Switch. Many a player has poured countless hours into befriending villagers, decorating one's home, and working hard to earn that sweet cash.
One Reddit user, presumably a fan of both series, recreated the titular Stardew Valley using Happy Island Designer, and the results are pretty striking, not to mention entertaining. Surely plenty of time can be spent pouring over how certain areas of the game were translated over to the island.
13 Sinnoh Region Island
Plenty of Pokemon fans out there are have been overjoyed with the remakes of the beloved Generation 4 games, Pokemon Diamond & Pearl. The Sinnoh region is a favorite of many, not just because of nostalgia and Game Freak's undeniable creativity, but also because of the widespread success of the Nintendo DS as a console.
The DS family sold just over 154 million units, making it the 2nd best-selling console of all time. It's no wonder this Animal Crossing player would want to dedicate time and love to recreating the Sinnoh map, and they truly did an incredible job.
12 Zucker Island
An amazing Twitter user went one step ahead in declaring their love for a villager by terraforming the island he lives on in his image. They used not just earth and water but pathways as well, to accentuate important parts such as the bamboo Takoyaki stick in Zucker's head.
Something as intricate as this design clearly takes a lot of planning, but luckily the player had an excellent model in the form of everyone's favorite Lazy Octopus. The swirling rivers and tiny star lakes are an excellent touch, too.
11 Seahorse Island
This Reddit user is a fan of seahorses and wants everyone to know it. The island of Kurilana is adorned with twin seahorse lakes, both connected to the naturally flowing rivers of the island that go out into the ocean. Kurilana's creator stated that the lakes took around a day to create, along with prior planning and practice in terraforming.
Not only do the seahorses look perfect, but it leaves enough space for other island design such as the southwestern neighborhood of houses and the town hall and shops area in the east.
10 Cat Island
This funky looking cat drawn into this islander's map is too cute not to enjoy. While the area still has tons of space to put neighborhoods and decorations, the overall map still has a cute and quirky charm to it.
It's hard to deny the wonkiness of the cat's design works, but these really just make it that much more appealing. The best way to top off this cat-lovers island is to only get cat villagers to live there. That way, it would be a true feline utopia.
9 Danny DeVito Island
Yes, this player actually did make their island into the shape of actor and director Danny DeVito. By levelling the entire island and adding paths of grass and dirt in specific orders, it is very much possible to draw anything into the face of the island, including the heads of famous people.
It seems that this change in island scenery was destined to come true, as the name of the island is DanyDeVito. Fans of the celebrity really stop at no bounds when recognizing their idol.
8 Tom Nook Island
What better way to show off loyalty and dedication to Tom Nook than by terraforming the island in the shape of his face? This player had a lot of love to give to the tanuki and centered their whole island to revolve around a massive recreation of his face shaped in the ground. Using pools of water, grass, and dirt paths, the giant Tom Nook creation was a success.
Ro top off the incredible feat, the player even added their campsite at the top of Nook's head to look like a hat. Anyone looking to honor the construction manager on a whole new level needs to consider trying this out.
7 Skeletor Island
Is an island really complete without adding a dash of weirdness to it? In this case, the island got way more than just a dash. This peculiar design of the Masters of the Universe super-villain etched across the map is truly a sight to see.
It would be hilarious to see villagers enjoying a picnic while they sit in the mouth of the famous cartoon antagonist. Carving a giant Skeletor out of two conjoining rivers is truly an island inspiration for everyone.
6 Blathers Island
While Tom Nook could be considered the most popular recurring Animal Crossing employee, Blathers is definitely still cherished by most. People are actually making gigantic Blathers and Celestes on their map in honor of the spunky owl duo.
The time and effort needed to bring this island design into existence are incredible, and the result is adorably hilarious. However, it must be weird to be chasing around bugs and catching them on top of the character who is absolutely repulsed by anything creepy and crawly!
5 Apple Island
It would make the most sense for one's natural island fruit to be apples when carving this design across the entire platform of land. Plus, the custom name "Cider Isle" is really a perfect fit with this map.
This particular layout features the giant shape of an apple with all the homes, shops, and buildings located inside the boundaries of terraformed rivers. It might get a little cramped, but that doesn't matter. It's like James and the Giant Peach but...with apples.
4 One Piece Island
Many players of the game have been implementing elements of their favorite Japanese stories into the game, from My Hero Academia outfits to Studio Ghibli inspired home designs.
However, one islander hoped to bring to life an entire skull and crossbones with a straw hat on top in honor of the anime and manga, One Piece. Even as a work-in-progress, the skull instantly stands out and nothing else on the island could really beat it in all of its nerdy glory.
3 Hyrule Island
A post blew up on Reddit about a player who designed his Animal Crossing island to match the exact geographical layout of the map of Hyrule from Link to the Past, a game in The Legend of Zelda franchise.
He strategically placed the museum where Hyrule castle is supposed to be, the campsite at the beach where Link first washes up, and his island villager homes where Kakariko Village lies. When seen side by side, the two game maps line up really well! Apparently, to the creator of the map, there is no better way to enjoy a new video game than to combine it with this favorite old school game.
2 Water Island
Another Reddit user eager to share their unique layout showed off Krypton, the name of their island that is almost being consumed by flowing rivers. The carved out island in the middle of the village is the exact center of the island, as sculpted out by the player.
The endless circles of land look almost like cogs in a machine, and it is hard to believe that traveling from one mini island to the next is easy. There's no way the locals living on the island are having a good time getting used to the insane amount of river hopping in this Animal Crossing-style Venice.
1 Nothing Island
Sometimes less is more. And in this island's case, absolutely nothing is more. Putting every single islander home on the beach, with only the big buildings on the land, while also completely levelling the earth across the entirety of the island will leave just one long stretch of nothing.
In this case, the island name of Alcatraz really matches the vibes. Without any rivers, hills, bridges, ramps, or neighborhoods, the area really feels like the player is trapped on the famous prison island!