When Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released in March 2020 and gave everyone a chance to escape when they needed it, Kappn was not part of the initial roster of NPCs. He’s known for singing sea shanties, and for being a creep. He’s remained there since the late 60s, appearing in 2002’s Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube. Kappn, like every other Animal Crossing character that isn’t controlled by an IRL human, is an anthropomorphic animal in this case, a turtle. Who the heck is Kappn and why is he so pricey?
Others think it is an opportunity to learn about Nook Miles. Some of the players have been outraged at the price. He’s charging a relatively cheap price of 1,000 Nook Miles per ride for his services. Next month, the Nintendo’s hugely popular life sim, which some say is a representative if simplified microcosm of capitalism, will get a bunch of new stuff, including the fan favorite ferryman character Kappn. So why would anything, let alone public transit, be free in an idyllic video game world designed for escapism? When Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers a ferry, those rides won’t be accessible to everyone. Nintendo has released a new video for this weekend.
