Mr. Resetti, full name Sonny Resetti (also known in Japan as ), is a fictional character from the Animal Crossing series of video games by Nintendo. His first appearance was in the Nintendo 64 game Dōbutsu no Mori, released in Europe and North America on the GameCube as Animal Crossing. Mr. Resetti is a mole whose role in the series is to remind players to save before quitting the game, and to give a lecture if they do not. Mr. Resetti has received mixed critical reception, with critics taking note of both the unique creativity and perceived hostility of his role.
Development and concept
During play testing of Animal Crossing, players would reset the game and turn the system time backwards to make the daily stock at Tom Nook's store change. In order to prevent this, the development team implemented Mr. Resetti, in hopes that players who want to cheat would be deterred due to the long speeches. If a player resets the game enough, Mr. Resetti will want the player to type out sentences such as "I am stupid." and "I stink." Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Resetti does not delete the player's saved file if that player keeps resetting the game. Mr. Resetti's English dialogue in Animal Crossing was written by Nintendo Treehouse team member Tim O'Leary, who intended the character to speak with a deep Bronx accent to complement the character's Osaka accent in the original Japanese. He is designed to make the player believe he knows them and is yelling directly at them, and the European Let's Go to the City manual warns that young children may find Mr. Resetti's authoritative tone of voice disturbing.
Appearances
Mr. Resetti's role in the Animal Crossing series is to advise the player to remember to save before quitting the game. If the game is shut off without saving, Mr. Resetti will appear outside the player's house the next time the player starts the game, and will give a lecture on why saving is important. Those lectures grow longer the more times the player resets. Also, after resetting multiple times, Mr. Resetti will make the player repeat phrases, and will not let them play until they get it right. If the player inputs something offensive he will get furious.
In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Mr. Resetti appears the first time the player turns the 3DS off without saving. However, he explains that the Reset Surveillance Center (the facility Mr. Resetti works for) has been closed down, and that he will not be able to make any more visits. If the player so chooses, the Reset Surveillance Center can be reopened, allowing Mr. Resetti to resume his former role.
Due to the auto-save function on the Nintendo Switch, Mr. Resetti does not return to the same role in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but is running the new in-game rescue service as the operator. He also appears on the communications error screen. In the 2.0 update, he can randomly appear as an NPC in The Roost café.
Outside Animal Crossing
In the Animal Crossing film, Mr. Resetti appears a number of times to remind characters about following the rules of the Animal Village.
Mr. Resetti has made several minor appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series of video games, including as a collectible trophy in all games beginning with Super Smash Bros. Melee, as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and as a background character on the Animal Crossing themed stages in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. In Brawl, his assist trophy summons him onto the stage to yell at the fighters, causing his lengthy text box to obscure a large portion of the screen.
In Mario Kart 8, Mr. Resetti makes an appearance on the Animal Crossing race course included within the game's second downloadable content pack. On this course, he erratically pops up from the ground during the race, forcing players to avoid crashing into him.
In Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Mr. Resetti is a craftable character as a costume for the player's Palico in-game as part of the June DLC pack.