Animal Crossing New Horizons: Which Island & Hemisphere You Should Choose

At the very beginning of your time at Tom Nook’s Deserted Island Getaway in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players will be given the choice of the layout of their island. Here’s which island you should choose in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and what hemisphere you want to choose.

Choosing an Island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Before you’re free to go fishing and catching bugs to your heart’s content, you’ll need to choose how you want your island to be laid out. This is a decision you’ll have to make as part of your conversation with Timmy and Tommy.

You’ll then be given four different island maps to choose from. These will change where rivers and ponds can be found on the map, as well as where things like the Resident Service building will be placed, as you can see in the image below.

The good news is that there’s no right or wrong island to pick. The one you choose comes entirely down to your own personal preference. Do you want a river that meanders its way through the center of the map, or one that’s a little more complex?

Or perhaps the positioning of Resident Services is important to you with it being such a significant part of the gameplay in the early stages of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

What Hemisphere Should You Choose in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Not long after that, players will then be asked what hemisphere they want their island to be located in. If you want the weather and seasons on your island to match the real-world seasons where you live, you’ll simply want to pick the hemisphere that you live in.

If you’re wanting to have an Aussie winter with tarantulas and scorpions scuttling around your island in the baking heat in the middle of December, you’ll want to opt for the southern hemisphere. For those preferring the more ‘traditional’ seasons, choose the northern hemisphere.

Don’t worry about which hemisphere you choose too much. Regardless of whether you’re in the northern or southern hemisphere, you’ll still get to experience all of the seasons and events that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has to offer.

That’s everything you need to know about what island you should choose in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. For more tips, tricks, and guides, be sure to check out our ever-expanding wiki, search for Twinfinite, or check out more of our content below.