10 What Is His Age?
Every villager and special character has an official birthday, but for the most part, their actual ages are left up to speculation. However, it can be assumed that most, if not all the characters are adults since they all live on their own.
In every game, Tom Nook is a well-established business owner and in past games, he would sometimes tell the player stories of himself when he was younger, so it can be assumed he's an adult, though his official age is still unconfirmed.
9 What Was His Childhood Like?
Tom Nook reveals to players in New Leaf that before he moved to the city, he was born and raised in the town the players themselves are in charge of. He mentions that he had the type of childhood that the player "couldn't even imagine."
Whether this implies he had an unbelievably good childhood or bad childhood isn't known, yet. It may lean towards the implication that he had a rough childhood since he moved away from the town, though as of yet, the mystery remains.
8 What Happened To Him In The City?
In New Leaf, players get a little more information on Tom Nook and learn that when he was younger he had traveled to the big city (which is the very city that Animal Crossing: City Folk takes place in) to make a name for himself.
He mentions that he didn't have a lot of success during his time there, admitting that while the city had its "charms" it also had its "pitfalls" and "hardships." But he doesn't go into detail about what problems arose for him there, and it is yet unknown what really happened to him during that period of his life.
7 What's The Full History Between Him And Redd?
Crazy Redd, or Jolly Redd as he's known now, has recently made his reappearance in New Horizons. He plays a similar role as he did in the other games, selling authentic and counterfeit sculptures, paintings, and overpriced furniture items.
Redd considers himself to be Tom Nook's business rival, and in past games dialogue from other characters and Tom Nook himself suggests that Redd and Nook were once business partners! It isn't known exactly what kind of business the two ran together, only that it didn't seem to end well.
6 What's The Full History Between Him And Sable?
Jolly Redd isn't the only character in the game that seems to have a past with Tom Nook. He also shares one with Sable from the Able Sisters Tailor shop. Sable mentions in previous games that Tom Nook is a childhood friend of hers and that she has a bit of a soft spot for him.
Once the player befriends Sable she talks about things from her past, including how she raised her sisters when their parents died. It isn't known exactly if Tom was friends with Sable before or after her parents passing, or whether him leaving put a strain on their relationship.
5 How Did He Meet The Other Special Characters?
Many characters in the games have a pretty strong opinion on Tom Nook, including several of the other special characters like Isabelle and Blathers. In the case of Isabelle and Blathers, they seem to have a good relationship with him, as Isabelle respects him and they share an office in New Horizons, and Tom Nook refers to Blathers as a friend.
But when did he meet these two? Did he meet Blathers during his time in the city and Isabelle when he returned to his home town? The history between these two and Tom Nook has yet to be revealed.
4 Is He A Man In A Raccoon Suit?!
Apparently Zipper T. Bunny isn't the only character in the game that people believe isn't who they appear to be. There's been speculation that Tom Nook is also a man in an animal suit. This comes from a line said by Dr. Shrunk in New Leaf. He mentions how everyone wears a mask and Tom Nook specifically "wears a raccoon suit."
It's possible that this line is about his past, where different characters speculate that he might have been involved in illicit activities. But people also suspect that the line has a more literal meaning.
3 Did He Adopt Timmy & Tommy?
Players who are familiar with Tom Nook are probably just as familiar with the twins Timmy and Tommy, who are his apprentices. Because both Timmy and Tommy are also taruki and they're described as being his nephews in New Leaf, people assumed that they were related. However, in Wild World Tom Nook tells the player they are not related by blood and that he has simply taken on a mentor role for the two of them.
It's been speculated that Tom Nook adopted the two, though it hasn't been confirmed yet. This idea is influenced by the fact that Tom mentions donating 90% of his proceeds to an orphanage and players like to speculate that Timmy and Tommy once lived at the aforementioned orphanage.
2 Where Does He Get The Money To Run His Business?
Tom Nook has developed something of a "business empire" throughout the games in the Animal Crossing series. Starting from the small general store Nook's Cranny as a retail business owner, he's become a real estate agent and a travel agent with his own company, Nook Inc, in New Horizons. Nook Inc is able to hire the services of a seemingly private airline and has developed its own smartphone among many other things.
All of these features would have to cost a lot of money, and though Tom Nook charges a lot in house loans and island construction, the money he charges seems to only cover the costs of construction. So where does he get the money to actually run Nook Inc?
1 Is He A Good Guy Or A Bad Guy?
Animal Crossing isn't really a game where there are "heroes" or "villains," but if you ask at least half of the community, Tom Nook is considered to be the villain of the game, with his perceived greed from what he charges players for home loans. He was even nominated as one of the top villains at the 2003 Nintendo Power Awards. While the fans have one interpretation, the actual creators have a different one.
In an interview with The Verge, New Horizon's producer, Hisashi Nogami finds Tom Nook's focus on money a "sign of responsibility." He mentions that no matter how long it takes for a player to pay off the loan, Nook "never gets angry." Nogami mentions that he's "a very caring, really great guy," so could his perceived wickedness just be a misunderstanding?