Two of Nintendo’s best games in recent years include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which both stand as exceptional installments in their respective series. And while it might not seem like Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda are connected on the surface, New Horizons and Breath of the Wild may have finally made that connection after all.

At first glance, this sounds impossible. Whereas The Legend of Zelda tells the tale of a hero destined to defeat the evil Ganon (or other evil) and save the world, Animal Crossing tells the tale of a villager destined to pay off their debts to upgrade their house to the max by selling fish, bugs, and fossils. The differences are palpable.

However, Twitter user StarPyrate has discovered a possible link (no pun intended) between the two series via Breath of the Wild and New Horizons. In both games, players can come across brightly colored “star fragments,” whose name and appearance are identical between either game.

StarPyrate elaborated that the models of the fragment are based on a Japanese sugar candy of the same shape known as “konpeito.” Regardless, they are still eerily similar to each other and indicate a much stronger link.

There’s more to the story than just this, however. Aside from players’ abilities to make Zelda clothing patterns to be worn in the game, the Animal Crossing series has consistently featured Link’s Master Sword as an item for purchase. Further, New Horizons features an ocarina, which enables Link to travel through time and summon his horse in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

And as Animal Crossing sees players interacting with talking animals, later The Legend of Zelda games see payers interacting with animal-like species. Specifically, this includes the Gorons and Zoras, which resemble bear-like and amphibious creatures, respectively.

The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing are different in so many ways, from gameplay to tone, but their universe-sharing is becoming all the more evident. Hyrule is simply one greedy raccoon and a bug net away from incontrovertible proof that two of Nintendo’s most popular series are connected.

Via: Twitter (@starpyrate)