A Complete Guide to Animal Crackers

It's been years since we released our first game, Animal Crackers, and for years people have asked us for a guide. At the time, back in 2015, we weren't so keen on sharing secrets for games and wanted to encourage players to explore and discover. There were external conversations trying to find and document steps to achieve the best ending, which we really enjoyed watching. That said, it being the end of 2023 now at the time of writing, a guide is long, long overdue.

Scoring System

In the game, your goal is to go around and prepare a party. To do this, you must gather eight collectibles:

1. Main Course
2. Drink
3. Snacks
4. Dessert
5. Decorations
6. Entertainment
7. Gift
8. Guests

Each collectible has a score value associated with whether or not it is liked or disliked by the President. There are four endings in the game: Worst, Bad, Good, and Best. These endings are obtained as follows:

• Worst Ending - Invite Brother Bear to the party without meeting the requirements for the Best Ending
• Bad Ending - Have a cumulative score value below -1
• Good Ending - Default ending
• Best Ending - Meet all the requirements for the Best Ending, see the section on quests below.

Broadly, if the cumulative value of your eight collectibles is positive, you get the Good ending, and if negative, you end the Bad ending, with exceptions existing for the Worst and Best endings.

We will go through every single item in the game, how to get them, and what their score value is. Even if an item isn't good for the party, it still may be fun to show it to the President to see her reaction!

Main Course

Art	Name	Value	Location
	Strangozzi alla Spoletina	0	On the table at the Rose Garden.
	Jar of Sweet Honey	-1	On the counter at Bee Industries. Talk to Al for him to drop it.
	Bowl of Bibimbap	+1	On the ground at the onsen.
	Gumbo	+1	On the counter at Crow & Crane.
	Salad Bowl	-1	On the ground near Huey. Talk to Huey to have him drop it.
	Veggie Khorkhog	0	On the counter at Dragon Emporium.

Drink

Art	Name	Value	Location
	Milk	-1	On the ground near Geoff.
	Black Coffee	-1	On the table at Owl Cafe. Talk to Shapiro for him to drop it.
	Fruit Punch	0	On the ground near Luffi. Talk to Luffi for him to drop it.
	Island Water	0	On the counter at Octomart.
	Empty Bottle	-2	During the Lily of the Valley quest, Lilia will use the Island Water if it is in your inventory and replace it with this, details below.
	Apple Cider	1	On the table at the Rose Garden. Talk to Che Santiago for him to drop it.
	Chocolate Milkshake	1	On the counter near Amelie. Once you have 6 collectibles, if you had not claimed any of the milkshakes, this milkshake will be replaced by the Strawberry Milkshake.
	Strawberry Milkshake	0	On the counter near Amelie. If you have not collected any milkshake, once you have 6 collectibles, the Chocolate Milkshake will be replaced by this milkshake. Once you have 7 collectibles, if you had not claimed any of the milkshakes, this milkshake will be replaced by the Vanilla Milkshake.
	Vanilla Milkshake	2	On the counter near Amelie. If you have not collected any milkshake, once you have 7 collectibles, the Strawberry Milkshake will be replaced by this milkshake.

Snacks

Art	Name	Value	Location
	Can of Sardines	-1	Not in the game! It's in the asset files though, so enjoy looking at this unused item.
	Potato Crisps	0	On the counter at Octomart.
	Croissant	0	On the table at Owl Cafe.
	Mini-Panini	0	On the table at Crow & Crane. Talk to Ritchie to have him drop it.
	Red Delicious	0	On the ground near Geoff. Once you have 4 collectibles, if you had not claimed any of the fruit, this fruit will be replaced by the Bartlett Pear.
	Bartlett Pear	0	On the ground near Geoff. If you have not collected any fruit, once you have 4 collectibles, the Red Delicious will be replaced by this fruit. Once you have 8 collectibles, if you had not claimed any of the fruit, this fruit will be replaced by the Ananas Comosus.
	Ananas Comosus	1	On the ground near Geoff. If you have not collected any fruit, once you have 8 collectibles, the Bartlett Pear will be replaced by this fruit.
	Fruit Core	-2	Talk to Shimoku with fruit in your inventory for him to eat it and replace it with the core.
	Apple Jam	1	Talk to Slow Dancer with the Red Delicious in your inventory for her to process it into jam.
	Pear Jam	1	Talk to Slow Dancer with the Bartlett Pear in your inventory for her to process it into jam.
	Pineapple Jam	2	Talk to Slow Dancer with the Pineapple Jam in your inventory for her to process it into jam.
	Empty Jar	-2	During the Lily of the Valley quest, Lilia will consume the Pear Jam if it is in your inventory and replace it with this, details below.

Dessert

Art	Name	Value	Location
	Banana Split Ice Cream	0	On the counter near Amelie.
	Cheesecake	-1	On the counter near Amelie.
	MAGI*USAGI Popsicle	1	On the counter at Okapi Shoppi. Talk to Penny to have her drop it.
	Icebox Cake	1	On the table at Crow & Cafe. Talk to Ainsley to have her drop it.
	Pitaya Bubble Tea	0	On the counter at Dragon Emporium.

Decorations

Art	Name	Value	Location
	Birthday Banner	-1	On the counter at Octomart. Talk to Trinidad for him to drop it.
	Lily of the Valley	-1	On the ground near Lilia. Must complete the Lily of the Valley quest first, details below.
	Sunflowers	0	On the ground near Lilia.
	Red, White, and Blue	0	On the counter at Bee Industries.
	Party Hats	1	On the counter at Octomart. Talk to Trinidad for him to drop it. Must first have Trinidad drop the Birthday Banner.

Entertainment

Art	Name	Value	Location
	Retro Video Games	1	On the counter at Bee Industries.
	The Battery	-1	On the ground near Specimen 3HG. Specimen 3HG does not appear until you have a full inventory. After it appears, talk to Specimen 3HG with the Retro Video Games in your inventory for it to swap the items.
	Anime Box Set	1	On the counter at Okapi Shoppi.
	RPG Board Game	0	On the counter at Starling Boutique.
	Comedy DVD	-1	On the counter at Bee Industries.
	Cardboard Boxes	1	On the ground near the Winged Mythical Panda.
	Giant Chess Set	0	On the ground at Starling Boutique.

Gift

Art	Name	Value	Location
	Yellow Tie	0	On the counter at Starling Boutique.
	Sunhat	1	On the counter at Starling Boutique. Talk to Cho for her to drop it.
	Crystal Goddess Statue	2	On the counter at Dragon Emporium. Must complete the Crystal Goddess Statue quest first, details below.
	Amethyst Necklace	0	On the counter at Dragon Emporium.
	Silk Bathrobe	-1	On the ground at the onsen. Talk to Donghyun for him to drop it.
	Fishing Rod	-1	On the counter at Octomart.
	Whale Toy	2	On the counter at Okapi Shoppi.

Guests

Art	Name	Value	Location
	Shigeru Smith & Melissa Vuong	0	Standing at the onsen. Talk to them for them to join your party.
	Brother Bear	-25	Standing at Owl Cafe drinking coffee. Talk to him for him to join your party. Once you have 3 collectibles, he will become inaccessible. After you get him in your party, if you swap him out for another guest, he will become inaccessible.
	Jawnathan	1	Swimming in the clouds near Amelie. Talk to him for him to join your party.
	Shimoku	-1	Standing near Crow & Crane. He does not appear unless you have fruit in your inventory. Talk to him for him to eat the fruit and join your party. If you convert the fruit to jam he will become inaccessible. After you get him in your party, if you swap him out for another guest, he will become inaccessible.

Quests

There are a handful of quests in the game, including the one necessary to get the Best Ending. This section details all of them, step-by-step.

Al's Melancholy Quest

Al is the cow that works at Bee Industries, forced to wear a bee costume, who hates his job. When you talk to him, you will hear a mystery jingle play, implying that there is a quest for him. His quest is easy to complete: talk to him with Black Coffee in your inventory. If you do so, you will get extra dialogue explaining a rather unfortunate incident he had with a pot of coffee.

The Crystal Goddess Statue Quest

Talk to Olivine at the Dragon Emporium to learn about a missing shipment for the Golden Goddess Statue. Following that, talk to Ren at Starling Boutique to learn that the package might be with a different flying animal. Afterwards, talk to the Winged Mythical Panda to convince them to finish the delivery of the item. Talk to Olivine once more to learn that they got the wrong shipment, a Crystal Goddess Statue instead of a Golden Goddess Statue. This will spawn the item on the counter for you to pick up.

The Lily of the Valley Quest

The Lily of the Valley is a necessary item to collect in order to get the Best Ending in the game.

To start the quest, talk to Lilia. You will want to start the quest with as few collectibles in your inventory, because if you reach 6 collectibles without finishing the quest, the quest will be impossible to complete, as the lily will have wilted.

After starting the quest, collect the Sunflowers near her. Then, to learn more about flowers broadly, go talk to Harold McCormick. If done right, he will tell you about how an Island Water can help preserve the flower. Go to Octomart and pick the item up, then return to Lilia to provide the water to her.

At this point, Lilia is hungry, but cannot leave to tending the flower lest it wilt, so it is up to you to feed her. If you pick up the Milk near Geoff, you will learn from him that Lilia's favorite food is pears. Thus, you will want to pick up the Bartlett Pear. To do this, you must first have 4 collectibles in your inventory, and you will need to have not ever picked up a fruit prior to this.

Take the Bartlett Pear to Slow Dancer to have her process it into Pear Jam, then talk to Lilia again. She will eat the jam and, thankful for your help and for even bringing her the food she loves the most, she will tell you to come back in the evening. After you fill your inventory with 8 collectibles, talk to Lilia again, upon which she will drop the Lily of the Valley. If you talk to her again after that, she will give you a lot of hints about the significance of this flower for the President.

Endings

There are four endings in the game. With all the information on the items and quests given above, we can now showcase each and every one, and the conditions necessary to unlock them.

The Worst Party

Invite Brother Bear to the party without meeting the requirements for the Best Birthday.

A Bad Party

Have the cumulative score of your items sum up to below -1.

A Good Party

The default ending, meet no other conditions for the other endings.

The Best Birthday!

You will need a specific set of collectibles in your inventory to meet the requirements for this ending.

• Drink: Chocolate Milkshake
  • Make sure to collect this before you have 6 items in your inventory!
• Snack: Croissant
• Decorations: Lily of the Valley
  • Do your best to complete this as soon as you can! See above for details.
• Gift: Sunhat
• Guest: Brother Bear
  • Make sure to invite him before you have 3 items in your inventory!

Many of these items are time-limited. Here's an efficient route to ensure you get everything you need in time.

1. Invite Brother Bear
2. Pick up the Island Water
3. Pick up the Strangozzi alla Spoletina or the Bibimbap
4. Pick up the Sunflowers
5. Talk to Lilia to start the quest
6. Pick up the Bartlett Pear
7. Talk to Lilia and start the quest
8. Pick up the Sunflowers
9. Fly into the sky and talk to Slow Dancer to convert the fruit into Pear Jam
10. Talk to Harold McCormick a few times until he reveals the secrets of the Island Water
11. Fly back down and talk to Lilia a lot, until she consumes the Island Water and eats the Pear Jam
12. Fly back up and get the Chocolate Milkshake first before it changes
    1. At this point you should have 5 items. The milkshakes change after 6, see above.
13. Talk to Cho and get the Sunhat
14. Fly back down and get the Croissant
    1. At this point, you should have 6 items and all the required items except for the Lily of the Valley
15. Obtain a dessert (all are in the sky)
16. Obtain entertainment (many are in Bee Industries)
17. Once you have a full inventory of 8, return to Lilia and get the Lily of the Valley

Above is an example of an inventory that will give you the Best Ending.

Each of these items has a special significance for the President, all of which is explained by various characters in the game if you spend time to talk to them. The item categories not listed, such as Main Course, can be whatever you want--even bad items!

And that, finally, is all of it! Thank you so much for playing Animal Crackers! ♥