TheAnimal Crossingfranchise represents Nintendo firing on all cylinders: taking an existing concept or genre and lending their unique charm, accessibility, and fun factor to it. Their ‘shooter’ franchiseSplatoonis another great example, butAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsreally is the life sim to end all life sims right now.
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A social media phenomenon, many players are just getting into the series for the first time withNew Horizons. For newcomers, the sheer number of villagers is very daunting, but it shows just how far the franchise has come. Let’s celebrate this fact by taking a look atjust some of the anthropomorphic animals that didn’t feature in the original gamebut have been added since.
10Audie The Wolf
This fan-favorite character boasts the peppy personality (the only peppy wolf, in fact) meaning that she’s always super enthusiastic about seeing the player character. With her catchphrase ‘foxtrot’ and orange coloring, she’s clearly more fox than wolf, but that can hardly be held against such an adorable lady.
Audie first appeared inAnimal Crossing: Pocket Camp, making her main series debut inNew Horizons. Her name seems to be a reference to the gamer grandmother who went viral showing off her 3500 hourAnimal Crossing: New Leafvillage. Her mayor’s name? Audie, of course!
9Clay The Hamster
New Horizonsplayers have probably seen enough clay to last a lifetime, what with the item being such an important craft material and all. If you’re not bored of clay popping out of your rocks like it’s going out of fashion, you might appreciate Clay the Hamster, who appears to be designed around the concept of iconic Japanese clay figurines known as Dogū.
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Clay was added to the franchise withfantastic 3DS titleAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, as was the hamster species itself. He sports a lazy personality, which tends to mean two things: he’s friendly and will not stop eating/talking about eating his favorite snacks. This little guy is lifestyle goals indeed.
8Poppy The Squirrel
Poppy was added to the series withAnimal Crossing: City Folk, which hit the Nintendo Wii in 2008. Her appearance is fairly unremarkable compared to some of the ‘themed’ villagers on this list, but that’s only appropriate. After all, she has a normal personality.
Normal villagers, interestingly, are all female, and they don’t force their strong opinions on topics at the player the way some personality types do (no, jocks, gamers don’t want to go on ‘patrol jogs’ and work on our glutes with you at 5am). Poppy isn’t an over-the-top, silly character like some fan favorites. She’s a calming influence that will be welcome in manyAnimal Crossingtowns/islands.
7Raymond The Cat
In thePokémonfranchise, cats are always popular,a fact that also rings true inAnimal Crossing. Raymond in particular rocketed to the top of many players’ most wanted lists, so it’s no surprise that he has the smug personality.
This boastful cat was added to the roster inNew Horizons, and his unique design made him incredibly popular. He’s the only smug cat so far and his heterochromia (one green and one brown eye) gives him a unique look that made him resonate with fans immediately. His unusual home (all the furniture is themed around an office) is another factor.
6Zucker The Octopus
Octopi have always held a kind of mystique in the series. They’re the rarest species of villager in the game (there are only four of them: Marina, Zucker, Octavian and Inkwell), making them highly sought after.
Zucker is particularly interesting, a lazy villager so food-focused that (as theAnimal Crossing Wikireports) he’s actually designed around a Japanese snack: a concoction of octopus and dough dubbed takoyaki. His home in his debut game,New Leaf, resembles a sushi restaurant. That’s a little too on the nose, isn’t it?
5Cyd The Elephant
Cyd was introduced inNew Horizons, a hot-tempered elephant that just exudes punk rock style. His home décor reflects his edgy outlook, with the Skull wallpaper and flooring paired with K.K. Metal blaring over his stereo.
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Cyd, unsurprisingly, has the cranky personality, which means that he often finds himself disagreeing with other villagers and takes some time to become friendly with the player. Sometimes, though, a cranky villager or two is exactly what you need to prevent the sickly sweet nature of some other characters from wearing too thin. Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and character foils are always important.
4Merengue The Rhino
Like Poppy the Squirrel earlier,Animal Crossingvillagers don’t need outlandish designs to stand out. It’s not always about that, as plain old cute animals sometimes fit the bill nicely. Having said that, a character design based on a rhino crossed with a meringue is an idea fans can definitely get behind.
Merengue also returns from New Leaf, a villager as sweet and all-around agreeable as her appearance and normal personality would suggest. Her home boasts a diner/café feel, with the likes of a soft-serve lamp to sweeten the deal.
3Judy The Cub
Judy made her debut inPocket Camp, and it’s no surprise that she has proven very popular inNew Horizons. Her coloring is some of the most striking and elegant of any animal in the series to date, with the pastel shades and her sparkling eyes making her truly unique and beautiful.
Clearly, she knows it. As a snooty villager, she can be very self-centered in conversation with the player and other animals, always preoccupied with talk of beauty products and clashing with other personality types. She can be won over, though, and will be welcome on any island looking for a touch of class and grace.
2Mira The Rabbit
Mira is another unique villager, with the distinction of being the only rabbit so far with the sisterly personality type. There will always be an animal with this personality type on your island when you launchNew Horizonsfor the first time, and as the name suggests, they’ve very warm to the player from the start and will make friends easily.
Those players who gained Mira as one of their starting villagers surely weren’t disappointed. Her bright and colorful looks give her a superhero appearance, something the series doesn’t really delve into very much. Her home inNew Leafreflected this with all its futuristic items from the Astro set.
1Bam The Deer
Like hamsters, the deer species was also added to the series withNew Leaf. Bam (no prizes for guessing which famous deer his name is a reference to) is unique among them, being the only jock of the 11 deer in the games to date.
The jock personality, as players will know, makes villagers very fitness and weightlifting-oriented. It’s one of the only topics they’re happy discussing, which can be as hilarious as it is tedious at times. As you’d expect, Bam’s house has a sort of gym/sporty feel, with furniture including a ping-pong table, lockers, and basketballs.
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