The Animal Crossing franchise 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’ franchise Splatoon is another great example, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons really is the life sim to end all life sims right now.
A social media phenomenon, many players are just getting into the series for the first time with New 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 at just some of the anthropomorphic animals that didn’t feature in the original game but have been added since.
10 Audie 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 in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, making her main series debut in New Horizons. Her name seems to be a reference to the gamer grandmother who went viral showing off her 3500 hour Animal Crossing: New Leaf village. Her mayor's name? Audie, of course!
9 Clay The Hamster
New Horizons players 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.
Clay was added to the franchise with fantastic 3DS title Animal 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.
8 Poppy The Squirrel
Poppy was added to the series with Animal 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 many Animal Crossing towns/islands.
7 Raymond The Cat
In the Pokémon franchise, cats are always popular, a fact that also rings true in Animal 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 in New 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.
6 Zucker 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 the Animal Crossing Wiki reports) 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?
5 Cyd The Elephant
Cyd was introduced in New 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.
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.
4 Merengue The Rhino
Like Poppy the Squirrel earlier, Animal Crossing villagers 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.
3 Judy The Cub
Judy made her debut in Pocket Camp, and it’s no surprise that she has proven very popular in New 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.
2 Mira 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 launch New Horizons for 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 in New Leaf reflected this with all its futuristic items from the Astro set.
1 Bam The Deer
Like hamsters, the deer species was also added to the series with New 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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