A major part of Animal Crossing’s charm is the characters. The funny interactions players can have with each villager or special character are staples of the game. Every special character - the characters that aren’t Animal Crossing villagers - has their own purpose to the game. These characters are the cornerstones of games like ACNH - without them, there wouldn’t be much to do at all. Additionally, their backstories and mannerisms are just fun to experience.
New Horizons introduced a few new special characters such as the Dodos, Wilbur and Orville. The Dodos work in the airport, another feature new to the series. Flick is also technically a new character. He replaced Nat as the new Bug Off host in New Horizons. Two other characters, Daisy Mae and C.J., also replaced their predecessors in the newest Animal Crossing game. Lastly, Gullivarrr was added in summer 2020 as a pirate alternative to Gulliver. While these new faces are nice, only Wilbur and Orville really added any new gameplay.
A year after launch, these new faces have lost their initial appeal, and players are running out of things to do. The latest Animal Crossing game is in desperate need of a major update. If New Horizons were to add new characters to the game, it would provide new gameplay, interactions, and dialogue for players to enjoy. Here are five new characters that don’t exist yet Animal Crossing: New Horizons could add.
Animal Crossing Needs A Life Guard
New Horizons is the first game in the series to take place on a tropical island. Because of this, new Animal Crossing gameplay mechanics like swimming and diving have been added - but currently there is no one watching over the island beaches and making sure everyone is safe. A life guard would be the perfect addition. This character could be a seagull or sea turtle, to keep with the sea theme, or they could be a retriever dog, which are known in the real world for helping humans. If Nintendo wanted to introduce some irony, the life guard could even be a shark. There aren’t enough aquatic characters in Animal Crossing, after all. The life guard would watch the beaches to make sure everyone is safe, and they could also host different beach and swimming events. New items could be introduced as well, for prizes.
Animal Crossing Needs A Ship Captain
Every island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is surrounded by an undetermined amount of ocean that players have not been allowed to explore fully, and a ship captain could be added to take them into these uncharted waters. The captain could take players deep sea fishing and diving, introducing new fish and critters for players to collect and give to Blathers in the museum. They could be a seagull - maybe Gulliver’s captain - a sea turtle, or a seal. Adding this character to New Horizons would take advantage of the islands themselves to deliver even more gameplay. Players could also bring their friends aboard the ship to have some multiplayer fun.
Animal Crossing Needs A Recycler
New Horizons introduced a crafting mechanic to the series, allowing players to make their own items. Each DIY requires certain materials that can be found around the island, some of which are seasonal. Once the player crafts the item, however, those resources are used up. A recycler could take those items that players no longer want and break them down to their parts.
They could also recycle these items into new, unique items only they can make. The recycler could be a sloth, like Leif, who is also a lover of nature and the earth. Along these lines, the recycler could host Earth Day or recycling events to help teach players about how to keep the planet clean. In the interest of protecting the Earth and Animal Crossing: New Horizons' islands, the recycler could also take in items that players no longer want and either give them something new or give them a new DIY.
Animal Crossing Needs A Chef
The Animal Corssing Turkey Day event in November introduced cooking as a mechanic other characters could enjoy, but the players never got to partake. New Horizons could add a chef character that lives permanently on the island who has their own restaurant. At this restaurant, players can enjoy a meal with friends or even their villagers. Sometimes, the chef could need some help. Players would need to gather ingredients and even help farm. There could also be a cooking minigame. The chef character could be another turkey, perhaps one related to Franklin. The character could even be a tiger or a wolf who is trying to be a vegetarian, which could provide a lot of funny interactions and dialogue.
Animal Crossing Needs Pets
In New Horizons, there a several items players can get that are meant for pets, like a cat bed, a litter box, a hamster cage, etc., but there are no pets to use these items. If pets were added to New Horizons, not only would these items have a purpose, but an entirely new set of gameplay mechanics could be also be added. Players could feed their pets, play with them, clean up after them, and even dress them - think Nintendogs but Animal Crossing. This could also add either a permanent pet store or a visiting pet shop that players could buy pets from and other pet-related items. Not only would adding pets open up the opportunity for a lot of very funny villager dialogue in ACNH, players would have a reason to come back to the game.
Adding brand-new characters to Animal Crossing: New Horizons would give the game a much needed revival. This would be a lot of new content which could be introduced slowly over time, allowing players to enjoy it at their own pace. While such a massive update as adding entirely new characters may be wishful thinking, Nintendo is always full of surprises. With E3 just around the corner, news about the game is hopefully coming very soon, possibly about a big gameplay update.
