Hey! Hallie here!
When I’m stressed out, games like ‘Animal Crossing’ always bring me a little bit of peace and a little bit of happiness. A lot of players, such as myself, get a lot of satisfaction out of which villagers occupy our islands and which ones we interact with the most. But I also think it’s important to give some credit to the characters that stick with you regardless of which villagers are present. I see a lot of lists dedicated to the best villagers, but I love so many of the other characters, I thought it was time to give them a spotlight. For this list, I’m not going to limit myself to just one game. There are too many characters in Animal Crossing that deserve love regardless of when we met them! With that out of the way, let’s get into my top ten characters!
- Tom Nook. Tom Nook is basically the devil, but let’s be honest, ‘Animal Crossing’ wouldn’t be the same without him. He provides every player, no matter which version of ‘Animal Crossing’ you’re playing, with a place to stay and an accompanying ridiculously expensive debt to pay off. It isn’t impossible to pay off, though. After days and days of playing, you might actually gain enough Bells to pay off what Tom Nook sold you. So that’s over with, right? No. Because you’re house is always pitifully small when Tom Nook offers it to you. So, of course, you want to upgrade. Which costs even more money than you originally had to pay. Tom Nook is on a mission to own your soul, and with the amount of Bells you owe him, he’s succeeding. He’s also kind of a jerk about it the entire time. What’s really interesting about Nook, however, is that he’s a racoon of mystery. Everyone has a strange speculation or some interesting info about his checkered past. We might never know who he really is.
- Celeste. Celeste is the younger sister of fellow owl, Blathers. She’s one of the most adorable characters in the game, and that isn’t an opinion. Her overlarge pink bow and checkered belly are too cute not to notice. Celeste worked in the Museum with Blathers for many of the ‘Animal Crossing’ games. She was always in charge of the Observatory because of her love of constellations. As she was in charge of the Observatory, she would allow the player to search for constellations, or create and name their own. In ‘New Horizons’ she wanders around at night to wait for Meteor Showers. One of the best things about Celeste, though, can only be seen while she’s working at the Museum. She’s wide awake at night, but come across her at any other time and she’ll be asleep on the job. Me too, Celeste. Me too.
- Kicks. Kicks is a skunk who sells shoes and socks. In some variations of ‘Animal Crossing’ he only shines your shoes, which results in the players shoes changing color to match their outfit. Regardless of how successful Kicks is with his business at the present moment, he’s an admirably humble guy. He hasn’t quite reached the success of any of the other shop owners in ‘Animal Crossing’. He works on the street in some versions of the game. Despite that, Kicks is a pretty chipper skunk and he’s always willing to start a friendly conversation. Kicks is the kind of skunk you want to root for. Here’s to hoping that he gets to keep his own store in later ‘Animal Crossing’ games.
- Brewster. Brewster is a pigeon who owns a coffee shop called The Roost. While he’s been in many ‘Animal Crossing’ games, he has yet to be introduced in ‘New Horizons’. Players who have only played ‘New Horizons’ are really missing out on this character. He’s pretty closed off, but the more that you visit The Roost, the more he’ll open up to you. His best friend is Blathers, who helped him get back on his feet after Brewster’s coffee shop in the city closed down. The entire reason The Roost exists is because Blathers suggested Brewster should continue his business inside the Museum. If Brewster is comfortable with the player, he’ll also reveal to them his love of gyroids and will offer to store the players gyroids for them. Brewster is ultimately a very interesting and helpful character. You just have to drink your coffee scalding hot in order to gain his trust.
- Mabel Able. Mabel is the bright, cheery, and eager co-owner of Able Sisters. She’s the first to greet the player whenever they walk into Able Sisters. She’s easily recognizable by her blue spikes, green apron, and the speed at which she’ll run after you while you’re shopping in her store. Able doesn’t say much about her past, but she’ll talk to you about literally anything else. She’s friendly and she works very hard to make sure customers are satisfied with her services. She’s also very understanding of her sister, Sable. Sable is shy and introverted, so if you’re attempting to talk to her while she’s working, Mabel will firmly but kindly steer you away from her sister. Mabel is worth mentioning simply for her general warmth.
- Sable Able. Often times I find people mention Mabel more than Sable because Mabel tends to be more personable. But if you visit Sable everyday, she’ll gladly become friends with you. Sable, just like Brewster, takes a few visits to warm to the player. But when she does, you’ll realize exactly why she’s such an amazing character. Sable raised Mabel on her own after both their parents tragically died in a car crash. Which is kind of dark for a game like ‘Animal Crossing’. Sable was an excellent sister, and even more interesting, a close friend to Tom Nook. The two grew up together. She also harbors resentment towards her sister Labelle, who she feels left her to raise Mabel alone after their parents died. Sable is possibly the most interesting, and strangely dramatic, character in ‘Animal Crossing’.
- Rover. Rover, in many games, was the first character the player met when they started the game. This cat provided a very friendly face for the new players to get to know as they created their character. He always served the role of looking after the player. He’d express concern and excitement for characters moving to a new place, and in some games, would help the player set up their game before they even started playing. Often times his presence was necessary because, let’s be honest, it’s just a bit creepy when you’re left alone in a bus with Kapp’n. Rover is the first friend I made in an ‘Animal Crossing’ game, and for that he’s become one of my favorite characters.
- K.K. Slider. K.K. Slider is effortlessly cool. He’s the dog you can’t afford to miss. Whether he’s playing at The Roost, or he’s randomly wandering around, his music is one of the highlights of any ‘Animal Crossing’. Not that it’s a masterpiece. It’s performed in Animalese, which is cute but not necessarily pleasing to listen to. Still, seeing him perform a concert is a rare occurrence. You have to catch him at just the right time. But when you do catch him, he’ll gift you whatever song you let him perform. You can even make requests once you’ve heard some of his songs. He’s a laid back guy, but he’s passionate about performing for whoever he can. It feels like a serious accomplishment when you finally get to see him play.
- Isabelle. I’ve heard some players find Isabelle annoying, but I can’t really see it. She’s immediately sweet to the player once they meet her, and she’s eager to help the player with whatever they desire to do. She’s also an insanely adorable, yellow Shih Tzu. She makes it her job to get to know every villager because she views them all as family. She doesn’t like confrontation, but she will step in if someone is being unnecessarily mean. She can also be clumsy and forgetful, but her nineteen engineering degrees argue that she’s very intelligent. Isabelle does her best to provide whatever the player needs for their village or island. In some situations she’ll even take the entire workload on herself. Honestly, Isabelle deserves a long break and a large hug.
- Blathers. Blathers is the director of the Museum. He can often be found sleeping in the Museum entrance. He’s an owl, can you blame him? If you come around at night, however, he’s energetic and happy to help. He’s eager to talk to the player, whether it be facts about whatever they have decided to donate to the Museum, or even himself. Because of that, he has one of the most detailed backstories out of any character in the ‘Animal Crossing’ series. Blathers grew up in the city and earned various degrees. His goal was to get a Doctorate, but before he could, a professor approached him with a vacant Museum director job in the country. Blathers enjoys the job, but he also possesses a serious fear of bugs, which is unfortunate considering how large the bug section in the Museum is. If a mantis egg case broke and thousands of mantises flew at your face, you’d be terrified too. Blathers has proved to be a caring friend and a hardworking director. You can’t help but love to support him.
There’s my list! There are so many loveable characters to get to know in the ‘Animal Crossing’ series. So many still lack stories, as well. Hopefully, as the game continues to grow and develop, we’ll get to know more about the animal characters we’ve all grown to love so much. In any case, now is a great time to revisit your village or island. ‘Animal Crossing’ is a relaxing escape into a world full of bright, cute, characters. Take some of the work off of Isabelle! We all know she needs some help!
Don’t do anything fun until I get back!
Hallie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 