Hey! Hallie here!
A few days ago I decided to rank all of the species of villager in ‘Animal Crossing’. All of them. I went through most of the categories but, to keep the post from getting too long, I decided to save my top ten for a post all on their own! So here’s my personal favorite villager species, and some of my favorite villagers from each category!
10. Squirrels. There’s a lot of really nicely designed squirrels and a lot of variety too. Surprisingly, this crew has some of the most colorful offerings in all of ‘Animal Crossing’. Sylvana has a beautiful brown and white design, meanwhile Mint is, as her name suggests, various shades of green. There’s even a purple squirrel villager. Most of them are pretty adorable as well. I’d say my only issue here is that the squirrels with buck teeth tend to be less adorable, and it’s not because of their teeth. Hazel’s unibrow does far more to ruin her appearance than her teeth do. A stand out villager in this category is Marshal, a snooty but stylish white squirrel. He’s a bit reminiscent of Draco Malfoy.
9. Cats. I mentioned in my last post that one of the reasons I didn’t care as much for rabbits was their particular resemblance to humans. Instead of appearing like rabbits, most of the designs are strangely human-like. Cats have similar characteristics, but without forgetting that they’re supposed to resemble cats. Cats are generally pretty cute and their appearances do make it clear that they are cats, even with a more human-like design. The only villager that seems like less of a cat and more of a human is Felicity, but, otherwise, there are characters like the gorgeous Olivia and the new heart-throb Raymond whose human-like appearances don’t make them any less adorable. Of course, you have the creepier characters like Moe with his buckteeth or Monique with her crazy makeup, but this species is pretty solid overall. The standout here is Raymond. Who can resist those glasses?
8. Elephants. Elephants are some of the most adorable larger-species villagers. Elephants in general are pretty lovable, but with designs like Tia, who actually looks like a large teapot, it’s hard not to like them. The only big issues with this category are Axel and his creepy smile, and Eloise, who doesn’t have any visual problems at all. Eloise is a pretty adorable shade of yellow, but she’s also known for being one of the rudest villagers in the entire game. My stand out for this category is Margie. The carnival elephant look is adorable on her and her blue eyes are stunning.
7. Eagles. To be honest, I haven’t met an eagle I haven’t liked. There are some that are quite plain, like Apollo, who looks like nothing more than a normal Eagle. But with colors like the greens on Frank or the tropical colors on Keaton, Apollo is definitely an outlier. I wish I could put this group higher, but there are so many other species that I love that I can’t possibly move them up. A stand out for this category is Amelia, who’s gorgeous red face has captured my attention since I started playing ‘Animal Crossing’ games.
6. Horses. I really love the horses in ‘Animal Crossing’. There’s a large variety, and even the cranky ones are approachable. There are even villagers that take the horse criteria more lightly. Like Julian, the blue unicorn. Like the eagles, there are plain ones among this group. Buck comes to mind. But the other villagers in this category make up for his faults. This group’s standout is Savannah, the most adorable zebra ever. Have you seen those blue eyes?
5. Octopi. There’s a lot of love circulating for the octopi and I can’t help but agree with all the praise. They’re definitely the most uniquely designed villagers. With only three villagers in this category, you can’t help but feel you’ve come across something special when you encounter one. They don’t necessarily have “adorable” features. Zucker is a bit derpy with his blunt haircut and freckles, meanwhile Octavion is one of the angriest looking villagers I’ve ever seen. But even then you can’t help but admire how unique their designs are. The stand out of this group is Marina, whose pink design and love of pastels make her the only truly adorable member of this category.
4. Tigers. Tigers have been some of my favorite animals ever since I was a kid, and the ‘Animal Crossing’ villagers in this category succeed in making them just as adorable as I wanted them to be. They have proper snouts, unlike the lions, and their designs are genuinely cool. My issue with these is that they stick a bit too closely to the regular tiger colors, especially with the male villagers. Both Rowan and Leonardo are normal orange shades. Still, a classic design is a classic. The standout of this group is Bianca. Her white fur and blue eyes have been a favorite combo of mine for a long time.
3. Deer. The deer villagers really came out of nowhere for me. I didn’t expect to like them as much as I do. Deer have some of the most gorgeous designs in the entire game, which is not what I was expecting. You also have a variety of animals under this criteria. Like Zell, the gazelle, or Erik, the moose. There’s something genuinely beautiful about their design while still remaining cute. My stand out here is Fauna. I’ve complained about plainer looks before, but Fauna’s classic deer look only highlights how well these villagers work for this game.
2. Wolves. I was fighting against putting wolves up so high. They’re definitely fan favorites, but there are so many other great designs in this game that I was pretty sure I wouldn’t find them as praiseworthy as others have. I was very wrong. The more I look at these designs, the more I like them. Wolves, much like deer, have a strange grace to them that make them both gorgeous and adorable. But there’s plenty of variety here as well. There’s Dobie, an elderly wolf, Skye, a winter wolf, and even a badass businesswoman named Vivian. Most of the characters in this category are fan favorites for their chill personalities and cool designs. The stand out for this species is Audie, who has grown in popularity for her sunny behavior and sunnier appearance.
1.Goats. This might be a more controversial opinion. I don’t see a lot of people putting goats at the top of their lists. But frankly, I love them. I’ve talked about a mix between a beautiful animal design and a cute design, but I don’t think any group strikes that balance better than the goats do. Their eyes are big and their heads are adorably big, but their general shape makes them more graceful than most. Each one looks exactly like a goat, but even among the small group of villagers there are several designs to admire. The most plain one is Billy, who is the perfect elderly goat and a far cry from being boring. I have two highlights for this category. There’s Sherb, the blue goat who wears a wintery sweater and an intoxicating smile, and Chèvre, who has the shiniest blue eyes (Once again, white fur, blue eyes) in the entire series and cute freckles to match.
That’s it! I’ll repeat that all of this is personal opinion, but I had a lot of fun ranking these characters! Some of this list definitely didn’t end up how I expected it to. I appreciate that writing this gave me the chance to admire villagers I had never seen before. It’s almost unfair. There are too many villagers on my wish list now for it to be possible to obtain them all.
Don’t do anything fun until I get back!
Hallie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 