Getting its start as Animal Forest in Japan in 2001, the Animal Crossing series has enjoyed a long and fruitful lifespan. A cute and colorful social simulation game, Animal Crossing allows you to move to a new town, make friends with the local animal inhabitants, collect dozens of little critters, or perform menial labor for everyone's favorite capitalistic tanuki.
But, the series has been going for over two decades now, and any franchise worth its salt will make changes as new titles come out. Such has been the case with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which left behind, among many other things, a handful of villagers that are no longer eligible to move onto your island. With an available villager list of over 400 unique animals, you’ll definitely find a friend you enjoy. While we do love our most recent idyllic life pals, here’s a nostalgic look back at ten Animal Crossing villagers who haven’t made it to the current game.
10 Sue E, The Snooty Pig
Back in the early days of the Animal Crossing series, your villagers could be really freaking mean to you, depending on their personality type, and Sue E stands out as one of the spiciest. She was a Snooty, vibrant purple pig, with striking blue eyeshadow and enough sass for everyone in your town.
Her house was full of expensive belongings, with K.K. Waltz playing for good measure to make sure you knew she was a pricy girl. Her name in the Japanese release was Burujoa – the Japanese word for “bourgeoisie,” because what’s a cozy friendship simulator without a little dash of Marxism?
9 Petunia, The Snooty Cow
Another expensive purple character from the first Animal Crossing game, Petunia is a Snooty cow whose house we still try not to think about. She’s got an enormous cowhide rug spread out across the floor - let's not think about the implication.
Her catchphrase is “moo la la” when you first meet her, and her name in Japanese, Shimofuri, is a reference to an endangered breed of expensive Japanese cattle, Wagyu. They’re raised by specialized breeders before being sold to proven farmers for up to $30,000 per cow. No wonder her eCard says she likes Bells…
8 Nosegay, The Normal Anteater
The Animal Crossing series loves giving their villagers names specific to who they are or what they enjoy, and Nosegay was no exception. And given that nosegays are small, tightly wrapped bundles of flowers, it makes sense why they gave the name to the Normal anteater villager who really seems to love her flora.
Nosegay even wore the Loud Bloom Shirt back in her day, to nod to her enjoyment of flowers. Her e-Card tells us that she enjoys leaving foods like candies and radishes outside to rot, so she can snack on the ants that swarm them.
7 Belle, The Peppy Cow
The Peppy villagers are always around to bring some sunshine to your town, and Belle was great at just that. While her name in English alludes to the bells cows sometimes have around their necks, her name was Miruku in the Japanese games, which means “milk” in the language.
To really hammer in the cow theme, not only was her Japanese catchphrase “nyu”, like an onomatopoeia for mooing, but she’s also got a strangely large collection of cow-print shirts decorating her house, too.
6 Chuck, The Cranky Bull
It can get a little weird when Animal Crossing names their villagers after food items, because, well, what's the implication of that? But we can’t help but to pine for Chuck, the Cranky bull. Everything about this sour man is meat-centric: his name in English refers to a cut of beef, his Japanese name of Bifuteki is a loanword for “beefsteak,” and his catchphrase when you meet him is “jerky”.
He’s an odd one to miss, too, because we thought we might get him back in the Welcome Amiibo update. His data was found in the game files for it when fans went digging, but he and his perpetually angry expression were never actually implemented.
5 Cupcake, The Snooty Cub
Only one of two Snooty cubs ever designed for the series (with the other being the stellar new addition, Judy), Cupcake was a standout in the early days of Animal Crossing. She was designed in pinks and purples to lend to her sweet and sugary vibe, her catchphrase in English is “sugar pie,” and for some reason, her name is Japanese was “Kurisupi” like “crispy”.
And although Cupcake herself isn’t in the series anymore these days, fans have noted striking similarities between her and Ursula, the sisterly bear. They’re both pink with yellow muzzles and dark-colored bangs, so although we don’t have our sweet little lady, we’ve at least got someone aesthetically similar.
4 Woolio, The Jock Sheep
Far too cool for any of our villages, Woolio, the bright purple Jock, was the only male sheep character in the series at first. Eventually, Curlos was introduced in the US release of Animal Crossing (as well as Gen, who, like Woolio, is no longer around) to end that reign, but he still stands high above the rest.
A portmanteau of “wool” and “Coolio,” Woolio was one well-decorated man. He had a green star on his cheek, ultra-chic black sunglasses, and the Dark Polka Tee around his neck like a scarf for a standout aesthetic. He was formerly on the cover of K.K. Parade, too, but was replaced by Frita in the image after he left the series.
3 Hambo, The Jock Pig
Though Rocky might be his more iconic role, we doubt Sylvester Stallone had a colorful Japanese animal game in mind when he helped write Rambo, but here’s our little Jock friend, referencing the name anyway. Except his name is Hambo, because he’s a pig.
His name in Japanese was Hachimaki, which is the name of the traditional style of headband he wears around his head, but he was given an American reference for the Western release of the game. Another reference to Stallone’s catalog of characters, Hambo's catchphrase when you first met him was, “yo” which we can still hear Rocky saying in our heads. A less cute and lighthearted fun fact, his name in Italian was Zampone, which is a dish of stuffed pigs’ feet.
2 Chico, The Lazy Mouse
While Sue E was a reference to the socioeconomically-focused famous Marx, Chico is a reference to a Marx of a much different caliber — Chico Marx was part of a vaudeville comedy act called The Marx Brothers with his siblings in the first half of the 20th century. His brother, Groucho, also sees a nod in the Animal Crossing series in the big, blue bear that shares his name.
But Chico was a standout. A lazy mouse with a colossal smile, his e-Card says he had to brush his teeth all the time because he loved sweets and didn’t want to risk his sterling grin. His catchphrase was “cheeeeese”, which references both mice’s affinity for cheese, as well as his oversized and perpetual smile.
1 Dozer, The Lazy Bear
We really thought for a second that Dozer, the Lazy purple bear, was going to make a comeback in New Leaf. His name appeared in the Prima Guide for the game, and on the poster, Nate was incorrectly labeled as Dozer. Unfortunately, our groggy friend remained omitted in the end, with the dev team offering corrected posters, with Nate properly labeled, to anyone who had the wrong print.
But how could we not miss our sweet, sleepy pal? His catchphrase was “zzzzzz” constantly sounding like he was falling asleep when you spoke to him. Not only that, but his name in Japanese was Suripu, like “sleep” So, until you hopefully make your return someday, Dozer, good night, sweet prince. Rest well.