Animal Crossing: New Horizons elevated the popularity of many of the series' villagers thanks to its robust customization options, allowing players to design their island to suit their tastes and fill it with their favorite characters. Although the game received some criticism for its watered-down personalities compared to past entries, the ability to find and recruit new villagers from Mystery Tours made collecting favorites a popular pastime. Despite the variety of new villagers introduced in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, some of the series' most interesting are trapped in older entries.
One villager from the original GameCube title whose refined personality would be a breath of fresh air in the successor to Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the anteater Nosegay. While her name might sound silly, her taste for the arts makes her a unique character to befriend in the classic GameCube entry. Unfortunately, she hasn't made an appearance in any subsequent entries, meaning her classy presence has only been enjoyed by a handful of Animal Crossing fans, which puts her in a prime position to return for a future game.
The Next Animal Crossing Game Could Use an Art Lover Like Nosegay
Nosegay's name may sound silly, but it is actually another word for a bouquet of flowers. This is fitting given the refined air about her, and given her choice of Animal Crossing fashion is the floral Loud Bloom Shirt. Her name is also likely a play on the word "nose" due to anteaters having prominent noses. Her catchphrase is the equally silly "hoooonnk," which fits with the emphasis on her nose.
Given her somewhat high-class tastes, one might expect Nosegay to be a snooty villager, but she actually has the normal personality type. This personality makes her easy to befriend, and she generally gets along with most other villagers, having the standard hobbies of fishing and bug catching. She may come into conflict with Animal Crossing's cranky villagers as their rude, off-putting demeanor doesn't mesh with her generally friendly attitude, and she tends to get along best with snooty villagers who like her friendliness and the compliments she pays out.
To really get to know Nosegay, players will have to pay her a visit at home and admire her choice of decor. Although lacking in a lot of necessary furniture like a bed or couch, Nosegay is the proud owner of a large collection of some of Animal Crossing's rarest art pieces. She has a total of 11 paintings in her home, taking up a lot of extra space in her house. How she came to own these paintings is unclear, but the fact that Crazy Redd is notorious for selling fake paintings alongside real ones suggests he may have swindled a well-intentioned Nosegay into purchasing fakes by taking advantage of her love for art.
One interesting quirk about Nosegay, according to her e-Reader card, is that she has a habit of leaving candy and rotten turnips around to attract ants so that she can eat them. It's funny to imagine a character with such a classy persona secretly leaving out garbage so that she can eat the bugs it attracts, but unique details like this make some of the villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons feel hollow compared to past games. The next entry in the franchise should return to its roots and bring back some quirky, abandoned characters like Nosegay.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.
