As the Animal Crossing series looks to move forward after Animal Crossing: New Horizons, many fans are hoping the series embraces one aspect of the older entries and revitalizes the personalities of villagers. One of the main criticisms of Animal Crossing: New Horizons was that its villagers lacked the personality depth of past entries with some fans missing the standoffish, often downright rude nature of some villagers. As a part of improving this aspect of the series, the next Animal Crossing game needs to bring back one of the franchise's most iconic cranky villagers, Hopper.
Villager personalities are a core mechanic of the Animal Crossing series as they help govern the interactions between villagers and the player. There are eight possible personality types a villager can have -- lazy, jock, cranky, smug, normal, peppy, snooty, and big sister -- with each interacting differently among one another. As cranky villagers seem to have gotten less cranky over the past few entries, a revamp of villager personalities in the next Animal Crossing game could be in the cards and would be the perfect opportunity to feature Hopper as its mascot cranky villager.
Hopper's Cranky Demeanor Makes Him a Memorable Animal Crossing Neighbor
This cranky penguin first appeared in the original Animal Crossing title for the GameCube. Right from his introduction to the player, Hopper becomes a memorable character with his flashy color palette and slightly intimidating design, sport a dragon suit by default. He is based on a Crested penguin in appearance with a black and white body, large yellow eyebrows, and red eyes; meanwhile, his name derives specifically from the Rockhopper species of penguin. Interestingly, Hopper is the only penguin in Animal Crossing to have the cranky personality, making him all the more unique among villagers in the Animal Crossing series.
Music is Hopper's main hobby in Animal Crossing: New Horizons which means he can be found singing around the player's island without the need for a stereo. As a cranky villager, he takes a more mature approach to activities, preferring to engage in hobbies for relaxation over competition. As such, he has a hard time getting along with peppy villagers who are too immature for him but is able to confide in normal, snooty, and other cranky villagers, whom he feels like he can relate to a bit more and will eventually open up to the player if they spend the time to get to know him.
Hopper has appeared in every mainline Animal Crossing title, and his house has traditionally reflected his desire for a quiet life, featuring an interior design themed around a mountain cabin. Furniture from the Cabin series makes up the majority of his interior decorating, with totem poles like the Bear Pole and Eagle Pole also being a feature. Hopper's house in Animal Crossing: New Horizons gets a complete makeover to reflect the habitat of a penguin by featuring the Iceberg Wall and Iceberg Flooring, along with an Outdoor Bath, Beach Towel, and Three-Tiered Snowperson, suggesting that Hopper like to take a chilly dip during his free time.
Despite his grumpy nature as a cranky villager, Hopper cares for his neighbors and values their safety as is demonstrated in his Happy Home Paradise vision for a lifeguard-themed house. Another interesting aspect of Hopper's personality comes from Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer where he wishes to have a lucky Daruma-themed house, which could be a reference to his Japanese name Daruman. Regardless of how the next Animal Crossing game handles villager personalities, Hopper deserves a spot on the villager roster due to his surprisingly complex nature that surfaces as players get to know this grumpy penguin.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available for Nintendo Switch.
