Animal Crossing: New Horizons has one of the strongest casts of rotating NPC visitors in the entire series, but there are still some notable faces from previous games missing. Nintendo has done a fantastic job adding new content to the Animal Crossing experience, but they haven't added many visitors outside of special holiday ones.
While the regular villagers on a player's island are important, nothing is more integral to the Animal Crossing experience than the joy of strolling into town and being met with a face players don't see every day. It's one of the reasons why K.K. Slider is the unofficial Animal Crossing mascot, despite only appearing on Saturdays. As strong as the current group is, New Horizons is a year into its lifespan now, and some of the visitors are starting to feel a bit stale. Now is the perfect time to remedy this by bringing back some old favorites.
Kapp'n is the most obvious name to start with when talking about missing visitors. Not only is he every Animal Crossing player's favorite turtle, he's also the only sailor in the series, which would make one think he would be a lock for New Horizons' island setting. Kapp'n was last seen in New Leaf where he would regularly transport players to a tropical island in his motorboat. Listening to him ramble and sing his sea shanties was always a treat, and it's shame to not have him in New Horizons.
Past Animal Crossing Villagers Could Return
Perhaps there's reason for optimism here though, as being able to visit smaller islands seems like it would be a natural addition to the New Horizons formula. It's already possible to travel to Harv's island for photoshoots, but it seems like this could be expanded upon even further with additional locations. If players needed to take a boat to these hypothetical new Animal Crossing islands, Kapp'n seems like he'd be the most qualified driver.
Speaking of series favorites, Pete, the mail-carrying pelican, is one of the most iconic Animal Crossing characters despite being one of the most underused. Ever since the original game, Pete has tirelessly delivered mail for villagers everywhere. In Wild World, players can spot him on the clock when he occasionally flies across the sky (particularly cruel players can even shoot him down). Pete has been in every game in the series thus far, so it seems like his appearance is inevitable at some point. Pete was also famous for having quite the crush on Phyllis, another pelican who featured prominently in Wild World. Expanding on Animal Crossing's romance features is a long-standing request from fans, so maybe Pete could help usher in a new era of love.
The next visitor that needs to be added might sound a little strange, but Lyle the otter is also long overdue to make his New Horizons appearance. Believe it or not, the scheming insurance agent of the Animal Crossing universe probably isn't as popular a name as some others, but there's still plenty of potential in the idea of him making his return. Most notable for his appearance in Wild World, where he would harass the player every Saturday into buying his laughably bad insurance packages, Lyle could definitely be reworked into a more useful role this time around.
Lyle could upgrade his services to include some sort of renovation insurance that the player could utilize when doing island work. The community has done some wild things with New Horizon's customization options, and adding to players' toolboxes is always a good idea. Plus, the cast of Animal Crossing is always a little too nice. The game needs more scumbags, and Lyle fits that role perfectly.
An Animal Crossing game is only as good as its special characters, and fortunately Animal Crossing: New Horizons already has a fantastic roster in that regard. However, adding Kapp'n, Pete, and Lyle would help push it to a level that no previous games in the series has reached.