One year after launch, some Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers are more popular than others. A few, like Molly and Fauna, are familiar characters while others like Sherb and Raymond are new additions. Villager popularity rankings are personal and unique to each player, but there are some villagers that the New Horizons community favors as part of the “S Tier”, or highest tier.
One of the perks of New Horizons is being able to curate an island and getting to decide who lives there. Some players go as far as trading Nook miles and Bells to obtain villagers they want living on their island. Others rotate out villagers over long periods of time until they have their ideal neighborhood. What determines the popularity of villagers varies – sometimes it’s their unique design and other times it’s their personalities and catchphrases. Villagers who are new to the Animal Crossing franchise also tend to be more popular.
Many characters are collected because of how cute they are. A perfect example of this is Molly, a duck villager who has been popular since her initial appearance in New Leaf. Molly is often seen watering flowers around town. Another popular cute villager is Fauna – a deer also introduced in New Leaf and a returning fan-favorite character in New Horizons. However, villagers also gain popularity due to their uniqueness and rarity.
Animal Crossing’s Most Popular Villagers For 2021 Explained
Octopus villagers tend to be popular since there are only 3 of the species in the game. Zucker continues to be the most popular octopus villager – not only is he one of the few octopi available but he is also designed after the popular Japanese snack takoyaki. Zucker’s unique design is a factor in his popularity. Another villager popular due to their design is Judy. Judy is one of the new villagers and is visually unique, with colors like cotton candy. Sherb is another new villager introduced to Animal Crossing: New Horizons that has maintained his popularity over the last year.
In 2021, Raymond remains a popular character. Raymond took the Animal Crossing world by storm last year at the game’s release due to his heterochromia (his eyes are different colors). He is the only character with this condition. Another character, Marshal, has ostensibly taken over in popularity, although Raymond is still a favorite for many players. Marshal’s appearance, quaint home, and smug demeanor are a great addition to anyone’s island.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons players spend hours creating their ideal island. With villagers being an extension of customization, a desirable island typically has one if not most of the so-called S-tier villagers living there. Over the past year, there haven’t been many variations in the popularity lists online. There may be more variety in the future, however.