From Zelda to Monster Hunter: The History of Animal Crossing’s Collaboration Villagers

Just when I thought Nintendo was ready to close the book on the Animal Crossing: New Horizons saga, they surprised everyone with not one, but two major announcements. For just $5, players can grab the new Switch 2 update, which upgrades the visuals, expands multiplayer capacity, and even adds mouse support. But that wasn’t all—Nintendo also revealed a massive free update coming to both the original Switch and Switch 2 versions of the game.

 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch 2 Edition announced with 4K graphics, new features, and new amiibo support

 

If you want to see everything included in the update, check out our previous article covering the full list of announcements. Today, though, I want to focus on my favorite part of the reveal: the introduction of collaboration villagers. Fans of The Legend of Zelda will recognize newcomers Tulin and Mineru, while longtime players will be thrilled to see the return of cosplaying squirrels Viché and Cece.

Of course, veteran Animal Crossing fans know this isn’t the first time villagers from other Nintendo universes have crossed over into town life. So, the big question is: are these the only four characters we’re getting—or could more returning characters be on the way?

 

Watch us use Zelda, Monster Hunter and Splatoon amiibo with Animal Crossing: New Leaf

 

Almost nine years ago to the day, on November 2, 2016, Nintendo released its biggest update ever for Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS. Titled Welcome amiibo, it introduced a huge range of new features—but as the name suggests, amiibo were the real stars of the show. Players could summon any character to their campsite using amiibo cards or tap compatible amiibo figures to unlock special items, clothing, and even villagers from series like The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, Hello Kitty, and Monster Hunter.

 

 

 

In total, the update introduced 14 guest villagers:

• The Legend of Zelda: Wolf Link, Medli, Ganon, and Epona
• Splatoon: Cece, Viché, and Inkwell
• Hello Kitty: Rilla, Marty, Étoile, Chai, Chelsea, and Toby
• Monster Hunter: Felyne

Each could be invited to your town by scanning their corresponding amiibo.

 

 

While all the Hello Kitty villagers made their way to New Horizons back in 2021—and Cece and Viché are officially returning in January’s update, now sporting new outfits—that still leaves quite a few omissions from the original collaboration lineup. Could we see the return of Wolf Link, Ganon, and the rest? We’ll just have to wait and find out when the update drops on January 15th.

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