Summary
TheAnimal Crossingseries has many NPCs that govern different activities players can participate in, such as Flick for the Bug-Off, C.J. for the Fishing Tourney, and Daisy Mae for the Stalk Market. However, there are some NPCs that have been sidelined inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsor have had their potential squandered, such as Resetti or Porter, who could be used to introduce new mechanics in a future entry. One NPC with a minor role inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsis Pascal, but this role could be expanded with a major new mechanic in the next game.
While the direction the nextAnimal Crossinggame could head in is still unknown, there are a lot of possibilities for new features the entry could add based on what other games in the genre have done themselves. One of the main criticisms ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizonswas that it was light on content at launch, with new features slowly added via updates over time. The nextAnimal Crossingneeds to sidestep this issue and include more robust content at launch, andPascalmight be a character who could help facilitate this.
The Next Animal Crossing Should Let Players Explore Underwater with Pascal
Pascal is a red sea otter whofirst debuted inAnimal Crossing: Wild Worldand can appear near the mouth of the town river, offering players philosophy to ponder and ship-themed furniture.Animal Crossing: Wild Worldplayers can also receive a golden axe or photo of Pascal by trading him a scallop obtained through an in-game trading event. He appears again inAnimal Crossing: City Folk, this time desiring a scallop in exchange for a piece of ship-themed furniture, but otherwise his appearance is largely unchanged.
Animal Crossing: New Leafis where Pascal’s role changes a bit, as the 3DS title introduced diving and allowed players to swim in the ocean and collect deep-sea creatures. In this title andAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, players have a chance to encounter Pascal while swimming in the ocean, and he will once again ask for a scallop in exchange for a piece of pirate furniture inNew Leaf, or mermaid-themed clothing and DIY recipes inNew Horizons. This role for Pascal puts him in a prime position to help expand the swimming mechanic in a future entry and allowAnimal Crossingplayers to explore underwater environmentsaround their town.
How Undersea Exploration in Animal Crossing Could Work
Before players can start swimming inAnimal Crossing: New LeafandAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, they first need to obtain a Wet Suit from the island shop inNew Leaf, and eitherNook Shopping or Nook’s Cranny inNew Horizons. To build on this feature, perhaps players will need to obtain a full diving suit before they can explore underwater, which could be given by Pascal after the player has traded him enough scallops. Managing undersea exploration in this way allows the game to gradually introduce the mechanic to players, familiarizing them with swimming first before giving them access to a more complex mechanic like deepsea diving.
There could also be a lot of advantages to deepsea diving beyond finding more sea creatures to collect. Players could discover sunken ships with the potential to hold unique items, like the ship furniture set Pascal used to give out, which has since been relegated to Gulliver, and possibly even have to avoid dangerous creatures like sharks or risk getting sent back to the surface, similar to how scorpions and tarantulas will attack the player on land. Exploring deep enough could even uncover a secret NPC of anew species to theAnimal Crossingseries, like a fish-person or sea monster.
