Forgotten Animal Crossing Characters: Nat the Chameleon’s Return

The Animal Crossing franchise has a huge roster of lovable characters. From beloved villagers to series staples like Blathers the owl and Tom Nook the tanunki, there’s no shortage of well-known faces in the series.

Not every Animal Crossing character has made it all the way to the most recent title, though. Several NPCs have been left behind over time, dropped from the series, and nearly forgotten by its fans. And I got to meet one of them again, thanks to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

Animal Crossing’s Nat Was Excluded From New Horizons

He Appeared In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Animal crossing pocket camp character standing next to nat-2

I still play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete, the formerly live-service mobile game that went fully one-time fee last November. Every month, a new character shows up to lead the monthly gardening event, and, so far, I’ve recognized every new appearance. Previous events have been held by Celeste, Daisy Mae, Gulliver, Isabelle, and other well-known names.

When I opened AC: Pocket Camp on August 1st, I found myself staring into the unfamiliar bulging eyes of a green chameleon named Nat. A bit of research reveals that Nat has been in the series for a while, appearing in Animal Crossing: City Folk and New Leaf as the lead of the Bug-Off competition.

I played both those previous games, and somehow I had completely forgotten about this adorable chameleon, who speaks in outdated Britishisms and, it’s heavily implied, eats all the bugs players give him as part of the Bug-Off. It’s not that surprising that I had forgotten Nat, though, since he’s been replaced by his son in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Animal Crossing Keeps Things Fresh By Retiring “Old” Characters

I Hope They Keep Coming Back In Future Installments

Nat and Chip sitting at a table at the Roost in Animal Crossing New Horizons

Animal Crossing has come a long way, and while it’s kept a lot of what has made it as popular as it is, the franchise has been changing and evolving. One of the ways in which New Horizons appealed to the next generation of gamers was by shaking up some of the characters.

Of course, all the most beloved NPCs, like Nook, Isabelle, and the Able sisters, have remained in the game. But older residents of New Leaf

like Nat, Mayor Tortimer, and Chip (the host of the seasonal fishing events), were left in the past. Instead, Nat’s son Flick and Chip’s son C.J. replace their respective dads as tourney hosts in New Horizons. Even the turnip seller Joan has been replaced by her young granddaughter Daisy Mae in New Horizons.

I’m sure part of the reason for these changes was to suggest the passage of time in the Animal Crossing series. After all, fans who played Wild World in 2025 had also grown up quite a bit by the time of New Horizons’ release in 2020. But another, probably more important reason, was to keep the game feeling fresh and to appeal to a new, younger audience.

I’m sure we can expect the next Animal Crossing game to do something similar and let some of the older characters retire, with new and younger NPCs taking their place. But I hope they also keep bringing the classic old faces back (as more than just Amiibo extras).

I enjoyed meeting Nat the chameleon again—even if I didn’t remember him from the previous Animal Crossing titles, it still felt like seeing an old friend.