Animal Crossing’s collectathon mechanics have been a staple of the franchise since its first installment, andNew Horizonsis no exception. Blather’s museum is bigger and emptier than ever, and it’s up to the player to fill it with as many bugs and fish as possible.
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As anyAnimal Crossingfan would know, the game’s quirky charm truly shines through with the unique capture quotes that appear when you catch a critter. A fresh pun has been written for every fish species, and from the gigantic arapaima to the tiny goldfish. Like with any joke, some miss the mark while others hit hook, line, and sinker.
10Best: Yellow Perch
The yellow perch pun is simple and charming in the best way possible. There’s no complex wordplay, just the adorable image of some tiny yellow birds coming to rest on this bright little fish. Not every capture quote needs to be a masterpiece, and this one shows offAnimal Crossing’s offbeat charm.
The yellow perch is a river fish that can be found from October to March in the Northern Hemisphere, and April to September in the Southern Hemisphere. Players should keep an eye out for a medium-sized shadow if they want to encounter this fish and its adorable pun.
9Worst: Dace
Aside from being a little dull and uninspired, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this capture quote unless you consider the qualities of the dace itself. The dace is a common fish with a medium shadow, a size it shares with rarer fish such as the char and cherry salmon. Players hunting for these uncommon fish will feel mocked every time they catch a dace - it’s likely to be the very reason they have no space in their pockets.
To its merit, the dace is a veteran of the series that has appeared in everyAnimal Crossingsince the original. It can be found in the rivers of your deserted island between 4PM and 9AM throughout the whole year.
8Best: Frog
Many players have noticed how odd it seems that there are regular owls and birds which perch on the notice board inNew Horizons, in addition to NPCs like Blathers and bird villagers. Drawing on this, the frog capture quote finds humor in the fact that frogs inAnimal Crossingcan be kept in a glass tank, or treated as neighbors and friends.
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Frogs can only be found in ponds not connected to larger, running bodies of water. They appear all day, but only from May to August for Northern Hemisphere players, or November to February for those in the Southern Hemisphere.
7Worst: Pop-Eyed Goldfish
While the pop-eyed goldfish certainly looks surprised with its bulbous face, this line isn’t up to par with what was written for previous games. The originalAnimal CrossingandNew Leafboth made references to Popeye the Sailor Man and his enduring love of spinach, makingNew Horizons' capture quote seem boring in comparison.
Previous games likeCity FolkandWild Worldsaw this fish appearing in rivers, butNew Horizonshas relocated the pop-eyed goldfish to ponds. It’s a member of the tiny shadow size, making it one of the smallest fish in the game.
6Best: Puffer Fish
This capture pun has a nice little rhythm to it or at least a better structure than some of the more wordy lines. On top of this, there’s something inherently funny about seeing your tiny, cute villager holding one of the spikiest, most intimidating animals in the world, and claiming it’s not tough enough.
The pufferfish can be found in the ocean throughout the day, spawning with a medium shadow size. Though this critter is uncommon, it will only fetch players 250 Bells when sold to the Nooklings.
5Worst: Arapaima
The Japanese arapaima is one of the most impressive and rare fish inNew Horizons, shocking players with its size as it’s pulled from the water. The pun that accompanies it is significantly less impressive. The writers seem to have been trying to play on a phrase like ‘how would I know’, but it doesn’t quite work and just comes across awkward.
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Aside from its capture quote, there’s much to like about the arapaima. It’sworth a whopping 10,000 Bells, and few river fish share its huge shadow size so players are unlikely to be disappointed by a more common critter.
4Best: Squid
This may seem like a rather unassuming line, but fans ofSplatoonwill notice a reference to the colorful third-person shooter games. The capture quote pays homage to theSplatoonuniverse’s pop idol duo Off The Hook, featuring Marina and Pearl.
Some critters have a few alternate capture puns. One of the squid’s alternates, ‘I had an inkling I might!’, could also be a reference to the squid kid species ofSplatoon.Its final line asks ‘Do they… not actually “bloop”?’, which is likely an allusion to the blooper enemies of theSuperMarioseries.
3Worst: Tuna
The tuna pun does make sense, but it seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity. Had the line said something like ‘It’s a little off-key-a!’, not only would there by a fun dash of rhyming, but a reference to Mario’s famous Italian accent could have been hinted at.
The tuna only appears four months out of the year, meaning many players may have missed its season already and will need totime-travelto catch it. Tuna rarely spawn and can only be caught from the pier, so it’s fortunate the game hassuch catchy musicto listen to while hunting this fish.
2Best: Whale Shark
Like many rare fish, the whale shark’s capture line comes in two parts, with ‘I’m tellin’ ya, it was thiiiiiiiis big!' following the initial shock of netting this gigantic creature. The unabashed enthusiasm of this line perfectly captures the excitement players feel when the whale shark fills their screen.
While it might seem silly that such a large creature would fit in Blathers' museum, some aquariums such asthe Kaiyukan in Osaka, Japanare big enough to accommodate whale sharks. As Blathers will let you know when donating one, whale sharks are the largest species of fish in the world.
1Worst: Sea Bass
Veteran and newAnimal Crossingfans alike will understand how infuriating it is to catch sea bass upon sea bass while hunting for rarer fish like the coelacanth. It’s by farthe most dreaded critter in the game, so if anything it’s capture quote is hated just by association. The fact that it’s just not very funny or cute doesn’t help.
Even the writer of the pun has said he’s tired of itand explained that it’s meant to be a more positive spin on what he originally wrote. Regardless of the intentions, mostNew Horizonsplayers would be happy to never see this line again.
