Raymond

Lore & Background

Raymond was designed with the intention of making players want to 'interact with them [and] watch what they are doing.' He shares roughly the same silhouette base as all cat villagers, done so to ensure that players can identify them easily as cats. The designers give each villager their own texture, though they are mindful to not make each villager stand out too much. Raymond received the 'smug' personality type, one of multiple personality types available. He is both pleasant to players and will 'brag about how cool and good-looking he is.' This personality type is the second rarest in the game, and Raymond is the only smug cat villager. Raymond wears a waistcoat, necktie, black glasses, has a tuft of blonde hair, and has heterochromia.

In Their Own Story

Raymond first appeared in 2020 in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, later being added to the 2017 Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp as an update. He was first revealed on the Twitter account Crossing Channel, a third-party Animal Crossing fan account that has worked with Nintendo in the past. Raymond is one of hundreds of villagers that can be residents of the player's island. He can be found as a starting villager at the beginning of the game, found on Mystery Island Tours, or be a visitor at the island's campsite. He also appeared in the manga Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Deserted Island Diary, where he was portrayed as severely narcissistic. As is the case with other villagers, the player can interact with Raymond by talking to him and giving gifts.

Reader's Guide

Raymond's popularity grew to a level that led to the creation of fan-made websites, such as Nookazon and nook.market, where players would buy, sell, and trade villagers. Raymond was one of the most popular villagers on these marketplaces, alongside fellow villager Marshal, which led to him being sold for exorbitant prices. At one time, the operators of nook.market claimed that half of inquiries were related to Raymond, and was stated by both nook.market and Nookazon as being the most-wanted villager. Players who are selling a villager have to do so by waiting for the villager to decide to leave his current island, which is referred to as being 'in boxes.' The phrase 'Raymond in boxes' became a meme in the Animal Crossing community. Some players have used eBay to purchase in-game currency with real money to afford Raymond. In response to the popularity of Raymond, YouTuber PokéNinja decided to offer Raymond for free using a save editor, which allowed him to create save files with Raymond in his game. This led to PokéNinja creating a service called ACVillagerHaven in order to remove the need for the 'Animal Crossing black market' by offering any villager for free.

Did You Know?

• Raymond is the only smug cat villager in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
• He was first revealed on the Twitter account Crossing Channel, a third-party fan account that has worked with Nintendo.
• At one time, half of all inquiries on nook.market were related to Raymond.
• A video of Raymond wearing a maid outfit while playing a tambourine helped him achieve more popularity, including among the LGBT community.
• YouTuber PokéNinja created a service called ACVillagerHaven to offer any villager for free, in response to Raymond's high demand on black markets.