The Many Animals of Gaming

[Cirrus]

It just hit me how many games have had the player controlling an animal as the main character. How many can we compile? I don't think we should include fake animals, such as the lizard thing from "Scaler", or the Lombax (Ratchet, from Ratchet & Clank), or Spyro the Dragon. Also, when a human turns INTO an animal, in game, that shouldn't count, either. (Alucard turning into a wolf doesn't count.)

Also, as a second question, which "animal player" was the very first one? I'll assume it was an arcade game, but I don't know.

Current list of animal characters:

Ant (Zool)

Ape (Donkey Kong, George)

Bat (Aero the Acrobat, Rouge)

Bandicoot (Crash)

Bear (Banjo)

Bird (Bird Week)

Bobcat (Bubsy)

Cat (Rockin' Kats, Felix, Blinx, Garfield, Socks, Blaze, Pero, Itchy, Alleycat, Tom, Sylvester)

Chicken (Alfred Chicken)

Chimpanzee (Lanky Kong)

Chipmunk (Chip, Dale)

Cod (James Pond)

Cougar (Ardy Lightfoot)

Dog (Sam from Sam & Max, Chuckie (chuckwagon), King)

Dolphin (Ecco)

Duck (Scrooge, Donald, Darkwing)

Echidna (Knuckles)

Fox (Tails, Fox McCloud)

Frog (Frogger, Slippy)

Gecko (Gex)

Hamster (Hamtaro)

Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy)

Kangaroo (Kangaroo (ARC), Kao)

Lemming (Lemmings)

Monkey (Super Monkey Ball, Diddy, Toki, Congo, Spanky, Bubble Monkey)

Mosquito (Mr. Mosquito/Ka)

Mouse (Scratchy, Minnie & Mickey, Mappy, Jerry)

Opossum (Sparkster)

Penguin (Pen Pen, Pengo)

Pig (Power Pigs)

Rabbit (Bugs Bunny, Buster, Cream)

Raccoon (Sly)

Road Runner (Road Runner,

Rocky Rodent (???)

Sheep (Pochi)

Snake (Snake, Rattle, and Roll)

Squirrel (Conker, Mr. Nutz, Zero)

Tasmanian Tiger (Ty)

Toad (Zitz, Rash, Pimple)

Turtle (TMNT)

Worm (Earthworm Jim, Worms)

Yeti (Urban Yeti)

You name it. (E.V.O.: Search for Eden)


I would like to be more specific with these. For instance, James Pond is not just a "fish", but likely a certain type of fish. [edit: fixed!] Same with Banjo the "Bear." I imagine people with the manuals might be able to help.

There's gotta be a lot more!

[scooterb23]

James Pond is a Robocod. I know that much. :D

[Cirrus]

James Pond is a Robocod. I know that much. :D

I just looked into it a little more. His suit was given to him in the second game. But he is, in fact, a cod.

[Yam]

Your list plus a few additions:

Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy)

Ape (Donkey Kong, George)

Bandicoot (Crash)

Bat (Aero the Acrobat, Rouge)

Bird (Bird Week)

Bear (Banjo)

Bobcat (Bubsy)

Cat (Rockin' Kats, Felix, Blinx, Garfield, Socks, Blaze, Pero, Itchy, Alleycat)

Chicken (Alfred Chicken)

Chimpanzee (Lanky Kong)

Chipmunk (Chip, Dale)

Cougar? (Ardy Lightfoot)

Cod (James Pond)

Dog (Sam from Sam & Max, Chuckie (chuckwagon), King)

Dolphin (Ecco)

Duck (Scrooge, Donald, Darkwing)

Echidna (Knuckles)

Fox (Tails, Fox McCloud)

Frog (Frogger, Slippy)

Gecko (Gex)

Hamster (Hamtaro)

Kangaroo (Kangaroo (ARC), Kao)

Lemming (Lemmings)

Monkey (Super Monkey Ball, Diddy, Toki, Congo, Spanky, Bubble Monkey)

Mosquito (Mr. Mosquito/Ka)

Mouse (Scratchy)

Opossum (Sparkster)

Pig (Power Pigs)

Rabbit (Bugs Bunny, Buster, Cream)

Raccoon (Sly)

Road Runner (Road Runner)

Rocky Rodent (???)

Sheep (Pochi, haha)

Snake (Snake, Rattle, and Roll)

Squirrel (Conker, Mr. Nutz)

Tasmanian Tiger (Ty)

Turtle (TMNT)

Toad (Zitz, Rash, Pimple)

Yeti (Urban Yeti)

Various (Claymates - Mouse/Fish/Chipmunk/Cat/Bird)

You name it (E.V.O: The Search for Eden)

[Julio III]

Ant (Zool)
Penguin (Pen Pen TriIcelon)
and there must be a million others, there are some more in Pen Pen, my mind is just blank right now

[crazyjackcsa]

Worm (Earthworm Jim, Worms)
Umm whole slew of creatures in Kart Racers and Disney games.Does this count?

[Cirrus]

Umm whole slew of creatures in Kart Racers and Disney games.Does this count?

Haha, I thought of exactly that! But I figured that that doesn't really count, since they were just made up to fill the seat of another cart. If someone wants to type them out, I'll add them, but otherwise... nah. :)

[Sylentwulf]

Also, as a second question, which "animal player" was the very first one? I'll assume it was an arcade game, but I don't know.

I would guess this would be Kangaroo? Earliest one I can think of off the top of my head where you control a real animal as the main character.

[Rogmeister]

What about the dog in Dog's Life (where you control him plus some of his doggy friends). There's also all of the dogs in Nintendogs...since you give them names yourself, you can't name them here.

Another mouse game would be Mappy.

In Dead of Night (I think that's the title) you play a human hero but there are parts of the game where you control his canine partner Shadow.

Another squirrel would be Zero (Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel).

And don't forget the cat & mouse team of Tom & Jerry. And Sylvester.

[Haoie]

Anthropomorphism in storytelling is very common throughout human history. It's only natural that as the changing evolution of how people express themselves changes, that animals behaving like people finds its way into aspects of modern pop culture like gaming.

Or something like that.

[Flack]

In the PC game Wolf, you play a wolf.

You play a penguin in Antarctic Adventure, Binary Land, Pengo, Penguin Brothers, Penguin-Kun Wars, Penta, Ultra Balloon

You control a rabbit in Bucky O'Hare, Roger Rabbit, Jack Rabbit, Popper, Rabbit Punch, and Roger Rabbit.

In Brutal: Above the Claw, you can play as Kung-Fu Bunny, Leon (lion), Tai Cheetah, Rhei Rat, Kendo Koyote or Foxy Roxy.

Someone mentioned Mappy, but you also play a mouse in Mouse Trap and Super Mouse, . Oddly enough, you play a cat in the games Mouser and Cat N' Mouse.

I'm pretty sure in the new King Kong game I read you can play as Kong. Speaking of big gorillas, there's the one from Rampage (along with the giant lizard and giant wolf-man as well). Primal Rage lets players play as several animals as well.

Didn't one of the Tekken games allow you to play as a panda? Also we just got Chicken Little and I know you're a chicken in that one.

I'm sure I could come up with another hundred or two pretty easily.

[Rogmeister]

In Tekken, you can play as a bear and instead of a second costume (since bears don't wear costumes) I believe you do indeed play as a panda since that's a different-looking bear. I guess you play a dinosaur in "Dinosaur"...