Woman Who Played 4,000 Hours Of Animal Crossing: New Leaf Finally Starts New Horizons

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Screenshot: phubans (YouTube)

After playing over 4,000 hours of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, 88-year-old Audrey at long last embarks on her deserted island getaway in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

The last time we saw her, she was diligently checking in on the villagers of her New Leaf town and tending her huge flower garden. Now she’s returned along with her grandson, indie game developer Paul Hubans, in a new video to share her thoughts on the opening moments of the new game.

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She got the orange airport and peaches, and of course named her character Audie, the same as her mayor in New Leaf. When the game first launched, players noticed that New Horizons has its own new villager named Audie and speculated that the Nintendo localization team had named the peppy, pink wolf after Audrey. But Audrey remains skeptical, saying in the video she didn’t know for sure if it was really supposed to be a reference to her.

“[She] seemed pretty amused about it but confused as to why they made her a wolf,” Hubans told Eurogamer in an interview. “I told her it might be a reference to Goldilocks where the grandmother is actually a wolf, but I get the feeling it’s more of a localization choice by Nintendo of America employees that wanted to give a nod to gran.”

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Audrey, who’s by now put over 4,300 hours into New Leaf, is most excited about New Horizons’ new pole-vaulting mechanic. “I’d like to jump over the ditch with the stick,” she said when asked what she’s looking forward to most, though she was hesitant about possibly messing it up and falling in by accident. Hubans assured her the game wouldn’t let that happen.

But don’t think for a second this means Audrey’s finally finished with New Leaf. “[I] don’t want to give up on my flowers,” she says in the video, and is determined to split her time between both games going forward.