Isabelle

Isabelle
Isabelle's artwork from Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Series	Animal Crossing
First Appearance	Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Species	Dog
Year Created	2012
Created by	Nintendo EAD Monolith Soft

Isabelle<sup>(JPJapanese: しずえ

Romaji: Shizue)</sup> is a character from the Animal Crossing series. She acts as the secretary for your Town starting in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. She is very clumsy but works very hard. Her birthday, along with her twin brother Digby, is on December 20th.

Beyond Animal Crossing, Isabelle has been featured in multiple other Nintendo games notably as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series and the Mario Kart series. Her image has also been used a lot in promotional marketing and on various Animal Crossing products.

Animal Crossing series

Announcement

Isabelle was first announced in an Animal Forest: Jump Out (Japanese version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf) promo video, known simply as "secretary". While only shown for a couple seconds, it showed some rough sketches and her in-game model following Villager, presumably for setting up a Public Works Project.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Isabelle is among the first people to greet you as you enter town, mistaking you for the mayor. She acts as the tutorial getting you set up as your position as mayor of this town. Afterwards when you become mayor, you talk to her to decide on public works project, change the town ordinance, change the town flag, change the town song and reset villagers' clothes and catchphrase. On special events like, she stands in the town plaza usually in a costume for the holiday and gives you a present for the holiday. She has a twin brother named Digby.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

In Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, Isabelle is one of the optional characters who can move into the village where the player makes houses. She oversees the development of the town and is the one to request the creation of various community projects from the player.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival

Isabelle is featured as one of the playable characters in Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. Like most of the villagers playable in this game, she require one of her two Amiibo figures to unlock. Her in game appearance depends on the Amiibo used.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, she can be found in the Market Place where the player can talk to her to bring up the Common Questions and Beginner's Guide. Quite a few furnitures available in the game are also made in her likeness.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Isabelle will work for Nook Inc. in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. She will provide similar duties to the ones she did in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Isabelle is an Assist Trophy in the game. She was revealed on April 4th, 2014. She heals the one who summoned her by throwing fruit. She was also in the first trailer to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as a character in the Villager's town in the trailer's opening cutscene.

Trophy Descriptions

Regular

• NA:"Isabelle is the mayor's highly capable secretary. She can be forgetful sometimes, but you can always count on her for information about the town. She wears her hair up in a bun that makes her look like a shih tzu. Mostly because she is one! She also has a twin brother named Digby."

• EU:"Isabelle's the mayor's secretary, and you couldn't ask for someone more on the ball! Well...maybe you could, but she's still full of useful info about life in the town. With her fringe and tied-up hair, she looks just like a shih-tzu! That's because she is one. And so is her twin brother, Digby."

Winter Outfit

• NA: "The green check she wears in warmer months suits her perfectly, but when the cold hits, her mustard-yellow cardigan is just too stylish for words. It may make you long for the spring months, though. Hot or cold—nothing makes Isabelle feel under the weather!"

• EU: "The green chequered vest she wears in warmer months suits her to a T, but when the cold hits, her mustard-yellow cardie is just too stylish for words. That said, it might make you long for spring and all its vibrant beauty! Of course, Isabelle doesn't mind. Hot or cold, she's always a ray of sunshine!"

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

On September 13th, 2018, Isabelle was announced for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character. Similarly to the Villager, Isabelle use various items from Animal Crossing to damage her enemies like the fishing rod, pots, buckets of water, stop signs, Gyroids, etc.

Specials

• Neutral Special - Pocket
• Side Special - Fishing Rod
• Up Special - Balloon Trip
• Down Special - Lloid Trap
• Final Smash - Dream Town Hall

In other series

Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Along with Dry Bowser and Villager, Isabelle appears as a racer in Mario Kart 8's second DLC pack, Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8. This marks the first time an Animal Crossing character other than Villager has been playable in any game. Since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a enhanced port of Mario Kart 8, Isabelle returned as a playable character, but this time as a base game character.

Super Mario Maker

Isabelle was featured as two separate costumes in Super Mario Maker, one for each of her Amiibos. This is mostly just a cosmetic change and doesn't affect gameplay beyond Mario's appearance.

Miitopia

In Miitopia, Isabelle gives her likeness to one of the three Animal Crossing inspired costumes for the Mii, the others being based on Tom Nook and K.K. Slider. Those costume can only be obtained when scanning the Amiibo of the desired character.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Capcom revealed outfits based on Isabelle and Mr. Resetti as a result of a partnership with Nintendo, it mainly changes the Felines' appearance and meow sound when equipped.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumete ☆ Tomodachi Daisakusen!

In Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumete ☆ Tomodachi Daisakusen!, Isabelle appears alongside Mr. Resetti and Tom Nook in the background of the various Animal Crossing tracks that can be unlocked by using Animal Crossing themed Amiibo Cards.

Legacy

It didn't take long before Isabelle became one of the most well-known and popular characters in the entire franchise. By pre-ordering Animal Crossing: New Leaf at certain retailers, you could receive an Isabelle figure along with a Town Hall. Other purchasable toys soon became available in Japan, with around 1/2 of them scheduled to come to (or already in) America. Isabelle was even given a Twitter account, where it is portrayed as if it is really Isabelle, and she makes notes of things like scheduled Plaza Events to this day. She then started to frequently appear in marketing highlighting some of Nintendo's most well known characters. She was given two sets Amiibo in 2015 and soon after was one of the first non-Mario Nintendo characters to be playable in the Mario Kart series just after Link, which also marks the first time she or any Animal Crossing character beside the Villager was playable. Isabelle continued to make various appearances in new Animal Crossing spin offs in the following years before being added as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, cementing her role as one of the most recognizable figureheads of the Animal Crossing series.