Rover

"Hi! ...It's-a ME! Mya ha! Good impression, right?"

- Rover

Rover (みしらぬネコ, Mishiranuneko, Stranger Cat) is a special character in the. His job varies in each game, but his primary job is to set up the playable character. He is a blue and white cat with red irises and blue pupils in his eyes. Despite his name, which is usually connected with dogs, he is a cat. His name, however, comes from roaming, as he is a traveler.

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His role in and  is to set up the game for the first time, by setting the time and date, the player and the town in which the player lives. In his first appearance, Rover meets the player on the train, when he approaches the player asking if he has the correct date and time. He soon drums up conversation by sitting opposite the player and asking questions to determine the gender and appearance, as well as asking where the player is going, and setting up a house for them to stay in by talking with his friend, Tom Nook. Soon after this, the train arrives at the player's town.

Rover does not play a part in, instead, he is replaced by Kapp'n who drives the taxi and sets up everything in his place. He plays small parts, such as appearing in The Roost making references to the previous Animal Crossing game. He also sets up the Tag Mode/Contact Mode, which allows anonymous Bottle Mail to be sent to the town and land on the beach.

In, Rover returns to his previous role from Animal Crossing. He meets the player on the bus driven by Kapp'n and asks questions to determine the gender and town name of the player. He also appears at the start of the game, asking if the time and date is correct and who is going to be playing the game out of four saved players, as well as other options.

He turns on WiiConnect24, as well as other options, such as audio options, by calling him with the phone in the player's attic. He sometimes appears in the Roost, talking about his travels.

In, Rover yet again sets up the player similarly to previous games. He meets the player on the train before it pulls into town, similar to the original.

Trivia

 * After meeting Rover in City Folk, the player can continue to contact him with his/her phone, located in the attic.
 * When creating a new character in New Leaf, Rover will say that he "hasn't done this much traveling by train since 2002 or so", a reference to the original Animal Crossing.