Summary

• Animals in games help players form emotional bonds easily, as humans are naturally drawn to animals.
• Many animal characters in games carry symbolic meanings in different cultures, defining their personalities.
• Characters like Chocobos, Tails, Eevee, Yoshi, Knuckles, and Gabumon offer unique twists on real animals.

Animals—especi🤡ally the cute and familiar ones—make it easier for players to form emotional bonds. Humans are naturally drawn to animals, so it’s a shortcut to instant empathy. Game designers love to base characters on real animals, but with just enough creative twists⛎ to keep things fresh. Add wings, lightning powers, or speech, and suddenly that cat becomes a magical electric frog-lion.

Many animals also carry symbolic meanings in different cultures, which helps quickly define a character’s personality. But let’s face it—when a critter looks like a fox-lizard-ဣpuppy hybrid, things get confusing, especially for kids. Even grown-ups still ask, “Wait… what is that thing?” Let’s finally clear that up.

10 Chocobos

From Final Fantasy Series

If you grew up playing Final Fantasy, you probably guessed what kind of animal Chocobos are. Are they giant chickens? Ostri🌳ches? They s💖ure look like big, fluffy, flightless birds. But here’s the twist: Chocobos aren’t exactly any real animal—they’re fantastical creatures unique to the Final Fantasy universe, blending traits of chickens, ostriches, and who knows what else.

While Square Enix hasn’t officially said what they are, fans love to imagine them as giant, adorable, and surprisingly fast “chicken-like” birds. Some even joke they might be related to prehistoric Terr🐭or Birds. But without officia♏l word, Chocobos remain the mysterious and beloved mounts we all adore!

9 Tails

From Sonic Franchise

Tails, one of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sonic’s most popular characters, wasn’t always easy to identify as a kid. Was he a cute little critter♉ with a tail? A yellow cat? A squirrel? The answer is simpler than you think: Tails is definitely a fox. His two tails make him unique—and yes, it’s because of a mutation that lets him use them like helicopter blades to fly.

Originally, he was meant to be a tanuki, but his twin tails also drꦅaw inspiration from Kitsune, the mythical Japanese foxes. In the end, he’s basically a fox cub, with a look somewhere between a red fox and a fennec fox—just way cooler with those flying tails!

8 Gex

From Gex Series

Everyone knows Gex as that cool, funny character we all connected with—but did you know what kind of an๊imal he really is? Most of us just called him a lizard, maybe a chameleon or an iguana, or just lump𓆏ed him into the “reptile” category. Some even imagined him as a baby dinosaur!

But the real answer’s in the second game’s full title: Gex: Enter the Gecko. Gex is actually a gecko—a small lizard fam꧟ous for climbing walls and sticky toes. Gex even uses his long sticky tongue to defeat enemies! Of course, his very human-like attitude and 90s cartoon style make it super easy to confuse him as something else when we were kids.

7 Eevee

From Pokemon Franchise

Not as famous as Pikachu, but Eevee is still a super popular P𝄹okemon—thanks to its cute looks and, of course, its crazy number of evolutions. But what did you think Eevee was at first? A fox? A cat? A dog? Especially as kids, it’s easy to get confused by this small, fluffy, adorable creature. Ready for the answer? It’s none of those! Eevee isn’t exactly any animal.

While inspired by some mammals, the only thing we really know is that it’s a mammal. Motofumi Fujiwara revealed that Eevee was designed as a “blank slate” Pokemo🌳n after Satoshi Tajiri asked for one with multiple evolutions. Fujiwara even imagined Eevee as a creature living in our fuzzy childhood memories of cat- or dog-like animals.

6 Ty Th♋e Tasmanian Tiger

From Ty The Tasmanian Tiger Series

Cute, brave, and charismatic, Ty’s name and ꦜlook might have made many of you think he was a tiger, a cat, maybe even a fox or some other canine or feline. Australians might have a slightly better guess, but even they could get confused. As his name hints, Ty is actually a Tasmanian Tiger, aka a Thylacine—a now extinct marsupial native to Australia and Tasmania.

Despite “tiger” in his name,🐻 he’s not genetically related to big cats. His design doesn’t ꦛshow the signature stripes or pouch clearly, but it’s inspired by the real deal. Though Thylacines are gone, Ty’s boomerang skills and adventures made him a beloved childhood icon—still flying high in our memories!

5 Yoshi

From Super Mario Franchise

Yoshi’s design, cute looks, and quirky traits often made people mistake him for something else. Most commonly, folks thought he was a frog—probably because of his sticky tongue and hopping mov🦩es. Some even guessed lizard or dragon. But actually, Yoshi is a dinosaur. Though fictional, the North American Super Mario World manual officially calls him one.

Plus, Yoshi’s Island’s story says Yoshis live in Dinosaur Land, and Nintendo often describes him as a friendly dinosaur. While inspired by real dinos like sauropods or small theropods, Yoshi’s frog-like tongue, egg-throwing skills, and adorable style make him a unique, cartoonish creature. Nintendo didn’t want a T-Rex—they made a fun, f🦩antastical dino buddy instead!

4 Gabumon

From Digimon Franchise

Though not as famous as Agumon, Gabumon is one of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:most memorable and adorable Digimon. Its desi𝔉gn—especially the furry coat and fantasy look—often made kids confuse it wi⭕th other animals. Some thought it was a husky or wolf-like dog, others guessed a dinosaur, or even a baby bear! The real mystery? That furry coat. Time to clear things up!

That fur actually belongs to Garurumon. Take anot💖her look at Gabumon without the fur—still confusing, right? Officially, Gabumon is classified as a Reptile Digi🌃mon. The anime shows it removing the fur in early episodes, but it’s never really seen clearly without it. Check the official artwork—once you see it, you might never want to see Gabumon fur-less again!

3 Knuckles

From Sonic Franchise

At first, Knuckles was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:introduced as Sonic’s rival, then became his friend. With his spiky look and similar size, many thought he was just another hedgehog like Soꦬnic. Some even guessed he was a mole, a dog, or some mutant creature. Sometimes,🌊 people just called him “Red Sonic” and moved on.

But the truth is hidden in his full name: Knuckles the Echidna. Echidnas are real animals fr🎃om Australia and New Guinea—spiky mammals that lay eggs! Knuckles’ design reflects their spiky bodies and powerful digging claws, which became his signature punches. That red color, big fists, and spikes make him unforgettable!

2 Pikachu

From Pokemon Franchise

Wh꧅en people think of Pokemon, chances are Pikachu zaps to mind first. But as kids, we all had a moment of confusion—was Pikachu a squirrel? A rabbit? Maybe a fat yellow hamster with lightning problems? Officially, Pikachu is a mouse, though he wasn’t originally designed that way.

Game Freak’s Satoshi Tajiri made that call, while designer Atsuko Nishida added chubby cheek pouches inspired by squ𝐆irrels—to store electricity, not snacks. His yellow color and lightning bolt tail scream “I’m Electric!” And fun fact: Pikachu’s name partly comes from the real animal pika (from genus Ochotona)—a small, round-eared mountain mammal. Also, in Japanese, “pika” means “sparkle.” Coincidence? Absolutely not.

1 Crash Bandicoot ♑ ൩

From Crash Bandicoot Franchise

Crash Bandicoot isn’t a fox, a raccoon, or a really hyper kangaroo—though we wouldn’t blame you for thinking so. As the name n🐼ot-so-subtly hints, Crash is actually a bandicoot, a small marsupial native to Australia.. But let’s be honest: real bandicoots don’t spin like Beyblades or smash crates with style.

When Naughty Dog was creating a mascot for the PlayStation, they picked “bandicoot” mostly because the name sounded cool. With his wild orange fur, crazy expressions, and “woah!” yelps, Crash became a beloved ‘90s gaming icon🃏—despite nobodyඣ knowing what kind of animal he actually was.