As you no doubt know (but I need an intro), idle animations have always served as fun little Easter eggs in select games.  In platformers in particular (but not always), I’ve always enjoyed just standing still and watching what my characters do when they’re bored.  Honestly, they’re a great way to add extra personality to the characters!  Below are the Duck’s top 5 idle animations!

5: Link Falls Asleep in Skyward Sword

There’s really not much to this one, but in Skyward Sword, if you have Link sit down for any prolonged period of time, he will eventually fall asleep, just managing to catch himself before taking a tumble.  It’s…kind of adorable.

Video from YouTube User: Video Game Idle Animations

4: Rayman Plays Basketball

With Rayman’s body parts seeming to float in midair, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that he can take himself apart if he so chooses.  (I mean, that’s not surprising, right?)  In Rayman 2, if you left our limbless hero alone for too long, he would actually play basketball with his own body!  I wonder if that’s at all uncomfortable….  (Though I couldn’t find a video for this one, I did end up discovering that Rayman can also juggle his head!)

3: Laylee Apparently Bites

Being the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, it’s only natural that Yooka-Laylee would have plenty of fun, little idle animations.  My favorite one is when Laylee bites Yooka on the head, causing him to flail his arms around in discomfort.  This one isn’t too dissimilar to #1 on this list….

Video from YouTube User: Crystal Blazier

2: Dixie Kong Relaxes with Some Juice

In the original Donkey Kong Country games on the SNES, I especially liked Diddy and Dixie’s idle animations.  Diddy could juggle, but what I really loved was Dixie, who would chew gum and blow bubbles and even drink from a juice box.  So cute!

Video from YouTube User: packattack04082

1: Banjo and Kazooie Antagonize Each Other

My top favorite idle animation comes from Banjo-Kazooie.  When you leave the bear and bird duo to their own devices, Kazooie will eventually peck Banjo on the head, much to her friend’s chagrin.  Let her do it enough times, and Banjo will eventually grab her by the neck and tug on her head a few times.  Sounds harsh, but Kazooie definitely deserved it!  Now this is one idle animation that really rewards your patience!

Video from YouTube User: Bas Slenders

Image by Flickr user wheresthebrain