He is not in the game. His lamp (or a similar lamp) is in the game though as a regular furniture item.
As for other features that Nintendo removed...
-No more Frillard specific Emotions
-No more Auction House
-HRA Model Room is gone
-Redd only sells artwork now and is a town visitor, not a permanent shop
-No more constellations/observatory
-No more Gate
-No more "long cutscene" when going to the city
-No more shoe shines
-No more villager house posts
-No more being assigned a house in one of four areas
-No more Recycling Bin
-No more flea market day
-Christmas, Thanksgiving, Festivale, Easter, and Halloween have all changed
-Plus so much more
-All emotions can be held.
-Is now changed to Re-Tail.
-Has changed to an optional home challenge; Model rooms are now easier to share via Happy Home Showcase.
-Forged paintings are easier to tell.
-You got me there. But hey, storage and easy silver items!
-Who needs to run when you have a train. (and what about the gate in front of the train?).
-There's an optional cutscene when going to the island. This makes everything so much easier.
-Now changed to actual shoes.
-Is very annoying when planning out your town.
-It's more for the creativity. Build it where you place it!
-It's not a recycle bin, but more of a trash bin. What is that showing environmentalists?! >:I
-Again, Re-tail.
-A different approach to the holidays, I see nothing wrong there.
-A lot of these just seem for the better, although I can agree with some.