Please help! Amiibo update broke my game

[SpooksvilleMona]

Hello everyone! I'm new to this site but did look over the rules and other forums before deciding to make a new thread, so please let me know if this belongs somewhere else. Anyways, I'm in a serious pickle! Let me start from the beginning. Please forgive if this is long.

I bought a used copy of New Leaf at the beginning of this year and have been seriously loving it; however, I knew nothing about this iteration of AC before I started playing, so I didn't know the Amiibo update was a thing. I only found out about it recently, and today I tried installing it. This is where the issue comes in. As I mentioned before, my copy of New Leaf was used before it came into my possession. There were no visible save files on it when I opened it for the first time, so I assumed I wouldn't need to wipe it before creating my own town. After installing the update, however, it looks like there was a save file on the cartridge, after all. I couldn't access it before now because the previous owner must have had the update installed, and now I'm really concerned that it has wiped out my town forever! I've spent hours googling issues people have had with the update, but it seems like no one else has posted about my particular issue. I have tried uninstalling the update, but whenever I try to open New Leaf it tells me I need to update it again. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I just want to save the town that I've put so much work into, even if it means I can't play with the update.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

Well the 3ds will only let you update the game once (or maybe I am wrong) so I would say the best thing to do is try and delete everything again and restart! Since I know you have to do it through the game there are ways to do it outside the game. Since you said the game isnt working try the following steps in System Settings! (This is taken directly from the Nintendo Website)

Try deleting the game save and all extra data on the SD Card and then try rebooting the game up, downloading the update, and all should be peaches and roses! I love New Leaf and I hope you can enjoy it too! If it STILL doesnt work then the cartridge must be messed up

 

[SpooksvilleMona]

Well the 3ds will only let you update the game once (or maybe I am wrong) so I would say the best thing to do is try and delete everything again and restart! Since I know you have to do it through the game there are ways to do it outside the game. Since you said the game isnt working try the following steps in System Settings! (This is taken directly from the Nintendo Website)View attachment 446654
Try deleting the game save and all extra data on the SD Card and then try rebooting the game up, downloading the update, and all should be peaches and roses! I love New Leaf and I hope you can enjoy it too! If it STILL doesnt work then the cartridge must be messed up

Thank you! I'm sad to lose my previous town, but I've actually had a lot of fun starting over since I actually know how to play now, haha So strange that I seem to be the only one with this issue.

 

[michito]

I'm not sure how to explain it, but the amiibo update was so big that the game "forces" you to use it if you downloaded it previously since it added lots of new furniture and villagers; same issue Smash Bros has (if you delete that game's extra data and try to play, everything will be deleted untill you download the update again).
Basically the previous owner had the update on their 3DS, and when you started the game yours it didn't recognize the data since you didn't download it yet. Because the game couldn't read the new stuff necessary for playing on that town but also can't show a blank screen, it kept the original town on the background until you got the update again and showed a "new" town in the meanwhile.

When I play ACNL on another console & see a "new" town instead of mine I always get jump scared lol Honestly I wish they had put a warning like Smash Bros does I hope what Mr_Keroppi said fixes it!

 

[SpooksvilleMona]

I'm not sure how to explain it, but the amiibo update was so big that the game "forces" you to use it if you downloaded it previously since it added lots of new furniture and villagers; same issue Smash Bros has (if you delete that game's extra data and try to play, everything will be deleted untill you download the update again).
Basically the previous owner had the update on their 3DS, and when you started the game yours it didn't recognize the data since you didn't download it yet. Because the game couldn't read the new stuff necessary for playing on that town but also can't show a blank screen, it kept the original town on the background until you got the update again and showed a "new" town in the meanwhile.

When I play ACNL on another console & see a "new" town instead of mine I always get jump scared lol Honestly I wish they had put a warning like Smash Bros does I hope what Mr_Keroppi said fixes it!

That's what I thought happened Yes, I definitely wish I would have looked into the update more before jumping into downloading it, or that Nintendo would have put a warning like you said. I'm not sure they take secondhand copies of their games into account when it comes to things like this, which is sad. That being said, I ended up deciding to just create a new town and have been loving the update! I guess it was meant to happen this way, since my old town was getting crazy and cluttered anyways. Knowing how to play a game before starting makes it a lot more fun, haha!