What is your favorite/least island theme in animal crossing?

[-Blue-]

Is cottagecore the one where people would put a toilet on a 'tiny island' ?

No that's aquacore

I really haven't looked into the themes from NH all that much. I remember there was cottage-core, but you can't really blame people for it being overused and overrated, it was literally the only stable theme when the game came out. I don't care for it either to be honest, but like again it was the only surefire theme for a while.

There's also the metropolitan theme, the mermaid furniture, tropical/tiki, ice series stuff, but again I feel like there is a lack of variety and that is why some themes seem overdone. You can definitely still make your island look unique with one or more of these themes. Not saying that.

 

[Weebgirlstan]

i tired like 3 theme such as kidcore, fairycore, cottagecore, and normal (idk if this counts) but my least favorite was fairycore don't yell at me but when i saw so many other peoples islands do this i was like i want to do that but then as always i became 'insecure adout my island' to the point i restarted fresh and start kidcore. fairycore was kinda hard for me lol and 2 days ago i restarted and now im planning on doing japanese zencore lol my favorite theme is cottegcore, kidcore, and japan them islands, and normal

 

[Bluebellie]

I like Trashcore, Creepy, Vintage inspired, or Rural islands. I also like islands that aren’t toooo cluttered or causing distortions as I walk around. If the island has a story that is evident in the tour, even better.

My least favorite: islands that have multiple themes ( for example Disney theme in one area, then horror, rural, etc. in another). It just seems a little disorganized to me.
Natural islands. A lot of times these islands have many lakes, ponds, hopping stones. It requires you to use a vaulting pole or the ladder. I actually don’t like this. I want to be able to just walk around and not have to use equipment to get to areas. I don’t really like to be stuck in places. I see this a lot in cottagecore islands.

I also don’t like winter themed islands. I just don’t like the season or the ice/snow furniture. The flowers also look weird because they didn’t cover them in snow like everything else.

 

[WaileaNoRei]

I like themes that have a story to them. Whether the theme is natural and the island is set up to feel like a quiet little farming village or dense and rugged forest, or it is modeled off a book or play or anime. I just think it leads to a lot of creativity and uniqueness. I also like islands set up as tropical adventure type islands, as they tend to be very lush and colorful and wild looking.

on the total opposite end of the scale i admire a lot of the urban and city themed islands, even though I don’t think I could ever make one myself.

even though I understand the usefulness and origin of the term, I dislike pretty much any theme name that ends in ‘core’. There are a lot that are called that more just to put a familiar label on something that is really themed more particularly, like an English village, a European seaside town, a whimsical pastel fantasy, or an autumny forest and these are all great themes. I think the rage for anything-core tends to be a flattener and the essence of those themes is just to encourage people to reproduce empty, overdone, aesthetics for social media consumption.

to be clear, I don’t think most of the islands that call themselves whatever-core really end up like that, and I do not dislike islands just for calling their theme a term I do not like. A lot of times it is just easier than explaining the more complex story of the island’s theme. I think any theme can be done well or poorly.

But even though I understand that the label can be convenient, and I don’t think people are bad or anything for using them, I dislike the sense of prescriptive, pre-packaged feel of these themes, down to the you tubers telling people what areas and villagers to have for x-core and y-core. And I dislike how they make people feel pressured to make their islands and their game play fit a certain mold, like there is a right and wrong way.

truly I don’t mean to judge anyone or make anyone feel bad. I think regardless of theme, you can tell when someone really enjoys their island and that is the most important element. I like seeing variety, personality, and weirdness when I go visit other islands. But that’s just me.

 

[Moonlight.]

favorite: gothic/horror, fairycore, winter/autumn-themed, or a more simplistic form of cottagecore (but i hate hate haaaattteee how cottagecore has become directly associated with clutter)

least favorite: the only one i actually despise are industrial islands, they look so ugly to me

 

[VexTheHex]

I don't really have a favorite. Of the main streams ones I have seen though, my absolute least favorite has to be Kid Core. I find it creepy and weird. I'd rather my island not look like it's meant for babies and I most certainly do HATE the Baby Rompers and Pacifier items. All around it's just weird to me.

People are tying Cottage Core to clutter a bit heavy on here, but that's an issue with basically all the Cores. I've seen some remarkable builds on youtube like this one person is making a swamp looking island currently, but I can also imagine the insane amount of lag and clutter that will come with this build as well. I also been to plenty of dreams that stutter and whole walls of items suddenly pop into existence cause they've put so much out to make their Core complete. And it really isn't a Cottage Core issue, because almost every heavily themed island is a lag fiesta of items.

I also wish people would diversify their Villager roster for Cores as well, you really want to have the same staple villagers cause someone with some following said these are the 10 must haves? At least put in a couple unique ones.

 

[princess.looking.for.frog]

my island is a fictional town with my favourite themes, goblincore, forestcore/jungle core and dark academia. if you couldn't tell I'm very indesisive. I just love how they look and that means my island is very unique. I also love kidcore because one of my personalities loves bright colours, and I like European islands and Asian islands that aren't stereotypical Japanese or Korean. really I love islands inspired by irl countries

I don't dislike many themes, like some cottagcore islands with unique aspects and ideas is refreshing. the only dislike horror and excessive urbancore. other than that I like most themes

 

[inazuma]

I don't really have a favorite. Of the main streams ones I have seen though, my absolute least favorite has to be Kid Core. I find it creepy and weird. I'd rather my island not look like it's meant for babies and I most certainly do HATE the Baby Rompers and Pacifier items. All around it's just weird to me.

People are tying Cottage Core to clutter a bit heavy on here, but that's an issue with basically all the Cores. I've seen some remarkable builds on youtube like this one person is making a swamp looking island currently, but I can also imagine the insane amount of lag and clutter that will come with this build as well. I also been to plenty of dreams that stutter and whole walls of items suddenly pop into existence cause they've put so much out to make their Core complete. And it really isn't a Cottage Core issue, because almost every heavily themed island is a lag fiesta of items.

I also wish people would diversify their Villager roster for Cores as well, you really want to have the same staple villagers cause someone with some following said these are the 10 must haves? At least put in a couple unique ones.

same! i didnt do my villagers for my theme. i just pick the ones i love most, like pudge (baby), kidcat and zucker. they of course didnt match my theme (springcore/vintage) but i dont really care lol.

 

[JemAC]

I really like cottagecore or any of the natural island themes, even if the themes themselves are a bit exhausted by now. The themes need to be executed well though as I agree that clutter can be a big problem on these islands, I’m not a fan of somewhere that I can’t navigate around as there isn’t any enjoyment in exploring it. I also like the tropical theme as I feel it really fits into the location of the game been an island and I get the sense of been on a nice summer location. Other then those I also like fairycore, it’s not a theme I’d go for myself as I think it would become a bit too much to look at but I’ve visited a lot of very well done islands with this theme, and on the complete opposite side I also enjoy visiting the horror themed islands, again not one I’d implement as I’d prefer more variety and don’t think I’d execute it well but I love visiting islands with these themes and enjoy seeing all the work people have put into them.

As for disliking any themes I agree with what others have said, it’s more about the clutter for me rather then what the actual theme is. Usually I can appreciate any themed island I visit, even if it’s a theme I’ve seen loads before, as long as I can easily get around the island without getting trapped somewhere or suffering with a load of game lag.

 

[KittenNoir]

I do not enjoy seeing mini towns with roads and cars. where the whole island is designed to look like a busy city with traffic it makes me feel like I'm rushing to get to somewhere and not relaxing on a lovely island.

 

[Vintage Viola]

My absolute favorite core is rural Japan. When people do Japan-core they normally take the modern route. It’s always nice to see a rural/countryside take on it. There’s a studio ghibli island that uses this aesthetic that I really love visiting, I never get tired of seeing it around! (Creepy/Horror-core is a close contender though)

What do get tired of though, is cottage-core. It’s just sooooooo basic and cookie cutter, and they all look the freaking same. It’s like if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen all of them. It’s not something you can get very creative with, there’s useless clutter everywhere, and people who use this aesthetic just piggyback off each other. It’s such a boring aesthetic that’s been done to death, and I’m sorry in advance to anyone who uses it.

 

[Balverine]

My favorite is space/star or paranormal themed islands

As far as least favorite goes, I get kinda tired of seeing cottagecore, but don't necessarily think it's bad
I really don't like those overly cluttered city-like islands that you can barely get through, and the really whimsical kidcore type islands are also a no for me

 

[-Lumi-]

I don't think I really have a favourite or least favourite, to be honest.

If I'm visiting somebody's island I definitely prefer if they're easier to get around vs being full of trees, furniture, having "stepping stone" paths, etc. Just because it being so crowded can make me feel a bit claustrophobic I guess. I have my island more open so I can easily run from place to place lol. Since I don't have to worry about grass deteriorating or wrecking flowers I like to run from place to place lol and if there's a bunch of stuff in my way that stops me.

At the end of the day though I only ever really visit islands to trade so if how somebody has decorated their island makes em happy then go for it. I wouldn't personally have a full on cottage core I-can't-move style island, or the city-scape style islands, but I can appreciate the time and effort that went into them. I don't really know if my island even has a theme, to be honest!

 

[Corrie]

My favourite themes are any that use The Path tbh. It's just so pleasing!
My least favourite would be any theme where they just throw random items all over the ground in a cluttery way. It makes navigating the island a challenge and stresses me out.

 

[Stalfie]

My fave theme is cats and my least is not cats

 

[Bilaz]

Unpopular opinion but I prefer islands that don't look super uniform all over the entire island. I get that a cohesive theme is beautiful, and a lot of these islands are very stunning, but I have a very poor visual memory and I tend to forget what things look like the moment I can no longer see them. So a super cohesive cottagecore island just becomes a blur of green and white and that one stepping stone qr code and some waterfalls and I can't really remember what I'm looking at or what I've seen. When there's like, an autumn section and a spring section and a mermaid section or whatever then I can remember better

(I'm aphantasic and faceblind and can't even remember what my hometown looks like lol)

 

[Yujian]

Favorite: Neon colors/star/space
Least Favorite: Any island that's so cluttered that's its hard to navigate

 

[smug villager]

i love cottagecore or islands that look like little European towns. i also really like urban-looking towns with streets and lots of modern structures.

im not a fan of kidcore either, or islands that are so cluttered i have to follow a distinct path to get anywhere.

 

[daffodilcrossing]

I love anything autumn and cottagecore themed. I love enchanted forests too but I could never do them because it looks like so much work. I like looking at people’s islands when they’re city themed but again it looks like so much work and I could never do it. In the spring I love people who have pink towns and in the winter I love Christmas themed towns

 

[Kg1595]

I enjoy other people’s themes, even though I would not personally do them on my island. It is always interesting to see how people interpret their space, and even if the whole island isn’t my cup of tea, I might see one or two things that actually do inspire me.

That said, I generally don’t like islands that have too much going on: a) it is hard to navigate because there is either lag or little room to move, b) it overwhelms the eyes, and c) it sometimes looks like a junkyard when there is too much furniture laying around. I like more organic, natural islands, regardless of core. I have seen great cottagecore, junglecore, citycore, etc., even without a million things sitting around your island like a yard sale.