daringred_
✧ stupid lesbian ✧
i've always preferred NL, which isn't to say NH is bad, but it's just okay, to me, for an animal crossing game. it does the job, but that's it. it felt like too much of a departure from the cozy life sim that all the other games were (i played wild world and city folk) and leaned far too heavily into just being a decorating sim for my taste. some of the QOL additions were needed, like the expanded inventory, the slight bulk-buying, villagers not moving out spontaneously, choosing where houses went etc. but others just ended up stripping away the charm or personability the other games have, such as removing the post office and the three pelicans and replacing them with a card stand and replacing phineas and his badges with a stamp in your phone on top of other omissions/changes like taking away moving out letters and decreasing villager favors (variety and frequency) etc. i religiously played NL on two cartridges all the way up until NH's release (7 years!) but dropped NH after 3 years because after a certain point, the game just felt stagnant since i don't care much for decorating, and there was a distinct lack of multiplayer for when you did "complete" everything else. i got back into NL for this event, and i'm already having a more enjoyable time with it than when i tried to pick up NH again late last year.
i also just think the NL music is much better lol. i don't mind all the customization introduced in NH (outdoor furniture, decorating villager homes, pillars etc.) staying in future installment, but i would personally prefer for the life sim aspect not to be thrown to the wayside for it and given back the focus/depth it deserves, because it felt distinctly lacking in NH for me. i think there could be a much better balance.
i also just think the NL music is much better lol. i don't mind all the customization introduced in NH (outdoor furniture, decorating villager homes, pillars etc.) staying in future installment, but i would personally prefer for the life sim aspect not to be thrown to the wayside for it and given back the focus/depth it deserves, because it felt distinctly lacking in NH for me. i think there could be a much better balance.