Why is NL more loved than NH?

[GetSchwifty]

I've played some NL back on my 3DS but got bored pretty quickly (it felt like really slow progression) and the influence on my island didn't feel impactful at all - my villagers never came to me with construction ideas for example. I also didn't see "better" villager dialogue or anything else truely fantastic.

With NH I instantly clicked and managed to craft my initial 200hrs-island more or less however i wished which felt amazing.

So why do so many in the community prefer NL over NH? Sure, it's a preference thing anyways but I'd really like to hear from you guys and gals

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

There are many reasons I love New Leaf more. I completely see why to newer players or designer players would like New Horizons more as both are fantastic games but for me its the life of New Leaf. The little mishaps and surprises, you have to find the meaning and fun in the game everyday rather than being presented choices. There are soo many things to unlock and collect and New Horizons doesnt compare to me honestly. Small things like the many different special characters are so exciting to see, I love seeing Phineas for badges or having to wait for things like furniture to get customized. Things like streetpass, the train station, the many house upgrades, and town tree! I still love both though, I play all the AC games still!

 

[Belle T]

I think a lot of it is that the design sense for New Leaf is much better integrated than New Horizons. Much of New Horizons' base features often feel completely at odds with themselves. The introduction of crafting and tool durability, despite not really having the setting or mechanics needed to make those aspects engaging instead of slightly inconvenient, is one of the primary examples. Beyond that is the lack of actual innovation. Even at its highest points, New Horizons feels like an incremental upgrade, as opposed to a completely new entry in the series as New Leaf was in relation to the entries that came before it.

At worst, New Horizons also feels streamlined to the point where (to many) it begins to feel much less like an actual game and more like the outline of a pre-existing game. The fact that flowers no longer need to be watered daily, the fact that there is only one upgrade to the Nook store, the lack of Kapp'n islands or anything decent to substitute them, while still maintaining the core gameplay loop of New Leaf all contribute to New Horizons leaving the impression that it was essentially a game made in the same vein as New Leaf but with a target demographic of people who didn't like Animal Crossing to begin with. Some of these changes can be regarded as quality of life upgrades, but the main argument is that these "fixes" were features not bugs. It's a similar argument to the forced EXP share in Pokémon. The tedium of manually raising individual Pokémon stats isn't a problem for many players, so GameFreak's insistence on forcing it on players feels like a slap on the wrist, a punishment for having the audacity to actually engage with the game actively instead of passively.

I actually agree with your sentiment about villager dialogue, however. I don't think New Leaf's approach is any better than New Horizons. I think the GameCube game is great in this regard. I can understand why some people might not like it, but it's honestly my style of humor.

For my tastes, I think New Horizons does enough good things that I slightly enjoy it more. The amount of customization and decoration possibilities are a huge step up, in my opinion. For that matter, the startup grind for New Horizons is considerably small compared to New Leaf. So if I ever just feel like playing an Animal Crossing game but don't want to waste my time being slowly reintroduced to all the mechanics, I typically pick up New Horizons. But I also feel that New Leaf feels much more cohesive and deliberate in its design choices, and it typically asks for more direct engagement and maintenance from the player. So I can more than understand why many people prefer it. And that's not even going into how many features New Horizons launched without. The 2.0 DLC fixes these issues at almost half the price of the base game. That's not what I would call a cheap DLC, but I also strongly abhor the modern philosophy of "release now, patch later." So even if it were free, I would still have my issues with it.

 

[Seastar]

Honestly, I'd prefer a game that was like New Leaf and New Horizons combined. New Horizons improved many things but I felt like it was still missing some things I liked about New Leaf.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

Maybe nostalgia -- and the fact that there is arguably more content in NL.

NL was my first AC game but I prefer NH so much more because of the graphics and the customisability when it comes to decorating the outside. I agree with Seastar; I always say that if NL and NH were somehow combined (or if they brought all the missing stuff from NL to NH), it would be the most perfect AC game!

 

[GetSchwifty]

Some great answers here that clear things up for me

I'm actually debating if I should get New Leaf again to play it side-by-side ... I wonder if that's a good idea :-D haha

Anyone knows if that "Nintendo Select" version comes with the latest updates? (since the eshop closed I mean).

 

[cherryheartz]

Personally I prefer new leaf to new horizons !
i found myself wayy more bored with new horizons after a while but i do understand what you mean about dialog, i wish the characters had more to say in the newer games tbh !! Not only that but personally i enjoyed having more options for shops on main street rather than a few shops on the island with select characters visiting (mainly for convenience sake)

 

[digimon]

i think for the most part, a lot of it boils down to nostalgia for me. new leaf was my introduction to the series so it holds a dear place in my heart. new horizons definitely showed a lot of different improvements to animal crossing as a series (graphics for sure since everything looks super pretty!) but at the same time i feel like it lost that special spark that new leaf had, that made me want to keep returning to my new leaf town :c i find myself getting easily burnt out when playing new horizons unfortunately

 

[GetSchwifty]

i think for the most part, a lot of it boils down to nostalgia for me. new leaf was my introduction to the series so it holds a dear place in my heart. new horizons definitely showed a lot of different improvements to animal crossing as a series (graphics for sure since everything looks super pretty!) but at the same time i feel like it lost that special spark that new leaf had, that made me want to keep returning to my new leaf town :c i find myself getting easily burnt out when playing new horizons unfortunately

The interesting thing is that I actually think the NL graphics are very charming (in a different way).
I guess I'll order it and play it once I get bored with NH.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

The interesting thing is that I actually think the NL graphics are very charming (in a different way).
I guess I'll order it and play it once I get bored with NH.

Its because New Leaf had a lot more detail and had a certains tyle the past AC games also had. New Horizons went for a more simplistic plastic style which is easier on the yes. Compare the HD amiibo Festival / Animal Crossing Plaza to New Horizons. I prefer the original style but the New Horizons graphics are still super pretty! I still hope that the next game will look like the Mario Kart 8 track. The AC characters in MK8 dont stand out too much and i love that style so much, detailed yet cartoonish realistic.

Spoiler

 

[GetSchwifty]

Omg yes! A game in style of that track would be insane. One of my fav. MK8 tracks

 

[Beanz]

half of the reason why i prefer new leaf over new horizons is for the nostalgia, the other half is that i feel like new leaf has so much more things to do. after you get k.k slider to play at your island there’s not much to do after that other than design your island.

i also enjoy the element of surprise that new leaf has, you could log in one day and a new resident decides to plop their house down right where your flower garden is. sure it’s frustrating but that’s also part of the fun, it’s the little things that are missing from new horizons.

 

[realitypixels]

IMO New Leaf seems to have so much more to it, in terms of the different mechanics and variety of characters, eg Island tours + Club Tortimer, working in the coffee shop, police station, Katie, Dr Shrunk, Pelly & Phyllis, Gracie, Wishy the Star, Wendell, + others im sure Yeah the graphics are better in NH obviously, but to me it's not that big of a deal + it adds to NLs nostalgic feeling

I'm not sure if this is just me, but the conversations with the animals seem so much richer in NL too; they offer to do so many more things and they seem less?? dry? This is seeming like I'm dissing NH but I do think it's a great game (I promise) haha- but the music is, I think, better in New Leaf too The music, Nook Machine thingy, phone and PLANE seem so commercial (?) in a game that for me has always been the exact opposite. The only thing I miss about NH when im playing NL is frankly the tool wheel and the wand

anyways 2 guesses which game i prefer lol