Are your villagers really important to you?

[Farobi]

Soooo, with the recent sticky-ing of the Villager Exchange thread, it came to my mind that most people (including myself, but not as 'extreme') really want to have certain villagers and would do most-nearly anything for them. Marshal, Lucky, Bluebear, Punchy, Bob... and so on: these are some of the limited villagers that people would die for in their humble little town.

I'm not against the idea of villager-trading, but for the time and effort spent on having a certain villager that you 'bond' with who is not-so-different as one with a similar personality, I don't really believe that that is the point of the game. I love getting almost any villagers that i come across, and i dont really 'hate' any of them in any sense (maybe dislike, but not 'net-hitting' hate). Maybe i just got all the decent villagers that i don't have the need to trade some of them off? Idk.

So anyways, i just love hearing a discussion and thoughts on this. I know most people would like their town to be as 'perfect as possible', but i like my town, even with average villagers or not. What are your thoughts on exchanging vilagers? Are the villagers really one of the main aspect of the game?

/end

 

[Puuhi]

I only got into AC two weeks ago and I decided to just go with the flow and see what the game offers me in terms of villagers. I don't have any favourites (yet) but I can imagine that after having played several AC games there are some villagers you would really want, for the sake of nostalgia maybe?

All I know is that I'm really looking forward to getting to know more villagers and their personalities.

 

[Gizmodo]

When i reset for new villagers, i do tend to try and get new villagers that i think look nice, to experience them etc, such as with Apple who ive got in my new town.. but i do still like to have my old favourites who have grown attached to over the years. I am very obsessed with villagers, and having them move in etc, its my favourite part of the game, i mean im currently resetting for my sixth villager it would be good to get a previous villager, but if a cool new one shows up of course ill take them

 

[Jarrad]

The only thing that differentiates ALL villagers are their species, sex, name and appearance. All villagers produce the same content, so no. My villagers aren't important. Expecially not roscoe BECAUSE HE DECIDED TO RUIN MY TOWNS MAIN PATH! Lynching will commence on Friday.

 

[Marceline]

I kinda just went with the villagers that came with a decent map layout. I saw Carmen and Melba and thought 'Well, okay. They're cute.' I didn't mind everyone else (Groucho, Rodeo) but soon enough, really nice villagers began to move into my town! Tammy, Zell, Diana, Wolfgang. I guess they are all important to me, because they are the villagers I've had from the couple of weeks since I got the game. Its really tough, letting them leave. I let Rodeo leave because well, we didn't get along, and I wasn't too fond of him/her/it I don't even know. If someone were to move, I'd let it be Groucho or Poncho. Poncho was the one to recently move to my town, so I dont mind him leaving. Groucho I rarely see anymore since his house is in a far corner.

 

[chriss]

It wasn't a thing for me in past games, but now that we have more control over who moves in, it is.
I have a much better time playing and seeing Erik running around town than I would if it were Harry.
Although hunting for villagers can be tiring, its also pretty fun!
That feel you get after getting a villager you've spent weeks hunting c:

 

[CrankyCupcake]

I know most people would like their town to be as 'perfect as possible', but i like my town, even with average villagers or not. What are your thoughts on exchanging vilagers? Are the villagers really one of the main aspect of the game?

"Perfection" is overrated. I mean, after attaining perfection, then what? I'd be bored to tears.

But that's just me. Everyone is free to play the game any way she chooses. Personally, I have 4-5 villagers I like very much, I would dissuade them from moving if they ever bring the subject up. I want them to be permanent residents in Zingzang. But I also make sure I always have 2-3 villagers to let go when they want to go, so that new ones can move in. I want to meet as many different villagers as possible. Change can be refreshing and reinvigorating. For me, it keeps the game playable. If nothing changes anymore, if my town is perfectly laid out, perfectly built, perfectly populated, then there is nothing left for me to do, is there? Time to put it away and find a new game to play.

 

[Hayate]

I have yet to get a villager from someone else, I really want Kitty, she lived next to me on city folk which made me happy, but I am really pleased that I got Bunnie in my town. Don't think I'd ever care enough to reset my map, it works for me as it is.

 

[Chris]

The only one of my villagers I was actively looking for was Lobo for nostalgia reasons. <3

I guess I've a fair share of popular villagers. I've a deer (Bam), three squirrels (Peanut, Filbert, & Marshal) and three wolves (Lobo, Whitney, & Chief) in my town and they're all quite cutesy - which is why I like them! I also have the much loved Lolly the cat, even though I'm not a fan of her. She just turned up in my campsite one day and I wanted a new villager. x) The only villagers I've actually received from others are Marshal and Chief. I got the rest by myself.

Having villagers I like definitely keeps me from just resetting my game, so I guess in that way they are important to me.

 

[Gizmodo]

Villagers also just make the game much more fun for me, i couldnt cope if i had all villagers i don't like.. for instance i definitely can't see myself restarting this file, due to the layout but also largely due to the fact i have Apple, Willow, Mitzi & Rolf and I love them all, they definitely add one of the most crucial elements for me..

 

[Wychglade]

I think it must be so dull achieving perfection. Where's the fun of a new villager moving in spontaneously and you ending up really liking them?? I like being able to keep one or two favourites and have the rest on rotation.

 

[Robert Plant]

I have Egbert and Peanut, the others are fine.

I don't really care about villagers.

 

[DJStarstryker]

No. To be honest, the only reason I don't let any of them move away is I want them to give me a picture first. I don't hate any of them, but I don't love any either.

There's animals I'd far rather (but don't) have.

 

[MorsMortie]

I've played AC since the Gamecube version's US release, so over the years, I've definitely picked up some favourites and not-so-favourites. It's a matter of aesthetics firstly, but also, nostalgia. There's a few out there that make me excited to get because I had them in a previous edition, and a few I dislike strongly despite never having them. As a series vet, I also get very excited over new villagers, because I've met most of them over time, and I like seeing new faces!

I think it's often pointed out that having a town full of your favourite villagers detracts from the fun of getting new ones, that you'll get "bored of perfection", and while I think it's quite possible to get bored of perfection, it's what we're all after, really - the complaint is that this is a form of perfection that has a shortcut. Hybrid flowers to make the "perfect" garden, buying furniture to make the "perfect" room setup, making patterns for a "perfect" pathway, getting clothes for the "perfect" look.. Most of this game is about the slow climb towards perfection and only ever getting "really close", so people who finish any part of it quickly are viewed a bit skeptically, which makes sense, I guess. But frankly, I find there's always more to do, and having nice villagers keeps me coming back more than anything else - the towns I'm least inclined to log onto after all these years are ones where I have the least favourites calling to me, because just like the real world, it's the people around you that really matter, not the things you have.

So I think the core question is this: Is it unfair to judge on looks? Well, not in the real world, no. But as it has been pointed out in this very thread, each villager is just a visual expression of a personality type; why look at something I deem unattractive that's giving me data a nicer-looking thing could also give me? Of course, really, I don't exactly think like that - I'm totally childish and characterize each villager as an individual, based on their homes and their looks. 2 villagers with the same personality type can seem totally different to me as a result of these sorts of factors, but I'd be willing to wager that's the intention of the designers in developing so many different aesthetic elements for so few scripts, anyway! d:

 

[Burymyconviction]

I always find that my villagers are what keeps me playing. I find them adorable and funny, and I've customized them so much that I can't imagine loosing certain ones. Anabelle for instance says "Hey Gurl Hey!!" and "Fabulous!!" And I find her a complete joy to talk to, while Coco has been my next door neighbor (literally) since the start, and at first I didn't like her, but the novelty of having a coconut bunny, and her personality, made me never want to get rid of her.

So while they aren't the entire game, I would much prefer having villagers that I love

 

[Feraligator]

If I had the ugliest villagers, I would feel very unhappy with my town, maybe restart.
But I currently have 3 dog villagers, so there is no way I'm restarting.
Also, I must have a dog villager in my town. It would feel empty without one...

 

[jenikinz]

my town isn't big enough for all the villagers I want haha! I tend to get attached to all of them though and I am sad when they leave but love the surprise of who takes their place...would love to have them all at some point!

 

[pocky]

I have nothing against trading villagers. But I personally would rather get them into my town on my own, arranging trades just seem so troublesome and sometimes people will ask for large sums of money in exchange for a specific villager.

Right now I have 7 of my favorite villagers in my town (Mott, Beau, Diana, Marshal, Stitches, Kabuki, and Marina) I don't think that I'd ever let them go ;-;

 

[Chameleonsoup]

The villagers are really important to me, I like interacting with them. There are some I want more than others though. Some for nostalgia, some for looks. None because they're the in thing though, that wouldn't work for me at all.

 

[Zerokii]

Hah hah. I'm not into getting the perfect town here either, I just want a town full of animals I like okay. However, I've still turned to villager trading. Maybe I'm too obsessed, but to be honest, I feel my New Leaf experience has been incomplete without Marshal. It's actually sucked the fun out of playing New Leaf at times. It's not because I saw his design and went d'awww... though I did, but actually...

He looks like a stupid character I made for a DA group over a year ago. XD

So... Marshal was really important to me before I even knew he existed? Hah hah. Oh well, I do love my current set of villagers. Doc, Bam, Pierce, Static, and all.