i had way too many favourite villagers to list in
new leaf (and now in
new horizons lol), but my #1 favourite was always beau. i first saw him on a list of all the villagers in the game prior to the game coming out in NA, and i immediately fell in love with him. deers were (and still are) my favourite animal, so i was extremely excited about them being in the game, but beau was my #1 from the moment i saw him haha. i still remember how happy i was when he randomly moved into my town.

as for npcs, i think my favourites were isabelle and leif back then!
i love too many things about
new leaf to list everything, but off the top of my head my favourite features were/are:
• main street! despite not being a fan of potentially busy and crowded spaces irl, i actually really enjoy shopping areas/malls and loved having a similar area in-game! i especially loved being able to see some of my villagers that had moved out there.
• tortimer’s island, rare beetle/fish farming and mini-games. spending a couple hours fishing and catching bugs on tortimer’s island was not only my favourite way of making bells, but it was such a relaxing activity for me as well.

i also miss mini-games a lot, especially hide-and-seek!
• the roost being its own building.
• perfect and tropical fruit!
• pwps. i highkey wish the illuminated pwps + some others made it to
new horizons.
• club tortimer. i was always too anxious to use it when i still played, but i’d definitely utilize the hell out of it now if i could. would’ve been a fun way to socialize somewhat the past couple years haha.
• the mini events/holidays such as weeding day, april fool’s day, etc.
• having to escort katie to another town. it was always a great incentive to visit other people!
• tiny details like the campsite tent turning into an igloo in the winter, your character shivering/sweating during the winter and summer months, etc.