The overall spirit that existed in Population Growing is just not there anymore; for me at least. I'm probably just not even gonna play this anymore in all honesty. -Sigh- it's been a cool experience tho. But it just doesn't capture my heart or my soul. Was just wondering if anyone else felt this way. Maybe a future Animal Crossing will bring back that original spirit of the game. The sound effects, villager's personalities, hourly music, vibe and NPC's were all much better in Population Growing in my opinion. New Horizons is just kinda depressing to me and plays mostly on mental stimulation (getting many items, decorating in a thousand different ways, many different color combos, etc). It's too ego and not enough spirit. I'm just not really enjoying it in general honesty. I know many others are absolutely loving it tho. But I guess NH is just not for me.
I Literally Can't Play This Game Anymore lol
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I completely understand where you're coming from. I've thought about the game this way too, honestly. But I guess what keeps me coming back is my personal enjoyment of customizing and decorating in general. I can see how that's not everybody's cup of tea. So, if that's not really your thing, then New Horizons will largely fall flat for you.
I really understand, though I do enjoy decorating and all that, there were things I wished were brought back, such as those lil minigames you could play with friends, I mean why allow upto 8 people coming to your island if you're not able to play minigames like before. I think if they brought that back with Tortimer in the update, would have been quite special.
Yeah I agree the spirit has been dead since New Leaf imo 
have you tried Wild World? There are loads of NPC backstories, quirky messages on the notice board, letters written by villagers, villager hobbies and more to discover 
have you tried Wild World? There are loads of NPC backstories, quirky messages on the notice board, letters written by villagers, villager hobbies and more to discover @Mad Aly Yeah I might still play a lil more just to see what new items come around every here and there but in all honesty I'm not even feeling it lol. Sucks cuz I just got vines and they made navigating my Island so chill.
@Giddy I feel ya.
@inazuma Thanks, I appreciate that lol
@Bilaz I was literally just 30 seconds ago before you typed this comment looking at videos of Wild World and was like damn this game looks so chill and like it retained the original spirit of Animal Crossing lol. The hourly music seemed chill, tortimer seemed to have expression and personaltiy just like in Population Growing and the music in Nook's shop was mad chill. It's a damn shame I never got to play Wild World. I was always iffy about playing it since it was on a handheld device. I prefer to play video games on TV. Switch really changed that for me. It took me a lil while but I'm really enjoying playing games you can play on the TV on my Switch. It's very convenient. They were on point with how they made the Switch lol. Only games I ever really truly enjoyed playing on handheld devices aside from the Switch were the Pokemon games. I have profound memories waking up early in the morning just to play Pokemon on my Gameboys and stuff haha. But anyways I'm rambling on. Maybe when I get the chance I'll play Wild World and relive the experience I never got to. Thanks for pointing it out.
@Giddy I feel ya.
@inazuma Thanks, I appreciate that lol
@Bilaz I was literally just 30 seconds ago before you typed this comment looking at videos of Wild World and was like damn this game looks so chill and like it retained the original spirit of Animal Crossing lol. The hourly music seemed chill, tortimer seemed to have expression and personaltiy just like in Population Growing and the music in Nook's shop was mad chill. It's a damn shame I never got to play Wild World. I was always iffy about playing it since it was on a handheld device. I prefer to play video games on TV. Switch really changed that for me. It took me a lil while but I'm really enjoying playing games you can play on the TV on my Switch. It's very convenient. They were on point with how they made the Switch lol. Only games I ever really truly enjoyed playing on handheld devices aside from the Switch were the Pokemon games. I have profound memories waking up early in the morning just to play Pokemon on my Gameboys and stuff haha. But anyways I'm rambling on. Maybe when I get the chance I'll play Wild World and relive the experience I never got to. Thanks for pointing it out.
I have such fond memories of that game ;; It was the first AC I played so there's a lot of nostalgia, but I loved the villagers, music and especially the cosy museum café and observatory^^Yeah I agree the spirit has been dead since New Leaf imo
Also it feels like these days people are so obsessed with collecting every possible item and having the best designed island asap instead of just taking a few moments of the day to unwind and talk to your virtual friends.
yessss I so recommend it! Make sure you talk to NPCs when they seem a little down to unlock backstory, read the bulletin board, read the notes in a bottle, talk to the villagers. There’s so so much
@Roobi I’m so glad you had a similar experience
Yep. I just realized something too. New Horizon's was basically created to be the Animal Crossing for the new generation if you think about it. And the newer generation (generally speaking with exceptions of course) have that need; better technology, more stuff, more expansive content and so on. They grew up with high tech phones etcetc as kids and teenagers and stuff lol. Anyways, you kinda get the point I'm trying to make. In general tho, I feel like they were so focused on appealing to the newer generation, that they kind of forgot about the older generation. That's exactly what I feel happened with New Horizons.
yessss I so recommend it! Make sure you talk to NPCs when they seem a little down to unlock backstory, read the bulletin board, read the notes in a bottle, talk to the villagers. There’s so so much
@Roobi I’m so glad you had a similar experience
No doubt, I'll remember these wise words lol
Population growing, although I’ve never played it (I started with wold world and never had a GameCube) does seem to have a lot of unique quirks and same with wild world. I think a lot of what makes the older games special for me would be the nostalgia but when it comes to innovation and upgrades New Horizons has done a lot. Unfortunately I think what made animal crossing so special back in the day was the fact that it was a new Nintendo ip with funny little ideas and mean villagers etc because that was what Nintendo intended it to be… but as the games have gone on and new adaptations have been made to fit what many fans wanted aka more customisation, the actual gameplay aspect has taken a bit of a back seat. I like the addition of some old characters in the 2.0 update but i honestly get what you mean so much. The sound track, the world, the villager dialogue, the community, the entire main focus of the game shifting from a chill everyday village simulator to an island customisation game has bothered me quite a bit.
StarlitGlitch
Sweets Lover
I always hesitate because I don't want to be a downer (and want to avoid backlash) but honestly I know how you feel... I think if there was one main thing I'd point out that's missing in NH compared with NL and others past games it's charm. There's something about it overall (graphics, music, gameplay, etc.) that to me lacks... character? Or soul?
But I do still enjoy it.
But I do still enjoy it.
I hate that smug villagers didnt flirt with me anymore. Got me change henry's catchphrase to shawty.
Yess exactly, you get it. You said it damn near perfectly. And the thing is, what had to have created this in the first place is ego. And people's egos can be stubborn and unflinching to change. I 100% brought these issues up to Nintendo on their website well before the 2.0 update and I know that they're aware of these things too; how can they not be? They just want to do what they feel is right instead of tuning into Spirit as a whole, and so that kinda makes me feel like these things won't change with a new update. If anything, down the line, some of the lead creators of the game will realize these things and set new leaders for the creation of the newer games to come in the future that may address these things at that time.
EXACTLY OMG. Character, soul, Spirit, EXACTLY. lol. CHARM. Great way to put it. 100% Charm oh mann..
Lmfaooooooooooo
Animal Crossing 2026- Tom nook is now replaced by upgraded ABD and Isabelle is a nook phone 2.0
xSuperMario64x
love of my life 💙💜
I think that's why I only occasionally play NH whereas I continually come back to AC:GCN and NL I just don't get the same vibe from NH.
I've always said that the og has a more cozy vibe. there aren't many options for customizing the town but in turn it really captures that rural "forest full of animals" vibe that I just adore. NH kinda feels more urban and so it's not inherently cozy feeling. I know technically NL is slightly more urban feeling than GCN but the soundtrack and atmosphere still give it that simple/cozy feeling that I love.
also the villager dialogue is so weak in NH it's basically a joke.
I've always said that the og has a more cozy vibe. there aren't many options for customizing the town but in turn it really captures that rural "forest full of animals" vibe that I just adore. NH kinda feels more urban and so it's not inherently cozy feeling. I know technically NL is slightly more urban feeling than GCN but the soundtrack and atmosphere still give it that simple/cozy feeling that I love.
also the villager dialogue is so weak in NH it's basically a joke.
101%%. And exactly oh my god, it absolutely is a joke. It's almost kind of literally like talking to a robot. Like... Thinking about how they slipped on that literally hurts my brain lol. It makes noo sensee that they let that happen when the game was built on the creator of Animal Crossing's yearning to create a sense of community, unity and togetherness. In fact, here's a quote by him regarding why he created Animal Crossing in the first place:
Imbri
Resident Night Mare
It's funny you get that feeling, because I think NH has a lot of the same flavor as ACGC. Updated and more customization, of course, but this one reminds me of the original in more ways than any other game. Of course, how we see it is subjective, so if it doesn't ring true for you, that's valid.
Maybe it's in the way I play, but I feel very laid back with this. I craft tools/furniture when I want, I like the extra dress-up options, and sometimes just hang out in my house or a sunny spot (like the villagers do). I don't feel pressured to accomplish anything at a given time, and that's what I've always looked for with AC games.
I'm sorry you aren't enjoying it, and I hope you find joy in some of the older titles.
Maybe it's in the way I play, but I feel very laid back with this. I craft tools/furniture when I want, I like the extra dress-up options, and sometimes just hang out in my house or a sunny spot (like the villagers do). I don't feel pressured to accomplish anything at a given time, and that's what I've always looked for with AC games.
I'm sorry you aren't enjoying it, and I hope you find joy in some of the older titles.
EtchaSketch
(∩σᴥσ)⊃━☆ﾟ.*
Everything in this game is a hollow shell of what it used to be. There’s absolutely no personality. Even in NL the villagers could still get p’d off at you, the island minigames were an amazing feature and I loved going there with my friends. And each personality overall was just better and more in depth. The NPCs were interesting and weird. This animal crossing is just not weird enough.
It's funny you get that feeling, because I think NH has a lot of the same flavor as ACGC. Updated and more customization, of course, but this one reminds me of the original in more ways than any other game. Of course, how we see it is subjective, so if it doesn't ring true for you, that's valid.
Maybe it's in the way I play, but I feel very laid back with this. I craft tools/furniture when I want, I like the extra dress-up options, and sometimes just hang out in my house or a sunny spot (like the villagers do). I don't feel pressured to accomplish anything at a given time, and that's what I've always looked for with AC games.
I'm sorry you aren't enjoying it, and I hope you find joy in some of the older titles.
I feel you. Yeah, your priorities are simply different and in such a way where the changes don't really affect you all that much. That's cool that you're able to just chill with the game like that haha. And yeah, thanks. It's all good. When one door closes, a new one opens.
Haa so well said. It really isn't weird enough! Remember how wacky and eccentric the gyroids were? Pretty good example lol. I actually really love what they did with the new gyroids tho and how they can sync with your music now. I currently have K.K. Bashment playing in my living room (in the game) and I love the way that my gyroids sync with the music. Although I really wish they had brought back the older gyroids as well, I think that's one of then newer things that they got really right in their own individuality if that makes sense. I'm gonna miss collecting the new gyroids and messing around with the music syncing lol. Just can't bring myself to go on due to the lack of overall weirdness that once was lol
daringred_
✧ ghost lesbian ✧
obligatory disclaimer: i don't think NH is a bad game. i like it well enough, i just think it's mediocre for an AC game and lacks the charm/character i enjoy so much about older titles.
my biggest complaint with NH has always been the hollow dialogue and lack of charm, especially with how they streamlined things like the post office by replacing it with a tacky card stand -- which actually takes longer to use. the bulletin board is dead as hell compared to even NL, and they even removed things as harmless as goodbye letters and birthday invitations. the game isn't unplayable to me, but as someone who always enjoyed the slice of life aspect over decorating inside or outside, NH really veered too far into being a decorating simulator for me and prioritized that aspect of the series to the point where everything else suffered.
NL struck the right balance for me. i've gone back and played WW recently, and it still has a lot of charm etc. but it lacks things to do for me in the same way NH does. (that and i'm a graphics snob.) NL softened the villagers more, but i'm okay with that as someone with social anxiety and low self-esteem, and they still had more personality than they do in NH. there were also some things you just couldn't change, which echoes real life. house placements, rocks, rivers and cliffs. what you arrive with is what you get, and you have to make something beautiful with the few things beyond your control. idk, it made more sense given the nature of the series. accidental mayor felt just far enough as opposed to unofficial god given how you can now -- with the DLC -- change virtually everything in NH. it almost feels a little like the sims with an animal crossing skin than animal crossing itself, if that makes sense.
my biggest complaint with NH has always been the hollow dialogue and lack of charm, especially with how they streamlined things like the post office by replacing it with a tacky card stand -- which actually takes longer to use. the bulletin board is dead as hell compared to even NL, and they even removed things as harmless as goodbye letters and birthday invitations. the game isn't unplayable to me, but as someone who always enjoyed the slice of life aspect over decorating inside or outside, NH really veered too far into being a decorating simulator for me and prioritized that aspect of the series to the point where everything else suffered.
NL struck the right balance for me. i've gone back and played WW recently, and it still has a lot of charm etc. but it lacks things to do for me in the same way NH does. (that and i'm a graphics snob.) NL softened the villagers more, but i'm okay with that as someone with social anxiety and low self-esteem, and they still had more personality than they do in NH. there were also some things you just couldn't change, which echoes real life. house placements, rocks, rivers and cliffs. what you arrive with is what you get, and you have to make something beautiful with the few things beyond your control. idk, it made more sense given the nature of the series. accidental mayor felt just far enough as opposed to unofficial god given how you can now -- with the DLC -- change virtually everything in NH. it almost feels a little like the sims with an animal crossing skin than animal crossing itself, if that makes sense.
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