i don’t believe it’ll be difficult for you to play NL, it truly is really fun and though it’s older than NH, i much rather prefer it to NH any day. though i also have to take in the fact that the only game in the series you’ve played is NH, so i guess it may be different for you to grasp the definite changes between each game. there are a lot of differences between NL and NH; first obviously being that in NL, you become the mayor of a town, whereas in NH, you’re the town rep on in island. NL doesn’t have the “DIY” features like NH does, and neither do the previous games. none of the tools break, so you can be set with one pair and not have to worry about anything happening to it. there aren’t things to gather in NL, like wood, iron stacks, tree branches, etc as there would be no need without DIYs. most of the NPC’s you’ll see in NL you most likely have not have seen in NH, or, you’ll find that they’re not “every one in a while” NPCs but ones that are there to stay for good, or for a few of them, that come very often but are not permanent. you’ll also find that some NPCs in NH aren’t in NL, as they were newly added specifically for NH. there aren’t any 2nd or 3rd layer terrain in NL, it’s simply all flat ground; there isn’t a ladder or that building tool for this reason. there’s no vaulting pole, you have to cross bridges always. there isn’t any path tool thing, you have to either create your own paths or scan people’s QR codes to place paths; paths cannot be rounded out or shaped different, they’re simply square and always stay that way. also, there’s only 10 slots for QR codes; you can save designs by talking to mabel and then scan in new ones, but this is the problem when it comes to paths; let’s say for example you place all the paths down, then you decide to scan in another QR code in place of the path(s). the previous path(s) will be replaced with the new design, even if you have the previous one saved; once you scan in another one, it replaces it. lets see what else.. buildings like nook’s cranny and the museum can be upgraded over time. there’s a feature called streetpass; if you’re playing NL beside someone who’s also playing NL and you’re both locally connected, that person will appear on streetpass and you can view their character and their home, and also order items from their home if they’re orderable. they also sometimes give you handheld items like ice cream, balloons, etc. you’ll find that there’s no nook mileage program; we have a thing called badges back at NL. phineas, the badge man, awards you badges once you’ve accomplished something. these badges come in bronze, silver, and gold, and can be viewed on your profile not only by yourself, but by other people as well. there’s no airplane or airport, there’s a train station and a train, you travel to other people’s towns through a train and by exchanging friend codes (there is no dodo code or anything like that). hmm, what else, you can’t change your hair or appearance in the mirror whenever you want, you gotta go to shampoodle and pay harriet to get a certain hairstyle/hair colour/colour contact changed. also, they don’t just flat out give you the option, you have to answer a series of questions, and based on those questions, she’ll give you what she believe matches what you said. (there’s a guide online so you can see which ones you want to choose so you don’t have to do it at random). at the start, you arrive on a train where you’ll meet rover; that’s where you state your name, the name you want to call your town, choose a map, and then even “choose” what your character looks like. as i said above, it’s a series of questions that you have to answer (theres a guide on the start options as well, just make sure you choose the eyes that you want at the very start, as you can change everything else later EXCEPT for the eye type). nook doesn’t work in the town hall (or resident services in NH) he has his own shop where he sells the exterior parts of homes (and of course where you talk to him about upgrades to your home and loans and all that). there is no mail post just sitting catching dust in the airport like in NH, there’s a post office where you’ll find either pelly or phyllis (depending on the time of day) and you can send a letter to either your future self, the villagers/other characters, or to someone from out of town. you’ll also find the ABD where you ou off your loan/deposit/withdrawal in the post office too. you can’t “choose” where villagers place their house, there isn’t a plot system (unless you do something very specific that is also very time confusing called “plot resetting” which you can find explanations on youtube). only 10 slots on your mailbox so you can’t hold much there; if you want to save mail you have to go to the post office and talk to pelly/phyllis and place saved mail in a limited amount of space box. villagers in NL don’t wear accessories/dresses and all that, you’ll find that they’re wearing tank tops, even if there’s different types of shirts/dresses, it will always transform into a sleeveless tank when villagers are wearing it (it doesn’t apply to your character, you can wear whatever you want). villagers also don’t hold food items or books and stuff, they don’t sit down/fall asleep either. the only time they can fall asleep is in their house rarely. you can pick up weeds; your character can pull them out but they won’t appear in your inventory, they’ll disappear. there is a huge variety of items and furniture in NL, way more than in NH. there is only one gulliver and he doesn’t make you dig up anything in the sand, nor does he have a phone; he simply asks you a few questions, where you have to guess the country he was headed based on the description he gives you. if you get it right, he sends you something in the mail. if you get it wrong, he’ll send you a chocolate coin the mail, which you can at (it won’t do anything) or you can simply use for whatever purpose. there are more variety of fruit in NL than in NH. you don’t receive reactions from villagers but from dr. shrunk (you go to his little club place and hand him a piece of fruit, he proceeds to get on stage and perform a joke, where you will then receive a reaction based on the joke). there aren’t any rugs/backpacks/back accessories in NL. harvey has a campsite and you can buy special items from him for something called “MEOW coupons” which you can get by completing daily/weekly tasks, and claim the coupons at the machine in front of the town hall, which you can then exchange for items harvey has up for sale, or to buy items from someone’s RV that’s currently there. reese and cyrus own a store called re-tail or the recycle shop, where you can sell items to reese, place them up on stand at a price that you set for villagers to buy (note if the price is too high they’ll never buy it, they’re programmed to buy it at no more than a set price), and you can get cyrus to customize your furniture, for a price, of course. kicks has his own shop, so does leif, so does labelle, and katrina eventually, and gracie grace eventually (you probably don’t know her, you’ll find out soon enough). ive been rambling on for too long and i still haven’t even gotten down everything. there are so so many more differences between the two games, but im tired of typing and i got to go sleep, plus i figured that since you’re going to play the game you’re going to find out all the other differences anyway, it’s better for it to be a surprise! i hope you enjoy NL, it’s super fun!
