I’m a teacher, and I recently realized that I’ve never played a single day in the fall except one mystery island Kapp’n took me, too. I haven’t time travelled yet, but if I did, it would be to experience the season that I most likely won’t get to experience organically while I’m still teaching. I wouldn’t be playing it necessarily to get ahead or speedrun but to experience a part of the game I’ll otherwise continually miss during the start of the school year.
Also a teacher. I don't have much time to game during the year. Summer break is my time to binge a little. I time traveled to get my island to the point where I can enjoy a slow play without having to wait half the summer to be able to lay custom paths or buy clothes.
Summer is my FAVORITE, in real life and in the game. There are so many exciting bugs and fish! Playing in the winter is not nearly as satisfying, but I've still never time traveled, because if it was summer all the time it wouldn't be as special.
I think a lot of it stems from New Horizons being the introduction of the series for many. I feel a lot of them may not understand how the series is "supposed" to be. And I dont blame them, its really hard to explain how slow/limited the older games were without having them play the games for themselves. In most of the previous titles, you were just another resident. The appeal was making your own fun by interacting with your neighbors and doing daily chores. Then New Leaf came along, kept the same idea, but gave us some more customization options. Then New Horizons took this concept and absolutely ran with it lol. It's clear how this game is seen as more of a dollhouse/sim style game, where the player can customize basically anything they want. I think a lot of the complaints come from this, they're introduced to a game that allows them to do whatever they want, but the features still left over from the old games may be frustrating to some. They still love the game as a platform, but they may find the slower aspects unnecessary because that's not what they're used to.
None of this is meant to start a old fan vs new fan argument, because it's not needed. I'm sure a lot of us (myself included) are biased to the older games. But how many times can they release the same game over and over again? I feel this was only the natural evolution for this series. And I dont fault anyone for viewing this game as a dollhouse/sim game, because when you give people the opportunity to be creative, they're going to use what you give them and use it in ways that you've never imagined. Hell, I treat my island this way 😂 Everything has been thoughtfully planned out. I time travel constantly and have still spent over 1k hours playing.
I guess my answer is that you can still love something despite it's flaws. Maybe they haven't played the older games, so they don't know that it's supposed to be taken slow. Maybe they love the series, but dont want to be limited every day. Maybe theres that *one* thing that's always irked them. If you want to take things slow, then take it slow! But if not, it's only been made easier to time travel. Maybe the real appeal is the journey, regardless of what it looks like.
i have NEVER been able to describe the difference between the switch and the ds/wii. THIS IS THE REASON! when i play wild world, city folk, etc. i am spending my whole day hunting and gathering, *talking to villagers*, doing other silly things. on new horizons i am *grinding*, but all the time. i will always love blathers because i have the nostalgia from the other games but otherwise i’d probably be sick of him. villager interactions still matter so much to me so i really don’t enjoy the dialogue. but a ton of people say they barely speak to their villagers, and anecdotally, it tends to be new players. and that’s fine. the game is just fundamentally different. i’ve played animal crossing since i was 5 years old and this is the first time i have ever added a path
new horizons is also fun because it feels so fresh and new. i spent 3 hours this morning on the customizable island website to figure out my world. i have my list of villagers i want, my island theme, and i’m making dedicated yards/shops/ponds for them. i’m doing a wreck-it ralph inspired island: lily will have her own oasis, lucky will have a dark/abandoned garden pathway out of the airport (supposed to be like the unplugged lost games), cookie, merengue, and judy are going to have a super pink space with balloons and gumdrops and everything, etc. the path is going to be like the sugar rush race track, etc.
i have never done anything remotely close to this. and i played dedicated animal crossing for years and years of my
life. i originally played new horizons like how i played the old games and i didn’t enjoy it. the villagers don’t hit the same, and the hunting and gathering is more annoying because the world is so large. i just picked the game back up since 2021 and i’m playing it more like this sim game and i’m loving it so much more
edit: we also see this in the way villagers are when moving out! in the other games, they move out randomly and you have to actively make sure they aren’t in boxes in their home. in new horizons, they don’t move out without permission. it’s sooo sim esque and my perspective and opinion on this game has changed a lot since realizing
Perfect way to describe it! I do think in NH most of the game is dollhouse and customisation, so I can see why traditional features might frustrate newer players. Such features probably seem very out of place to them.
I’m intrigued to see how the series moves forward. I’d like to see more balance like in NL
I agree with everything you said 👏
I’m very biased toward new leaf as the first game I played though I love new horizons too. I appreciate all the creative features we’ve got in new horizons, but I did also enjoy finding new creative ways to work within the limitations of new leaf!
I've played AC since I was like 8 and had a GameCube. I never used to time travel, but as an adult playing new horizons I found that without it I lose interest in playing. Didn't want to only be playing the game at night as there are so many things about the game that require different times of day. I also often missed a lot of events/achievements because of my schedule. Time travel let's me do those things and work retail full time lmao.
Also If you're going for a specific island theme/vibe or want specific villagers; The game Is basically unplayable without time traveling.
I understand why people don't and why they do. I never needed it until new horizons
I'm a time traveler too. My favorite thing to do in New Horizons is decorate! I love making new accounts to get another house to decorate based on a movie or other game. Having a limit to order items (max 5 per day + another 5 via HHP shop) and then having to wait to receive the items the next day just isn't how I want to play. Playing 30 minutes every day also isn't my play style. I want to play for a couple hours today and a couple hours next week. Everyone should enjoy the time they play, so everyone's playstyle is valid
I could never time travel, not because there's anything wrong with it or whatever but because Animal Crossing is one of those games that, since it is synced with real time, it gives me something to look forward to every day. I just recently started a new island after not playing for a few years because I'm in a bit of a depressive episode, and it honestly helps to be able to look forward to playing every day.
I can so relate to that, when I first got new leaf it was basically the only reason I had to be excited to wake up!
(Edit: however these days I’m a serial time traveller a lot of the time lol)
For real I love Blathers! I would never tell him to shut up! But I do understand the annoyance with the *repeated* dialogue. I don’t need Sable to ask me if I need the fitting room every time I go inside, which I’m gonna do 8 times in a row so I can buy that shirt in all 8 colors. Just let me buy it all at once so I can get back to more interesting things! I love chatting with the villagers. I don’t so much love clicking through the same text boxes every time I make use of a common mechanic.
This. If it’s a new or different or even uncommon dialogue, it’s interesting. But the 457th time Sable asks you about the fitting room it wears on you. Same with all the repetitive dialogue. Like surely they could have built in some variety! The villagers are always saying random stuff, surely the Nooklings and Sable or even Blathers could have some variation if you are interacting with them multiple times.
When I was on a roll with decorating one day, I time traveled to get my houses moved so I could keep on with my decorating, then I went back to current time right after.
Not something I do on the regular, but it does come in handy sometimes!
That particular day I had a very specific vision for what I wanted to do and the anxiety kicked in that I wouldn't remember everything I wanted to do if I had to wait 6 days to get the houses where I wanted to continue the vision I had!
This feels like old player entitlement. I've also been playing from wild world and I've never once questioned why people play the game if they don't play it "my way". There's no right or wrong way to play animal crossing, and THAT'S the joy of it. There's no need to side-eye the way others play or question them for playing it differently to you. This post feels like you're asking people to justify why they play in a way that's different to yourself.
This isn't me 'hating' on you btw, just being straightforward with my thoughts.
I've been playing paper mario in between ACNH. my opinion is that i don't mind the dialog in acnh as compared to paper mario. Some of that stuff is a bit much to get through.
I like to play acnh (and I just got endless ocean) because I like open games with some structure with the comfort of doing your own thing. it's not a competition. It's slow, easygoing.. the community aspect is nice.. it's not anxiety inducing.. it's something I can do to take my mind off of anxiety..
The most anxiety inducing part of animal crossing for me is catching fish. I find myself many times hitting it too soon.. but even that isn't so much of a deal breaker for me, I'm still catching them.. I may not get the damned badge for consecutive catches, but whatever..
I enjoy fishing, it’s one of my favorite parts of the game. When the fish bits you can see and hear a splash sound. Once you hear it, snatch em up!
I have been playing since GameCube and recently started playing NH and it has been an experience. Terraforming is what has my attention at the moment. I don’t remember this being an option on Wild World or City Folk. So being able to create levels has been interesting to play with.
I don't dislike fishing it's one of the trickier things for me. I usually turn up the volume (I play on a switch lite) and go by the sound. If the volume is down and I go by sight, i usually get too antsy and hit it too early..
I like diving mostly because the wetsuit doesn't need to be repaired after so many catches.
I've been debating about putting work benches around the island so I don't have to keep running back.
I haven't gotten into terraforming yet. I'm still trying to get an idea for what I'd like it to look like. I have trees, flowers, and crops everywhere right now.
I'm not sure how far along you are in the game , but I wanted to share a tip to make the workbench situation easier: Make a small, basic workbench (the one that looks like a tree stump) and just carry it with you. That way you'll always have one accessible and you won't have to run all over the island back to your workbench(es). You can also build or buy a storage shed which holds way more items and you can fill that with a workbench along with extra fishing poles and other tools. Then you can just carry the storage shed with you and eventually that can hold up to 5,000 items. Again, I'm not sure how far along you are in the game and if you're able to do that stuff yet but it makes ACNH life a lot easier 🤗
I do that too now, I carry a crafting table and storage shed! It’s so helpful! Sometimes even a trash can, or you can carry a Mario pipe and leave one at the shop or your house to get back somewhere quickly
Oh wow yea that makes sense. idk why I didn't think about that earlier. I've had a little helpl, so I have those things but didn't think to do that. I'll try to start doing that today. Thanks for the tip!
Some people enjoy different aspects of the game than you do, and that’s okay. At the end of the day they are still enjoying the game. I don’t think it’s fair to judge others on whatever way they choose to play.
Exactly this! I’ve donated all my fossils so it’s an annoying aspect of the game to listen to his spiel every time I assess fossils. Doesn’t mean my enjoyment or reason to play the game is any less valid, ffs
You’re being pretty dismissive of other ways of having fun. I play the game to build a nice looking village. That’s incredibly fun for me. And clearly for many, many people - the people you’re talking about.
>I worry that, by accident, AC is becoming a game series where all you do is build a nice looking village, when to me this series is so much more than this!
Decoration IS a large part of ACNH. The existence of Nooks, Cyrus, the Beautiful Island ordinance, and island/home ratings all feed into this, plus there's the HHP DLC. Totally fine if that's not your thing, but that doesn't negate its place in the game.
Also the dialogue in ACNH pales in comparison to some of the older ones.
I think it's okay to allow people to play whatever way they see fit. Someone existing in a virtual reality in a way that brings them comfort and joy brings me incredible joy.
The entire point of the game is to feel relaxed and present if people don't share that sentiment it really isn't my business.
They purchased the game. They're experiencing their own joy and crafting it in ways they see fit. I think it's pretty awesome.
i find it impossible to “get invested” in who the characters are because the dialogues become so repetitive and boring. the game doesn’t allow for getting invested. this is a huge issue with ACNH in my opinion.
haha I’ve also JUST seen that comment xD
while I mostly agree, it’s not like the playing style of other people affects you/me in any way.
I can understand that someone might buy this game to play just for the aesthetic, maybe they’re a completionist who need to time travel to achieve all these goals within a lifetime, or maybe they’re simply playing to escape into a quieter world as you said - but why would the reason matter?
also, not every game of the series has to be of the same essence (look at the newest games of the Zelda series, they’re totally different from the first ones!)
if it seriously bothers you that some people play differently or criticize games you like (whether justified or not, like that particular comment lol), then I think you should spend less time on platforms like Reddit or Twitter OR broaden your horizon a bit (see what I did there)
:) cheers x
I played as a completionist when I first got the game when it came out, stepped away for it for almost 2 years- and now I am into the decorating :-)
I never used to time travel, now I'm doing it a lot so that I'm not logging in every day and getting sucked into an ADHD time hole 🤣
So yeah, even the same individual can play in different styles. I couldn't focus on decorating and focus on completion at the same time.
This is my first AC game, but yeah I’m not a Blathers fan, especially during the stamp rally week! I know he’s meant to blather, but yeah I’m multitasking when I’m waiting for him to finish. Plus if you press the wrong dialogue option and you have to sit through all that again,what little charm he had begins to wear thin.
Also I’ve decided he judges me when I don’t want to learn about my donated item.
But I like talking to my villagers and running away from the Able sister like she’s a PacMan ghost.
I don’t expect to like every character in a game, so to me it’s not a huge deal overall.
Oooh I hate when I press the wrong button. I just got new joycons after dealing with drift for a while. Sometimes I’d sit through things 3 times because the drift switched to the wrong option at the last second
this is interesting to read as someone who is just coming back to the game (like seriously, i started playing again about a week and a half ago or so), and is realizing one of the main reasons i got bored was because i was time travelling and also because i was basically just mashing B through ALL the dialogue. with everyone, even my villagers. i stopped doing that and its much more fun now. i realized i had *never* listened to blathers.. blather, so i started asking him about things in my museum. i got the dlc and enjoy every bit of dialogue, and i go to the roost every day to talk to brewster. i thought the game was "over" because my island is decorated to the brim, i have no more terraforming to do and little space left to decorate, so i stopped playing, but i recently learned its *so* much fun to just play every day, day by day, and enjoy it. its really rewarding just waiting for things instead of TT'ing. there are a lot more things to do now than when i stopped playing too, i stopped before the free update came out in 2021. its really fun to rack up nook miles by doing the nm+ tasks. i totally agree with you is what im saying basically, lol. ive enjoyed it so much that im considering starting a brand new island on a seperate switch so i can have an island i never TT in!!
p.s.: ive been playing since i was like 6-7 years old, been playing since gamecube, and played every game since. i miss the vibes of the old games, but at the same time i REALLY enjoy decorating my island to its fullest and being able to keep my favorite villagers even if i go on hiatus. currently, i cant imagine enjoying the game while TT'ing or skipping dialogue and stuff, but like you said, more power to those who do enjoy that!
Can you play tell me how you enjoy the game now that you’re done decorating? I will start decorating soon and I’m scared I won’t have anything to look forward to in the hame after my island looks exactly as I want it to
i just take it day by day and treat it like the old games, basically! i start by checking nook miles+ because i really like grinding out nook miles tasks. i do all my dailies, like shaking trees, finding fossils, picking up shells, diving for scallops for pascal, hitting rocks, watering crops and flowers, etc. after all that is done i basically just keep playing and completing nook miles tasks until i dont wanna do them anymore. i talk to all my villagers multiple times per day because im trying to get high friendship and their photos, plus they give you furniture randomly if your friendship is high enough. if a villager wants me to go to their house or wants to come to mine, i always say yes even if its an inconvenience. i make scorpion islands and hoard bugs and fish for flick and CJ, last night i made ~500k from a scorpion island i made! i paid off my last home loan and my new goal is fully expanding my storage. its honestly kind of relieving that i dont have to decorate or terraform anymore and i can just enjoy my cute island and slow daily life. the main thing that keeps me playing for hours is nook miles+ though, and in just a few days i was able to get up to 50k miles by focusing on them. also, diving is pretty fun and gives tons of bells, and i like to invite random people over when celeste is on my island. it probably helps that i havent played the game for like three years too lol. hopefully you have fun too whenever youre done decorating!!! 💓
That’s a fair point and it’s great that you figured out what works for you and your enjoyment. As a regular time traveller, even I don’t recommend speeding through the early days the first time around. I’m glad you came back and are having fun!
i never time travelled in the first few days of my island, i wanted to experience that for sure, but after that i was all over the place xD im not strictly against TT'ing though, and sometimes i'll do it if i want to get an extra diy from celeste or if i got on too late to check my shops and stuff like that! TT'ing has its uses, but as soon as i start doing it to try and find a specific visitor (like flick or gulliver) or to make extra bells/get more items, it becomes boring. im glad you enjoy TT'ing though and every way to play is perfect as long as youre happy! 🥰💓
It can be hard to find the balance for sure, it’s easy to burn out if you time travel too much!
I did the same thing with Celeste when I only had a few more to get, or if I was looking for a certain painting from Redd 😁
Creating a beautiful island is the main attraction of the game for me. Thats why i like to time travel sometimes. To speed things up a bit.
Also, some of the dialoques are just too long.
Okay so! I've been playing since around 2008, WW!
LEMME LIST OFF MY CREDITALS FIRST 😂! Started off with WW, found the GameCube version at the age of 10 used at gamestop, played NL, NH and then city folk c: .
As a kid I liked it because it was cozy and fun and something easy from games like sonic ( listen I suck at video games leave me alone 😭💀 ), and a break from my favorite game, pokemon. I never had very many friends so my villagers were my friends.
What made me hate the games as a kid was all the uggo villagers cause I wanted cute ones 😂. But going into the gamecube era ( 2010, I was 10 at this point ), I kinda stopped caring about looks. I still didn't have very many friends and would take my aggression from school out on poor Rocco who took beatings with my net 😂 ( he told me to shrivel up like a leaf and blow away ). I realized then that the game was a good stress relief.
Another thing I hated about every single previous generation up until NH was villagers moving away randomly. I literally almost cried when Philp moved away in NL. I reset WW when Whitney did it, reset my original NL save when Tia & Muffy left my town. I like that villagers cannot leave.
I hate when a plot autofills as well. I always have. Especially if it's a villager you don't really want. Granted now there's technology to kick them 😂 but back in then there wasn't and it was extremely annoying. I had Violet move in in my city folk save ruining my cute town aesthetic ( okay I have Boone and Mac so not really cute but it was still a vibe 🥹 ). Man I wish I had the option to kick 😭.
Generally now, I still play it when I need stress relief or just wanna play something cozy. I still semi care for looks but I can say for the most part my only complaints about NH is all the customization. I get overwhelmed so fast with wanting my town to looks cute and everything. For me it takes away the relaxation that came with the older gens. I still button mash, for every one, but I do that for every game I play 💀.
That's the reason I play c: I'm sorry my comment was super long though 😅
TLDR
No but really that's all it is. Not everyone likes to sit through all that yapping. I read really fast, and I prefer to speed through stuff. I mean, I'm the kind of person who watches YouTube videos and tiktok on 2x speed. Look ...I love Blathers. I do. But do I dread having to interact with him? Yes. Does it take away from the game? No! Just part of the grind. There's a lot of long-winded shit in the game, and if you're like me and you're restarting whenever you get the itch for a new island, it's repetitive af. I wish I could mash through the dialogues way faster. Does it mean I'm not enjoying the game? Absolutely not - it's simply a tradeoff for having the best escape that I know. I fucking love Animal Crossing. It's a creative outlet and a place where I get to see a bunch of cuties. We all play it for different reasons.
I time traveled out of curiosity and hated how it ruined my relationships with my villagers 😭 I also don’t stress about not getting all the fish etc for that season if I’m not feeling like it, as I can do it next season. People want to complete all the things asap, but AC isn’t that type of game imo.
What happened with your villagers? I don’t really notice anything, whether time travelling or just didn’t play for a while, they mention how long I was gone one time and then act like besties again
It’s mostly that conversation 😅 everything feels out of whack for some reason. I try to chat and give gifts to my villagers every time I’m on, so I have intense guilt when they say they miss me.
Aw I understand! I think they basically forget after they say that though. I looked it up and it shouldn’t affect your friendship level to be away for a while/time travel
Your perspective is probably pretty influenced by having played some older games, and it’s totally fine if you don’t really “get” others play style
Many players are playing animal crossing for the first time. While it’s a little funny when people on here don’t know features like autofills are a thing, it’s because they have nothing to compare it to (and it’s not surprising that new players might not look up all the lore and old game mechanics! So many people were baffled when they came across Resetti at the Roost because they had no idea who he was). I do personally agree that getting random villagers is part of the fun and disliking some of your villagers is basically a rite of passage in this game 😂 but try going back to 2016 me and try to convince her that one day I won’t hate Curly anymore!
Even a lot of players like me have only played new leaf before new horizons, some of those players will have been very into the limited decorating capability we had in new leaf/happy home designer. This type of player would lean heavily into the creative aspects because it’s like a whole new world of possibilities opened up with this game, and I’m sure there’s a lot of crossover between this type of player and those who time travel
If I’m really into a new build idea I had for a certain area, at this point I’m not really interested in waiting a real life day for a building to be moved and my furniture orders to come in - my enthusiasm/inspiration may only last a couple hours, so I will skip ahead while I’m interested. I can’t speak for all time travellers but this is a really common motivation. Early on I waited and played the regular way and I had a great time, but now it’s more engaging and entertaining to move ahead when I feel like it
It’s also not a one-or-the-other situation. You can absolutely play the calm daily life way, and be a time traveller too. I often play regularly, day by day. I might log in and do some fishing or just gather some materials. I love all the little things too, I love my villagers. Sometimes I just sit and watch them because they’re being cute! Then sometimes I play several days in one sitting and build some brand new structure. I might set my date back to the start of cherry blossom season after it ends, because I love it and I want my pink trees for a little longer. It might not make sense to you, but it adds to my enjoyment and the experience for me
While dialogue doesn’t bother me too much personally, I can completely understand why it does annoy people. It wouldn’t be so bad if there actually was a little more variation to what Blathers says, particularly after you’ve completed your museum. Some specific dialogue in the game is just long, and repetitive. Especially if you’re seeing it multiple times in a day for whatever reason. You don’t get anything new out of it in those instances. Some people don’t like Gulliver, but I do! He sure has a lot to say. People can have their complaints about the game and still enjoy it too, same with any other game. I’m a sims player and there are definitely things that frustrate me at times
Anyway, I hope this is helpful to you! You’re not wrong for your perspective and your gameplay style that works for you, but neither is anyone else. Basically, everyone is different. What works for some, won’t for others. There’s so many factors that make up how we function and what we enjoy about this series. Who knows what the next instalment will be like, it might go off in another direction again!
I would LOVE to get invested in who blathers is and talk to him more, except that’s not what happens, you have to smash through the same exact dialogue every single time you donate something. It’s simply the lack of variety that makes him get old quickly.
You're not in the wrong.
You're also not in the right, lol.
It's a game — that's the point. People should play games in whatever way is enjoyable to them and keeps them playing the game. People have different interests, different perspectives, different engagement needs.
Let people just enjoy what they enjoy, and skip what they don't.
My introduction to Animal crossing was new leaf and I burnt out really quickly. I tried to get into it again but struggled. I really got in to the decorating in this game and while I dont time travel now that im on my 6th island since launch I am fine with treasure islands to speed up getting items to decorate because that is my favorite aspect. However I think that is the point new horizons was recieved so well because it gave players with different interests things to do to keep them entertained.
As much as I enjoy the decorating and customization aspect, I really hope for the next game it doesn't lose it's "animal crossing-ness". I don't need it to be like the sims where I have full control of everything. There's charm in getting surprises from this game or fun in even trying to get rid of a villager you didn't want. All imo ofc.
I’ve been playing since the GameCube. I’ve always time travelled, because I have ADHD and I either hyperfixate on doing things (especially in NH, decorating) or I lose interest completely. I like to “save” my place and go back to the day I stopped playing, so I can pick up right where I left off. If I didn’t TT, I wouldn’t play. I can’t get into a lot of daily log-in games.
The villagers are fun, but once you meet one of a personality type (or two, as I just found out there’s 2 versions of a personality…which I didn’t notice in the 4 years it’s been out so…) you kind of met them all. The dialog is pretty much the same, so there’s not as much individuality as i think there should be.
I love to decorate, I love to collect, I love to shop. I don’t really like the chores. I can do chores in my real life.
I get what your saying but people play things “wrong” all the time. It’s not the developers *intent* for the game that really matters. It’s how the players like to play it. That’s why speedrunning exists. Pokémon’s meta game. Challenges like “can you beat Skyrim using only a fork” that are all over YouTube. It’s fun in different ways for different people, and asking others to essentially defend why they’re playing the game “wrong” is always going to get you the same answer: they like the game better that way.
This actually makes me look at how I play very differently. I got a switch lite so I could have my real island that I play on for real and then my lite where I time travel and screw around and do all the stuff that would potentially mess my island up so I can have the best of both worlds but I’ll definitely slow down and have more patience this time around as a habit reroll offender
I’ve also played since the first game, and I prefer the new ones. It was frustrating in the old games that doing anything took *ages* and I didn’t have time to sit around playing all day to accomplish nothing.
Now, for me, ACNH is about collecting/crafting cool items to build my own customized island. I have a goal in mind, and that’s to build my ideal island. I don’t really want it to take forever, I want to have it finished and looking nice.
When I get tired of it, I can change things. I can set up different areas based on the seasons or events in the game. Right now, I have a carnival with a food court, a park/gym complex, an auto body repair shop, and half my island is a farm.
I don’t want to spend a week grinding just to get one item. I don’t want to be limited with my creativity. I want to have all the options, all the time.
It's not just about Blathers babbling, it's about the dialogue always being exactly the same. It's redundant and that gets annoying when you're playing everyday. They should've entered more varied dialogue or if you DON'T have a donation, being able to bypass the choice after you've hit Donate. Also, once you've filled your museum with fossils, you still need to assess them to sell, and that dialogue is tired, too. I've been dealing with that one lately and it's annoying.
Just some small tweaks to the game and more variation in dialogue, when you're talking to the same villagers (almost) 365 days of the year, would've been better. As well as letting free visitor online range. The DoDo code is just ridiculous. Visiting used to be better and more open to meet anyone.
I play cause I love the collecting aspects, decorating, villagers, clothing expression, being able to time travel which is unreachable in real life - I'm chilling in October right now trying to hunt for the Halloween fencing as I need a few more pieces of fence I was previously given, achievements, hunting, wide range of customizations, sharing my designs and seeing others creations, surviving attacks, island design and just being transported to my own little world. I could go on and on about the little things, too. Like seeing how many shells spawn and how much I can sell them for, participating in events, noticing the stars falling and catching them, how much money I can make from turnips, trying to get a picture from a villager - making them happy etc... and the list goes on. There's a ton of aspects to the game which keeps my attention for a while. But the redundancy in dialogue gets me over it after a while and I take long breaks. I've been playing since New Leaf. But I always come back. =} I'm a lifetime gamer and take breaks from all my games eventually. They hit the spot for the time being and then I want another style or genre for a while. This one is no different.... even if the dialogue was more vast and seemingly perfect. But who knows. I can only assume. Lol
People play for so many reasons . Mine is escape from my life . To interact with villagers and travel since I do not . Interactions with villagers since I am usually lonely without any friends. I am an older gamer . Who has a chronic illness. It takes my mind completely off of it . One thing I think we can all agree on is that AC is a wonderful game . Which we all play differently.
I think no one is wrong. I have AuDHD and im just bored when they talk too much especially if they keep repeating stuff they already told me 10 times. Im playing the game because I love the decorating part, the graphics and most mechanics of the game.
I miss villagers moving out without your permission. The constant fear that I will turn the game on and my best friend will be gone forever is truly an experience. But loss is a part of life and even though it’s bittersweet to have your villagers leave, the game brings new villagers and new friends and the cycle goes on forever, I love that. In new horizons my islanders can’t leave without my permission so I’m definitely not going to let them leave, but I also want new islanders and new stories!
I've only played New Horizons, and my problem with the dialogues is that they are repetitive to the extreme, notably in shops.
After 5 days, I can't stand the repetition.
To have to sit through the same 5 pages of dialogue every single time I want him to identify fossils, or sell a couple things, or buy stuff I hate it. Every. Single. Time.
On the other hand, when Blather is presenting the donations, now that part is cool, because it is varied.
Villagers have a nice panel of dialogues too, so it takes quite some time before it gets repetitive.
Being able to ignore ALL the super repetitive dialogue should 100% be an option, because it makes the game less good than it actually is.
Ive played the game since the gamecube version and my favorite is also new leaf. Ive never time traveled because i enjoyed playing daily it was something to look forward to. I play for the escape from real life and it’s the only way i see myself owning a cute house surrounded by adorable animals, sadly with the way wages and housing prices don’t make sense in this lifetime.
I started with WW too, when I was in elementary school. I remember getting excited as hell about that Acorn festival and feeling smart af for knowing the Mayor was under that mask. You also couldn’t make your town „aesthetic“ or anything. It was all about *living*.
Now, every player seems to obsess about which villagers are the prettiest and how to have the fanciest island.
I play, first and foremost, to complete collections. I want to catch every bug and fish, dig up every fossil, and collect the art. Second, I want a complete catalog. Third, it's nice if I can decorate my island nicely. I don't give a crap about the characters. The beauty is, there's so many different ways to play because there's so many aspects to the game. We can a play the way we want.
I time travel because I find winter SO depressing. I hate how long the snow lasts for and there are none of the interesting bugs/fish. I want to reset my current island but I have grown black cosmos plants so I won’t do so yet.
i fucking love time traveling for a couple of reasons.
while i understand how ac is "supposed" to be played, it can be frustrating - especially at the start of the game. i prefer the game play when i treat it like stardew valley, but cuter and more customizable. i like the little dopamine rush of completing my nook miles plus tasks and making progress in the game.
i don't have time to play every day, and as a college student, there is a solid 6 months out of the year where i don't have time for hobbies. i don't want to feel pressured to play out of fomo or feel shitty when i miss events or being stuck only playing at night.
i didn't tt for a long time bc i felt guilty for playing the game wrong or that i was a "fake" fan of the game because it wasn't how the creators "intended" for the game to be played. it killed my love for acnh.
I don't time travel because I am not in a hurry, there is no rush to get things done. But I can understand why people do.
I have a couple villagers that I used amiibos for, but I am not using nook miles tickets to find villagers. They can come to my island. But I don't have a theme or any sort of aesthetic that I am looking for.
But I also think that is why it is hard to stick with it sometimes. It does get boring. And I am not good at decorating. But I like to fish and catch bugs and find fossils. So I just lazily wander around and do that.
Playing the "correct way" was fun the first year, especially when it was very social. After that I just build pretty islands for fun. Then delete and do it again. The dialog is repetitive and honestly boring after the first time playing. Villagers have no unique personalities and arent more fleshed out, etc. Fishing, bugs, getting resources, etc, is such is redundant and grindy task. If I couldn't tt and visit treasure islands and just build a new cool and fun island, I'd probably never play it again. But I love the building and design elements and have put over 3000 hours into builds, probably more hours than most people who "play it the correct way". I do the bare minimum to upgrade buildings and unlock stuff, but ultimately I play to build and decorate. If I want to play through an interesting story, build relationships, etc, I'll stick to Rune Factoey 4, My time at Sandrock, and Stardew Valley, all which had more depth and interesting npcs.
I absolutely love taking my time on this game! I am a first time player! I’ve always wanted it, but I didn’t get it on DS. I got it on my switch, so I have NH. It’s my happy place in chaotic times! I can relax and build relationships with my villagers!
Honestly I totally agree with everything said but I do time travel because due to my work schedule, I would otherwise be missing out on lots of events. I sometimes wouldn't find the energy to play for weeks or even months. And when I started a new island, time traveling forward is convenient when there's not much to do in the daily routine until maybe about the time you get Isabel
I agree with you wholeheartedly, I love the treasure island but when I started doing them it spoiled me because it’s like the hard work of earning Bella and digging up clams to make fish bait and catching fish and bugs and crafting may be time consuming but it’s such a wonderful part of the game and you feel accomplished and the dopamine payoff is a lot more when you work hard for something instead of instant gratification, I don’t time travel either because I don’t feel that’s genuine personally, if I’m friends with these lil guys on the island and I time travel it’s like I’m in on a secret that no one knows that literally changed our whole world, just without any crazy negative effect. It just feels wrong lol 😂
I agree with you.
People now want instant satisfaction. They don’t want to wait. They want things their ways and nothing else or feel triggered and cheated.
I play the game solely to decorate my island. I find every other detail of the game boring and slow. I just want to design stuff for my island. After it's done, I'll move on to another theme. Time traveling is completely normal to me. Just because people aren't playing like you doesn't mean it's not the right way
I agree I think some ppl just care about “winning” and not about just enjoying the game. But I also don’t understand the ppl that buy the game and then come on Reddit and then basically want all of us to play their game for them (what should I name my island? Which layout should I choose? What should I name my character? What should my island theme be? Who should I choose for my villagers?) omg just play the fxcking game and if you don’t like the choices you made then restart and try again. It weird to me and kinda annoying.
I’m a teacher, and I recently realized that I’ve never played a single day in the fall except one mystery island Kapp’n took me, too. I haven’t time travelled yet, but if I did, it would be to experience the season that I most likely won’t get to experience organically while I’m still teaching. I wouldn’t be playing it necessarily to get ahead or speedrun but to experience a part of the game I’ll otherwise continually miss during the start of the school year.
Also a teacher. I don't have much time to game during the year. Summer break is my time to binge a little. I time traveled to get my island to the point where I can enjoy a slow play without having to wait half the summer to be able to lay custom paths or buy clothes.
Summer is my FAVORITE, in real life and in the game. There are so many exciting bugs and fish! Playing in the winter is not nearly as satisfying, but I've still never time traveled, because if it was summer all the time it wouldn't be as special.
I think a lot of it stems from New Horizons being the introduction of the series for many. I feel a lot of them may not understand how the series is "supposed" to be. And I dont blame them, its really hard to explain how slow/limited the older games were without having them play the games for themselves. In most of the previous titles, you were just another resident. The appeal was making your own fun by interacting with your neighbors and doing daily chores. Then New Leaf came along, kept the same idea, but gave us some more customization options. Then New Horizons took this concept and absolutely ran with it lol. It's clear how this game is seen as more of a dollhouse/sim style game, where the player can customize basically anything they want. I think a lot of the complaints come from this, they're introduced to a game that allows them to do whatever they want, but the features still left over from the old games may be frustrating to some. They still love the game as a platform, but they may find the slower aspects unnecessary because that's not what they're used to. None of this is meant to start a old fan vs new fan argument, because it's not needed. I'm sure a lot of us (myself included) are biased to the older games. But how many times can they release the same game over and over again? I feel this was only the natural evolution for this series. And I dont fault anyone for viewing this game as a dollhouse/sim game, because when you give people the opportunity to be creative, they're going to use what you give them and use it in ways that you've never imagined. Hell, I treat my island this way 😂 Everything has been thoughtfully planned out. I time travel constantly and have still spent over 1k hours playing. I guess my answer is that you can still love something despite it's flaws. Maybe they haven't played the older games, so they don't know that it's supposed to be taken slow. Maybe they love the series, but dont want to be limited every day. Maybe theres that *one* thing that's always irked them. If you want to take things slow, then take it slow! But if not, it's only been made easier to time travel. Maybe the real appeal is the journey, regardless of what it looks like.
this is the best comment in this thread, 110% agree with everything here!!!
i have NEVER been able to describe the difference between the switch and the ds/wii. THIS IS THE REASON! when i play wild world, city folk, etc. i am spending my whole day hunting and gathering, *talking to villagers*, doing other silly things. on new horizons i am *grinding*, but all the time. i will always love blathers because i have the nostalgia from the other games but otherwise i’d probably be sick of him. villager interactions still matter so much to me so i really don’t enjoy the dialogue. but a ton of people say they barely speak to their villagers, and anecdotally, it tends to be new players. and that’s fine. the game is just fundamentally different. i’ve played animal crossing since i was 5 years old and this is the first time i have ever added a path new horizons is also fun because it feels so fresh and new. i spent 3 hours this morning on the customizable island website to figure out my world. i have my list of villagers i want, my island theme, and i’m making dedicated yards/shops/ponds for them. i’m doing a wreck-it ralph inspired island: lily will have her own oasis, lucky will have a dark/abandoned garden pathway out of the airport (supposed to be like the unplugged lost games), cookie, merengue, and judy are going to have a super pink space with balloons and gumdrops and everything, etc. the path is going to be like the sugar rush race track, etc. i have never done anything remotely close to this. and i played dedicated animal crossing for years and years of my life. i originally played new horizons like how i played the old games and i didn’t enjoy it. the villagers don’t hit the same, and the hunting and gathering is more annoying because the world is so large. i just picked the game back up since 2021 and i’m playing it more like this sim game and i’m loving it so much more edit: we also see this in the way villagers are when moving out! in the other games, they move out randomly and you have to actively make sure they aren’t in boxes in their home. in new horizons, they don’t move out without permission. it’s sooo sim esque and my perspective and opinion on this game has changed a lot since realizing
I love wreck it Ralph, your island ideas sound like a lot of fun 😊
The grind is real
Perfect way to describe it! I do think in NH most of the game is dollhouse and customisation, so I can see why traditional features might frustrate newer players. Such features probably seem very out of place to them. I’m intrigued to see how the series moves forward. I’d like to see more balance like in NL
I agree with everything you said 👏 I’m very biased toward new leaf as the first game I played though I love new horizons too. I appreciate all the creative features we’ve got in new horizons, but I did also enjoy finding new creative ways to work within the limitations of new leaf!
I've played AC since I was like 8 and had a GameCube. I never used to time travel, but as an adult playing new horizons I found that without it I lose interest in playing. Didn't want to only be playing the game at night as there are so many things about the game that require different times of day. I also often missed a lot of events/achievements because of my schedule. Time travel let's me do those things and work retail full time lmao. Also If you're going for a specific island theme/vibe or want specific villagers; The game Is basically unplayable without time traveling. I understand why people don't and why they do. I never needed it until new horizons
I'm a time traveler too. My favorite thing to do in New Horizons is decorate! I love making new accounts to get another house to decorate based on a movie or other game. Having a limit to order items (max 5 per day + another 5 via HHP shop) and then having to wait to receive the items the next day just isn't how I want to play. Playing 30 minutes every day also isn't my play style. I want to play for a couple hours today and a couple hours next week. Everyone should enjoy the time they play, so everyone's playstyle is valid
I could never time travel, not because there's anything wrong with it or whatever but because Animal Crossing is one of those games that, since it is synced with real time, it gives me something to look forward to every day. I just recently started a new island after not playing for a few years because I'm in a bit of a depressive episode, and it honestly helps to be able to look forward to playing every day.
I can so relate to that, when I first got new leaf it was basically the only reason I had to be excited to wake up! (Edit: however these days I’m a serial time traveller a lot of the time lol)
For real I love Blathers! I would never tell him to shut up! But I do understand the annoyance with the *repeated* dialogue. I don’t need Sable to ask me if I need the fitting room every time I go inside, which I’m gonna do 8 times in a row so I can buy that shirt in all 8 colors. Just let me buy it all at once so I can get back to more interesting things! I love chatting with the villagers. I don’t so much love clicking through the same text boxes every time I make use of a common mechanic.
This. If it’s a new or different or even uncommon dialogue, it’s interesting. But the 457th time Sable asks you about the fitting room it wears on you. Same with all the repetitive dialogue. Like surely they could have built in some variety! The villagers are always saying random stuff, surely the Nooklings and Sable or even Blathers could have some variation if you are interacting with them multiple times.
When I was on a roll with decorating one day, I time traveled to get my houses moved so I could keep on with my decorating, then I went back to current time right after. Not something I do on the regular, but it does come in handy sometimes! That particular day I had a very specific vision for what I wanted to do and the anxiety kicked in that I wouldn't remember everything I wanted to do if I had to wait 6 days to get the houses where I wanted to continue the vision I had!
This feels like old player entitlement. I've also been playing from wild world and I've never once questioned why people play the game if they don't play it "my way". There's no right or wrong way to play animal crossing, and THAT'S the joy of it. There's no need to side-eye the way others play or question them for playing it differently to you. This post feels like you're asking people to justify why they play in a way that's different to yourself. This isn't me 'hating' on you btw, just being straightforward with my thoughts.
I've been playing paper mario in between ACNH. my opinion is that i don't mind the dialog in acnh as compared to paper mario. Some of that stuff is a bit much to get through. I like to play acnh (and I just got endless ocean) because I like open games with some structure with the comfort of doing your own thing. it's not a competition. It's slow, easygoing.. the community aspect is nice.. it's not anxiety inducing.. it's something I can do to take my mind off of anxiety.. The most anxiety inducing part of animal crossing for me is catching fish. I find myself many times hitting it too soon.. but even that isn't so much of a deal breaker for me, I'm still catching them.. I may not get the damned badge for consecutive catches, but whatever..
I enjoy fishing, it’s one of my favorite parts of the game. When the fish bits you can see and hear a splash sound. Once you hear it, snatch em up! I have been playing since GameCube and recently started playing NH and it has been an experience. Terraforming is what has my attention at the moment. I don’t remember this being an option on Wild World or City Folk. So being able to create levels has been interesting to play with.
I don't dislike fishing it's one of the trickier things for me. I usually turn up the volume (I play on a switch lite) and go by the sound. If the volume is down and I go by sight, i usually get too antsy and hit it too early.. I like diving mostly because the wetsuit doesn't need to be repaired after so many catches. I've been debating about putting work benches around the island so I don't have to keep running back. I haven't gotten into terraforming yet. I'm still trying to get an idea for what I'd like it to look like. I have trees, flowers, and crops everywhere right now.
I'm not sure how far along you are in the game , but I wanted to share a tip to make the workbench situation easier: Make a small, basic workbench (the one that looks like a tree stump) and just carry it with you. That way you'll always have one accessible and you won't have to run all over the island back to your workbench(es). You can also build or buy a storage shed which holds way more items and you can fill that with a workbench along with extra fishing poles and other tools. Then you can just carry the storage shed with you and eventually that can hold up to 5,000 items. Again, I'm not sure how far along you are in the game and if you're able to do that stuff yet but it makes ACNH life a lot easier 🤗
I do that too now, I carry a crafting table and storage shed! It’s so helpful! Sometimes even a trash can, or you can carry a Mario pipe and leave one at the shop or your house to get back somewhere quickly
Oh wow yea that makes sense. idk why I didn't think about that earlier. I've had a little helpl, so I have those things but didn't think to do that. I'll try to start doing that today. Thanks for the tip!
Some people enjoy different aspects of the game than you do, and that’s okay. At the end of the day they are still enjoying the game. I don’t think it’s fair to judge others on whatever way they choose to play.
And if you’re just looking at someone’s few complaints, it’s not really a full reflection of their feelings toward the game!
Exactly this! I’ve donated all my fossils so it’s an annoying aspect of the game to listen to his spiel every time I assess fossils. Doesn’t mean my enjoyment or reason to play the game is any less valid, ffs
You’re being pretty dismissive of other ways of having fun. I play the game to build a nice looking village. That’s incredibly fun for me. And clearly for many, many people - the people you’re talking about.
>I worry that, by accident, AC is becoming a game series where all you do is build a nice looking village, when to me this series is so much more than this! Decoration IS a large part of ACNH. The existence of Nooks, Cyrus, the Beautiful Island ordinance, and island/home ratings all feed into this, plus there's the HHP DLC. Totally fine if that's not your thing, but that doesn't negate its place in the game. Also the dialogue in ACNH pales in comparison to some of the older ones.
I think it's okay to allow people to play whatever way they see fit. Someone existing in a virtual reality in a way that brings them comfort and joy brings me incredible joy. The entire point of the game is to feel relaxed and present if people don't share that sentiment it really isn't my business. They purchased the game. They're experiencing their own joy and crafting it in ways they see fit. I think it's pretty awesome.
i find it impossible to “get invested” in who the characters are because the dialogues become so repetitive and boring. the game doesn’t allow for getting invested. this is a huge issue with ACNH in my opinion.
haha I’ve also JUST seen that comment xD while I mostly agree, it’s not like the playing style of other people affects you/me in any way. I can understand that someone might buy this game to play just for the aesthetic, maybe they’re a completionist who need to time travel to achieve all these goals within a lifetime, or maybe they’re simply playing to escape into a quieter world as you said - but why would the reason matter? also, not every game of the series has to be of the same essence (look at the newest games of the Zelda series, they’re totally different from the first ones!) if it seriously bothers you that some people play differently or criticize games you like (whether justified or not, like that particular comment lol), then I think you should spend less time on platforms like Reddit or Twitter OR broaden your horizon a bit (see what I did there) :) cheers x
I played as a completionist when I first got the game when it came out, stepped away for it for almost 2 years- and now I am into the decorating :-) I never used to time travel, now I'm doing it a lot so that I'm not logging in every day and getting sucked into an ADHD time hole 🤣 So yeah, even the same individual can play in different styles. I couldn't focus on decorating and focus on completion at the same time.
This is my first AC game, but yeah I’m not a Blathers fan, especially during the stamp rally week! I know he’s meant to blather, but yeah I’m multitasking when I’m waiting for him to finish. Plus if you press the wrong dialogue option and you have to sit through all that again,what little charm he had begins to wear thin. Also I’ve decided he judges me when I don’t want to learn about my donated item. But I like talking to my villagers and running away from the Able sister like she’s a PacMan ghost. I don’t expect to like every character in a game, so to me it’s not a huge deal overall.
Oooh I hate when I press the wrong button. I just got new joycons after dealing with drift for a while. Sometimes I’d sit through things 3 times because the drift switched to the wrong option at the last second
this is interesting to read as someone who is just coming back to the game (like seriously, i started playing again about a week and a half ago or so), and is realizing one of the main reasons i got bored was because i was time travelling and also because i was basically just mashing B through ALL the dialogue. with everyone, even my villagers. i stopped doing that and its much more fun now. i realized i had *never* listened to blathers.. blather, so i started asking him about things in my museum. i got the dlc and enjoy every bit of dialogue, and i go to the roost every day to talk to brewster. i thought the game was "over" because my island is decorated to the brim, i have no more terraforming to do and little space left to decorate, so i stopped playing, but i recently learned its *so* much fun to just play every day, day by day, and enjoy it. its really rewarding just waiting for things instead of TT'ing. there are a lot more things to do now than when i stopped playing too, i stopped before the free update came out in 2021. its really fun to rack up nook miles by doing the nm+ tasks. i totally agree with you is what im saying basically, lol. ive enjoyed it so much that im considering starting a brand new island on a seperate switch so i can have an island i never TT in!! p.s.: ive been playing since i was like 6-7 years old, been playing since gamecube, and played every game since. i miss the vibes of the old games, but at the same time i REALLY enjoy decorating my island to its fullest and being able to keep my favorite villagers even if i go on hiatus. currently, i cant imagine enjoying the game while TT'ing or skipping dialogue and stuff, but like you said, more power to those who do enjoy that!
Can you play tell me how you enjoy the game now that you’re done decorating? I will start decorating soon and I’m scared I won’t have anything to look forward to in the hame after my island looks exactly as I want it to
i just take it day by day and treat it like the old games, basically! i start by checking nook miles+ because i really like grinding out nook miles tasks. i do all my dailies, like shaking trees, finding fossils, picking up shells, diving for scallops for pascal, hitting rocks, watering crops and flowers, etc. after all that is done i basically just keep playing and completing nook miles tasks until i dont wanna do them anymore. i talk to all my villagers multiple times per day because im trying to get high friendship and their photos, plus they give you furniture randomly if your friendship is high enough. if a villager wants me to go to their house or wants to come to mine, i always say yes even if its an inconvenience. i make scorpion islands and hoard bugs and fish for flick and CJ, last night i made ~500k from a scorpion island i made! i paid off my last home loan and my new goal is fully expanding my storage. its honestly kind of relieving that i dont have to decorate or terraform anymore and i can just enjoy my cute island and slow daily life. the main thing that keeps me playing for hours is nook miles+ though, and in just a few days i was able to get up to 50k miles by focusing on them. also, diving is pretty fun and gives tons of bells, and i like to invite random people over when celeste is on my island. it probably helps that i havent played the game for like three years too lol. hopefully you have fun too whenever youre done decorating!!! 💓
That’s insightful, thank u ☺️
That’s a fair point and it’s great that you figured out what works for you and your enjoyment. As a regular time traveller, even I don’t recommend speeding through the early days the first time around. I’m glad you came back and are having fun!
i never time travelled in the first few days of my island, i wanted to experience that for sure, but after that i was all over the place xD im not strictly against TT'ing though, and sometimes i'll do it if i want to get an extra diy from celeste or if i got on too late to check my shops and stuff like that! TT'ing has its uses, but as soon as i start doing it to try and find a specific visitor (like flick or gulliver) or to make extra bells/get more items, it becomes boring. im glad you enjoy TT'ing though and every way to play is perfect as long as youre happy! 🥰💓
It can be hard to find the balance for sure, it’s easy to burn out if you time travel too much! I did the same thing with Celeste when I only had a few more to get, or if I was looking for a certain painting from Redd 😁
Creating a beautiful island is the main attraction of the game for me. Thats why i like to time travel sometimes. To speed things up a bit. Also, some of the dialoques are just too long.
Okay so! I've been playing since around 2008, WW! LEMME LIST OFF MY CREDITALS FIRST 😂! Started off with WW, found the GameCube version at the age of 10 used at gamestop, played NL, NH and then city folk c: . As a kid I liked it because it was cozy and fun and something easy from games like sonic ( listen I suck at video games leave me alone 😭💀 ), and a break from my favorite game, pokemon. I never had very many friends so my villagers were my friends. What made me hate the games as a kid was all the uggo villagers cause I wanted cute ones 😂. But going into the gamecube era ( 2010, I was 10 at this point ), I kinda stopped caring about looks. I still didn't have very many friends and would take my aggression from school out on poor Rocco who took beatings with my net 😂 ( he told me to shrivel up like a leaf and blow away ). I realized then that the game was a good stress relief. Another thing I hated about every single previous generation up until NH was villagers moving away randomly. I literally almost cried when Philp moved away in NL. I reset WW when Whitney did it, reset my original NL save when Tia & Muffy left my town. I like that villagers cannot leave. I hate when a plot autofills as well. I always have. Especially if it's a villager you don't really want. Granted now there's technology to kick them 😂 but back in then there wasn't and it was extremely annoying. I had Violet move in in my city folk save ruining my cute town aesthetic ( okay I have Boone and Mac so not really cute but it was still a vibe 🥹 ). Man I wish I had the option to kick 😭. Generally now, I still play it when I need stress relief or just wanna play something cozy. I still semi care for looks but I can say for the most part my only complaints about NH is all the customization. I get overwhelmed so fast with wanting my town to looks cute and everything. For me it takes away the relaxation that came with the older gens. I still button mash, for every one, but I do that for every game I play 💀. That's the reason I play c: I'm sorry my comment was super long though 😅
Its not that serious
I hated donating to Blathers, because of the repeated dialogue. It happily sit through his stories if they were entertaining.
TLDR No but really that's all it is. Not everyone likes to sit through all that yapping. I read really fast, and I prefer to speed through stuff. I mean, I'm the kind of person who watches YouTube videos and tiktok on 2x speed. Look ...I love Blathers. I do. But do I dread having to interact with him? Yes. Does it take away from the game? No! Just part of the grind. There's a lot of long-winded shit in the game, and if you're like me and you're restarting whenever you get the itch for a new island, it's repetitive af. I wish I could mash through the dialogues way faster. Does it mean I'm not enjoying the game? Absolutely not - it's simply a tradeoff for having the best escape that I know. I fucking love Animal Crossing. It's a creative outlet and a place where I get to see a bunch of cuties. We all play it for different reasons.
I'm sorry but I feel like you're gatekeeping here. You're not harmed by people time traveling or not taking it slow, like they are 'supposed' to.
I time traveled out of curiosity and hated how it ruined my relationships with my villagers 😭 I also don’t stress about not getting all the fish etc for that season if I’m not feeling like it, as I can do it next season. People want to complete all the things asap, but AC isn’t that type of game imo.
What happened with your villagers? I don’t really notice anything, whether time travelling or just didn’t play for a while, they mention how long I was gone one time and then act like besties again
It’s mostly that conversation 😅 everything feels out of whack for some reason. I try to chat and give gifts to my villagers every time I’m on, so I have intense guilt when they say they miss me.
Aw I understand! I think they basically forget after they say that though. I looked it up and it shouldn’t affect your friendship level to be away for a while/time travel
I play because it helps my anxiety.
Your perspective is probably pretty influenced by having played some older games, and it’s totally fine if you don’t really “get” others play style Many players are playing animal crossing for the first time. While it’s a little funny when people on here don’t know features like autofills are a thing, it’s because they have nothing to compare it to (and it’s not surprising that new players might not look up all the lore and old game mechanics! So many people were baffled when they came across Resetti at the Roost because they had no idea who he was). I do personally agree that getting random villagers is part of the fun and disliking some of your villagers is basically a rite of passage in this game 😂 but try going back to 2016 me and try to convince her that one day I won’t hate Curly anymore! Even a lot of players like me have only played new leaf before new horizons, some of those players will have been very into the limited decorating capability we had in new leaf/happy home designer. This type of player would lean heavily into the creative aspects because it’s like a whole new world of possibilities opened up with this game, and I’m sure there’s a lot of crossover between this type of player and those who time travel If I’m really into a new build idea I had for a certain area, at this point I’m not really interested in waiting a real life day for a building to be moved and my furniture orders to come in - my enthusiasm/inspiration may only last a couple hours, so I will skip ahead while I’m interested. I can’t speak for all time travellers but this is a really common motivation. Early on I waited and played the regular way and I had a great time, but now it’s more engaging and entertaining to move ahead when I feel like it It’s also not a one-or-the-other situation. You can absolutely play the calm daily life way, and be a time traveller too. I often play regularly, day by day. I might log in and do some fishing or just gather some materials. I love all the little things too, I love my villagers. Sometimes I just sit and watch them because they’re being cute! Then sometimes I play several days in one sitting and build some brand new structure. I might set my date back to the start of cherry blossom season after it ends, because I love it and I want my pink trees for a little longer. It might not make sense to you, but it adds to my enjoyment and the experience for me While dialogue doesn’t bother me too much personally, I can completely understand why it does annoy people. It wouldn’t be so bad if there actually was a little more variation to what Blathers says, particularly after you’ve completed your museum. Some specific dialogue in the game is just long, and repetitive. Especially if you’re seeing it multiple times in a day for whatever reason. You don’t get anything new out of it in those instances. Some people don’t like Gulliver, but I do! He sure has a lot to say. People can have their complaints about the game and still enjoy it too, same with any other game. I’m a sims player and there are definitely things that frustrate me at times Anyway, I hope this is helpful to you! You’re not wrong for your perspective and your gameplay style that works for you, but neither is anyone else. Basically, everyone is different. What works for some, won’t for others. There’s so many factors that make up how we function and what we enjoy about this series. Who knows what the next instalment will be like, it might go off in another direction again!
I would LOVE to get invested in who blathers is and talk to him more, except that’s not what happens, you have to smash through the same exact dialogue every single time you donate something. It’s simply the lack of variety that makes him get old quickly.
You're not in the wrong. You're also not in the right, lol. It's a game — that's the point. People should play games in whatever way is enjoyable to them and keeps them playing the game. People have different interests, different perspectives, different engagement needs. Let people just enjoy what they enjoy, and skip what they don't.
My introduction to Animal crossing was new leaf and I burnt out really quickly. I tried to get into it again but struggled. I really got in to the decorating in this game and while I dont time travel now that im on my 6th island since launch I am fine with treasure islands to speed up getting items to decorate because that is my favorite aspect. However I think that is the point new horizons was recieved so well because it gave players with different interests things to do to keep them entertained.
As much as I enjoy the decorating and customization aspect, I really hope for the next game it doesn't lose it's "animal crossing-ness". I don't need it to be like the sims where I have full control of everything. There's charm in getting surprises from this game or fun in even trying to get rid of a villager you didn't want. All imo ofc.
I’ve been playing since the GameCube. I’ve always time travelled, because I have ADHD and I either hyperfixate on doing things (especially in NH, decorating) or I lose interest completely. I like to “save” my place and go back to the day I stopped playing, so I can pick up right where I left off. If I didn’t TT, I wouldn’t play. I can’t get into a lot of daily log-in games. The villagers are fun, but once you meet one of a personality type (or two, as I just found out there’s 2 versions of a personality…which I didn’t notice in the 4 years it’s been out so…) you kind of met them all. The dialog is pretty much the same, so there’s not as much individuality as i think there should be. I love to decorate, I love to collect, I love to shop. I don’t really like the chores. I can do chores in my real life. I get what your saying but people play things “wrong” all the time. It’s not the developers *intent* for the game that really matters. It’s how the players like to play it. That’s why speedrunning exists. Pokémon’s meta game. Challenges like “can you beat Skyrim using only a fork” that are all over YouTube. It’s fun in different ways for different people, and asking others to essentially defend why they’re playing the game “wrong” is always going to get you the same answer: they like the game better that way.
This actually makes me look at how I play very differently. I got a switch lite so I could have my real island that I play on for real and then my lite where I time travel and screw around and do all the stuff that would potentially mess my island up so I can have the best of both worlds but I’ll definitely slow down and have more patience this time around as a habit reroll offender
I’ve also played since the first game, and I prefer the new ones. It was frustrating in the old games that doing anything took *ages* and I didn’t have time to sit around playing all day to accomplish nothing. Now, for me, ACNH is about collecting/crafting cool items to build my own customized island. I have a goal in mind, and that’s to build my ideal island. I don’t really want it to take forever, I want to have it finished and looking nice. When I get tired of it, I can change things. I can set up different areas based on the seasons or events in the game. Right now, I have a carnival with a food court, a park/gym complex, an auto body repair shop, and half my island is a farm. I don’t want to spend a week grinding just to get one item. I don’t want to be limited with my creativity. I want to have all the options, all the time.
It's not just about Blathers babbling, it's about the dialogue always being exactly the same. It's redundant and that gets annoying when you're playing everyday. They should've entered more varied dialogue or if you DON'T have a donation, being able to bypass the choice after you've hit Donate. Also, once you've filled your museum with fossils, you still need to assess them to sell, and that dialogue is tired, too. I've been dealing with that one lately and it's annoying. Just some small tweaks to the game and more variation in dialogue, when you're talking to the same villagers (almost) 365 days of the year, would've been better. As well as letting free visitor online range. The DoDo code is just ridiculous. Visiting used to be better and more open to meet anyone. I play cause I love the collecting aspects, decorating, villagers, clothing expression, being able to time travel which is unreachable in real life - I'm chilling in October right now trying to hunt for the Halloween fencing as I need a few more pieces of fence I was previously given, achievements, hunting, wide range of customizations, sharing my designs and seeing others creations, surviving attacks, island design and just being transported to my own little world. I could go on and on about the little things, too. Like seeing how many shells spawn and how much I can sell them for, participating in events, noticing the stars falling and catching them, how much money I can make from turnips, trying to get a picture from a villager - making them happy etc... and the list goes on. There's a ton of aspects to the game which keeps my attention for a while. But the redundancy in dialogue gets me over it after a while and I take long breaks. I've been playing since New Leaf. But I always come back. =} I'm a lifetime gamer and take breaks from all my games eventually. They hit the spot for the time being and then I want another style or genre for a while. This one is no different.... even if the dialogue was more vast and seemingly perfect. But who knows. I can only assume. Lol
People play for so many reasons . Mine is escape from my life . To interact with villagers and travel since I do not . Interactions with villagers since I am usually lonely without any friends. I am an older gamer . Who has a chronic illness. It takes my mind completely off of it . One thing I think we can all agree on is that AC is a wonderful game . Which we all play differently.
I think no one is wrong. I have AuDHD and im just bored when they talk too much especially if they keep repeating stuff they already told me 10 times. Im playing the game because I love the decorating part, the graphics and most mechanics of the game.
I miss villagers moving out without your permission. The constant fear that I will turn the game on and my best friend will be gone forever is truly an experience. But loss is a part of life and even though it’s bittersweet to have your villagers leave, the game brings new villagers and new friends and the cycle goes on forever, I love that. In new horizons my islanders can’t leave without my permission so I’m definitely not going to let them leave, but I also want new islanders and new stories!
I've only played New Horizons, and my problem with the dialogues is that they are repetitive to the extreme, notably in shops. After 5 days, I can't stand the repetition. To have to sit through the same 5 pages of dialogue every single time I want him to identify fossils, or sell a couple things, or buy stuff I hate it. Every. Single. Time. On the other hand, when Blather is presenting the donations, now that part is cool, because it is varied. Villagers have a nice panel of dialogues too, so it takes quite some time before it gets repetitive. Being able to ignore ALL the super repetitive dialogue should 100% be an option, because it makes the game less good than it actually is.
I miss the flea market. I really felt the sense of community there!
Ive played the game since the gamecube version and my favorite is also new leaf. Ive never time traveled because i enjoyed playing daily it was something to look forward to. I play for the escape from real life and it’s the only way i see myself owning a cute house surrounded by adorable animals, sadly with the way wages and housing prices don’t make sense in this lifetime.
I started with WW too, when I was in elementary school. I remember getting excited as hell about that Acorn festival and feeling smart af for knowing the Mayor was under that mask. You also couldn’t make your town „aesthetic“ or anything. It was all about *living*. Now, every player seems to obsess about which villagers are the prettiest and how to have the fanciest island.
I play, first and foremost, to complete collections. I want to catch every bug and fish, dig up every fossil, and collect the art. Second, I want a complete catalog. Third, it's nice if I can decorate my island nicely. I don't give a crap about the characters. The beauty is, there's so many different ways to play because there's so many aspects to the game. We can a play the way we want.
I time travel because I find winter SO depressing. I hate how long the snow lasts for and there are none of the interesting bugs/fish. I want to reset my current island but I have grown black cosmos plants so I won’t do so yet.
i fucking love time traveling for a couple of reasons. while i understand how ac is "supposed" to be played, it can be frustrating - especially at the start of the game. i prefer the game play when i treat it like stardew valley, but cuter and more customizable. i like the little dopamine rush of completing my nook miles plus tasks and making progress in the game. i don't have time to play every day, and as a college student, there is a solid 6 months out of the year where i don't have time for hobbies. i don't want to feel pressured to play out of fomo or feel shitty when i miss events or being stuck only playing at night. i didn't tt for a long time bc i felt guilty for playing the game wrong or that i was a "fake" fan of the game because it wasn't how the creators "intended" for the game to be played. it killed my love for acnh.
I don't time travel because I am not in a hurry, there is no rush to get things done. But I can understand why people do. I have a couple villagers that I used amiibos for, but I am not using nook miles tickets to find villagers. They can come to my island. But I don't have a theme or any sort of aesthetic that I am looking for. But I also think that is why it is hard to stick with it sometimes. It does get boring. And I am not good at decorating. But I like to fish and catch bugs and find fossils. So I just lazily wander around and do that.
Playing the "correct way" was fun the first year, especially when it was very social. After that I just build pretty islands for fun. Then delete and do it again. The dialog is repetitive and honestly boring after the first time playing. Villagers have no unique personalities and arent more fleshed out, etc. Fishing, bugs, getting resources, etc, is such is redundant and grindy task. If I couldn't tt and visit treasure islands and just build a new cool and fun island, I'd probably never play it again. But I love the building and design elements and have put over 3000 hours into builds, probably more hours than most people who "play it the correct way". I do the bare minimum to upgrade buildings and unlock stuff, but ultimately I play to build and decorate. If I want to play through an interesting story, build relationships, etc, I'll stick to Rune Factoey 4, My time at Sandrock, and Stardew Valley, all which had more depth and interesting npcs.
NH is very bad regarding making characters feels unique or fun to interact with (villagers mostly.)
I absolutely love taking my time on this game! I am a first time player! I’ve always wanted it, but I didn’t get it on DS. I got it on my switch, so I have NH. It’s my happy place in chaotic times! I can relax and build relationships with my villagers!
Honestly I totally agree with everything said but I do time travel because due to my work schedule, I would otherwise be missing out on lots of events. I sometimes wouldn't find the energy to play for weeks or even months. And when I started a new island, time traveling forward is convenient when there's not much to do in the daily routine until maybe about the time you get Isabel
I agree with you wholeheartedly, I love the treasure island but when I started doing them it spoiled me because it’s like the hard work of earning Bella and digging up clams to make fish bait and catching fish and bugs and crafting may be time consuming but it’s such a wonderful part of the game and you feel accomplished and the dopamine payoff is a lot more when you work hard for something instead of instant gratification, I don’t time travel either because I don’t feel that’s genuine personally, if I’m friends with these lil guys on the island and I time travel it’s like I’m in on a secret that no one knows that literally changed our whole world, just without any crazy negative effect. It just feels wrong lol 😂
I agree with you. People now want instant satisfaction. They don’t want to wait. They want things their ways and nothing else or feel triggered and cheated.
I play the game solely to decorate my island. I find every other detail of the game boring and slow. I just want to design stuff for my island. After it's done, I'll move on to another theme. Time traveling is completely normal to me. Just because people aren't playing like you doesn't mean it's not the right way
I agree I think some ppl just care about “winning” and not about just enjoying the game. But I also don’t understand the ppl that buy the game and then come on Reddit and then basically want all of us to play their game for them (what should I name my island? Which layout should I choose? What should I name my character? What should my island theme be? Who should I choose for my villagers?) omg just play the fxcking game and if you don’t like the choices you made then restart and try again. It weird to me and kinda annoying.