Topic: Unpopular Gaming Opinions

@Buizel Just wish game devs would realize this instead of trying to chase mass appeal. Animal Crossing was fine with the direction it was going in, only for the devs to drastically change the formula because of people disliking what the games stood for as a whole.

Was this the case with Animal Crossing? As far as I understood New Leaf was very well-received.

@VoidofLight I don't think that was case. People liked the previous AC games in spite of any flaws - especially New Leaf, and New Horizons didn't really alter the core gameplay loop of the series too much - at least in comparison to Zelda.

@Buizel New Leaf was well received, yes. The issue is that there were groups of people who weren't happy with things like the real time clock- or weren't happy with the game punishing the player for not playing. They didn't want villagers to move out or flowers to die- so New Horizons got rid of all of that. New Horizons pushed itself into a different direction of being more focused on sandbox decorating instead of the life sim elements. It isn't really easy to spot (took me a while to figure this out), but it definitely is a wildly different game. @N00BiSH

@Buizel I'm optimistic that Heroes gets a remaster/remake someday. Sonic's new direction seems to be the open world formula of Frontiers but SEGA still does remasters/remakes/collections of older games.

I think that's the big part Zelda is missing. While Sonic is getting remasters of older games like Colours and Generations which creates variety, Zelda is doubling down on BotW style. Maybe the next Direct changes that and we end up with something like Wind Waker HD but I fear that the 2025 Zelda may end up being BotW Remastered.

@VoidofLight I mean, the life sim stuff is still there - it's not gone entirely - and I don't really think the sandbox decorating really betrays what came before. I mean, New Leaf was already leaning into giving the player more control over their town, so NH is really continuing what was established in that title.

@VoidofLight Fair point, and although I personally liked New Horizons, I do miss some of the features from earlier games as you describe. I know the assumption is that Nintendo will never remaster Animal Crossing games due to seeing them as iterative, but I'd love to see one of the older games return to the Switch (2), or maybe for the next game to take more inspiration from older games even if it does build on NH.

@Grumblevolcano A remaster would be nice, but I imagine the best the can do is pretty it up a bit - I think a lot of the later game jank is pretty core to the game itself. What would truly be excellent is a sequel that builds on the team mechanic.

Good point about Zelda actually. I did like how EoW mixed things up, but I can see how it might not be the right direction for people who already didn't like the sandbox-y elements of BotW and especially TotK. Nintendo know at least to provide some variety - but I agree that people into your more "traditional" Zeldas (including myself - as much as I like TotK and EoW) have been starving a bit this gen. WW/TP remaster can't come soon enough!

@N00BiSH The issue is that the game doesn't feel the same anymore. There's no real reason to keep playing unless you really enjoy decorating, since the game doesn't change at all. The appeal of Animal Crossing was meant to be an ever-changing world that keeps going even if you aren't there to play it. People will move away, flowers will wilt and die, and the world keeps spinning without you there. Ironically it gave a massive sense of accomplishment and self to me, given that it felt like I was the one keeping my villagers in town. I was the one keeping the flowers from dying. In New Horizons- the island feels like a hostage situation, and the world feels stagnant. Bland. Its inoffensive, but it's meant to be because the game is catering to the people who disliked Animal Crossing for "punishing them."

New Leaf was the perfect balance of giving you control over the town without making you a God. New Horizons goes overboard and makes the whole town's existence revolve around you to the point where there's literally nothing to do after beating the tutorial and paying off your loan.

@Buizel I'm hoping the next game will dial it back a bit on players getting complete freedom over everything. Bringing back villagers moving away on their own and the need to water flowers would be enough to make the game feel lively again. That, and adding more shop upgrades/smaller holidays back into the game.

@VoidofLight I find the trick to having an ever-changing world is to abandon the game for about a month or two. The guilt of not checking in on your town helps quite a lot.

But really, I do kind of get what you mean. I think offering players a more easy-going approach isn't a bad idea for a game like Animal Crossing, but I suppose having more options to provide more challenge in that space wouldn't be unwelcome either. The next game could maybe strike a better balance.

@Buizel @Grumblevolcano I dunno - I don't really think re-whatevering older Zeldas would really be enough to justify the existence of the original setup - if anything, they'd probably feel more like placate-ments rather than proof that the old ways are still valuable. I like the new direction - I think it makes the most sense for the series at this point - but they're still definitely still experimenting with it. An actual new traditional game would be more beneficial to proving its worth imo. TotK and EoW both proved that committing to one style over another is more ideal than trying to balance the two.

_{Also look at me. I just said I don't wanna hear anything about Zelda and yet here I am talking Zelda. Hypocrite that I am.}

@N00BiSH I mean I've abandoned my island in New Horizons for months and I still haven't felt the urge to go back. It just doesn't feel like I have any attachment to anything going on in that. No attachment to my villagers- fully knowing they couldn't leave. I'm hoping the next game can strike a balance like previous entries, but I get a huge feeling that Nintendo isn't going to go back due to how well New Horizons sold.

Somebody just keep sprinkle the rain on ACNH parade.
If you don't like ACNH, go back play the GameCube version.
ACNH is the perfect model for me.
No stupid antics from GameCube version, (force to play everyday or punishment), no yada yada, more customizing like The Sims games, villagers never moving out by themselves, this is the game I want.
I still keep in touch with my ACNH whenever I felt bored to play certain games.
Just logged in, sold some fruits / crops to get more money, said hello to my current villagers.
If they are thinking about moving out, I will immediately hit their head once with net to make them forget about moving out and that's how I keep my villagers stay forever after I got them so bad.

Maybe the next Animal Crossing should give everybody the choice whether they want the "classic" mode of Villagers leaving and time moving on when you're not playing and a "casual" mode where that's not the case. Should make everybody happy. Much like how Fire Emblem does it.

@sheztephan That's exactly what I want them to do. Give us the option between having the classic experience of Villagers moving out and flowers dying on their own, or the new experience that's more casual and friendly to people who dislike losing villagers.

If they did it with Fire Emblem (casual vs. classic) I'm sure they could do it for Animal Crossing, no?

On the other hand, Pokemon with its forced Exp. Share...

I mentioned the Animal Crossing dilemma and how I have mixed feelings about villagers moving out on the ACNH thread once, and I think it was @FishyS who suggested there could be a mix of permanent residences (whose occupants don't move out without asking) and rental properties where villagers will stay for a while before leaving unless you convince them to stay. I think that's a good idea that would bring back the feeling of time passing and create more variety without inducing worry that your favourites will leave unexpectedly.

@Dogorilla
I personally like the ACNH rule by given an option to let my villagers moving out or not and we can take control of their destiny.
This is the part I like from ACNH because I can keep all my villagers forever just like MySims and I can kick them out whenever I don't need them anymore.
The choice is on my hand and I'm the ruler of my island.
And I completely despise with the idea of losing the villagers as the joy of the game.

Animal crossing hostage rescue

@Anti-Matter I get that, it was frustrating having villagers move out when you didn't want them to in the older games. But in New Horizons I found myself not often allowing them to leave, and I appreciate having the choice but it does mean that the island starts to feel a bit stagnant unless you make the conscious decision to kick them out. That's why I like the idea of having some temporary villagers who you know will leave (like an expanded version of the campsite) while still being able to keep your favourites indefinitely.

This is precisely what I'd want in the a new Animal Crossing. I'd prefer the classic mode, but it'd be nice to have the option for those who don't. Even if we got a remaster of New Leaf it'd be nice to see this option implemented for those who want the casual mode.

@VoidofLight @PikminMarioKirby
Yes, thank you. Instead of arguing which gameplay style was better, why not wish for Nintendo to give us the option for both? Should be simple enough to implement in a game like Animal Crossing.