as someone who first played new leaf around 2015 and was hooked ever since, i was really disappointed with new horizons. i remember sitting on the bus on the way to school replaying the trailer over and over again, but after 3 years of playing, the game certainly didn’t live up to the series like the last games. i think new horizons was too focused on decorating rather than building the world, and though i do love decorating, i miss the warm homey charm that previous games had, (especially new leaf.) one example of that charm was when many of the older characters from previous games that i loved had been removed from new horizons, like the post office birds being replaced by a post card stand. although these characters may seem minor, they really enhanced the games of animal crossing to make you feel like a naive kid again, exploring the world for the very first time.
Usually when I see wisp I don’t usually bother him, because I could get all those items off of nookazon, and I don’t really want a random item I will never use. Ghost diys would be so fun to collect!! Love your vids!
Exactly, talking to wisp was really fun at the start of the game when I was trying to build out my catalogue, but now - like you said - with Nookazon there isn’t much point to him! Thanks so much!!!☺️❤️
I remember being really excited for new horizons but upon actually playing it I felt really let down. The music feels watered down which is a theme Nintendo has been going on with botw and totk as well. They turned animal crossing into a sandbox game. I miss the days where I could approach any villager at any time for a random fetch quest, now I have to wait for my villagers to come to me, and when I do talk to them it's the same 5 lines of dialogue. While the amount of customization options is a tad overwhelming for me as a veteran player they were by no means unwelcome, it would just be better off if it didn't take away from a casual playing experience. I hate how grindy the game has become, how it's no longer a casual game but a race to perfection. Apparently a new trend that's come up is the idea of 'forever Islands' which makes me so sad, from the very beginning animal crossing was always about your one town and only until recently it seems people are actually prioritizing the longevity of one save file. I know I sound like a boomer talking about "back in my day" but new horizons has been the most unmotivated I've felt to pick up a game and it's upsetting. The game had so much potential if they would've just added to the formula, not taking away to add something new. That being said I'm not knocking the game by any means and am happy it was able to attract so many new players who enjoy it, just miss the old days ya know?
Gracie appearing after LaBel moves on (or would move on to the island) would be amazing. More NPC interactions that are actually worth the time, or ‘episodes’ like from before so we had to talk to the others to get full story- I feel like even the backstory of the Ables girls comes out so quick- there needs to be more to the whole thing- how she and Tom met, etc. I think just more dialogue and understanding of the chat backstories.
Since you mentioned, you never played New Leaf, the spooky and halloween themed things, like collecting candy and trading, were already New Leaf features. Thats maybe one of the reasons why old players just looked into the small new things, like body paint etc., but were done playing again afterwards. All these things.. toy day, halloween, morning stretching, karneval and bunny day were things that should have been in the game to begin with. Its nothing too new, except for crafting and some new thinks like backpacks, 2 or 3 new seasonal items and bodypaint. All the other things were well known things to the Animal Crossing community. Diving was also a New Leaf feature and should have been in the game a long time ago. Rooster came back, but this time, hes back in the museum, like he was in Wild World and Lets go to the City. In New Leaf he had his own building and you could even work there once per day, making coffee for the residents and finding out, what they liked. You even got special items from him, the more and the better you worked. Now you just get things like a cookie for stopping by and drinking a coffee (dont remind me of the nmt rewards...). Its not what is used to be. The island minigames from New Leaf are gone, the deep dialogues and personal messages from New Leaf, Wild World and even older versions are gone.... They could have just taken the old villager dialogues from previous games and put it into the new and also the remaining villagers in New Horizons, but instead they made new ones, that are so much more boring and repeating than ever before. They ruined the original spirit of the game - making friends and having nice experiences with them (i mean the villagers). For new players, this might work fine, since they dont know about the old games, but not for the old playerbase. It might have worked during lockdown, since in 2020, New Horizons had the most sales of every animal crossing game copy ever, but most of the old players got bored fast. Every update, the looked into it, played for some hours or maybe 2 days and then got bored again and stopped. Many, including me, tried many times, to give the game another chance and play again or even reset, to try and get some kind of spark, but it didnt work.. Even some content creators, like the German content Creator m00sician, went back to new leaf, because of this problem (or rather *these problems*). The mensioned content creator even made a full video, about why New Horizons might make you bored. I dont want to advertise, so I wont put a link in this comment, but i just wanted to underline my point with some proof. Its more of an island designer with a little bit of life simulation, but villagers became just a decoration to your island and people in New Horizons judge the villagers after their looks and not after their personalities, since there isnt that much of a personality there. *They even sell them online, like they are some slave or just an object!* I dont think that this is what Katsuya Eguchi originally intended when he created the first ever Animal Crossing... It makes me sad, honestly..
i don't mind the roost being moved back into the museum all that much because it is nostalgic, however i also really loved that brewster did have his own separate building in nl. it showed progression. not just for him, but for the other characters too. kicks went from homeless (?) and shining shoes to having his own shoe store. tom nook passed on the shop to the nooklings. tortimer retired and is spending his days on an island hosting fun games for people. even despite the older games lacking the new and fresh content nl provided, they were still full of so much charm. there were so many fun and unique furniture sets to collect. the villagers had a damn personality and backbone. the dialogue was witty and varied. you actually got attached to your villagers and it was genuinely heartbreaking to boot up the game and see they moved out the night before. sure it sucked, but it made us feel *something.* it's baffling that the original gamecube title, well over 20 years at this point, has more charm and personality and replay value than nh does only 3 years after its release. it's nothing more than an overglorified decorating and crafting simulator. if i wanted that, i would play a game dedicated to decorating. but when i play animal crossing, i want a relaxing and easygoing life sim with villagers that feel like genuine friends. if this was someone's first animal crossing, i have no problems with them considering it their favourite. but i'm tired of this narrative that we should shut up and be grateful that we got a game at all, despite the fact that it is a downgrade and lacking in every single way. if the previous four titles all had the same base features at launch plus added their own unique additions, i can damn well expect the same to be true of the newest entry. but it didn't happen. nintendo used us to make a few quick bucks and dipped. animal crossing fans deserve better, especially the longtime ones coming from previous games.
I share your sentiments exactly. I played New Horizons for maybe two months after its release… and because it was released pretty much bare/unfinished (relying on future updates instead) I was bored and disappointed. I hate crafting. I hate having so much control. It was a game about finding your place in an existing town, and now it’s a god simulator. It’s cute to look at, but it lacks soul and personality in comparison to its predecessors.
I think the game should have dialogue options for side interests like favorite things, hobbies, goals... and just mix them up for every villager on top of their different personalities. This would make every villager unique.
Speaking of non-functioning pools, I’m kinda peeved that we can’t use so many furniture items, and especially the villagers cant interact with them either! Items like the carnival’s spinning cups and the playgrounds, no one can play in it making it feel very dull…
I seriously LOVE your long videos. I watch them while I crochet. I agree with all of your points. Also, I think wisp giving out ghost recipes is such a cute idea!!
Almost everything you said could be summed up...those things were available in past AC titles. The diving has been around since NL. The villagers being actually interesting since Gamecube. Gracie Grace and Label have done things since City Folk and New Leaf. The golden tools NEVER broke in ALL AC games! Which is a slap in the face. If these things have been around in the past why is Nintendo repackaging them as if they're new or just flat out removing them entirely!
I would LOVE a pool!!!! I agree completely with what you said about all the npcs! The villagers and the other characters. I’d love to see Gulliver and Gullivar’s boats! It almost feels like they didn’t realise people would play it for so long. There’s so much that’s good with this game, I wish they’d just given the devs some more time. I would love to have seen what they could’ve come up with! I definitely agree with the positives you mentioned, and even after the 2.0 update I agree with your complaints. I think the design gameplay lends itself to social media more? And that visibility makes it easier for them to be noticed by nintendo. But I don’t think people would be going back to the old games, especially not people who never even played them as kids, if that was all the community was interested in!
Feedback to your video would be at 35:00 and beyond you mentioned several items or characters by name, but never show them on screen, so I had to look them up on my own, since I don't know them. I would have loved to see images of the things you talked about when you are talking about them the first time. :)
Thanks to you I just learned that about the Able Sisters with the changing room, that you have access to all colours of the displayed outfits and not just the ones shown in display ... I never knew. I spend so many days chasing certain colours of a clothing ... aaahh
Yasmin! This was such an incredible breakdown and critique of the game! I appreciate how you balanced a bit of both sides offering critique and praise, but also giving some solutions to how weaker aspects of the game could be strengthened. The part about how the storyline just cuts off after the K.K. Slider performance really stood out to me because I've been feeling the same way. Designing is fun and the game is pretty, but it definitely feels a little lifeless with such an apparent lack of storyline. Brilliant video essay! Well researched. Well written. And your subtle splash of humor and fun are always pleasures to experience. Thank you for taking the time to make this! 🥳
That’s so funny you mention that, because I’ve noticed this more recently too!! So glad the algorithm fed my channel to you, and thank you so much for the feedback!🥰
Ngl seeing this person admit that they never played new leaf then praise new horizons holiday events kind of hurts. Cus I just know they missed out on a better version of all of them as horizons’ ones are mostly just watered down versions of the new leaf events.
The final update that New horizons got was when they added that paid DLC for the holiday resort which in said trailer was stated that it was the FINAL update to the game. so the developers have long since moved on from New Horizons.
Animal crossing is not dead. Lots of people just overplayed it and are out of things to do with there island... There are still so many people still this day just finding out about acnh. I've personally put 300 hours into my island... 🙂
I totally agree, and I think that’s a good point which I forget sometimes. The game was released under completely abnormal circumstances which have most likely skewed how we have played it, and how we feel about the game now. It would be super interesting to see how the game would have performed in an alternative universe where the world never had to go through the ‘Panera Bread’ as I’ve heard some people call it 😅
Animal crossing is not dead. We weren't meant to play 1000+ hours in a year. People are far too critical and quick to say it is dead. You have some great ideas in this video.
Hey Artsy!! Aw thank you!🥰 I know what you mean.. and honestly I can fall on the side of being far too critical, far too quick (going back and editing the end of this video I thought I may have come off too aggressive in places..) but I think for most players, especially those who have played previous AC games, it comes from a place of love for the series (as well as love for the game which got many of us through such tough times) and frustration for where nintendo is taking the game currently. I definitely at one point had that ‘ACNH is dead’ mindset, but over the last few days I’ve started feeling more positive again with the data mine of the newest update and the tweet nintendo issued in relation to more content coming soon 🙂✨
@@YasminsCorner I have played every version of AC. It's a matter of perspective. And I don't pay attention to data mines. It helps to not be disappointed lol
as someone who first played new leaf around 2015 and was hooked ever since, i was really disappointed with new horizons. i remember sitting on the bus on the way to school replaying the trailer over and over again, but after 3 years of playing, the game certainly didn’t live up to the series like the last games. i think new horizons was too focused on decorating rather than building the world, and though i do love decorating, i miss the warm homey charm that previous games had, (especially new leaf.) one example of that charm was when many of the older characters from previous games that i loved had been removed from new horizons, like the post office birds being replaced by a post card stand. although these characters may seem minor, they really enhanced the games of animal crossing to make you feel like a naive kid again, exploring the world for the very first time.
Usually when I see wisp I don’t usually bother him, because I could get all those items off of nookazon, and I don’t really want a random item I will never use. Ghost diys would be so fun to collect!! Love your vids!
Exactly, talking to wisp was really fun at the start of the game when I was trying to build out my catalogue, but now - like you said - with Nookazon there isn’t much point to him! Thanks so much!!!☺️❤️
i wish i could say the same but honestly he’s just so dang cute i can’t help but love running into him. however gulliver? nah, i’ll just let him sleep
I'm late to the party but if Wisp had a "give me a DIY recipe I don't have yet" option it would be a huge game changer
I remember being really excited for new horizons but upon actually playing it I felt really let down. The music feels watered down which is a theme Nintendo has been going on with botw and totk as well. They turned animal crossing into a sandbox game. I miss the days where I could approach any villager at any time for a random fetch quest, now I have to wait for my villagers to come to me, and when I do talk to them it's the same 5 lines of dialogue. While the amount of customization options is a tad overwhelming for me as a veteran player they were by no means unwelcome, it would just be better off if it didn't take away from a casual playing experience. I hate how grindy the game has become, how it's no longer a casual game but a race to perfection. Apparently a new trend that's come up is the idea of 'forever Islands' which makes me so sad, from the very beginning animal crossing was always about your one town and only until recently it seems people are actually prioritizing the longevity of one save file. I know I sound like a boomer talking about "back in my day" but new horizons has been the most unmotivated I've felt to pick up a game and it's upsetting. The game had so much potential if they would've just added to the formula, not taking away to add something new. That being said I'm not knocking the game by any means and am happy it was able to attract so many new players who enjoy it, just miss the old days ya know?
Gracie appearing after LaBel moves on (or would move on to the island) would be amazing. More NPC interactions that are actually worth the time, or ‘episodes’ like from before so we had to talk to the others to get full story- I feel like even the backstory of the Ables girls comes out so quick- there needs to be more to the whole thing- how she and Tom met, etc. I think just more dialogue and understanding of the chat backstories.
Since you mentioned, you never played New Leaf, the spooky and halloween themed things, like collecting candy and trading, were already New Leaf features. Thats maybe one of the reasons why old players just looked into the small new things, like body paint etc., but were done playing again afterwards.
All these things.. toy day, halloween, morning stretching, karneval and bunny day were things that should have been in the game to begin with. Its nothing too new, except for crafting and some new thinks like backpacks, 2 or 3 new seasonal items and bodypaint. All the other things were well known things to the Animal Crossing community.
Diving was also a New Leaf feature and should have been in the game a long time ago. Rooster came back, but this time, hes back in the museum, like he was in Wild World and Lets go to the City. In New Leaf he had his own building and you could even work there once per day, making coffee for the residents and finding out, what they liked. You even got special items from him, the more and the better you worked. Now you just get things like a cookie for stopping by and drinking a coffee (dont remind me of the nmt rewards...).
Its not what is used to be. The island minigames from New Leaf are gone, the deep dialogues and personal messages from New Leaf, Wild World and even older versions are gone.... They could have just taken the old villager dialogues from previous games and put it into the new and also the remaining villagers in New Horizons, but instead they made new ones, that are so much more boring and repeating than ever before.
They ruined the original spirit of the game - making friends and having nice experiences with them (i mean the villagers). For new players, this might work fine, since they dont know about the old games, but not for the old playerbase. It might have worked during lockdown, since in 2020, New Horizons had the most sales of every animal crossing game copy ever, but most of the old players got bored fast. Every update, the looked into it, played for some hours or maybe 2 days and then got bored again and stopped. Many, including me, tried many times, to give the game another chance and play again or even reset, to try and get some kind of spark, but it didnt work.. Even some content creators, like the German content Creator m00sician, went back to new leaf, because of this problem (or rather *these problems*). The mensioned content creator even made a full video, about why New Horizons might make you bored. I dont want to advertise, so I wont put a link in this comment, but i just wanted to underline my point with some proof.
Its more of an island designer with a little bit of life simulation, but villagers became just a decoration to your island and people in New Horizons judge the villagers after their looks and not after their personalities, since there isnt that much of a personality there. *They even sell them online, like they are some slave or just an object!*
I dont think that this is what Katsuya Eguchi originally intended when he created the first ever Animal Crossing...
It makes me sad, honestly..
EDIT: We got new things, like cooking, after over a year after the release, but i think it might be too late now..
i don't mind the roost being moved back into the museum all that much because it is nostalgic, however i also really loved that brewster did have his own separate building in nl. it showed progression. not just for him, but for the other characters too. kicks went from homeless (?) and shining shoes to having his own shoe store. tom nook passed on the shop to the nooklings. tortimer retired and is spending his days on an island hosting fun games for people.
even despite the older games lacking the new and fresh content nl provided, they were still full of so much charm. there were so many fun and unique furniture sets to collect. the villagers had a damn personality and backbone. the dialogue was witty and varied. you actually got attached to your villagers and it was genuinely heartbreaking to boot up the game and see they moved out the night before. sure it sucked, but it made us feel *something.* it's baffling that the original gamecube title, well over 20 years at this point, has more charm and personality and replay value than nh does only 3 years after its release.
it's nothing more than an overglorified decorating and crafting simulator. if i wanted that, i would play a game dedicated to decorating. but when i play animal crossing, i want a relaxing and easygoing life sim with villagers that feel like genuine friends. if this was someone's first animal crossing, i have no problems with them considering it their favourite. but i'm tired of this narrative that we should shut up and be grateful that we got a game at all, despite the fact that it is a downgrade and lacking in every single way. if the previous four titles all had the same base features at launch plus added their own unique additions, i can damn well expect the same to be true of the newest entry. but it didn't happen. nintendo used us to make a few quick bucks and dipped. animal crossing fans deserve better, especially the longtime ones coming from previous games.
I share your sentiments exactly. I played New Horizons for maybe two months after its release… and because it was released pretty much bare/unfinished (relying on future updates instead) I was bored and disappointed. I hate crafting. I hate having so much control. It was a game about finding your place in an existing town, and now it’s a god simulator. It’s cute to look at, but it lacks soul and personality in comparison to its predecessors.
I think the game should have dialogue options for side interests like favorite things, hobbies, goals... and just mix them up for every villager on top of their different personalities. This would make every villager unique.
Fun fact. That's not new. Finding out villagers favorite things was a thing since GameCube.
Why did Nintendo ditch that?
Speaking of non-functioning pools, I’m kinda peeved that we can’t use so many furniture items, and especially the villagers cant interact with them either!
Items like the carnival’s spinning cups and the playgrounds, no one can play in it making it feel very dull…
I seriously LOVE your long videos. I watch them while I crochet. I agree with all of your points. Also, I think wisp giving out ghost recipes is such a cute idea!!
Hey Shelby! Aw thanks so much!! Glad you enjoyed the video!🥰
Almost everything you said could be summed up...those things were available in past AC titles.
The diving has been around since NL.
The villagers being actually interesting since Gamecube.
Gracie Grace and Label have done things since City Folk and New Leaf.
The golden tools NEVER broke in ALL AC games!
Which is a slap in the face. If these things have been around in the past why is Nintendo repackaging them as if they're new or just flat out removing them entirely!
I would LOVE a pool!!!! I agree completely with what you said about all the npcs! The villagers and the other characters. I’d love to see Gulliver and Gullivar’s boats! It almost feels like they didn’t realise people would play it for so long. There’s so much that’s good with this game, I wish they’d just given the devs some more time. I would love to have seen what they could’ve come up with! I definitely agree with the positives you mentioned, and even after the 2.0 update I agree with your complaints. I think the design gameplay lends itself to social media more? And that visibility makes it easier for them to be noticed by nintendo. But I don’t think people would be going back to the old games, especially not people who never even played them as kids, if that was all the community was interested in!
Feedback to your video would be at 35:00 and beyond you mentioned several items or characters by name, but never show them on screen, so I had to look them up on my own, since I don't know them. I would have loved to see images of the things you talked about when you are talking about them the first time. :)
Thanks to you I just learned that about the Able Sisters with the changing room, that you have access to all colours of the displayed outfits and not just the ones shown in display ... I never knew.
I spend so many days chasing certain colours of a clothing ... aaahh
how long have you been playing? 😭
Yasmin! This was such an incredible breakdown and critique of the game! I appreciate how you balanced a bit of both sides offering critique and praise, but also giving some solutions to how weaker aspects of the game could be strengthened.
The part about how the storyline just cuts off after the K.K. Slider performance really stood out to me because I've been feeling the same way. Designing is fun and the game is pretty, but it definitely feels a little lifeless with such an apparent lack of storyline.
Brilliant video essay! Well researched. Well written. And your subtle splash of humor and fun are always pleasures to experience. Thank you for taking the time to make this! 🥳
I'm glad you liked the video Alvin, thanks so much for the kind words
Not sure why, but UA-cam has been recommending smaller channels to me a lot more recently. This was good - keep it up!
That’s so funny you mention that, because I’ve noticed this more recently too!! So glad the algorithm fed my channel to you, and thank you so much for the feedback!🥰
Ngl seeing this person admit that they never played new leaf then praise new horizons holiday events kind of hurts. Cus I just know they missed out on a better version of all of them as horizons’ ones are mostly just watered down versions of the new leaf events.
This video was so thoughtful and offered points and potential solutions to this game's problems that I hadn't considered before. Very well done!! :)
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the lovely feedback
The final update that New horizons got was when they added that paid DLC for the holiday resort which in said trailer was stated that it was the FINAL update to the game. so the developers have long since moved on from New Horizons.
New leaf is better in almost every way. It’s a little sad
Very good vid! And also if u don’t have a Timmy and Tommy’s photo I can give u one bc I have extra
Thanks, I’m so glad you liked the video!! I messaged you back in the discord about the photo too 🥰
@@YasminsCorner ok I’ll check discord
lol keep up the funny stuff
Animal crossing is not dead. Lots of people just overplayed it and are out of things to do with there island... There are still so many people still this day just finding out about acnh. I've personally put 300 hours into my island... 🙂
I totally agree, and I think that’s a good point which I forget sometimes. The game was released under completely abnormal circumstances which have most likely skewed how we have played it, and how we feel about the game now. It would be super interesting to see how the game would have performed in an alternative universe where the world never had to go through the ‘Panera Bread’ as I’ve heard some people call it 😅
Yes acnh was released right before quarantine so lots of people who got acnh just over played it because they had nothing else to do...
For a critique video, you didn't critique much 😅
Animal crossing is not dead. We weren't meant to play 1000+ hours in a year. People are far too critical and quick to say it is dead. You have some great ideas in this video.
Hey Artsy!! Aw thank you!🥰 I know what you mean.. and honestly I can fall on the side of being far too critical, far too quick (going back and editing the end of this video I thought I may have come off too aggressive in places..) but I think for most players, especially those who have played previous AC games, it comes from a place of love for the series (as well as love for the game which got many of us through such tough times) and frustration for where nintendo is taking the game currently. I definitely at one point had that ‘ACNH is dead’ mindset, but over the last few days I’ve started feeling more positive again with the data mine of the newest update and the tweet nintendo issued in relation to more content coming soon 🙂✨
@@YasminsCorner I have played every version of AC. It's a matter of perspective. And I don't pay attention to data mines. It helps to not be disappointed lol