# Does anyone else refuse to restart, even if you ‘finish’ your island?



## cosravet (Mar 25, 2021)

I’ve been really into watching ACNH Youtubers lately, and it seems as though it’s custom for everyone to erase their game data and completely restart a new island whenever they finish the previous one, saving previous iterations via the dream addresses. I’m nearly halfway done with my island, but I’ve no plans to simply erase and restart when I am...! Not only does it sound absolutely tedious, but does anyone else just get too attached to their villagers to just leave them like that..? Or to their entire island for that matter. I view my creating my island as me creating a nice space for me to actually play the game. I also view my island as a constant WIP. I’m more than ready to tear down a spot and make room for brewsters, maybe I’ll even flatten half my island and redo it all at some point... but starting from scratch all over again seems like too much, although now I worry I may grow bored if I don’t


----------



## X10Rinne (Mar 25, 2021)

I've been playing on the same island since day 1 and feel pretty much the same way! 

If I ever feel bored of doing the same island chores each day, I put the game down for a few weeks and play other stuff until I miss dressing my rep for the day and running around over lunch break. I think just changing your outfit every time you play adds more little selfie opportunities, even on the same old island!

I recently took down some slopes and re-terraformed the area around my secret beach (which isn't very secret anymore sorry redd).


----------



## Starfish10 (Mar 25, 2021)

I don’t understand the concept of “finishing” an island! I redo my island and my house all the time. It will never be finished, because I always change stuff up! It doesn’t seem very fun to me personally to just create something and then keep it like that forever, so, like you, I view my island not as something I can possibly “finish,” but something that will always be a work in progress. I might delete it someday and start over, but for now I have no reason to do that.


----------



## Corrie (Mar 25, 2021)

Yeah no way. I could never go back to the beginning of the game. It was sooooo slow. If I wanted to "restart", I'd just flatten my entire island.


----------



## Blueskyy (Mar 25, 2021)

I would never, ever restart. I play with weeks of breaks in between sometimes, so I’m far from finished. It took me a looooong time to acquire all of the things I have, and I would not ever want to have to start over.


----------



## Sid (Mar 25, 2021)

It sucks losing all the DIYs you've built up and having to go through what I refer to as the "pregame" now (everything you have to do before you get terraforming). Other than that though, I love going through the process of reinventing my island. Finding new combinations of villagers I love. Starting fresh and trying new things design wise. Maybe I'm in the minority but that's how I feel anyway.


----------



## LeenaM (Mar 25, 2021)

Maybe it's nostalgia for the early stages of the game? Sometimes I see AC youtubers play the first few days on their new island and I miss the music, the wind and the simple look of a barren island. Also, their experience restarting is probably different from most people, some have a second switch with another island, or they have a community of viewers to helps them get items/villagers/nmt/diys. This way they can skip through the slow beginning and just focus on building the island. 

But I understand not wanting to give up everything. Every time I restarted it was because I felt like my island was going nowhere and I wasn't attached to my villagers, so I thought "I might as well restart". It felt like there was not much to erase/give up. But because of that I never managed to "finish" an island, or even fill it up halfway. If I ever finish an island I'll probably choose to flatten instead of restarting.


----------



## Cloudandshade (Mar 25, 2021)

I could never even consider it! Half the fun for me lies in the history my island has built over the last year, and all the ways it's evolved. I get how that could seem limiting to people given that we can only have one island at a time, but I just wouldn't be able to enjoy playing without that attachment I've developed to my save. Everyone plays differently though, and for those that like to have a fresh start every once in a while, I'm sure it feels more like a clean slate to restart than to flatten everything.


----------



## Matt0106 (Mar 25, 2021)

I know for a fact I will never restart, even when I finish. I did this a ton in NL, and that joy that I would usually get at the start would be lost. Of course, I am not saying I would never do it, but I just feel like I am perfectly happy with the one I got, and I really want to see how it will age through time. I want it to be one of those islands I get to look back on when the next Animal Crossing comes out


----------



## VanitasFan26 (Mar 25, 2021)

Truth be told I have thought about starting over but then I think about having to do that long tutorial again and just recollecting everything I had the museum. It won't change anything. Sure I may get a different location for Resident Services and have different fruit but other that I just don't see the point. I put in over 3,000 hours into this game (yes I know thats a lot but I did take breaks in between hours and that was the most time I spent terraforming) and if I were to delete all of that hard work I would never forgive myself. All those villagers I have, all the hard work I put into making my island, and everything I collected it would just be a massive headache just trying to do over everything. I know it has worked some people which is fine more power to them but for me I don't see myself restarting anytime soon.

After playing for a year I am just out of stuff to do in the game. Before you say anything I completed my island, completed the museum, gotten all the villagers I want, completed the nook mile achievements, and of course did a lot of trading with other people to get stuff I want. I am just feeling worn out from this game and I don't feel that accomplished. I told myself "Look dude you finished the island just leave it alone" so thats when I finally decided to stop playing the game because the more I keep pushing myself to do it the more stressed I will be. I am playing different games so thats helping, but no I am NEVER restarting.


----------



## N e s s (Mar 25, 2021)

Deleting an animal crossing town is a rookie mistake, everyone regrets it after a week or two


----------



## JellyBeans (Mar 25, 2021)

I wish there was a large enough part of me that refused to reset, but unfortunately I'm too lazy to tear down my island only to rebuild it + for me personally, part of the fun comes from having a totally clean slate and building everything back up from the beginning. although losing DIYs and the catalogue will for sure hurt big time!
but that's just me - I totally understand why people would never want to start all over again. growing with your island is such a nice thought


----------



## PugLovex (Mar 25, 2021)

i've had the same island since march 20th, and i'm just like you! i've also had my first and only NL town for 6 years and i refuse to restart it too lmao


----------



## bam94- (Mar 25, 2021)

There’s no way I could restart my island! I’ve invested too much time and effort and love into it. I don’t know the concept of a “finished” island either? I can’t imagine ever getting it to a point where I never want to touch it again. Changing things up is fun.

I reset a couple times on New Leaf and always regretted not keeping the first one I ever made. There’s something about it being my first and only island since the release date that I love and couldn’t give up.


----------



## VanitasFan26 (Mar 25, 2021)

covid said:


> It sucks losing all the DIYs you've built up and having to go through what I refer to as the "pregame" now (everything you have to do before you get terraforming). Other than that though, I love going through the process of reinventing my island. Finding new combinations of villagers I love. Starting fresh and trying new things design wise. Maybe I'm in the minority but that's how I feel anyway.


What really sucks about restarting is that all the DIYS you mentioned is gone and you have to go back and relearn all of it just to get it back. My friend found out this hard way when she restarted and she found out that all her seasonal DIYS were gone and she broke down crying. So this is also another way of not restarting.


----------



## cosravet (Mar 25, 2021)

Hi everyone, I read all your responses and they made me feel better about it ( : I'm glad others can empathise with me and are on the same path as I


----------



## Moritz (Mar 25, 2021)

I could never restart 

I love my island, flaws and all.
Besides, I've redone fished areas before because I realised they looked bad, or I got new diys or items that could go better there. I've replaced villagers I would never have thought I would want to move so even when I'm not decorating, the place is changing. I'm not scared of ever being done.

I could replace the villagers, I could replace the diys, I could replace items. I could never replace the memories


----------



## Imbri (Mar 25, 2021)

I don't think an island is ever really "finished", so restarting doesn't make sense to me. My villagers are set, and I don't plan to move buildings, but I constantly evolve my decorating, both inside and out. I can't imagine throwing out all the progress I made since launch and starting over again.


----------



## ForbiddenSecrets (Mar 25, 2021)

I would have to *hate *something unchangeable about my island to want to restart. Getting all the DIYs and Catalogue again sounds like a nightmare.


----------



## azurill (Mar 25, 2021)

I have been playing my first island since it came out so could never restart it. I am currently redoing my entire island one section at a time. I have most of my permanent villages on that island. I do really like the beginning of the game. I thought about restarting once and decided I would make a second island instead. This way I can have more villages and if I ever wanted to restart again I would with my second island. Now that I have had that Island for about 3 months I don’t think I will be restarting that one either.


----------



## PoppyPumpkin (Mar 25, 2021)

I bought a second switch so I could start over and what not - and I intend to buy a switch lite at some point (just cause I want one for travel purposes and what not) but no, I don't think I could ever restart my Island. I'd feel absolutely lost. I could understand flattening and what not but not resetting. I don't think I'd flatten either.


----------



## xara (Mar 25, 2021)

me! i’m nowhere near ‘finishing’ my island but i can’t imagine ever resetting. i’ve made too much progress and so many good memories to ever even _think_ about saying goodbye. >_<


----------



## LuluLove102 (Mar 25, 2021)

I could never restart my first island. It holds a special place in my heart, also because it was created on launch day and I’ve experience every new thing, from bushes to events in that island. 
But I’m lucky and I own a second switch too so I recently created a new island and I must admit that I missed the slow pace the game forces you into when terraforming is not involved.


----------



## TheSillyPuppy (Mar 25, 2021)

I can't consider my island to ever be "finished", so I would never consider restarting. I got bored of my island late last year, so I'm in the middle of rebuilding everything after flattening the island, which has been relaxing and a lot of fun. There are still so many villagers that I want to meet and invite to my island. I would like to redecorate my house, too, but this will have to wait, as I'm still ordering furniture to decorate the island.


----------



## tajikey (Mar 25, 2021)

I feel like if I restart, my island will end up looking like it does now; I don't mind the lesser amount of time I play. Plus, when new things are introduced, it challenges my brain to figure out if or how to utilize it or them.


----------



## Courtney.lamelia (Mar 25, 2021)

I am having this feeling right now. D: I recently bought a coral switch lite, and I made a new island and I loved it. I had been playing animal crossing on my boyfriend’s switch since it came out and I’ve been thinking about restarting that island. I just don’t know because its sooooo much work *edit I was thinking about making the island on my boyfriend’s switch a hybrid island where I just had a huge garden... but that also seems like a lot of work


----------



## VanitasFan26 (Mar 25, 2021)

Courtney.lamelia said:


> I am having this feeling right now. D: I recently bought a coral switch lite, and I made a new island and I loved it. I had been playing animal crossing on my boyfriend’s switch since it came out and I’ve been thinking about restarting that island. I just don’t know because its sooooo much work *edit I was thinking about making the island on my boyfriend’s switch a hybrid island where I just had a huge garden... but that also seems like a lot of work


What makes it stressful is trying to choose the right layout where you want Resident Services, Airport, Secret beach to be located and if the layout has different rocks or docks. Also what makes it annoying is that whatever Airport color you get is RNG, same with the Native fruit. Also you really do have to work hard again to get up to 3 star rating, invite KK Silder, and then finally you get access to the Island Designer. So yeah Restarting is actually pretty risky and stressful when trying to find the right layout and airport color you want.


----------



## Splinter (Mar 25, 2021)

This is why I had two copies of New Leaf, I never delete my first town, but with New Horizons I'd need a new Switch if I wanted to start over and keep my old Island. By the time I've finished with this though I'll be fed up of it anyway and not want a fresh start, there's way more to do now you can decorate outdoors.


----------



## angelcat621 (Mar 25, 2021)

I couldn't restart at this point. I just have too much time invested in this file now. I have nearly all non-seasonal DIYs and haven't even started on Bunny day or the cherry blossom set. I'm not big on terraforming but there are certain spots I wouldn't mind playing around with, like below my plaza, which is pretty dull looking at the moment. Going to dream islands has helped me rethink certain places on my island, so I'll never run out of ideas.


----------



## Courtney.lamelia (Mar 25, 2021)

SoraFan23 said:


> What makes it stressful is trying to choose the right layout where you want Resident Services, Airport, Secret beach to be located and if the layout has different rocks or docks. Also what makes it annoying is that whatever Airport color you get is RNG, same with the Native fruit. Also you really do have to work hard again to get up to 3 star rating, invite KK Silder, and then finally you get access to the Island Designer. So yeah Restarting is actually pretty risky and stressful when trying to find the right layout and airport color you want.


yes... I had to restart literally 12 different times just to get the orange airport on my switch lite island


----------



## VanitasFan26 (Mar 25, 2021)

Courtney.lamelia said:


> yes... I had to restart literally 12 different times just to get the orange airport on my switch lite island


I remember I got so lucky getting a Blue Airport the first time since Blue was my favorite color.


----------



## Bluebellie (Mar 25, 2021)

I don’t think I would. 
I have my town pretty much how I imagined it looking, and it’s starting to look nice and complete. It’s making me enjoy my gameplay more. I can’t imagine restarting and being stressed trying to terraform. Plus I don’t think I would terraform much differently if I were to restart, so I don’t see much point to it. Once I finish decorating, I still have everything else to work towards ( catching critters, finishing achievements  etc).


----------



## Moritz (Mar 25, 2021)

Courtney.lamelia said:


> yes... I had to restart literally 12 different times just to get the orange airport on my switch lite island


I wanted an orange airport and pears as my fruit when I started my second island.
I got so fed up of resetting I settled on an orange airport and oranges for my fruit. The theme of the island is now going to be orange. Only orange villagers allowed, only orange furniture (or red, or brown, so long as its on the same spectrum) and only orange flowers.

Resetting is the worst.


----------



## Courtney.lamelia (Mar 25, 2021)

Moritz said:


> I wanted an orange airport and pears as my fruit when I started my second island.
> I got so fed up of resetting I settled on an orange airport and oranges for my fruit. The theme of the island is now going to be orange. Only orange villagers allowed, only orange furniture (or red, or brown, so long as its on the same spectrum) and only orange flowers.
> 
> Resetting is the worst.


haha nice. I thought about doing a colored theme, but instead i'm going with a natural theme with my villagers but a city town kind of theme. You are more than welcome to come see what I have done so far, but i'm definitely not finished!

	Post automatically merged: Mar 25, 2021



SoraFan23 said:


> I remember I got so lucky getting a Blue Airport the first time since Blue was my favorite color.


yeah I just wanted orange for the fall vibe <3


----------



## Flicky (Mar 25, 2021)

Nah. In every AC game, I've always stuck with my original island, ever after I've obtained my dream villagers and the like.

Can't see me doing it any differently here.


----------



## JemAC (Mar 25, 2021)

I wouldn't want to restart my island at the moment as I still feel like I'm quite a way away from 'finishing' my island, I'm still in the process of decorating it fully to a point I'm happy with (I'm mostly there but do still have a couple of spaces that need work) and I currently only have 8 permanent villagers as I'm collecting villagers photos so am going through a list of villagers on the other two plots. Though when I do eventually get to a point where I'm fully happy with my island and feel like it could be finished I still doubt I'd restart it, some parts of the map aren't perfect but there good enough for me and I don't think I'd find a map I preferred enough to restart. Also as I'm still on my original island from a year ago now I've managed to pick up a lot of items and DIYs from playing for months and working through the seasons, as well as completing numerous sections of my museum and critterpedia which I wouldn't really want to go through again. For the most part I feel that if I wanted big changes to my island in the future then I'd still be able to achieve this through redoing it rather then restarting, which would allow me to keep the villagers I've spent many hours looking for and all the in-game items I've collected.

While I could probably never bring myself to restart my island as I don't think I'd be able to make an island I was happier with and I wouldn't want to lose everything I have still often thought that starting a new island with a different theme and another set of villagers I really liked would be quite fun, which if I really wanted I could just redo my island to achieve, so been able to have a second island would be great without having to buy a second switch so I could try something else out without losing what I already have.


----------



## Licorice (Mar 25, 2021)

In new leaf I restarted A LOT and I never did in any other animal crossing game. I’m not sure why but I could not be happy with my town and I always got bored quickly. In new horizons I have no desire to restart. I’m very happy with my island and with terraforming I can tweak anything that annoys me. I’m also attached to my villagers. Sure I could scan them in via amiibo but I’d feel so bad restarting. It wouldn’t be the same.
For me, when I restarted in new leaf it was a vicious cycle. I thought “well I restarted once so why not again?” And again and again. To the point where it ruined the game. That’s why I’m so happy that new horizons is different for me.


----------



## Nodokana (Mar 25, 2021)

I don't have the heart to restart my island and do it all over again--simply don't have the time or energy for that. I know this is the expensive option but I bought a second switch to have another island with a different theme. I used my first island to transfer some items over and order items that are not catalogued in that island. In addition, this new update has me working on my first island again updating areas thanks to the additional slots.


----------



## WaileaNoRei (Mar 25, 2021)

I think people who are playing the game primarily to create content for YouTube, or at least who spend a lot of time trying to develop content through their gameplay probably have pretty different priorities than the average player. They need to have continuous new content for their viewers.
 whereas if you are playing your own game on your own the ‘finishing’ of your island, slower pace, and gradual evolution (or not) of your island over time is probably not an issue, or at least not as much of an issue.


----------



## Roxxy (Mar 25, 2021)

I have spent way to many hours on my island and the thought of losing all the hard work, not to mention the catalogues, art and all my animals friends. I would also lose the memories of special times with friends when they visited 

I don’t think my island will ever be finished in a way some people would consider. It’s not amazing, it definitely isn’t perfectly terraformed or landscaped. I will always walk round and think it could be better. But then I walk around and see how it is coming along and taking shape. Sounds silly but it might not be a perfect insta island but it is home and it makes me happy


----------



## SpaceTokki77 (Mar 25, 2021)

there’s no way i’d ever reset my island...I get that some people become bored when they “finish” their islands but i believe that there’s always more you can do. plus, i’ve put in 500+ hours into my current save file, i’d be really disappointed if all that hard work and effort went to waste. i’m also really attached to my villagers and would be heartbroken if they went away...don’t ask, i’m a baby


----------



## thegunpowderincident (Mar 25, 2021)

I'm literally never going to restart my island, I'm just way too sentimental lol. I restarted my Wild World town once, probably like 10 years ago, and I still regret it and miss the original town. So I think that pretty much turned me off restarting in Animal Crossing forever. I still have my original day 1 town from 2013 in New Leaf. The one game that I *might* restart would be City Folk, but that's only because I got that game very late (after NL had already been out for a while) and barely played it, so there's not much of a sentimental attachment to that town.


----------



## oranje (Mar 25, 2021)

Honestly, even if my island isn't perfect, I still wouldn't want to restart. I've made a lot of progress with my island and I'm generally happy with it, even if I'm starting to run out of things to do. It's a space that I've created for myself and put a lot of hours in to make it, so intentionally restarting would be awful to me.


----------



## Halloqueen (Mar 25, 2021)

My island isn't finished, because after a year of playing, I've gotten the urge to move stuff around and sort of revamp things. I don't know that it will ever really be finished either, since I'm always working to fill the catalog as much as I can thanks to shops here on the forums. 

I have no intention whatsoever of ever restarting. I've accomplished too much over the past year. If anything happened to the save and it wasn't recoverable, I'd simply stop playing the game permanently.


----------



## Snek (Mar 25, 2021)

Yes, restarting would be the death of me. I have put in so many hours to better my island. To restart would be so wasteful of everything that I accomplished: all the photos I obtained, all the animals I befriended, all the decorating that I made, all the items I managed to catalogue, all the DIYs that I manage to learn. All of that would be for nothing. I hate wasting time and restarting now would be the ultimate waste. The ship has long been sailed. If I was starting a week ago, maybe, but never now.


----------



## Nefarious (Mar 25, 2021)

I don't think I'd ever be truly "finished" with my island. Besides that, I put too much time and effort in my save file to just delete it whenever I get bored. Animal Crossing is not really the kind of game where you would speedrun and then restart, it was a huge pain completing the catalog and DIY list first time through as it is. The only time I can see myself resetting is in 7 years, after I've stopped playing regularly, just like I did with New Leaf and all the previous games.


----------



## Agaphea23 (Mar 25, 2021)

I actually considered restarting because I missed how it was when you began on a fresh untouched island and I wanted a more open terrain that made me feel like that again. Instead I just moved all the islanders to the side and emptied it out, save for a few places and now I am completely satisfied that I would not desire to start anew even if I completely finished with the game.


----------



## stitchmaker (Mar 25, 2021)

Twitch streamers and youtube reset, level their island or buy a 2nd Switch for content.  
Viewers will tune in to watch a Twitch streamers reset their island.  Some have taken a week to find the right island and than 2 weeks later they reset again.  Villager hunting for one villager brings in viewers.

I would never reset my island.  For those that want to reset I wish they would add sell your island and keep your DIY/Catalog and everything in your house.  When it was added in ACNL a lot of players sold their towns.


----------



## Kattea (Mar 25, 2021)

I would never re-set my island, it feels too much like home. I didn’t know that re-setting to get a desired fruit/airport colour/pier was a thing, so I just stuck with the cards I was dealt at the beginning. I also doubt I would ever finish as I’m constantly changing my mind, tearing down and re-building sections. I much prefer to watch my island morph and change than to start over completely.


----------



## FreliaCrossing (Mar 25, 2021)

i think i would be tempted to restart if it weren't for recipes! like i spent a whole YEAR getting all the ones i did-- i can see the appeal of starting fresh, but at the same time it would be so frustrating to want to build something and not be able to because you didn't have the recipe that you used to have


----------



## Perfektion (Mar 25, 2021)

I would never restart when I finished my island or another towns for that matter. The times I restart is when I am just not connecting to it at all. For me a good map is pretty important. I am not picky or something like that at all. But when you play and it is never like "Oh I love this spot so much". Yeah don't see any point in that.
But this did not happen to me in New Horizions and it probably never will because I like almost all the features which are not changeable. So when I am bored of my island I would probably just alter it. It happened to me in New Leaf and City Folk and in the end it was better idea to just start over those two games.


----------



## BalloonFight (Mar 25, 2021)

I definitely wouldn't fully restart my island. I have waaaay too many materials, NMTs, framed photos, etc hoarded, as well as a 95% catalog. What I have been doing though, is slowly flattening my island while deciding on a theme to go for. Previously I didn't really have a theme, and just had some Pokemon designs, terraforming etc around, but now I've gotten the urge to go for either a forest core, or city core type of design. Flattening by farrr is the quicker way to accomplish that than just full restarting.


----------



## WolfyWolf (Mar 25, 2021)

this boggles my mind. “Worst” I ever did was revamp my entire island, but all I did was move houses to the beach, work an area at a time and voila brand new island. It feels really unnecessary to restart this iteration of AC unless you want different river ends or airport color. Everything else is pretty much changeable at all times I would have to say.


----------



## ForgottenT (Mar 25, 2021)

I've never reset an AC game,  and never will.
If they come out with a switch pro I might get a second copy.


----------



## satine (Mar 25, 2021)

This sorta thing caused me a lot of turmoil for a really long time. I finished my island around Christmas time. I had collected all the DIY I would ever utilize, I had completely decked out my island and my house, and I had gotten very bored. I wasn't sure what else to do and I was very deterred to the idea of clearing all of my terraforming work and starting from scratch, because it'd feel wrong to undo my progress. I wanted to start over because I enjoyed the journey more than just staring at the end game every day. But I felt really guilty, because I had all of my favorite critters with me on that island, and I am a very sentimental person at heart. 

But I payed $300 for this console solely for this game, and another $60 for the game itself. I had stood outside in the cold rainy wet for two hours the day of its release to get my pre-ordered copy from GameStop. I am not in the financial spot to buy a new switch just for a second island right now due to other large expenses that are more important. I ached to play again but I felt guilty because I was at a loss. So I did start over. Even though I had Bob on my island, I knew I'd get him again. In the end they're just pixels on a screen, and while it's easy to grow sentimental about it (something I definitely do), I don't regret my decision. I found Bob again, and all my other villagers too, and I'm having fun having something to do on my island once again finally. I made the mistake of rushing to the finish line the first time and that wasn't the best way to go. I'm going to take my time on this one. And I do miss my first island sometimes. But I'm having a lot of fun again. I know this is opposite to how most people answering this might answer this question but I thought I'd pop in and give my answer anyway since I had struggled with what to do about that for the longest time myself!


----------



## ~Kilza~ (Mar 25, 2021)

There's zero chance I'll ever restart my island. I've put in way too many hours into it and too much work getting almost all the DIYs, completing the museum, getting most of the achievements, obtaining an almost complete catalogue and amassing a good chunk amount of bells and Nook Miles to ever throw it away. I'd lose all motivation to play New Horizons if I lost my island and was forced to start from square one again.


----------



## Sheydra (Mar 25, 2021)

No way took me forever getting where I am, never restarting.


----------



## Wiimfiuser (Mar 25, 2021)

No resets. Also I dont believe you can have a truly finished island. New items come out and some existing ones that you really want. Its gonna keep expanding and you're gonna want more of them.


----------



## amylsp (Mar 25, 2021)

With City Folk, I restarted twice. It was a 'hard restart' because I wasn't able to save anything from town to town (although I had a friend bring hybrids to my third town). Without restarting, I would never have been able to play CF as long as I did (3+years) without getting really bored. WW and NL, that wasn't an issue as we could have multiple cartridges on the same console.  So far in NH, I don't feel any desire to restart. For me, it's because the terraforming gives us so much control over the layout of the island. Maybe someday I will flatten my island and create a whole new layout. But at least I would not lose any of my items or progress. That's a real benefit of NH over CF. I don't think I would ever consider getting rid of my island completely. It took me awhile to get all the permanent layout options that I really wanted. I wouldn't want to go through that again!


----------



## VelveteenCat (Mar 25, 2021)

I guess that Youtubers might restart to keep their content interesting - there's only so long until viewers may get bored with following a very developed island. 

Personally, I would not restart. I hadn't played the game in months until a couple of days ago and am now very into it again, tearing down my whole island in order to reorganize it. It is great, but only because I have most of the decor and flowers I need readily available. Restarting entirely  would suck all the fun out of it. I enjoyed the early game a year ago, but that's because everything was new and I didn't know what to expect. Now I'm aware of most villagers and items and I don't see how I could possibly enjoy living on a barren island, having to wait days after days just to unlock more content. There is just no way that the early game could be interesting to me a second time araound.
Also the villagers wouldn't be the same. Even with the same line-up they'd just be another version of my darlings instead of the ones I got so attached to over the months.


----------



## maria110 (Mar 25, 2021)

I'm the opposite.  I can't imagine not restarting.  I'm on my 9th island.  But I think it's cool that people keep their islands.  Maybe I just have adult ADHD or something.


----------



## Manah (Mar 26, 2021)

I build things because I like to have finished things, not throw them away once they're done.

Generally I'm not someone who constantly needs to move on to something new. And I don't feel pressured so it's not really something I "refuse."


----------



## Imaginetheday (Mar 26, 2021)

Youtubers need to create content to keep viewers coming back, but most I see just flatten their island. I might do that if I ever "finish" my island, but usually I just redo a few areas. I would not want to restart my island. No way.


----------



## Fawg (Mar 26, 2021)

No way, not after all the work I went through going to islands to catalogue items.  It was easy and fun to do when the whole world seemed to be playing at once.  Players have dropped off a lot since the first couple months after launch.


----------



## lexy_ (Mar 26, 2021)

AndyP08 said:


> I would never, ever restart. I play with weeks of breaks in between sometimes, so I’m far from finished. It took me a looooong time to acquire all of the things I have, and I would not ever want to have to start over.



This ^^
when I think about all the effort I put into my game to complete the nook miles challenge, the museum, the ordeable catalog, the DIYs...I just cannot do it 
well I can use the same island to build/create an another theme but I am too lazy to destroy everything 
So I am waiting for a new gameplay and play some other games I have ^^

funny thing, my island's name is Serenity too lol


----------



## Blueskyy (Mar 26, 2021)

lexy_ said:


> This ^^
> when I think about all the effort I put into my game to complete the nook miles challenge, the museum, the ordeable catalog, the DIYs...I just cannot do it
> well I can use the same island to build an another theme but I am too lazy to destroy everything
> So I am waiting for a new gameplay and play some other games I have ^^
> ...


Haha great minds think alike! I remember sitting there and thinking of synonyms for peace and happiness and did a little eeny meeny miney mo


----------



## kirbbys (Mar 26, 2021)

Heading into my 3rd 'flattening' stage, but can't bear to restart it now. Way too much work put into it all.


----------



## DJStarstryker (Mar 26, 2021)

I have less issues with this for New Leaf because you can have multiple towns very easily. But because you can only have 1 ACNH island per Switch and I put so much time and effort into my island and collecting DIYs (the hours I've spent grinding out some of them... ugh)... No. I'm not going to reset. 

I honestly feel like there's less reason to reset in ACNH than other AC games. Because of terraforming, you can make your island look completely different without resetting.


----------



## tiffanistarr (Mar 26, 2021)

I'll buy another switch and copy of the game if I want something new. There is no way I can let this island go. I put too much work into it and still love it.


----------



## Furrton (Mar 26, 2021)

It seems like a huge waste of time to me. Just clean it off and rebuild. I am a perfectionist/procrastinator so maybe this response has been programmed into my brain, but seriously... why.


----------



## Blueskyy (Mar 26, 2021)

LeenaM said:


> Maybe it's nostalgia for the early stages of the game? Sometimes I see AC youtubers play the first few days on their new island and I miss the music, the wind and the simple look of a barren island. Also, their experience restarting is probably different from most people, some have a second switch with another island, or they have a community of viewers to helps them get items/villagers/nmt/diys. This way they can skip through the slow beginning and just focus on building the island.
> 
> But I understand not wanting to give up everything. Every time I restarted it was because I felt like my island was going nowhere and I wasn't attached to my villagers, so I thought "I might as well restart". It felt like there was not much to erase/give up. But because of that I never managed to "finish" an island, or even fill it up halfway. If I ever finish an island I'll probably choose to flatten instead of restarting.


Now that you mention it, the wind in the early stage of the game was so peaceful to me compared to now. There was an element of freedom when my island was so barren and it was just me, Teddy, Reneigh, and the Nooks. I think it was also so special because I was scared to go out to do anything at that time with the shutdowns. I will not restart, but maybe I need to go watch a video of those moments on someone’s island on YouTube.


----------



## moo_nieu (Mar 26, 2021)

i wont ever restart my island c: im already at a point where i wont be making any major changes, but i always regretted restarting my first new leaf save. plus im satisfied with every aspect of my base map, so i probably wouldnt be as lucky again.


----------



## VanitasFan26 (Mar 26, 2021)

AndyP08 said:


> Now that you mention it, the wind in the early stage of the game was so peaceful to me compared to now. There was an element of freedom when my island was so barren and it was just me, Teddy, Reneigh, and the Nooks. I think it was also so special because I was scared to go out to do anything at that time with the shutdowns. I will not restart, but maybe I need to go watch a video of those moments on someone’s island on YouTube.


I think the enjoyment kinda dies down when you finally get to 3 stars and unlock the terraforming. Whats interesting to me is that some people who played the game the first time never touched it again because in their mind they were thinking that they saw the credits when KK slider showed up and that was it. 

Part of me still feels like there was suppose to be more to do after you unlock terraforming, but Tom Nook at this point becomes pointless. Sure you can talk to him to pay off your loans and build bridges and inclines, but his "What should I do?" feature is no longer used because I had the feeling there was suppose to me more that Tom Nook says to you. 

I went back an replayed May Day and Tom Nook said something along the lines of "I can't help but think about all of the support I've gotten from our wonderful island residents." That line is so dated because since we are in March 2021 the villagers have done really nothing to support the island when its only us (the player) who did most of the work. 

Sorry to go off on a rant there, but the point is that Tom Nook was suppose to be more supportive and celebrate how well you made the island and how far you have come with the villagers. The point I'm trying to make is that Tom Nook in the beginning he was really peaceful to be around and he would be the person you would see whenever you start the game and he reads the announcements. However when Isabelle took over it just changed where she just talks nothing about her personal life. That enjoyment you had at the beginning is gone. I'm just saying how it feels now compared to how it used to be at the beginning.


----------



## dizzy bone (Mar 26, 2021)

I've always been tempted in the past to restart my New Leaf towns, but I've never been tempted to restart my New Horizons island. My base island on its own is fine to me so there's nothing that I can't change without a little terraforming. Also just thinking about grinding for all the DIYs again just... puts me off the whole idea of restarting in general. This is also the first AC game that I've started on the launch date so that is really special to me.


----------



## cocoacat (Mar 26, 2021)

If we could do a soft restart, maybe.... like moving to an all new map, but we keep our character(s), bells, diys, house inventory, and catalogue.

As things are... no way. At least not at this time. I doubt I'll ever be finished with my island. I'd maybe like a different peninsula and secret beach, but those things are minor. Being able to rename our island would be a way to restart and re-theme as well.


----------



## VanitasFan26 (Mar 27, 2021)

cocoacat said:


> If we could do a soft restart, maybe.... like moving to an all new map, but we keep our character(s), bells, diys, house inventory, and catalogue.
> 
> As things are... no way. At least not at this time. I doubt I'll ever be finished with my island. I'd maybe like a different peninsula and secret beach, but those things are minor. Being able to rename our island would be a way to restart and re-theme as well.


The truth is back on the original Animal Crossing on Gamecube there was a way to have 2 Towns but they were on both memory cards. Which explains why when this game was first released last year how a lot of people were very disappointed when they found out that you can only have one island per switch. After a year has passed I can see why people were mad. Back then I thought everyone was just overreacting, but now I can see why they would want to have a 2nd island on their own Switch. 

This is something that most Animal Crossing games besides the original did not do. Sure you can have another user created in the same town you made but it wasn't possible to make a 2nd town. Thats why they were putting all their hope into New Horizons for it to be able to let us create a 2nd island, but sadly it wasn't the case. I know we cannot depend on Nintendo to give us what we wanted, but still this is one of the reasons why this game got so much hate last year on Metacritic.


----------



## peachycrossing9 (Mar 27, 2021)

Me restarting? I could never. I have put in over 1,000 hours to my current island, Liliana which I have had since release date. It's my baby, and I have worked really hard on it since the game came out over a year ago.

I have really considered restarting though. A couple of months ago, I almost bit the bullet and did it. But I don't want to lose all my progress with the museum, all my diy's, all my catalog, all my bells and nook miles that I have saved up. I feel like I would be more upset than happy if I was to reset. Honestly the only reason I even wanted to restart was because I wanted a different native fruit. Which is a really minor and kind of stupid reason for it   (I have oranges, but I really want peaches as my native fruit xD).

I have flattened plenty of times however. That I don't mind doing because you're still keeping your actual island, just changing up the look of it.


----------



## Millysaurusrexjr (Mar 27, 2021)

The idea is tempting. My island is pretty basic/normal and it would be nice to do something weird. But I think I would miss my original island, and I don't think there's any guarantee that 'saving' it as a dream address would be a permanent thing - what's to stop Nintendo from removing tons of inactive DAs after a couple years? Pretty sure they did that in NL


----------



## Moonlight. (Mar 27, 2021)

i restarted several times and never again. the first few days are an extreme slog to get through even with time travel, and this isn't even including the lost villagers/diys/etc. just don't have the patience to ever restart again at this point, much easier to just flatten the island tbh.


----------



## michealsmells (Mar 27, 2021)

I could never restart my island. Even if it seems "finished", it won't be. I'll get tired of it's layout one day and completely redo it (like I'm doing now). My island has gone through like 5 iterations since I created it, all the same island with the same name and same villager, just the way I like it.

I know why people restart their islands but personally just get too attached to do it. To me there's no end goal. If I feel finished I'll stop playing the game for a while and come back when new inspiration hits, just like in New Leaf.


----------



## Airysuit (Mar 27, 2021)

I never restarted an ac town, and I'm not gonna do it now either. I love my island and there's always something to do or change.

Also I just finished of cataloging all clothes and furniture, and only need 15 more diys and my lord I don't ever wanna have to do that again


----------



## LambdaDelta (Mar 27, 2021)

restarting is too much work. if I finish everything I can and want to do, I'd rather just go play other games and/or do other things


----------



## Fruitcup (Mar 27, 2021)

Yes, I finished my island a while back and now I'm dedicated to completing my nook mile achievements. I kinda miss decorating and designing my island but I like it too much to change anything major, to make up for this I visit the wonderful dream islands out there.


----------



## 0ni (Mar 27, 2021)

I can't even fathom what a 'finished island' is, given that we can design and redesign ad infinitum. The only thing that tempts me to restart is to get different river mouth positions (I kind of wish I had two forward facing ones for example), or different airport colours. As it stand i'm good with what I got and the idea of having to fill my catalog again to the level it is rn makes me feel a bit ill lol


----------



## McRibbie (Mar 27, 2021)

Honestly, I've done enough resetting for towns in older AC games that I honestly just gave up after about 7 hours of resetting for airport colour and went with the first remotely good island I saw.

New Leaf took me a good couple of months til I got a town, which led me to just INTENSIVELY time travel and burn through a lot of the game in the space of a month (which is partially why I've also given up time travelling), and as for Wild World?

*horrible flashbacks of endlessly resetting, then having a town for a while and doing it AGAIN*

I've put a good amount of time into this game, and this island I've built up from the ground. It's never going to be complete, but it's always something I can just tweak. I'm not just gonna throw it away out of boredom, because resetting is INFINITELY more boring.


----------



## Feunard (Mar 27, 2021)

I feel in a very similar way.  I also view my island as a constant work in progress and I will never erase it to start over, especially with all the means we have to just make room for something else if we want a change. For these reasons, I have no idea when my island will be "finished", I guess it will never be as I make a change or two pretty much every time I discover a new item. My island is just a place for me to go and forget about everyday life, interacting with my villagers or just enjoying the atmosphere.


----------



## Serabee (Mar 27, 2021)

I may restart eventually, but I decided early on to never try and "finish" my island (unless you mean finish the catalog and collections). I find it keeps me way more motivated to play if I keep changing my island regularly- decorating for seasonal festivals and stuff. Also, I gave up on the idea of "permanent" villagers when I realized I get bored of them. So now I generally do seasonal villagers, letting them move on after a few months or so.

Normally I would have reset AT LEAST once (not counting the reset I did a few days in, when I realized I wanted a different island) by this point, but the fact that I can and have decided that I will keep changing my island has kept me from doing so. It's so nice to have so much more control over your town then previous games!


----------



## Skyfall (Mar 27, 2021)

I’ve never restarted. It’s actually never finished so I keep going incrementally.


----------



## Croconaw (May 17, 2021)

I restarted _so many times_ on City Folk, it wasn’t even funny. I haven’t restarted at all on New Horizons! It didn’t once cross my mind. I’m too attached to my island and how it is. I currently have all of my dream villagers and a few spots on my island I wouldn’t want to lose, like my ice hockey rink.


----------



## Variety.Gamer 4438 (May 17, 2021)

cosravet said:


> I’ve been really into watching ACNH Youtubers lately, and it seems as though it’s custom for everyone to erase their game data and completely restart a new island whenever they finish the previous one, saving previous iterations via the dream addresses. I’m nearly halfway done with my island, but I’ve no plans to simply erase and restart when I am...! Not only does it sound absolutely tedious, but does anyone else just get too attached to their villagers to just leave them like that..? Or to their entire island for that matter. I view my creating my island as me creating a nice space for me to actually play the game. I also view my island as a constant WIP. I’m more than ready to tear down a spot and make room for brewsters, maybe I’ll even flatten half my island and redo it all at some point... but starting from scratch all over again seems like too much, although now I worry I may grow bored if I don’t



There's really no end to AC, so I would say no especially with me and my sister sharing the same island. I bet I'd be the same for Minecraft even if I technically reached "The End", although Minecraft is a little different since I don't need to erase a previous world before going into a new one.

I admit it was hard for me to accept this of simulators in the past, but I think (and hope) I am a lot more lenient now and saving my need to truly 100% finish something for those games with more clear endings like Mario Platformers and RPGs.


----------



## The retro leafeon (May 17, 2021)

My opinion can be summed up with this song, never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down! never gonna run around and desert you!


----------



## Manah (May 19, 2021)

Is there an expectation that you have to "refuse" in the first place? I just don't do it.

Keep in mind Youtubers aren't the average player. They do it because they need new content.


----------



## BluebearL (May 19, 2021)

I really enjoy restarting AC games once enough time has lapsed or else I grow bored. However, in the past, I have overdone it to the point where I am not motivated to make my town look nice and ended up missing one of my previous ones. With ACNH I have decided to never reset and to simply enjoy eventually having a complete island and maybe change it up a bit every now and then. However tedious that may be...


----------



## Tania (May 19, 2021)

I restart my island instead of resetting, meaning I just clear out things ive made to make new ones and once I cleared out every thing on my island to start from scratch. I just love my villagers too much and i also cant be bothered to start again with finding all the catalog items, DIYs and bells!


----------



## mermaidshelf (May 19, 2021)

I only restarted for unchangeable aspects that I wasn't aware of when the game launched (beach rocks, peninsula, Resident Services location). I think the main thing was my RS was SUPER close to my airport and I really wanted an open space in front of it to act as an entrance-way. I think it would be easier to just flatten your island and rebuild rather than restarting completely. God, the cataloging alone took me over a year to complete...


----------



## Bilaz (May 19, 2021)

Nah designing is really hard, I’m looking forward to finishing my island and never touching a design tool again. I enjoy walking around and admiring my work, showing people, just fishing and stuff and chilling with my villagers. Once I finish building it’s gonna be like ‘never again’


----------



## rainadash (May 19, 2021)

I deleted my island twice and kind of regret it. I kind of miss my first island and I've gotten burnout over catching all the critters again and stuff. I kept wanting different geographic features but at this point I'm just sticking with what I have


----------



## Sophie23 (May 19, 2021)

I’m keeping my Island now even if it’s finished


----------



## Dunquixote (May 19, 2021)

Seeing how my playtime continues to decrease and how long it is taking me to decorate my island, I have zero plans to restart and also because I bought Raymond from someone (it wouldn’t feel right to me since they didn’t want to give him up but did when they saw my potential trade for him fall apart). If I ever get tired of how my island looks, I can always remove my decorations and do over the little terraforming I did.


----------



## Jaden (May 19, 2021)

I honestly don't know how you'd measure being finished with an island. There's always things to improve or change up. Plus, you've spent all the time and effort terraforming and decorating your island which seems like a waste to just delete everything. Same with villager relationships or dreamy hunting. I've often found myself visiting an old savegame on the DS or Gamecube just to get some nostalgia feels. So yeah, I refuse to delete a game if I'm invested in it.


----------



## OLoveLy (May 19, 2021)

i am too scared to restart my island... ;A;, i spent so much time on the landscaping, the Nook Mile Tickets to find my babies, waiting for the blue rose to pop up, all the items, all the diy recipes, the bells, etc...
i don't have the courage to restart even if i finished my island... (i change all the time my island's area with the terraforming) Cx


----------



## Jaco (May 19, 2021)

I'm never restarting. It's my island with it's own story and experiences.


----------



## Darth Savage (May 19, 2021)

“Finishing” an island! I redo my island and my house all the time. It will never be finished, because I always change stuff up! It doesn’t seem very fun to me personally to just create something and then keep it like that forever, so, like you, I view my island not as something I can possibly “finish,” but something that will always be a work in progress.


----------



## Fraggle (May 19, 2021)

Never restarting. I’ve put hours into my island and I love it. To me it is perfect and that’s all that matters.


----------



## VanitasFan26 (May 19, 2021)

I got a 2nd switch to make a 2nd island so I don't have to restart my main island to be honest it was pretty much worth it.


----------



## Mezzanine (May 19, 2021)

Deleted


----------



## meggiewes (May 20, 2021)

I've reset a total of three times for teeny tiny details that nobody cared about but me.

I don't regret it. I love that my villagers carry around pink drinks because my starting fruit was cherries. I like only having 8 villagers on my island for now. I love that I stuck to my goal to find all the new villagers. And I love my island name even more than my original one now.

It is annoying that I don't have many seasonal recipes, but I can easily trade for those when I want to.


----------



## TheWildShadow55 (May 20, 2021)

I've never felt the need to reset, I'm happy with how my island is and I really wouldn't want to lose what is 500+ hours of progress, I would probably die inside. Plus I wouldn't want to make the same mistake I did as a kid when I decided to delete my NL island because I was "done" with the game, I still hit myself over that : (


----------



## VanitasFan26 (May 20, 2021)

I am going to restart my main island and because I got my 2nd island, I can just transfer all of my items and villagers to that island while I restart. I can see why this can take a lot of time, but it will be worth it. I am not going to restart my 2nd island at all because I liked how it is, but the main reason why I didn't restart my island was because I had no way of saving my items, but with the 2nd island I don't have to worry as much anymore.


----------



## shiniki (May 20, 2021)

I actually had a scare today about having to restart after pretty much completing everything, but turns out I only lost a week's progress. I would never voluntarily restart, though.


----------



## Moritz (May 20, 2021)

shiniki said:


> I actually had a scare today about having to restart after pretty much completing everything, but turns out I only lost a week's progress. I would never voluntarily restart, though.


Oh no!
What happened?
That is a scary thought


----------



## Chynna (May 20, 2021)

I would never restart my main island and lose the countless hours of progress that I made. Recently, I bought a second switch and have started a second island in the southern hemisphere since I have all the villagers that I want to keep permanently on my main island, I'll have room for more villagers in case Nintendo decides to release the remaining amiibo villagers from Zelda, Splatoon, and monster hunter.


----------



## Rosch (May 20, 2021)

Even after the game has received its final support from Nintendo, and I stopped playing this game in the future. And for some reason I've decided to pick this up again, I will never restart this game.

I will continue on with what I had left. Because I've already spent way too much time on my island just collecting stuff and I don't want it all gone. Also, I'm just too lazy to start all over again.


----------



## Kg1595 (May 21, 2021)

I have not restarted, nor do I plan to.  In my mind, my island isn’t finished yet.  I have always been part of the camp that believes more standalone buildings are coming, and have planned out spots accordingly while designing my island.  If it never happens so be it, but I do have spots in mind for the Roost (most likely to return) and about 2-3 more villager spots, if the game designers decide to expand the number of villagers slightly.

I didn‘t do much terraforming and left my island fairly natural, and I still love it.  A lot of my friends who did terraform heavily ended up restarting.  I don’t know there’s a correlation or not, but I love my island and wouldn’t give it up for the world.


----------



## shiniki (May 21, 2021)

Moritz said:


> Oh no!
> What happened?
> That is a scary thought



I thought I was backing up my save but turns out I deleted it somehow!


----------



## Princess Mipha (May 23, 2021)

I am way too lazy to redo everything, especially getting items and bells back. 
If I'm done with my island and really want change, then I just redo my current island. 
I did that already 3 or 4 times


----------



## windwake-me-up-inside (May 23, 2021)

Princess Mipha said:


> I am way too lazy to redo everything, especially getting items and bells back.
> If I'm done with my island and really want change, then I just redo my current island.
> I did that already 3 or 4 times



Yeah, I love that about New Horizons; you don't have to restart to make everything new and fresh again, just terraform and redo the island's decor. :3


----------



## maria110 (May 23, 2021)

I didn't realize that you could save your dream addresses, more than one for a Nintendo Online Membership?  Wow.  I'm on my 10th or 11th island and I only have one dream address. I should try to see if it's still there even though the island has been reset.  And I could start uploading a dream for each island before I reset.

Even though I have reset a lot, one of the islands I currently have may be a keeper.  My character has a lot of DIYs and all the available reactions.  I have a secondary character for extra storage.  Moving all their stuff would take forever.

I have Colton, Reneigh, and Raymond, and have received their photos twice each and have good friendship levels with them.  I also have Audie and Megan, who are hard to get.  I have Audie's photo twice and am working on Megan's.

And most of all, I love the map on that island.  It's a nice basic map and I'm satisfied with the building and infrastructure placements.  I had it all with white flowers and an elegant theme for awhile.  Now it's colorful with a variety of flowers and paths and bridges and houses.  It's more woodland looking.  I can do just about any woodland, small town, country, cottage core type theme with it.  It's very versatile and therefore, I'll probably keep it.


----------



## niko@kamogawa (May 27, 2021)

Like majority of the players here, I don't see myself restarting the game. If something happens to my save file, I will just quit the game entirely.


----------



## kayleee (May 27, 2021)

I’ve been playing since day one and I feel way too attached to my island to restart. I would rather demolish my island and redo it than totally restart my island. I also have a second switch for a second island, and I have to say I haven’t been as inspired to play that one as much as my first island, even though it’s a blank slate. I’ve been having more fun going back and changing things on my first island than I have totally starting fresh.


----------



## corncob (May 27, 2021)

i could never even consider restarting any animal crossing game. even going back to an old game after a long time, the town that's there has such nostalgia and accomplisment that i wouldn't want to just erase it all.

i could certainly never restart my island - in part because i'm not the only person who plays on it; my partner has a character up there too. but even if i was the only person on it, i just love the villagers i have too much to lose them, and i am too proud of what i've been able to accomplish : )


----------



## nyx~ (May 27, 2021)

Restarting has come to my mind multiple times but I can never bring myself to do it. The thought of all the work I put into my island just disappearing makes the appeal of restarting go away for me. Same with New Leaf too I still have my town from 2013 lol.


----------



## hankstar (May 28, 2021)

Yeah, I can't ever bring myself to restart. In New Leaf I restarted, and I was never able to start back up and really get back into the game. I always really regretted it. My sisters have the same issue with New Horizons. They restarted a few times and they couldn't get back through to terraforming. I feel like my island is never fully complete. I always add in small details or change areas. I've decided that I would probably get a new Switch before restarting my island.


----------

