.

[tsukune_713]

i personally would like it, but maybe change the way they insult people so its not real insults. But leaving everyone all nice nice all the time makes them all seem so 1 dimensional

 

[VanitasFan26]

i personally would like it, but maybe change the way they insult people so its not real insults. But leaving everyone all nice nice all the time makes them all seem so 1 dimensional

The 2000s and early 2010s were a time when everyone was okay with people being mean to each other and at the time they found it funny with edgy humor so that will explain at the time why some like the meaner villagers, but since the times have changed these days It would not make sense to bring back the meaner villagers given that life in general has gotten harder these days and the last thing anyone needs is for others to be insulted by the meaner villagers. If you go back to some of the things they used to say on the original they will not be acceptable by todays standards.

 

[Sanaki]

I wouldn't want them to be mean, but I do believe that some personalities should have a bit of "spice", but nothing like it was back then. I agree with what Roxas said above me, it was a time where that stuff was.. more widely accepted.. but I do feel that they all feel similar in some regard.

 

[Junalt]

I started with Wild World so I have no nostalgia for the GC game and it’s rude villagers. Everytime I see screenshots of the mean dialog it just seems juvenile, like something your 9 year old cousin would say. It might be funny once or twice but if it’s just meaningless rudeness I’d really rather not. I don’t mind cranky or grumpy or a bit of edge like Wild World. I also actually don’t think people would take kindly in 2021 to being called fat/ugly tbh. That will surely trigger a lot of people.

 

[fairysyndrome]

as someone who grew up with villagers being incredibly mean since i started with ACGC, i'd say i'm on the side of not wanting that to return. it's funny looking back at their dialogue (and i definitely get plenty of chuckles looking at some of it now as an adult), but it doesn't suit the kind, peaceful tone of the series and i can personally vouch for it hurting my feelings when i was a child.

that said, i wouldn't mind if the villagers were.... less nice. like how some people have said -- wanting them to actually be more indifferent to you & need to warm up depending on the personality, maybe? like for example.... much as i think the old man thing crankies have adopted is funny, i'd like them to be, you know, a little bit cranky? like if they're going to make them grandpas, go the full mile and make them a little more cantankerous at first. not enough to actually hurt players' feelings, but enough so that it fits the vibe while still making befriending them actually feel satisfying.

 

[Sansy]

I played the original AC Gamecube game and I really hated the mean dialogue the villagers had back then. It's one of the reasons I stopped playing once I upgraded my house and put cool furniture inside. I rarely interacted with the villagers back then.

Also, I remember reading not that long ago that in the original AC Gamecube, if you actually read the original dialogue in Japanese, the villagers weren't THAT mean. It was all the localization team really hamming up the script because they didn't think the game would really do very well overseas. And once they saw how well it DID do, they got a lot more restrictions placed on how they were supposed to localize the game. To be honest, I wouldn't be shocked if this was true but I also can't confirm it since I can't read Japanese myself. Would be cool if someone could dispel this myth for me.

 

[ForbiddenSecrets]

I would love for Cranky and Snooty to be meaner up front (not PG levels because I honestly don’t find that kind of meanness funny) because I would like to feel like I earned their friendship. Even with Smugs and Uchis I would like that but nothing as silly sounding and aggressive as the first game.

 

[Crowsie]

While I certainly think the spicier dialog is fun (and nostalgic, even the extremely sensitive 11-year-old me thought it was hilarious) I'm not super duper into the idea of it coming back. Not to the same degree as it was in the Gamecube era. More children play this game than ever, and if Resetti was too much for young children, Peanut wishing for their house to burn down or Static calling them ugly and fat wouldn't go over so well. At least, I don't think so. What would've gotten me to laugh as a kid would make me wanna reach into the screen and strangle them now. Or at least wap them several times with a net.

The older I get, the more inconsistent the rudeness feels. In GC, nice and lazy villagers would go from complimenting you to telling you to shrivel up and die at the drop of a hat. I know they're little RNG machines, but good lord! These animals need mood stabilizers.

I've noticed that a lot (but not all) people I've seen wanting/asking for the mean dialog back are Gen Z's who maybe started with later games and felt like they were missing out since the newer game's dialog is so bland now. They're into that rude-for-no-earthly-reason humor anyway. Sometimes I worry about folks that really, really want the mean villagers to return. Like, is this some sort of exposure therapy? Some other weird preoccupation with being talked down to? I know it's just a game but ya'll are way too eager to be insulted.

 

[Fey]

A bit more bite would be fine—even fun—but nowhere near how it was in the original game.

It’s just not appropriate for a game played by such a variety of people (ages, experiences etc.). Thinking of a kid or just more sensitive person being subjected to some of those lines is heartbreaking.

There’s ways to make the villagers more interesting that don’t involve upsetting people.

 

[StarlitGlitch]

It's not that I want the villagers to be indiscriminately mean to me, but I don't want them to be indiscriminately nice to me either which is how they are now. I want to see them be upset if I or someone else does something rude to them because it makes them feel more realistic. Or even just more progression from first meeting me to becoming friends. (although I would like some of the old level of insults to come back because I do think it's fun sometimes)

 

[Ace Marvel]

I think clashes are important and nobody is perfect, so having traits that are consider flaws is something I enjoy, I don't necessarily think the writing in the game is mean spirited, but it's the way personalities are portrayed, and I understand it's really hard to condense the whole emotions and personality spectrum in just 8, so sometimes things may seem mean, but is part of it. So I'm okay with it.

A good example is Sabel, at first is cold, but she ends up opening up. I do enjoy it. This might also be because I'm an older player and have lived more experiences with different types of people to understand that not everything is mean, even if it feels like that atm. Also I might be looking to deep into this. lol

Flaws makes the personalities more deep. imo

 

[mirukushake]

I have no desire for the mean-for-no-reason early 2000s "edgy" humor to come back. I play this game with my 5 year old to get her learning to read, and I don't need her asking what "fat" and "ugly" means while she's playing a fun little game with cute animals.

Sure, for personalities like snooty or cranky, make them a little rude or indifferent in the beginning and have them open up a little bit more as your friendship increases. But I don't want the roast-style dialogue back.

 

[Bilaz]

I honestly feel like wild world was the perfect balance when it comes to this. It took a while for your villagers to warm up to you, and there was certainly mean dialogue in the game. But it came from, being mean yourself? The dialogue options you chose had a massive impact on how they treated you and you could befriend everyone by being polite.

 

[Surei]

While they could be snarky at times, I've never thought that the animals in past games were mean. They were only really mean when angry and they give many warnings before it got to that point. Otherwise, they were friendly with a few quips here and there. Some of the player response options were snarky as well.

The problem with the dialogue in more recent games is the lack of character and variety. It's a lot harder to differentiate between personalities now than it was before. The animals just seem so muted and robotic. The dialogue itself is not interesting to read, either.

 

[Bloodflowers]

I don’t need to open my game and get called fat and ugly but I also want to feel like I earned their friendship. It should be a gradual process. I like the sweetness of normals but the crankies, snooties and big sisters should have some bite in my opinion.

 

[Lethalia]

A while ago, I was really really adamant about villagers retaining their aggression and vitriol from previous games, and I complained about it often on this forum a couple years back. But now that I think about it, I understand why they'd remove that type of dialogue from the game. I can't imagine being in a really bad place mentally, coming home to play what I thought was a relaxing, friendly game, and then being called a waste of space or a filthy ogre and being told that I should be shipped away in a cage.

So if the goal was to make the game more relaxing and accessible and therapeutic to everyone, I understand their choice.
I do feel that they ended up removing too much of the characters' personalities in the process, and I think a middle-ground could have been better established.

Crankies don't have to verbally assault you anymore, but I wish they'd gripe and moan about life a bit more than they do, otherwise they wouldn't be a cranky. I think what makes AC cool is that characters have different personalities, but when they removed so much of the charm that came with certain personalities, everyone just comes off like different shades of "Normal" and that's not fun, either.

 

[Ya h i k o]

I would like more villager dialogues of course, but them being mean? I'm not sure. I played old games (New Leaf and Wild World) and I don't really remember a villager being mean to me (the only one I remember is Resetti) but I know cranky villagers were more... how to say that. I think everyone understands. I would like to see some of them a bit less kind, but not aggressive at all, not insulting. Everything in elegance if I can put it that way. Crankies are now a bit too nice in my opinion.

 

[Hedgehugs]

Not really?

I actually played the GC version this year with a few friends through Dolphin/Parsec and it was really fun. Honestly anytime the villagers were mean to us we would not take it seriously at all. The screenshot below became a short term meme in another group i'm in;

And this was me just walking up to him and talking to him for the first time that day.

Like, it's mean, but it's trying so hard that I can't take it seriously at all and geninuely laugh.

Personally I wouldn't really want them to be this mean if it can be helped (i'm just trying to chill and build) but If I'm gonna be honest I'd prefer this over how bland and repetitive they can get in NH. At least they're rudely entertaining.

 

[littlewing]

Sometimes I worry about folks that really, really want the mean villagers to return. Like, is this some sort of exposure therapy? Some other weird preoccupation with being talked down to? I know it's just a game but ya'll are way too eager to be insulted.

i think what it comes down to at the end of the day is that people just have different ideas of what's funny, and in most cases it's not much deeper than that. i can only speak for myself, but no, i don't have a "preoccupation with being talked down to". like, i don't like being insulted in general, but i do undeniably find it amusing when it's coming from cutesy little antropomorphic animals. it's so over-the-top and bizarre in that specific context that i can't help but to laugh.

i think nostalgia plays a big role for a decent amount of people, too. i've seen plenty of older players that started with ACPG clamor for the rudeness to come back, which is probably because they (and admittedly i) look back on the game with rose-tinted glasses.

that said, i get why many people don't vibe with it, and i agree with the general sentiment of this thread. the rudeness of ACPG would feel out of place in ACNH, and it's probably for the best that they left that style of humor in the past.

 

[nightglow]

I haven't played the gamecube version.
I was under the impression that the old screen shots were after you provoked the villager to anger?
I wouldn't want the "meanness?" to go that far, but if you start beating your villager with a net, or bug them to death, having them verbally express thoughts and feelings beyond "I don't want to talk to you" or " why" or "ow please stop" would make sense. I think that is what people who want the meaner commentary may be referring too. I could be totally wrong though. my quotes are summaries, actual quotes of commentary can be found here
Either way I doubt Nintendo would change the commentary they have now, two wrongs don't make a right and the commentary we have does it's job in a safe way. I think they are aiming for the player to feel bad for being mean to villagers when villagers express their sadness or their confusion with calmly telling the player to stop rather than the player thinking the villager's anger is funny. And if villagers in the old games were mean without being provoked, the goal Nintendo may have been aiming for was to be comical rather than hurt the players feelings even if the goal wasn't achieved. I mean, "If you can pay off about 1,000 bells a week, that'll work for me. Otherwise, I'll send for the raccoon goons!" from Tom Nook seems comical to me and something that could be implemented in today's games without causing harm. While " You're so passive-aggressive. Get some therapy." from a villager just isn't appropriate or comical today at all.

Animal crossing I feel like is also viewed differently today than it was in the past. Especially for many people after the pandemic. It is more of an escape place, or a place of normalcy in a time period of someone's life where things feel chaotic or messy or just plain hard. And if someone is going through an abusive or bullying time, or a mental health crisis, villagers being abrasive or mean for no reason at all isn't good.
I think the commentary of "meanness?" we already have in ACNH in is ok, but it couldn't hurt to have some villagers to be a little more abrasive or cold feeling under certain circumstances such as when you push them around. If someone says they want the meanness from older games to come back, I would ask them if they have played them (I haven't) , to give examples, and what exactly they are referring too. For how old the gamecube version is, It wouldn't surprise me if there was some inappropriate things done, but I doubt it was all bad or all bad ideas.