.

[peachsaucekitty]

I would like dialogue which varies depending on the villager's secondary traits a lot more often. Like a cranky/nature loving villager having a soft side alongside his old man wisdom, a cranky/fitness villager perhaps being more apt to start arguments or lose his temper, only to feel bad later and talk to you about it. A snooty/fitness villager being notably different from a snooty/fashion villager in dialogue choices. Villagers with the playful secondary trait to play mini games with you depending on their primary trait. Just a little something to make each villager a bit more spontaneous, that's all.

i totally agree dude that would be so awesome. i also miss how much they would ping you and all the conversations they'd have with eachother, it does give a feeling of community, since thats what the game has been pretty much centered on since the very first game
theres literally no point to the secondary personality traits... like a "playful" villager can run around anywhere they want which is kinda cool i guess? but that's it

 

[b100ming]

I think the perfect compromise would be to make them more like sable. You have to talk to them, so they know you care about their feelings. Nintendo, the game is a life sim, we need the people to be more realistic. Insta-friend packets don’t exist. But we don’t want it too real. People are brutal.

 

[Flicky]

I want the villagers to be mean when the time is right. For instance, if I hit my villager repeatedly with a net, I do expect them to insult me for being awful. Plus a mild bit of coldness when we first meet, then as we become friends, they warm up to you, and there's a lot more trust (like telling me their hobbies or stories from childhood).

The game now as it stands doesn't feel like it offers me enough reward for getting to best friends with the other villagers, dialogue-wise. I wasn't even aware that there were any changes for a long time, and I still don't see much of a difference between day one villagers and best friend villagers. They do feel a bit flat.

 

[. Rarity .]

Me personally, Id like these boys to do more, and talk to me less about sitting. Im not saying I want drama all the time, but the villagers being cranky, without angering them, that would be kinda cool.

(Crankies live up to your name)

If they insult me alright, your in a bad mood, I won't talk to you. I honestly wouldn't get upset about it, I worked at a movie theater, and delt with plenty of that. Starting drama would definitely be interesting.

The only gossip my guys do, is about my others reps (Which is funny) but a LITTLE gossip wouldnt hurt, or drama

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

Judging by the posts, here, this thread is yet another facet of the on-going discussion of how villagers should act towards the player. I don't mind villagers being rude or nice, but at some point, a line has to be drawn, somewhere. I understand many people enjoy the idea of being insulted for very little reason in the older games (Population: Growing!, especially) because "it's funny that these 'cutesy' animals snap at you at pure random", but that juxtaposes the laid-back, timid nature that made this franchise stand out to begin with, and I doubt many kids saw the humor in it back then. And really, it gets really old having the same insults lashed at you, over and over, again, just for existing.

I know others have pointed out that they want this type of harsh treatment back because it facilitates character, but that logic only makes sense if we're talking about villagers who are supposed to act like what their personality types imply. Even then, I think there should be a limit to how mean they should be. These are characters you could possibly spend months, or even years, living with, so I don't think the developers (or localization team) should go back to the GameCube days where they could insult the player upon greeting them for the first time. Rudeness shouldn't be the one and only defining trait characters should have, and it doesn't automatically solve the one-dimensional characterization of villagers.

A lot of the "rudeness" in the GC game stemmed from Cranky and Snooty Villagers, where said rudeness made sense for those characters, but it extended to Jocks and Peppies, and Peppies were almost as bad as Snooties, sometimes. It's jarring, because people constantly complain that villagers aren't being true to what their personality entails in the newer titles, but I hardly see any mention that Peppies often acted less than friendly in that game: "Hey, let me just take what's in your pockets, because you decided to talk to me!" "Here, I'll sell you an item you won't know about until AFTER you pony up 50,000 bells, sucker!" "If you don't agree with me that rain sucks, I hope you get sick!" Jocks end up being better at being the thing that Peppies are named after; even then, Jocks come off as rude, likely because they're dense, but not out of venomous spite, like the other personalities. We already know how vicious Crankies and Snooties could be, so it bears no repetition, but I'm baffled how someone here actually thinks they were nice in the first game when there's so many screenshots to the contrary.

Again, I'm not saying villagers should be nice 100% of the time, and I don't think anyone genuinely believes that they should, but if we're going to bring back rude villagers into this series, let's take a look at Wild World, because villagers are handled much better in that game. They could be rude, but it was rarely as over-the-top and obnoxious as it was before, and frankly, it was much funnier that way. When they treat you poorly, well... it was probably your fault, and not because the game rolled a dice and decided to have a villager insult you for no reason other than, "hey, it's their personality, so let's make every encounter with them have a line where they berate you".

One thing this series desperately needs is dynamic dialogue — dialogue which changes depending on how often you bond with your neighbors rather than this black-and-white dichotomy where everyone either steals from you, scams you, and do paint-jobs on your roof without your permission, or this "saccharine sweetness" in New Leaf and beyond.

The peppies and lazies were the kindest in the game, and the normals had a more even temperament.

You sure you didn't get Peppies confused with Normals? Because the examples I laid out in quotes were something Peppies did to me at one point. Piper stole something from my pockets, while Winnie (one of my initial villagers) tried to do the same thing. Puddles snapped at me because I didn't agree with her opinion on the weather. None of my Normals did those things.

 

[-Blue-]

Villagers don't need to be rude like they were in PG, but I think they definitely need a middle-ground. The villagers in NH/NL were very lacking. They were friends straight from the get-go. Having them warm up to you over time and be less of a stranger-neighbor to your best-friend would feel really rewarding.

Their personalities basically boil down. 'I'm so old, I cracked my back picking up something I dropped' or 'I eat food in my bathtub' They could had done better, but super rude isn't the way to go.

Being rude to them yourself is also tamed. They don't even fight back and you can say you're sorry over and over and they will change their mind. I booted up PG a while back and their rudeness was kind of weird. Like right when Nook tells you to meet your villagers I introduced myself to some female bird and she already clapped back with uncalled for dialogue. Now I don't know about you, but if I moved somewhere IRL and got that kind of welcome I'd want nothing to do with them and they'd be lucky to have all their teeth still intact if they did that to someone.

 

[Vintage Viola]

You sure you didn't get Peppies confused with Normals? Because the examples I laid out in quotes were something Peppies did to me at one point. Piper stole something from my pockets, while Winnie (one of my initial villager) tried to do the same thing. Puddles snapped at me because I didn't agree with her opinion on the weather. None of my Normals did those things.

Probably so, I haven’t played that game in over a decade. I just know peppies, lazies, and normals (and jocks to an extent) weren’t as mean as snooties, crankies. At least, not to me.

 

[rubyrubert]

I don't really dislike mean villagers personally. At least as a kid playing WW I would try to hit my villagers with a net (and axe) if they said something mean because I thought it was funny lmao. But I can understand why people don't like that. It reminds me of the Stardew Valley characters straight up saying your gift is trash

Part of me still wants villagers in ACNH to call you ugly or fat (because it's funny), but only if you give them trash or hit them with a net or something

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

It reminds me of the Stardew Valley characters straight up saying your gift is trash

I haven't played Stardew Valley, but it seems villagers are a bit more multi-faceted and developed than the ones in the AC games. It probably has to do with the its paltry 40+ NPCs to the more than 400+ villagers in all AC games combined.

Also, is it worth trying to bond with the ruder NPCs in SV? Do they acknowledge how badly they treat you, and change their attitudes accordingly?

 

[rubyrubert]

I haven't played Stardew Valley, but it seems villagers are bit more multi-faceted and developed than the ones in the AC games. It probably has to do with the its paltry 40+ NPCs to the more than 400+ villagers in all AC games combined.

Also, it is worth trying to bond with the ruder NPCs in SV? Do they acknowledge how badly they treat you, and change their attitude accordingly?

SDV villagers all have their own dialogue, liked and disliked gifts, character events, and unique recipes/items they can give you. It's very different than AC, but it gives similar vibes. You can also romance villagers in SDV and have kids lol.

You have to bond with the ruder NPCs to 100% the game. It's worth it imo since I don't hate any of them and none of them are downright evil. And yes, they get nicer. But some people still don't like certain ones. Definitely check out SDV tho~!

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

SDV villagers all have their own dialogue, liked and disliked gifts, character events, and unique recipes/items they can give you. It's very different than AC, but it gives similar vibes. You can also romance villagers in SDV and have kids lol.

I knew about the romance beforehand, but it's nice to know that each character has their own personality, rather than them being confined to a set of templates.

You have to bond with the ruder NPCs to 100% the game. It's worth it imo since I don't hate any of them and none of them are downright evil. And yes, they get nicer. But some people still don't like certain ones. Definitely check out SDV tho~!

Really, that's all I can ask for. I'd also like the option to make verbal comebacks at NPCs giving my character a hard time, and it seems there's some dialogue options that allows the player to do so.

 

[Michelangelo]

The villagers sure acted like wild animals back then haha.
One thing I noticed in the CGN game: the animals' initial greeting to you changed throughout the day.

Speaking to a normal animal in the morning versus speaking to her for the first time at night yields a different greeting.
So if I speak to Mitzi in the morning, she's happy I came to see her so bright and early. However, if I don't speak with her at all until around her bedtime, she'll scold me for not visiting her earlier on.

On the contrary...
If I speak to a cranky villager in the morning when he wakes up, he's going to be all grouchy to me...just for saying hi! However, the cranks chill out a bit more later at night, when they are more awake.

On a scale of rudeness in the GCN era (6 being the absolute worst):
6: Cranky: They have no problem insulting you and life itself.
5: Snooty: Catty, rude, thinks they are better than you and everyone else.
4: Peppy: The peppy villagers were so hot and cold with you. It was weird haha.
3: Jock: Mostly cool with you, but could sometimes be hotheads.
2: Lazy: Pretty chill, sometimes emotional.
1: Normal: Kind, gentle, and happy to see you.

In NH, no matter what time of the day you speak with your neighbors, they don't mind how early or late it is.

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

One thing I noticed in the CGN game: the animals' initial greeting to you changed throughout the day.

Speaking to a normal animal in the morning versus speaking to her for the first time at night yields a different greeting.
So if I speak to Mitzi in the morning, she's happy I came to see her so bright and early. However, if I don't speak with her at all until around her bedtime, she'll scold me for not visiting her earlier on.

On the contrary...
If I speak to a cranky villager in the morning when he wakes up, he's going to be all grouchy to me...just for saying hi! However, the cranks chill out a bit more later at night, when they are more awake.

I'm glad someone pointed this out, as this seems to have been phased out since at least City Folk. Wild World still had this, but I guess it wasn't as in your face with it.

Normal villagers also sometimes lamented the fact that they didn't get to spend much time with you during the day, as well. They'll say something along the lines of, "...I wish you dropped by earlier so we can spend some together...", or something to that effect. I didn't mind being reprimanded by Mitzi because Normal villagers scolded you as a concerned mother would if they didn't see their child all day. It was cute, because Normal villagers were characterized to be that way in the first place; these animals clearly care about you, and actively wanna spend time with you, and it's just so sweet and innocent. Doubles with Carrie — a Normal kangaroo.

As for Crankies, it's important to know that villager dialogue is randomized, so how they greet you, regardless of the time of day (or personality), is mostly based on RNG. I don't recall Chow being bothered by me talking to him when he was awake in the morning (unless it was raining, sometimes), but Lobo sure gave me a lashing once when I spoke to him after dark.

On a scale of rudeness in the GCN era (6 being the absolute worst):
6: Cranky: They have no problem insulting you and life itself.
5: Snooty: Catty, rude, thinks they are better than you and everyone else.
4: Peppy: The peppy villagers were so hot and cold with you. It was weird haha.
3: Jock: Mostly cool with you, but could sometimes be hotheads.
2: Lazy: Pretty chill, sometimes emotional.
1: Normal: Kind, gentle, and happy to see you.

I think Snooties should be the highest, with Peppies just below. Cranky villagers at least have an excuse to be grouchy. They sleep at around 5AM, and wake up at 10.

Snooties don't have that excuse; I can't stand Snooties in PG! because almost every bit of their dialogue is them acting way more conceited than they should be; they live in the same "hick" town as the rest of the other villagers, and they're ironically some of the ugliest animals in the game, so the higher-than-thou attitude is more tiring and grating than it is humorous. I think the ones in CF (which is rare praise for me because the other personalities were better in WW) are the best incarnations. They still retained this attitude without being so incredibly vain and rude about it 99% of the time, so they don't feel as one-dimensional.

I find Peppies annoying in most games, but they're easily the most unpleasant in PG!. I'm guessing the localization team considered how they acted in the Japanese version to be "tsundere" and try to emulate it, but this archetype just doesn't translate well to Western sensibilities. And I hate it, because of how fake and exaggerated it is. That's what I think about GCN Peppy villagers — they're superficial and ridiculous.

I agree with the last three, though.