Animal crossing or new leaf?

[EmeraldJourney]

Hi forum, how are we all? Well, I sincerely hope! So, which one is your favourite? and why? also, do you recommend one over the other or both of them? Do you only play one version and are thinking of picking it up? Do tell!

 

[Moritz]

Do you mean new horizons or new leaf?
If so new horizons a million times over.

The longest I've been able to play new leaf for is 3 months. It loses steam after you paid off your house.

New horizons has kept me playing for a year.

Hard to pinpoint why that is, but clearly if one has me playing for a vastly larger amount of time, it's the better game for me.

I tried to go back to play new leaf again... 3 times since starting new horizons. But it just lacks so much quality of life stuff and larger things like outside furniture that I can't get into it any more. Which is a shame as I did really like it before having played new horizons.

 

[Faux]

I've restarted NL way more than I have NH and the most fun I had with NL was when the 3DS was easily hackable, and I was able to move buildings and change my acres to look differently than they were, and with my friends coming over to see what I finished.

While I am absolutely only picking up NH once in awhile now, I haven't felt the need to restart constantly and just try to get 'back to where I was' only to get bored again and start over like I did with NL.

Each has had their own charm, and I still have a fondness for NL, but NH gave me everything I thought NL was lacking in. It is missing a lot to make me want to play every day, but I also just work a lot, and have pets I need to take care of every day, so my interest in games wax and wane naturally no matter what; that's just life.

 

[Blueskyy]

NL still feels like it has a lot to do, but I do like NH because of the graphics and seeing some of my favorites in HD. I also like how my island has more options to customize. If NH had Brewster and mini games, I'd never hesitate to pick NH over NL.

 

[Marshmallows]

They're a bit different... for the time, New Leaf was fantastic. My biggest gripe was with the inventory space and not being able to easily move villager homes and unmovable rocks/ponds. New Horizons fixes all that, plus added a lot more. My main issue with NH is that there seems to be a lot less furniture sets and less custom choices when it comes to buildings/houses, but the graphics alone just about make up for it.

New Horizons hands down, though I do think New Leaf had better gameplay in that you had more things to do and unlock at your own pace. New Horizons is very holiday/events focused and all about decorating.

 

[Fridaynightcatlady]

New Horizons

 

[Hsn97]

New leaf hands down.

The only thing NH does better is the graphics. I played NL for years without getting bored. I got bored of NH after 3 months and reset my town, something I’ve never done in NL.

If NH contained a lot of the content and features from NL then I’d lean more towards NH. But as it stands, NH is just an empty shell of an AC title. A decorating sim at best.

 

[daringred_]

sorry this is long. disclaimer: this is all obviously my opinion, and i'd appreciate if people didn't call me names for it or act passive-aggressive in response to stuff i've said. you're welcome to disagree and/or prefer NH, that's your opinion, and i respect that so please respect mine.

NL hands down. i played one copy of that game everyday for 7 years starting from its release date, and a second copy for 6 of those same years. i still play both now, albeit every other day due to time constraints. i actually played both of them (individually) more than i played NH yesterday. for me, NL just has more to do and staggeringly more charm. i've never been fond of the decorating aspect of AC, and NL didn't force it in my face anywhere near as much as NH does. i wasn't one of those people who obsessively reset my town to get the ideal rock placements and perfect town hall locations etc. (have no issue with people who did, just saying i didn't.) i just picked a map i liked and worked with it, and i have two beautiful towns to show for that work. which isn't to say i wouldn't have taken movable rocks or the option to choose where villagers moved in, but c'est la vie. you can't control everything in life and NL reflected that. it is, after all, a life sim.

i love having all the NPCs around. i love brewster and his cafe and the part-time job, and how you could unlock special items by playing that mini-game. i love tortimer's island and playing the island tours, even if i do it alone. (i played the firefly tour a few times yesterday and god do i desperately wish those mini-games were in NH. yeah, yeah, "if you miss 'em, just go play NL", but i want to see them in NH's beautiful graphics with the dynamic lighting etc. sue me.) i miss all the things you could unlock, especially re: how main street would grow/transform as you progressed with the game. i really felt like i was contributing to my town and helping it become a better place. was the game without its flaws? no, of course not, but it's less flawed in my eyes than NH still is.

and is that to say i hate NH? no, of course not. i don't even dislike it overall, i'm just very disappointed in it. it's not necessarily a bad game, and its graphics are definitely a step up from NL's, but graphics aren't everything, and it's lacking a lot of the charm and character that all the previous AC titles have had for me. would i still recommend it? sure, but not at its launch price, and i'd definitely recommend NL over it without question.

 

[Gaby]

I love them both for different reasons. Obviously, NH has many more features and it’s probably more playable in the long run, but NL had its own charm. NL felt a lot more... whimsical? It had a lot of funny themed furniture, like the sweets set, and lots of weird NPCs. You could make music boxes out of giant clams, customized with your choice of song. I remember decorating my house in really chaotic, eclectic ways and thoroughly enjoying it. You could build PWPs, like the wisteria trellis, and customize your town hall (aka resident services) to fit a certain theme. And you had a fun Main Street too. New Horizons feels a lot more grounded, less whimsical. Even the furniture is more serious. It’s a fantastic game, don’t get me wrong, and I feel like I can play it for longer than NL. But something of the charm New Leaf had was lost along the way. It’s ok though, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s difficult to explain and I don’t expect everyone to understand or agree of course. I do think NH is a better game in the sense of more features and things to do. And it’s better for new players to get into. At the same time, I won’t ever say New Leaf sucks because it has a special place in my heart and in specific and certain ways, to me, is better than New Horizons

 

[Rosch]

I love New Leaf. It has a lot of content missing from New Horizons and features that I prefer over NH, such as the town ordinances, the non-watered-down holidays, Tortimer Island, more fruit, more furniture sets, fortune cookies, villager visits, exterior options, megaphone, The Roost, etc. I also love the progression of your town (and the town tree is a far more satisfying accomplishment than having a KK Concert).

But personally, despite that, I still prefer New Horizons. I guess I'm too spoiled by the quality of life updates and accessibility of things. I tried playing my old New Leaf save file several days ago and I found it a little difficult to adjust back to how things were: the limited inventory, storage space, & custom design slots, wilting flowers, grass deterioration, random placement of villager plots. So yeah, basically I prefer NH because of ease of play.

Also, NH is a little hard to judge completely right now because of the approach this game has taken. Constant updates are great because there's something to look forward to every month or two. Who knows, maybe the things missing will eventually return soon.

 

[Matt0106]

I was originally introduced to the series through New Leaf, and it was a stellar game. I was obsessed and loved the amount of creativity I was allowed to display, along with the fact that it definitely has some stuff New Horizons is lacking. Therefore, this game definitely holds a special place in my heart.

However with that said, New Horizons will always be my favourite of the franchise. I feel like Nintendo really tried to let loose with the creativity and the customization was turned up to 11. The additional reactions, bigger inventory, outdoor furniture, moving buildings and of course terraforming really made this game absolutely incredible. I look back on the year I had with it so far (something I have not done with New Leaf) and I am truly in awe at how far I have come with the game. Everything about it for me is so great, and I am excited to see what else Nintendo has in store.

 

[Mezzanine]

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