Countdown to Animal Crossing New Horizons: 8 Months

[Alolan_Apples]

Last time, I went over my plans on what I will do in ACNH. Since we haven’t gotten anymore information on the game, my plans will remain the same.

Today’s subject is on rating similarities and differences. Within the last 30 days, I went over rating changes. My Pokémon Let’s Go entry was about good changes, bad changes, similarities that should’ve changed, and similarities that shouldn’t be changed. Welcome amiibo entry was about changes based on the significance scale. In case if you don’t want to read it, here’s what they mean:

Rating changes:

Changes are rated on a scale from -3 to +3. They aren’t like normal ratings like 1 to 10 or star ratings, but they do have a meaning. Once all the changes are rated, I find an average rating for the entire game.

• +3 - strong positive opinion: The change is a positive change. Not only I like the change, but it affects my overall opinion on the latter game. The more changes like this, the more I recommend playing this game.
• +2 - positive opinion: The change is a positive change. It doesn’t affect my overall opinion, but I do like the change a lot.
• +1 - weak positive opinion: The change is a neutral change, but it’s leaning positive. It gets this rating because either I don’t care too much about the change, but find it decent, or because it’s a positive change with a lot of disadvantages.
• 0 - neutral opinion: The change is a neutral change. If I absolutely don’t care about the change, or if I find it just as good as it’s bad (especially if I am strong on both sides), it gets this rating.
• -1 - weak negative opinion: The change is a neutral change, but it’s leaning negative. It gets this rating because it’s either I don’t care too much about the change, but I find it lame, or because it’s a negative change with a lot of advantages.
• -2 - negative opinion: The change is a negative change: it doesn’t affect my overall opinion, but I do hate the change a lot.
• -3 - strong negative opinion: The change is a negative change. Not only I hate the change, but it affects my overall opinion on the latter game. The more changes like this, the more I recommend not playing this game.

Along with this rating, I will also rate based on significance, which follows a rating from 1 to 3. A rating of 1 refers to insignificant changes that do very little impact on the game. They are basically minor graphical or sound changes (like the grass textures between City Folk and New Leaf when New Leaf’s dead point has brown grass instead of gray grass) or little features (like when the lighthouse in the GameCube Version was removed in Wild World). A rating of 2 means it’s somewhere in between major and minor. These are like new items or characters or new features that aren’t major, but they aren’t aesthetic-only. A rating of 3 refers to major changes (including small changes with a huge impact). Those are like new features that expand the gameplay or major improvements.

Rating similarities:

While I rate the changes, I would also like to look for similarities because while they make good changes and bad changes, there are some stuff they should’ve changed or stuff they were right about not changing. Unlike the change scale, they follow a rating between -2 and +2, and they don’t come with a significance scale. But I will calculate averages.

• +2 - strong opinion, needs no change: Similarities with this rating are similarities that the producers are right about keeping. Unless if they change for the better, they are better off if they left it alone as I feel strong about it.
• +1 - weak opinion, needs no change: Similarities with this rating are similarities I prefer if they didn’t change, but I would be okay if they did.
• 0 - no opinion: I would be okay either way as I don’t care if they changed it or not, as it remained the same.
• -1 - weak opinion, needs change: Similarities with this rating are similarities I prefer if they did change, but I would be okay if they didn’t.
• -2 - strong opinion, needs change: Similarities with this rating are the similarities that should’ve changed, as I was disappointed that no improvement has been made. Either because they are a disadvantage to the former game, or because I want a new feature added or an old feature to return.

When I rate changes between ACNL and ACNH, I will use all measures. For instance, we are aware of autosaves becoming a thing in ACNH. On the opinion scale, it would be a +2 change because while it nullifies the ability to reset if you made a screw-up you are not happy about, it also ends duping while it saves your progress you spent hours on. On the significance scale, it would be a 3 because it would make people think differently on how they build their town. On the subject for similarities, an example is time traveling as an in-game feature. If they were to keep it, I would give it a +2 rating because I would not be okay by all means if they removed it.

I would also practice this rating system for Pokémon Sword and Shield when it comes out. It wouldn’t be from Pokémon Let’s Go or Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, but it would be from Pokémon Sun and Moon. An example of a change is the starter lineup. On the opinion scale, it would be a -2 change. Not because it’s bad, but it’s because I like the Alola starters better if we’re judging by looks. On the significance scale, it would be a 2 because if we’re getting a fresh lineup of starters, we would have completely different species, but it has always been a grass, fire, and water lineup. On the subject of similarities, an example is the lack of the National Pokédex. While many fans are passionate about it, I would give it a score of 0 because that is one thing I wouldn’t care too much about. They didn’t have this feature in Pokémon Sun and Moon, not having it in the next game would be a similarity.

That’s all for the rating system, but there’s still more. Earlier this month, Nintendo has announced that they’ll be releasing a smaller switch model. It will be coming out in two months from this day. And last of all, today is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, one of the greatest human achievements.

Stay tuned for the third countdown entry on August 20th.

 

[invader]

I think your system is very well thought out! As well as a classic! I like that you put your own twist to it! Although the negatives are a little confusing, after a second it becomes easy to follow!