Dating Animal Crossing Villagers

[windwake-me-up-inside]

If they'd do it they'd probably make it so that there's no same-sex couples, which would mean I'd never touch the feature anyway. Plus, doesn't feel like it'd fit the tone of Animal Crossing anyway.

 

[SmoochsPLH]

I don't think it would be something Nintendo would do, but I wouldn't mind it despite not liking any villagers that way.

 

[GingerLemon]

Although it is a cute idea, I think Animal Crossing does have a huge child audience who play. As a result, I don't think there should be any text which is too flirtatious and mature as it would be inappropriate for them. I like the idea of the game staying innocent and promoting friendships

Then there's the whole human villager dating an animal villager thing. Not sure how I feel about that.

The suggestion of being a sort of match maker for your villagers sounds kinda cute.

I don't know, I think my conclusion is that I would like it to stay relationship free

 

[Jas]

like someone said before me, i would've LOVED this as a wild world kid!! but maybe not the right fit for the animal crossing series LOL !! i do like the villagers vaguely suggesting having lil crushes on each other or having cute flirty dialogue but i don't think it should actually be a Part of the game

 

[shendere]

ya know.. i would LOVE if they let you be a lil matchmaker for villagers to date. like, set punchy and cookie up or whatever, have them go on lil dates and blush and enjoy their time together. and then sometimes break up and then you see them stomping around angry when they run into each other LOL. it would be cute and funny. i dont really care for dating the villagers bc i kinda see them as like, sweet lil babies and animal fwends to care for and love so it's kinda weird for me to look at them romantically. i love bob, but i'd love for bob to sit on my lap as i cuddle him up and treat him like a lil babu feeding him a strawberry cake

edit: i'd also like to add i mean that in the most normal of way like a pet cat LMAO that can eat cake

 

[Rosewater]

I wouldn't want Animal Crossing to turn into a dating simulation between the player and villagers. There really is so many other games flooded with dating simulation and many genres that exist solely for that type of thing.

I don't want to be all "we live in a society" but everything is so focused on dating and non-platonic intimacy all the time as if that's the only thing that matters, so this is a fresh of breath air. I like that Animal Crossing is focused on friendship. Plus this is a game for kids and dating animals is a pretty offbeat idea anyway.

ya know.. i would LOVE if they let you be a lil matchmaker for villagers to date. like, set punchy and cookie up or whatever, have them go on lil dates and blush and enjoy their time together. and then sometimes break up and then you see them stomping around angry when they run into each other LOL. it would be cute and funny. i dont really care for dating the villagers bc i kinda see them as like, sweet lil babies and animal fwends to care for and love so it's kinda weird for me to look at them romantically. i love bob, but i'd love for bob to sit on my lap as i cuddle him up and treat him like a lil babu feeding him a strawberry cake

edit: i'd also like to add i mean that in the most normal of way like a pet cat LMAO that can eat cake

I do like this idea though! It would be a cute spin off game if they have little innocent crushes on each other.

 

[Shiny Star]

If they'd do it they'd probably make it so that there's no same-sex couples, which would mean I'd never touch the feature anyway. Plus, doesn't feel like it'd fit the tone of Animal Crossing anyway.

Why wouldn’t they have same sex couples? They do in games like Stardew and Harvest Moon. I think the bigger issue is the romantic relationship between an animal and a human character. Either way, I agree that this idea wouldn’t work even if it could be considered as cute.

 

[Shawna]

This may be a hot take, but I think it would be interesting. I know it is a bit controversial because it is a childrens' game and these are animals, but if I may offer some rebuttals to these arguments:

* These villagers are anthropomorphic, it is not the same as having relationships with actually animals. It would not be considered z**philia, as long as the animal is, again, anthropomorphic and the attraction/relationship is free of s**ual stuff. It's better to keep it innocently romantic.

* There are children's games that have dating in them (like harvest moon/story of seasons, some of them of which may have anthro). They even allow you to have a child. However, I do not think it should go this far for Animal Crossing, since interspecies breeding is an uncomfortable thought, plus the implication it would have on s**. Again, as much as I do support dating being a thing, Nintendo should be cautious to how it is brought about.

And to answer the questions:

What effect would it have on gameplay and your village?
For one, I think that if this were to be a thing, the villager you are dating would never be able to move out. I would also love some romantic dialogue and interactions to be present. Perhaps some of the other villagers can bring up your relationship? ^^

What villager do you think you would date, and why?
I would date Rooney, since he is my favorite villager and I do have a crush on him. Plus, he is really protective, but caring. He is one of the types I love and go for in fictional characters. <333

What villager do you think would most likely have a crush on you?
I would hope it would be Rooney. Sorry, I can't really give an unbiased answer to this. XD

 

[Cowplant]

I can't think of a feature I want less, personally. I don't see what it would add to the game and with the dialogue becoming more and more...young? It just gives me weird vibes to even imagine it. It's a no for me.

 

[TN4U]

The most I would want out of villagers when it comes to the topic of romance would be the ability to hug them (I want to hug Dotty so bad!). Anything more would be incredibly awkward if romance were a game mechanic that the player could perform, and future games would probably see a bump from an E rating to at least an E10+ (or worse, a T rating). In my opinion, feelings between two animal villagers is much more acceptable, as it’s already seen in-game with Reese and Cyrus, as well as being heavily implied between Apollo and Whitney in the anime movie. Also, there are a few moments in New Horizons where villagers will express their interest in others. I saw this in a conversation between a smug and snooty villager, where the smug wanted the snooty to kiss them (for a part in their play, apparently), only for the snooty to walk away disgusted.

If the player were given the ability to start a relationship with an animal villager, the series in general would receive a ton of extra hate from anti-furries and moral guardians, and cause a whole slew of controversies, online bullying, and emotional damage stemming from such users. I’m 100% not saying that everyone that plays Animal Crossing is a furry, but it’s an ultra-common misconception that fans of the series are all like that. As I’m a male, this was one of the reasons why I didn’t feel comfortable sharing my passion for the game until after New Horizons expanded the series to a broader audience of gamers. If everyone were to look past the fact that the characters you talk to are all animals, I’d imagine the series would receive very little hate from any internet user, really.

That being said, it can be fun to imagine two animal villagers being shipped as part of someone’s imagination, as I do that sometimes for my own stories. Right now, I’m making one where Kyle has a massive crush on Cherry, but Cherry already has a boyfriend off-island, and thus the love is unrequited. I’ve seen others ship villagers for a wide variety of reasons - sometimes it’s from game experience, while others look at both their designs and see a match. I wouldn’t mind something official being implemented in the next game, though it needs to stay strictly to the animals and not with the player.

 

[.: Meri :.]

I'm normally a fan of romance/dating mechanics in games, but it's... not really something I want to see in Animal Crossing tbh. I'm just not interested in romancing anthropomorphic animal characters (though I don't think there's anything wrong with it either), and even with human characters, the limited/interchangeable personalities would be super unappealing to me.

I think villagers dating each other could be cute and fun, and not super far-off from existing dialogue; I've certainly shipped or headcanoned some of my villagers as dating before based on their interactions. But if they made it so that villagers could crush on you and you could date them, I'd hope it would be something you'd have to intentionally trigger or opt-in to so I could ignore that feature altogether. I found some of New Leaf-era Kapp'n's dialogue to female players uncomfortable enough as it was (I do like him a lot better in New Horizons now that he's less weird), so if my villagers kept hitting on me, it might really sour my opinion of them.

 

[CylieDanny]

Hahaha, my friend and I were just talking about this xD I don't really want my villagers to have crushes on me. It would be really weird for me personally.

I'm happy if they wanna Date each other though.

 

[Shawna]

Since people have been talking about having to where villagers can date each other, I think it would be neat, too.

Like, you get to be a matchmaker and set up some villagers with each other, these would be mine (there’s more that I ship, but these are my favorites):
Mathilda x Walt
Ankha x Kabuki
Velma x Gruff
Amelia x Apollo
Diana x Bruce

 

[Rubygame]

I don't know, in my opinion the game is perfect as it is, what I would like is just greater depth in the dialogues, this means that the villagers could also talk about their relationship with love, if they have had past relationships or if they are interested to other villagers, but I would like it to always remain vague and nothing concrete because I like the fact that they are all friends and that's it, especially for the younger audience. Once in New Leaf Genji said to me: "You know Ruby, I also have a person who I respect and admire very much, and that person is Roscoe!" taking a proud stance while saying it HAHAH Everyone is free to interpret it as they prefer! It's just admiration?
Finally... I don't think I have a favorite Animal Crossing character that I imagine a romantic relationship with... honestly they all treat me so well that they could all have a crush on me, females and males HAHAH In most of the fandoms I'm part of I'm a multishipper, unless there are obvious romantic displays between two characters. So essentially everyone could be in love with me, and everyone could be in love with each other HAHAHA But always... vague!
(Rover and Katrina, Harvey and Harriet , Isabelle and the mayor... they are perfect examples)

 

[QueenCobra]

I prefer the game the way it is now, but Drago telling me I have a “big ol adorable round head” is pretty funny to me. Especially since my villager can’t respond, like I’m struck speechless.

I’m not a furry, but I’ve seen some gijinka (as a human) fanart of Tom Nook and I’d date him if he were a human lol.

 

[nightglow]

I would not want to see dating come to animal crossing, but I would love to see a visible friendship gauge to work on and acquire best friend status and get to a club house roomie or something.

What effect would it have on gameplay and your village?
I think it would give more incentive to speak to your villagers even if Nintendo drops the ball on dialog. It can also make the game feel a little more immersive. Especially if interesting cutscenes happen after hitting friendship milestones with villagers. I don't expect something like that to happen though.

What villager do you think you would date, and why?
The villager I would work towards a best friend status would probably be Shari or one of the other Sisterly personalities because I like them so much. Maybe a Lazy if the dialog is improved.

What villager do you think would most likely have a crush on you?
Even if dating in ac was a thing, I doubt this would be a thing without you first interacting alot with the villager first.

 

[seliph]

please do not date the animals ew

 

[whatisjello]

Cool to see that everyone agrees that in practice this would be quite an awkward feature. Animal crossing as a game invites the player of any age to immerse themselves deeply into a digital play-set town.

There just feels like a large gap between a love interest in a story having romantic moments or romantic undertones- and a digital town with characters that are supposed to act like real friends and neighbours.

I can't imagine having dating or actual flirting as a feature will be present in an animal crossing game, and I would hope this continues to be agreed on.

 

[Seastar]

I just don't think this sounds like something Nintendo would do because the game is intended to be for all ages.

Though I remember in New Leaf, the smug villagers said weird things occasionally as if they had a crush on me. Hmm.

 

[AccfSally]

I replied on this thread once but I really didn't give out my opinion.

Me dating a villager? no, even though I use to act like I have. but in the actual game..no thanks.
But villagers dating other villagers? Maybe.