Does anyone else feel like the game is lacking?

[TheRealWC]

While I think that is an interesting theory, I personally believe that a far more plausible reason for the game being severely lacking is that simply Nintendo was behind on schedule. They already had that nine month delay, and heaven knows that if there was another delay, the fans would book the next available flight to Japan and set fire to the Nintendo development offices. So in order to make things work, I believe that they had to cut all the (many of them basic) features out and give vague promises about future updates (which we really know nothing about) so that the fans wouldn't question the severe lack of content in the base game they paid a whopping $60 for.

If the time travelling theory is true, why would they allow for the guidebook to be released? Wouldn't that just defeat the purpose of keeping all these features a "secret"? People could just look in the guidebook and leak everything that way, anyways. Personally, I'm hoping the guidebook gives us a glimpse of what's to come.

This. It's obvious the game has been behind schedule since it's announcement. Someone from the higher-ups in Nintendo probably told the dev team they needed to be out by the end of Q1 to prevent overlap with other releases, so they pushed it back as much as they could.

I do think we'll get updates in the future with more than just holiday stuff. However, I agree we shouldn't assume what is coming and what isn't. Are we getting art? more Nook's Cranny upgrades? gyroids? Most likely, but until Nintendo says something, it isn't official.

That being said, I do really enjoy this game. The real negative for me is glitches, which probably has to do with trying to get the game out quick. At least Nintendo seems to be working quickly to fix these. However, I'm really enjoying this game so far. I feel the features added outweigh those removed (in a perfect world we'd have both, yes).

 

[bcmii]

I do think we'll get updates in the future with more than just holiday stuff. However, I agree we shouldn't assume what is coming and what isn't. Are we getting art? more Nook's Cranny upgrades? gyroids? Most likely, but until Nintendo says something, it isn't official.

100% agree with this line. It's perfectly fine to hope for these features to be added, but it kind of annoys me when people try to tell me that it's "obvious" that they are coming. No, until Nintendo gives us official confirmation of any of these features being added, I don't think we should act like we know one way or the other.

 

[fakemuseum]

I got bored with all the same stuffs that you mentioned, cutting things off doesn't mean a step backward, I also played AC since WW and I love the way that game has developed at this point, just be open-minded

 

[fanism]

I feel like they took a step back with this game tbh. Smaller houses, no Red, post office ect, a lot of the old flooring gone, wallpaper gones, funiture sets [my favorite Rococo is gone ], SWIMMING. I hope they added stuff later but im not sure. how do you guys feel about this?

Post office is now in the airport. There is no postman, yet. Not sure we will see one delivering mail in the future.

I actually felt pretty good with the new game. At least
1/ I could find a place for my villagers such that they don't build their houses on my well maintained garden or destroy my perfect fruit trees.
2/ Shops are now within the island instead of the shopping area where New Leaf was (gosh, I forgot that name already). I felt my trips are shorter and more productive now.
3/ fitting room with different colors and a click at a glance is SOOOO much better of an upgrade!!! There are a lot more choices, too.
4/ Being able to choose my first 9 villagers is a PLUS!!!

Of course, they could make the game better and always have room for improvements. However, the things that I wished are some lazy tasks that I didn't want to do. Such as:
1/ have a storage room where the DIY table is
2/ a "friendship-meter" to the villagers so that I know how happy they are with me. I am not sure if I still get pictures of them when they leave. I was hoping I don't need to talk to them anymore when I have reached that friendship level with them
3/ ... to be continued

Having said all these, I felt the game is better than New Leaf and I am happy.

 

[Deca]

There have already been multiple threads similar to this over the past two weeks. I feel like that is proof that the majority of Bell Tree’s members are not happy with the game. Either that or a VERY vocal minority.

I’ve already stated my feelings in a separate thread just a few days ago, so I don’t feel the need to repeat myself so soon.

LOL it's hilarious cuz you can tell everyone who complains has TT'd the fvkc out of this game, no wonder you get bored so quickly if you don't play the way it's intended to.

If people unlock everything at a normal pace, naturally there will be more and more coming through updates.

And honestly, I'm glad they made it this way so normal players don't get spoilered too hard

Edit: bunch of typos

 

[Irelia]

I don't think it really falls short of much. If you've run out of content to go through you've probably time traveled a **** ton

 

[avieators]

as a veteran of this series, (made myself sick playing the original too much as a little girl even) while there's a couple of things i have issues with (many things cut, fitting room woes, being unable to access materials in storage while in your house) i truly do enjoy new horizons! the colors are gorgeous, the clothes are so cute i'm almost out of storage pls help, the FLOWERS are so pretty...honestly the only thing i'm really upset abt are the various glitches but those obviously happened as the result of being rushed out. glitches can be fixed, content can be added, everyone needs to slow down a little bit i think. the team behind animal crossing is also the splatoon team, and that game had mostly free content rolled out over many months to keep ppl coming back and i'm hopeful we'll see that with acnh too!

 

[aikatears]

I am very happy with the game...finding too many little cute things that bring my island alive. Anything that needs adding will be added on the whim of Nintendo and if they need not to be added then again its on the whim of Nintendo.

 

[DrewAC]

I disagree wholeheartedly. I recall, after years and years of waiting for New Leaf, I played it on day 1. On the very evening of the day I got the game, I remember asking myself, "...so this is it?" Now, I look back on New Leaf as an awesome game and have plenty of positive memories, but it took me a while to kind of appreciate what it had to offer, and deal with many annoyances down the road (villagers constantly coming/going & ruining my plans, annoying diving mechanics, annoying PwP placements, and so on.

World of a difference from when I played New Horizons. I now have over 120 hours clocked in, just unlocked terraforming, and I'm still just as hooked as when I got it. I'm still just as amazed at the many small details the game offers too, like when I first saw the plane animation and even plane trails my first wifi visit. Crafting has kept me engaged, and the rate of progression in this game felt just right to me. I'm still extremely impressed with how gorgeous everything is, from the environment to the furniture quality. And, overall, I definitely feel like I got a complete game, with loads of free DLC to look forward to.

I have to agree with what others have said. If you time traveled, there is a far greater likelihood you aren't as engaged in the game as someone who plays it real-time only. Not to invoke the whole debate (I agree - your money, your game, your rules). However, in all complete honesty, the magic of the game dissipates almost entirely if you manually go even an hour forward. Waking up every morning to see how your town has progressed tends to feel like a cheapened experience as opposed to a real-time player. Simply put, the replayability tends to go down, and when I buy a game, I want as much replayability as I can get.

 

[starlightsong]

I've TTed a ton and it doesn't get rid of the "magic of the game" at all lol, I played New Leaf on and off for years and years having a lot of phases of being super addicted to it and I still sometimes play it even though NH is out as it's still my favorite Animal Crossing. I'm still having fun with NH too and in fact if I couldn't TT I'm sure I'd have LESS fun as I'm the kind of person who likes to play a game for hours on end and doesn't like things such as waiting a whole actual day just for flowers to grow, or having a tiny shop that sells almost nothing, or having no clothing shop and a one-room house. If other people are fine with waiting in real time that's great, but it's not the way I play and suggesting that time traveling inherently makes the game less fun is just silly. That being said, yes, NH is lacking in a lot of beloved features, characters, and items from New Leaf as well as series mainstays that have been around from the beginning and I desperately hope that it'll all come back with updates eventually. I feel like a lot of this stuff has no excuse not to be there and if the vast majority of it doesn't get added back then NH will never be able to surpass NL to me.

 

[DrewAC]

I've TTed a ton and it doesn't get rid of the "magic of the game" at all lol, I played New Leaf on and off for years and years having a lot of phases of being super addicted to it and I still sometimes play it even though NH is out as it's still my favorite Animal Crossing. I'm still having fun with NH too and in fact if I couldn't TT I'm sure I'd have LESS fun as I'm the kind of person who likes to play a game for hours on end and doesn't like things such as waiting a whole actual day just for flowers to grow, or having a tiny shop that sells almost nothing, or having no clothing shop and a one-room house. If other people are fine with waiting in real time that's great, but it's not the way I play and suggesting that time traveling inherently makes the game less fun is just silly. That being said, yes, NH is lacking in a lot of beloved features, characters, and items from New Leaf as well as series mainstays that have been around from the beginning and I desperately hope that it'll all come back with updates eventually. I feel like a lot of this stuff has no excuse not to be there and if the vast majority of it doesn't get added back then NH will never be able to surpass NL to me.

I don’t think it makes it any less fun, but I do think it directly impacts the longevity of the game to pull players in within the long haul. And I am speaking from personal experience, having played the game in both ways at one point.

As far as NPCs, features, and items go, I think it’s putting a lot of strain on the developers and the potential of innovation in the game itself to request every single thing back in the same way we’ve seen them in past games.

Don’t get me wrong, I am ONE HUNDRED percent in the camp of people that dislikes how my cozy post office with Pelly, Phyllis, and Pete was replaced with a tiny card stand in an airport, for instance. But now I have loads of nicer stationery to use without having to shop for it! And sending mail over WiFi with gifts is back!! It’s a thing of trade-offs. Plus, I think (and I believe data mining showed?) it isn’t the last we’ve seen of any major NPC. And although some features/items aren’t present right now, there are a ton of beautifully designed/engaging alternatives to look for in the game, even with a good chance for many things to return.

It seems the developers are just looking to change things up to prevent a City Folk 2.0, which I approve of entirely. Some are hits, some are misses, but it’s important to at least take the shots. Nintendo has shown to listen to our feedback in any case, and I think we’re seeing that especially in their commitment to fixing bugs during this troubling time.

 

[moon_child]

I don’t feel whatever’s lacking because I’m too busy playing the game. I can’t even put it down for long because there’s so many things to do in a day. With all the content unlocked in New Leaf, I play a max of 30 mins a day. With all the lacking stuff people complain about in NH, I play a minimum of 6 hours a day. I guess that says a lot.

 

[starlightsong]

I don’t think it makes it any less fun, but I do think it directly impacts the longevity of the game to pull players in within the long haul. And I am speaking from personal experience, having played the game in both ways at one point.

As far as NPCs, features, and items go, I think it’s putting a lot of strain on the developers and the potential of innovation in the game itself to request every single thing back in the same way we’ve seen them in past games.

Don’t get me wrong, I am ONE HUNDRED percent in the camp of people that dislikes how my cozy post office with Pelly, Phyllis, and Pete was replaced with a tiny card stand in an airport, for instance. But I think (and I believe data mining showed?) it isn’t the last we’ve seen of any major NPC. And although some features/items aren’t present right now, there are a ton of beautifully designed/engaging alternatives to look for in the game, even with a good chance for many things to return.

It seems the developers are just looking to change things up to prevent a City Folk 2.0, which I approve of entirely. Some are hits, some are misses, but it’s important to at least take the shots. Nintendo has shown to listen to our feedback in any case, and I think we’re seeing that especially in their commitment to fixing bugs during this troubling time.

I didn't say everything should come back immediately?? Or even necessarily in the exact same way. I just had the impression, due to the addition of things like terraforming and moving buildings, that this would be the most customizable AC game and yet the furniture, frankly, kinda sucks. Almost every set from past games is gone currently including extremely popular ones like rococo and princess, and most of what I can find is just boring normal house stuff, and I keep finding the same kitchen appliances over and over but no actual kitchen furniture to match it with. Most screenshots of people's islands and homes I see are very same-y due to lack of variety in what you can do. The game is set on an island and there's no diving/swimming, no Kapp'n, no exotic fruits other than coconuts, a dock that's marked on your map which has no purpose, no mermaid set, I can hardly even find anything that works to give my island the, well, tropical island theme that I wanted. They advertised the multiplayer a ton and yet local co-op is super limited and boring, and even visiting friends is more limited than NL because despite being able to have more people on your island at once, the fun minigames on Tortimer Island are gone and now there's nothing to do. I saw someone say they're glad they can choose where villagers live so their perfect fruits don't get destroyed--and I didn't have the heart to tell them your perfect fruits can never be destroyed right now because they simply don't exist. They even removed a whole flower (violets), bushes, and April Fool's Day.

I don't mean to come off a hostile or to give the impression that I hate the game, but I just hope for a significant amount of NL's stuff to come back in updates at some point because while changing things up is fine, for me there's way too much that's missing and the things added aren't enough to make up for it. The game can still be innovative without severely lacking in furniture and in things that should really, really be included in a game that's about you being on an island. You are correct in saying that datamines show that things can return, though! It's very likely that we'll be getting gyroids, art, Redd, and Brewster & the cafe back based on what's been datamined and I only hope there's more to come after that. NH is a good game but it's just not on par with NL yet for me.

 

[Chris]

I adore the game.

I think most people's dislike of the game comes from comparing it to its predecessors. Try your best to look at the game for what it is rather than comparing it to something else. I don't say this only in the context of Animal Crossing but in all video games.

 

[Kairi-Kitten]

From a viewpoint from someone who played since 20 years back, this installment has already given me more enjoyment than New Leaf that was rather blah for me LOL. so I guess differing viewpoints?? as for me this has EVERYTHING I have been wanting and more. sorry to see some feel lackluster in a sense however for me im two weeks and hit 200 hours already, yes I TT and guess what? it's still amazing and fun :3 as a verrrrry longtime fan im having a blast and so are my friends/brother <3 Hope you guys get more out of it w/ updates as they come o/

Wanna put in to perspective not ALL TTers are losing interest LOL please don't generalize i'm TTing like mad and not bored at all <3 o/ 200 hours in and still fresh : )

 

[Deca]

I didn't say everything should come back immediately?? Or even necessarily in the exact same way. I just had the impression, due to the addition of things like terraforming and moving buildings, that this would be the most customizable AC game and yet the furniture, frankly, kinda sucks. Almost every set from past games is gone currently including extremely popular ones like rococo and princess, and most of what I can find is just boring normal house stuff, and I keep finding the same kitchen appliances over and over but no actual kitchen furniture to match it with. Most screenshots of people's islands and homes I see are very same-y due to lack of variety in what you can do. The game is set on an island and there's no diving/swimming, no Kapp'n, no exotic fruits other than coconuts, a dock that's marked on your map which has no purpose, no mermaid set, I can hardly even find anything that works to give my island the, well, tropical island theme that I wanted. They advertised the multiplayer a ton and yet local co-op is super limited and boring, and even visiting friends is more limited than NL because despite being able to have more people on your island at once, the fun minigames on Tortimer Island are gone and now there's nothing to do. I saw someone say they're glad they can choose where villagers live so their perfect fruits don't get destroyed--and I didn't have the heart to tell them your perfect fruits can never be destroyed right now because they simply don't exist. They even removed a whole flower (violets), bushes, and April Fool's Day.

I don't mean to come off a hostile or to give the impression that I hate the game, but I just hope for a significant amount of NL's stuff to come back in updates at some point because while changing things up is fine, for me there's way too much that's missing and the things added aren't enough to make up for it. The game can still be innovative without severely lacking in furniture and in things that should really, really be included in a game that's about you being on an island. You are correct in saying that datamines show that things can return, though! It's very likely that we'll be getting gyroids, art, Redd, and Brewster & the cafe back based on what's been datamined and I only hope there's more to come after that. NH is a good game but it's just not on par with NL yet for me.

Not to sound condescending but it seems you're a bit younger than most of us and I'm assuming NL was your first entry to the franchise. You need to stop comparing those two and look at it from an objective point of view. With New Horizons, Animal Crossing has finally matured into something that is easily accessible to everyone and doesn't resemble a kid's game anymore. As much as I loved and miss the older games and their quirky vibe, they had their place and it was time to move on. NL was already quite different from the older games anyway and is probably my second least favourite AC game (after CF).

I honestly would've hated to see the exact same furniture sets over and over, because it certainly wouldn't have aged well. The new furniture feels so much more realistic and fitting for a deserted island theme, and I love that they've been experimenting with new features and concepts.

I'm looking forward to what the future updates will bring, as I'm sure we'll be getting a lot more content still.

 

[starlightsong]

Not to sound condescending but it seems you're a bit younger than most of us and I'm assuming NL was your first entry to the franchise. You need to stop comparing those two and look at it from an objective point of view. With New Horizons, Animal Crossing has finally matured into something that is easily accessible to everyone and doesn't resemble a kid's game anymore. As much as I loved and miss the older games and their quirky vibe, they had their place and it was time to move on. NL was already quite different from the older games anyway and is probably my second least favourite AC game (after CF).

I honestly would've hated to see the exact same furniture sets over and over, because it certainly wouldn't have aged well. The new furniture feels so much more realistic and fitting for a deserted island theme, and I love that they've been experimenting with new features and concepts.

I'm looking forward to what the future updates will bring, as I'm sure we'll be getting a lot more content still.

Looking at your profile I'm literally 2 years younger than you so don't talk to me like I'm a kid because I'm sorry but yeah, it does feel condescending? It doesn't matter what my first game was lol, it's natural to look at multiple games in the same series and compare their pros and cons. Objectively, having to re-craft my tools constantly is a relaxation killer, and having less choice than the previous game is something I can't see as a good thing at all. I like some of the new furniture sets but I cannot fathom how you would want less variety and options. A lot of my friends I talk to all the time are series veterans and feel the same, missing their favorite sets and other things from NL. The game should expand to have more options, not less, my girlfriend's house essentially looks exactly like mine because there is so little variety, and my group can never find anything to do together on multiplayer because they took out the minigames. If you love NH and think it's the best then that's fine but not everyone has to, and I'm allowed to say that I feel the game is lacking on a.... thread that's titled "does anyone else feel the game is lacking". You have your space to discuss your love of the game and I have mine to discuss my criticisms. I even said that I'm sure more updates will come and that I like the game.

 

[Deca]

Looking at your profile I'm literally 2 years younger than you so don't talk to me like I'm a kid because I'm sorry but yeah, it does feel condescending? It doesn't matter what my first game was lol, it's natural to look at multiple games in the same series and compare their pros and cons. Objectively, having to re-craft my tools constantly is a relaxation killer, and having less choice than the previous game is something I can't see as a good thing at all. I like some of the new furniture sets but I cannot fathom how you would want less variety and options. A lot of my friends I talk to all the time are series veterans and feel the same, missing their favorite sets and other things from NL. The game should expand to have more options, not less, my girlfriend's house essentially looks exactly like mine because there is so little variety, and my group can never find anything to do together on multiplayer because they took out the minigames. If you love NH and think it's the best then that's fine but not everyone has to, and I'm allowed to say that I feel the game is lacking on a.... thread that's titled "does anyone else feel the game is lacking". You have your space to discuss your love of the game and I have mine to discuss my criticisms. I even said that I'm sure more updates will come and that I like the game.

Yes it does matter whether or not your have played more than one previous game, because you need to look at the series and its evolution as a whole. If NL was your first and only prior AC experience, you'll obviously expect all features to return.

Don't get me wrong, you're of course entitled to your own opinion of the game, but I thought it was quite obvious that your judgement is very one-dimensional.

 

[starlightsong]

Yes it does matter whether or not your have played more than one previous game, because you need to look at the series and its evolution as a whole. If NL was your first and only prior AC experience, you'll obviously expect all features to return.

Don't get me wrong, you're of course entitled to your own opinion of the game, but I thought it was quite obvious that your judgement is very one-dimensional.

Things that have been in the series literally from the beginning also didn't return and I just said that my close friends who are series veterans miss a lot of these things too. Just because I've only thoroughly played NL (I have tried GC and WW, for the record. I own a gamecube and a copy of GC and have played it) doesn't mean I'm an idiot who knows nothing about the earlier games. You just assumed that because I said New Leaf was the first one I played. It's also very jarring to have a museum staircase that goes to nothing and a dock that has no purpose and my dad, whose first game is New Horizons, noticed those things and when I told him "well, in New Leaf that dock would've had a guy named Kapp'n who would take you to an island where you could play minigames, and in earlier games the museum basement would have a cafe in it and the upstairs would have a shop, and every game used to have an art exhibit in the museum too, but I'm not sure if these things are gonna come back" he felt disappointed and confused about why they wouldn't have those things while having the places some of them would be located be empty. My brother is missing gyroids, which have always been in the game and were not introduced in New Leaf. Removing series mainstays and reducing creativity aren't evolutions. But whatever, I'm not gonna keep responding to someone who condescends to me over thinking that a game isn't 100% perfect on a thread that was made specifically to find people who have issues with the game.

 

[starlightsong]

oh my god i didn't mean to quote my own post someone please delete this lol