Reviews / Feedback

[Blue Triangles]

So, I was contemplating today about how Animal Crossing games are one of the very few series of games where by I'm not influenced by reviews at all. Unless the game was broken in some Fundamental way making it a complete disaster then I don't think I could be put off buying the game or even having my spirit dampened at all.

So would you guys let a potentially negative vibe throughout the reviews, or the possibility of it not living up to everyone's expectations spoil your anticipation? Or is it that you're simply to big a fan, and nothing written/said could possibly have any affect?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Aubrey895]

I love Animal Crossing and wouldn’t let other people’s negative opinions influence how I feel about the game.

 

[Kaireevee]

I feel like the AC for the wii wasn't great. It's the only one I didn't enjoy but it's been a long time since I played it so I'm not sure if I would still feel the same now.

I'm still a big fan of the games and I wouldn't let anyone stop me now. If I was uncertain I would probably wait, watch a little game play online and decide from there. But that's more with other games rather than AC. I was gonna get NH regardless of people's opinions on it.

 

[Blue Triangles]

I feel like the AC for the wii wasn't great. It's the only one I didn't enjoy but it's been a long time since I played it so I'm not sure if I would still feel the same now.

I loved City Fold on the Wii but then I've never played any of the handheld iterations since. What was it about CF that prevented you from enjoying it at the time?

 

[VillageDuck]

I remember for myself, the glowing reviews were a part of the reason I checked out New Leaf, where I hadn't played any Animal Crossing game before. Reviews can have that advocacy-quality that's important for expanding a community.

But maybe there's an even better format for that than reviews? This video by Polygon explaining why Wattam is so lovely would make a good format for "why you should try Animal Crossing":

 

[Blue Triangles]

I remember for myself, the glowing reviews were a part of the reason I checked out New Leaf, where I hadn't played any Animal Crossing game before. Reviews can have that advocacy-quality that's important for expanding a community.

But maybe there's an even better format for that than reviews? This video by Polygon explaining why Wattam is so lovely would make a good format for "why you should try Animal Crossing"

I do prefer reading reviews, rather than watching them. I'm not sure why; probably become accustomed to reading magazines over the years. You make a good point about how reviews could influence somebody that's never played an Animal Crossing game before. I can certainly appreciate that glowing reviews would enable Animal Crossing to increase it's fan base - especially when you consider the success of the Switch.

 

[AlyssaAC]

No, I wouldn't let negative reviews discourage me from playing a game. Like both my parents and I have said many times before, sometimes you got the try the game for yourself first and see whether or not you like it before you go by what other people have said about it. If you listen to what other people say, especially negative people, chances are you might miss out on a really good game.

 

[Blue Triangles]

No, I wouldn't let negative reviews discourage me from playing a game. Like both my parents and I have said many times before, sometimes you got the try the game for yourself first and see whether or not you like it before you go by what other people have said about it. If you listen to what other people say, especially negative people, chances are you might miss out on a really good game.

I agree that you should always try something for yourself before judging. I think it can be disheartening for fans if a game starts to receive heavy criticism across a range of different sites/magazines, especially if it's an inherent issue that's being universally mentioned. It's a nice feeling to see the game you've been looking forward to for so long get the glowing reviews you were hoping for and it living up to all the expectations you had.

 

[Brookie]

Animal crossing never disappoints me (except a little with City Folk, but even that was fun!). So no I don't listen to negative reviews and get excited about the game anyway.

ALSO, there may be some people out there who are hardcore FPS gamers or other types of gamers (that only stick to their type), and won't like the playstyle of it. It's a very unique game so I don't care what anyone says. I remember playing city folk in front of my cousin (who is a gamer) and he said "this looks like dora the explorer. walking around, digging holes. what even is this game. it looks boring imo" He just didn't get it really. Too many people don't understand the game.

 

[Blue Triangles]

Animal crossing never disappoints me (except a little with City Folk, but even that was fun!). So no I don't listen to negative reviews and get excited about the game anyway.

ALSO, there may be some people out there who are hardcore FPS gamers or other types of gamers (that only stick to their type), and won't like the playstyle of it. It's a very unique game so I don't care what anyone says. I remember playing city folk in front of my cousin (who is a gamer) and he said "this looks like dora the explorer. walking around, digging holes. what even is this game. it looks boring imo" He just didn't get it really. Too many people don't understand the game.

Yeah Animal Crossing certainly isn't for everyone. It'd be an injustice were it to fall in the hands of a reviewer that just didn't appreciate the type of game that Animal Crossing is. Oh and I had exactly the same notions as your cousin prior to playing it. Once I did, I was addicted.

 

[cicely]

I've never read (game site/magazine) reviews for AC games so that won't be a problem. It not living to the expectations of AC fans could sway me, depending on what they're disappointed about. Like someone mentioned, I'd be most interested in videos about the game. But NH seems pretty hard to mess up, unless it's a buggy disaster, that I'll have fun as long as it follows the formula.

 

[moo-kun]

I think it's great when Nintendo allow for you to download a demo of the game to get a feel of what the starting point is like!
You can read a review from that perspective to see if the game is going to progress in the way you hope.
But sometimes, a review by someone else is just not enough. Their brain is different from mine and I enjoy different things so I just have to play it and either appreciate the awesomeness or take a loss and move on. (○︎-艸･)*:ﾟ･☆︎

 

[Blue Triangles]

I've never read (game site/magazine) reviews for AC games so that won't be a problem. It not living to the expectations of AC fans could sway me, depending on what they're disappointed about. Like someone mentioned, I'd be most interested in videos about the game. But NH seems pretty hard to mess up, unless it's a buggy disaster, that I'll have fun as long as it follows the formula.

I agree. I'm under the general opinion that if it doesn't have a fundamental major flaw that's glaringly obvious across the board, then any negative feedback will be pretty much irrelevant to me.

- - - Post Merge - - -

I think it's great when Nintendo allow for you to download a demo of the game to get a feel of what the starting point is like!
You can read a review from that perspective to see if the game is going to progress in the way you hope.
But sometimes, a review by someone else is just not enough. Their brain is different from mine and I enjoy different things so I just have to play it and either appreciate the awesomeness or take a loss and move on. (○︎-艸･)*:ﾟ･☆︎

A playable demo is an interesting thing. You know, I'd probably opt out of playing one personally, despite how tempted I'd be. I want the experience to feel as fresh as possible on release day. In fact the same can be said of game information in general; I know you like to devour any tidbit of information you can find (not a criticism, your enthusiasm is infectious), no matter how miniscule, but for me, I want to go into the game with as open mind as possible.

 

[Boccages]

Hmm. I don't know about that. Reviews usually will reflect the overall quality of the game. It's not a secret that City Folk did not meet Nintendo's sales expectations - especially since the Wii had a very strong user base. But the game was received with less enthusiasm by the reviewers, and the Animal Crossing community than the 2 previous versions. Why ? It disappointed fans with subpar graphics, a shallow new feature (the city), and not much new to add to the Wild World plate which came out 2-3 years before.

It might not affect our decision (us, the crop of enthusiasts that are maniac enough to be posting on Reddit or specialized forums like The Bell Tree), but if New Horizons was wanting, and disappointing it might lead to lesser sales on the overall than expected. Don't forget we are a very small portion of the Animal Crossing fanbase, and a tiny fraction of the overall video game players pool. Those, less informed, and more mentally stable bunch might just pass over New Horizons if the game garners a bad reputation at launch.

 

[Blue Triangles]

I really enjoyed City Folk but admit that the actual City aspect of it was a bit meh. Having never played New Leaf, does it have a lot of new features, items and stuff?

 

[Boccages]

I really enjoyed City Folk but admit that the actual City aspect of it was a bit meh. Having never played New Leaf, does it have a lot of new features, items and stuff?

Everything is way better in New Leaf. Even the graphics are better although the 3DS is less capable than the Wii. They cut out dumb or unnecessary features like Gulliver being a UFO, or Celeste's constellations. They added more customization options, 100 new villagers, but mostly you are now in charge of the community by being the mayor. It really makes you feel like you are in charge of the small town you reside in. It also added a new online way to trade villagers (which was a big source of clicks for this forum). It's just an all-around good upgrade to previous versions.

 

[jiojiop]

I recall when I was playing CF I told people I'd rate it about a 60%, but I still spent TONS of time playing it because of the online play. So for me, the product can be somewhat disappointing but because of the uniqueness of the gameplay and being able to play with others there is still a lot of fun to be had.

So no, it wouldn't affect me because I would get the game, play and enjoy it even if it got low scores.

 

[Blue Triangles]

Gulliver being a UFO

Haha this was a ludicrous idea. I loved when he used to wash up on the beach in the GameCube Animal Crossing where as I never once managed to hit Gulliver in CF with the slingshot (not sure I ever managed to see him to be honest). You could trade villager in NL? That's sounds like a cool idea

- - - Post Merge - - -

I recall when I was playing CF I told people I'd rate it about a 60%, but I still spent TONS of time playing it because of the online play. So for me, the product can be somewhat disappointing but because of the uniqueness of the gameplay and being able to play with others there is still a lot of fun to be had.

So no, it wouldn't affect me because I would get the game, play and enjoy it even if it got low scores.

Excellent points! It seems the general consensus is that quite a few people were disappointed with City Folk.

 

[John Wick]

If I read that a feature I'm already not a fan of is making the game a more negative experience, and I saw gameplay evidence of this, then yeah. I'd take heed.

 

[Brookie]

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More mentally stable?