Villager personalities and dialogue - What needs to be changed?

[Sweetley]

One issue New Leaf has is that it feels like that the personalities of the villagers got
watered down for some reasons. At least compared to how the villagers (especially
cranky and snooty) acted in the older games, it feels like they are a little bit too
friendly and doesn't act often like they should be. Back then, villagers were kinda
rude to the player and also acted more to their represent personality.

Another issure is that the dialogues of the villagers in New Leaf also feels kinda
dull, as their start to repeat the same dialogue over and over again after a shot
time. Besides that, it also feels like the dialogues in the older games had more
variety.

So what do you think? Should the personalities and dialogues improve more in the
new game? Do you want the "rude villagers" back? Or are you fine with it how the
personalities and dialogues are in New Leaf and shouldn't changed at all?

To be honest, I don't like how the personalities are in New Leaf. They are in fact
watered down, and it sucks, because I liked it more back then when the villagers
were rude to you and it took some time till they start to became more friendly to
you. It makes more sense in my opinion when you have to work on it that a villager
starts to like you more. In New Leaf, it feels like you only need to say "Hi!" and you
are already BBF with a certain villager.

As for the dialogues, they definitely need improvement. I miss the days where villagers
talk about things like "Ms. Nintendique" or "Moppina". The dialogues in New Leaf kinda
sucks, especially if they start to repeat them over and over again.

 

[smonikkims]

I actually never really noticed that it ever 'took time' to become friends with a villager in any of the games. I would like that part to be way more apparent in the dialogue, for sure. That way we can have our 'rude villagers' back while still having them feel like decent friends (they were actually way too rude all the time in GC imo) because they will eventually get over the horrible rudeness in the beginning. xD

Repeating dialogue has always been a thing and is never going to go away, but I do agree that we need an awful lot more of it and it might be nice if measures were taken to avoid the same dialogue being given too close together.

 

[lunatepic]

Yes more rude snarky villagers please! I'm happy about how they kind of cranked up the crankies and snooties' personalities in HHD, so I hope that carries over to the next game (now that I think about it HHD had some really great dialogue, I feel like a lot of the personalities were revamped and a lot more fun to talk to compared to new leaf, which was lackluster to say the least. it's ironic, seeing as hhd was a home-decorating spin off lmao). The less friendly the villagers are, the more rewarding it is to befriend them, so I really hope they make the whole warming up to you process a lot more apparent (and a little longer? again, unlike new leaf, where it seemed like everyone sucked up to you as soon as you moved in because ohhh it's the great holy mayor)

 

[Mr. Cat]

I want them to be just like the Gamcube days! I need this! No more watered down personalities. I barely talked to any of my villagers in New Leaf, just had them around for looks... which is a shame. I got sick of them repeating things and the dialogue was boring to begin with. It's a good thing there were so many new things to do in New Leaf or I wouldn't have played it. I spent the majority of my time in previous games talking to my villagers until they wanted me to leave.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Make them super mean and rate it T for Teen if you have to, Nintendo

 

[Neechan]

One issue New Leaf has is that it feels like that the personalities of the villagers got
watered down for some reasons. At least compared to how the villagers (especially
cranky and snooty) acted in the older games, it feels like they are a little bit too
friendly and doesn't act often like they should be. Back then, villagers were kinda
rude to the player and also acted more to their represent personality.

Another issure is that the dialogues of the villagers in New Leaf also feels kinda
dull, as their start to repeat the same dialogue over and over again after a shot
time. Besides that, it also feels like the dialogues in the older games had more
variety.

So what do you think? Should the personalities and dialogues improve more in the
new game? Do you want the "rude villagers" back? Or are you fine with it how the
personalities and dialogues are in New Leaf and shouldn't changed at all?

To be honest, I don't like how the personalities are in New Leaf. They are in fact
watered down, and it sucks, because I liked it more back then when the villagers
were rude to you and it took some time till they start to became more friendly to
you. It makes more sense in my opinion when you have to work on it that a villager
starts to like you more. In New Leaf, it feels like you only need to say "Hi!" and you
are already BBF with a certain villager.

As for the dialogues, they definitely need improvement. I miss the days where villagers
talk about things like "Ms. Nintendique" or "Moppina". The dialogues in New Leaf kinda
sucks, especially if they start to repeat them over and over again.

Simply put, I agree with you that the dialogues need more variety but I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be mean to any public representative unless they’ve done something you don’t like (that’s just me) I would like the snooty and crankys to be what they represent if they could please...I like to work for my relationships....not have them handed to me

 

[visibleghost]

i dont want rude villagers back, lol. maybe they dont have to be as sweet and forgivign as they are in new leaf but i really dont want furious villagers calling me names for forgetting to visit them or just for existing ):

 

[Hat']

Yaaa make Snooties rude again please omg !!

 

[Alex10]

Yesss more rude villagers! It’s actually really refreshing to see, and makes their personality type stand out more! In New Leaf, most villagers don’t really feel too different from each other for me. They have slightly different dialogues, but they still act very alike. So yes, bring back villagers that shout at me please!

 

[Kamzitty]

I would LOVE more dialogue from the villagers in Nintendo switch. I began to hate interacting with my villagers in acnl because it seemed like all the same personalites would repeat the same phrases over and over again. It got really old really fast lol.

 

[AnimalCrossingPerson]

The dialogue needs more variety and to have the personality of the Gamecube version. Resetti also needs to be properly brought back, with his abuse and rambles. But I'm afraid Nintendo may not do this out of fear of causing upset.

 

[Parakoopa144]

What I would love is if certain villagers fell out enough, they would actually harm each other, and you would have to sort it out. Also Brutus should be in this game.

Like imagine if you play the game from 03:00 to 03:30 AM, there's like a 15% chance that Brutus would show up on the train and maybe like rob villagers, or Nooks. I get that the game is supposed to be chill, but I think horrible things that are very rare would be cool.

 

[Lanstar]

I think the dialogue could be improved in two ways:

1. The dialogue changes upon the friendship you have with the villagers. At first, they are shy and reluctant, as if you were a stranger. Then as time goes on, they open up to you, and the dialogue gets deeper.

2. Simply contrast the tasks you need to do for villagers. For instance, there should be chores and such that you can only do for snooty villagers, and such.

To me, the 2nd way is the best way to improve the dialogue, and even more so than making it rude. The reason why villagers seem to say the same things is that they ask the same tasks all the time: No matter how many ways they may can ask for an apple, it's all for the same task of giving an apple. Thus, contrasting the tasks would help immensely to contrast the dialogue.

 

[Bcat]

100% More variety. I get so sick of them all repeating the same 10 conversations over and over again.

I'd also like a little snark back, but I don't want them to be flat out mean.

 

[WarpDogsVG]

They need to do far less "ad lib" style conversations. I can take personality archetypes because that's a necessary evil when there's a bajillion villagers, but they don't need to talk like boring

Also give us more contextual conversations - they should comment on your look, things in your inventory, your recent accomplishments, and so on

 

[Eclipsewhispering]

I definitely believe that snooty and cranky villagers should act more like they did in the older titles. Not just with snooty and cranky but with all the villager types so they all stand out in a special way, their personalities should be along these lines:

Normal Villagers: Kind, somewhat shy with a level temper, timid
Peppy Villagers: Sweet and outgoing, b u b b l y
Snooty Villagers: Snarky and judgmental, open up over a while to end up warm, very interested in fashion
Cranky Villagers: C r a b b y, in an especially bad mood in the mornings, hot-headed and stubborn as can be
Jock Villagers: A tad arrogant, very competitive and energetic, also bad-tempered in the slightest
Lazy Villagers: Often tired, maybe the most to request you get them a fruit- likes to eat a lot, still kindly hearted and evenly tempered
Uchi Villagers: Like a big s i s t e r, always looking out for your character, vigilant, warmhearted, protective, straightforward in the constructive way.

 

[Frisket]

Definitely more personality. Poor, poor, neutered Blathers...

My main problem with New Leaf was that it felt much more like a "game" than an "experience," because although it was very shiny, I thought it lacked the charm and quirk of the previous games.

 

[SpiritofAce]

I think that the villagers' dialogue is key to the formula of the game. The problem with New Leaf (and it was a major problem) was that the villagers felt all very much the same. I remember sometimes I'd talk to them and they'd repeat the same things three times. Or, if not, you'd have to do a boring chore every time you speak to them. It just made me not feel like talking to the villagers which is not a good thing in a game where the villagers are central to the game. Wild World's villager dialogue was the best in my opinion - it felt like the villagers had lots of personality, and they felt different. This was probably helped by the fact that they could have hobbies (again, absent from New Leaf.)

There's unfortunately a chance though that the dialogue will be much the same in AC Switch. Too many parents complaining is what started this.

 

[SwamPPL]

I just want ruder villagers and more dialoques.

 

[Mayor Kera]

i dont want rude villagers back, lol. maybe they dont have to be as sweet and forgivign as they are in new leaf but i really dont want furious villagers calling me names for forgetting to visit them or just for existing ):

This is why I want sass back, but only to a certain extent. Some of the things the villagers said in older games were funny for being so blunt ("I hope you go to JAIL! And that your stupid house is TORN DOWN, *catchphrase*!" - Wild World, peppies), but there were also some really cold things ("You wretch! You utter waste! You fat, bloated idiot!" - GC, crankies). I think the villagers should be moody and stuff if they're going to have the distinction of being cranky or snooty, but I think there's also a type of harshness in the dialogue that we need to avoid as well. There needs to be a good blend of humor and sass, like when the snooties in City Folk say, "Um, I asked for something cool...and this is not it."

 

[Tri]

@AnimalCrossingPerson I remember there being an official statement that Resetti was benched because he made "young girls cry" lmao. I want him to come back too but any dialogue actively mean or aggressive just doesn't jive with Nintendo's vision for the game anymore.

The most basic way to improve the villagers is to drastically lower the number of fetch quests and trades to incedental dialogue. I'd like to see fetch quests as an option in the 'what do you want?' menu like in GC, because that would also make it feel more like a real, civil interaction than only ever being asked unsolicited. For all Nintendo's attempts to shelter kids from hurt feelings, they're teaching horrible life lessons to them by having your "friends" either constantly ask for one sided favors or asking for your stuff.

After that, the incedental dialogue needs gametime checks so we stop being animalsplained tutorials after 5 years. And this will sound weird, but there needs to be more dialogue that doesn't have a purpose; It feels more authentic for your friends to blather about Chillin' Magazine and what they want for dinner than reminding you that you currently have X town ordinance set. New Leaf and City Folk didn't feel "too nice" to me, they felt robotic and lazy because of the writers' reliance on contrieved functional dialogue.