What should I do

[AgentBlade]

I don’t know if I want to restart or flatten because I have a lot of my favorite villagers and it’s a launch day island also my catalog has a lot of stuff I need but like 80% of my island is 2nd layer lol. Plz halp.

 

[Aquilla]

I was in the same position as you a few months ago. I would recommend you first flatten your island. It takes a lot of time, but if you don't want to lose your progress, it's your best shot. Once it's flat, see if you like it! If you don't, you can still re-start.

In my case flattening it didn't do the trick - I just wanted a new map and a fresh start. I didn't like where my resident services was and didn't like my beaches. I asked a friend to hold my most important items for me while I was resetting. As for the villagers, there are many amazing people here who have villager shops. My friend @CylieDanny even lets you adopt amiibo villagers for free! You could also ask users here to hold your stuff while you reset.
As for your catalogue, some users here have catalogue islands that let you catalogue whatever you need.

I hope I was able to help!

 

[dizzy bone]

I suggest flattening it first as well. You have nothing to lose (but time doing it) and the spaciousness and blank slate might inspire you. If you are still unhappy with it, you can always restart! I personally found flattening parts of my island little by little to be easier to work with and less overwhelming but it's up to you! When I started flattening parts of my island, a big chunk of it was also 2 or more layers so it did take some time but it was definitely worth it. Got me out of a slump when I was feeling bored of the game.

 

[StephOnACNL]

If you don't like your island design/theme I'd recommend just flattening your island and redesigning it. If you don't like the placement of your resident services/ocean inlets then you could consider restarting your island.

To keep your passport registration date, after you delete your save data time travel back to the NH launch date before starting the game again. This is what I did when I reset because I wanted to keep my reg date and it worked for me
If you're willing to spend more money on the game you can buy entrance to catalog islands on etsy and buy amiibo cards on there as well. I paid like $25 for entrance to a catalog island where I was able to catalog every variation of of like 90% of the games furniture. It took me like 3 hours, but if you do this make sure the person has trash can on their island or it takes even longer because you have to drop everything. I also paid another fee to an island that had all special items (sanrio, gulliver, gullivaar, etc), materials, and every diy recipe. It took me like 2 hours to learn all of the recipes. Also, most catalog islands will have very popular villagers in boxes

If you decide to reset pay close attention to the map you choose and know that your first week in the game is gonna be very tedious because you'll have to go through the beginning stages of the game again. I did not realize how much of a drag it would be lol. Also, there are free catalog islands, but you'll have to look for them

 

[JKDOS]

Restarting can be a good way to refresh the gameplay, and give you some new things for a week.
RS Tent, prologue music, quests from Tom Nook, an island covered in weeds. That nice feeling of a brand new island to explore and set up. After that week, you'll have your new island to set up how you'd like.

but at the same time, since there is no New Game+, you will lose all your DIYs, catalogue, and storage. Losing all the clothing items I've collected alone makes it hard me to do a reset.

Making the island all flat on the other had is very very monotonous, and then you'll need to work hard at making rivers and cliffs look natural. And moving trees, flowers, buildings, and bridges and inclines around in the process is another challenge.

You'll need to weigh the pros and cons of each and make the decision that best works for you. If you do end up resetting, there are some of us here (myself included) that would be happy to get you some DIYs, fruits, and some other things.

 

[PacV]

Flat that island and don't lose anything. Restart might feel fresh but if you already have a lot, why start again.

I would just make an exception if the Resident Services place is not somewhere i prefer it to be.

 

[-Blue-]

If it's between flattening your island and restarting, I would probably go with flatten first and not just outright erase all of your progress. I remember flattening my entire upper half of the island (that was mostly 2nd/3rd tier cliffs) and I kept it that way for the whole summer (last year) and eventually referenced old pictures to construct it back to the way it was.

I just didn't know what I wanted to do with it lol. But I would rather flatten my whole land than undo all the work of nook miles, catalogue, storage, diy lists, and so forth. Especially the diy balloon farming. I would not want to go through that again.

 

[azurill]

I would probably flatten instead of restarting. You could always flatten part of it at a time instead of all at once. When I lost inspiration for my main Island I started flatten parts of it at a time. I am feeling better about it now that I’m taking my time to plan where I want to put things.

 

[amemome]

+1 to flattening first, then resetting! It's less drastic and helps prevent regret in the case you reset and then realize you actually DID like your island. I think once everything is flat, you can really explore the design of your island and reevaluate what to put where.

 

[AgentBlade]

Restarting can be a good way to refresh the gameplay, and give you some new things for a week.
RS Tent, prologue music, quests from Tom Nook, an island covered in weeds. That nice feeling of a brand new island to explore and set up. After that week, you'll have your new island to set up how you'd like.

but at the same time, since there is no New Game+, you will lose all your DIYs, catalogue, and storage. Losing all the clothing items I've collected alone makes it hard me to do a reset.

Making the island all flat on the other had is very very monotonous, and then you'll need to work hard at making rivers and cliffs look natural. And moving trees, flowers, buildings, and bridges and inclines around in the process is another challenge.

You'll need to weigh the pros and cons of each and make the decision that best works for you. If you do end up resetting, there are some of us here (myself included) that would be happy to get you some DIYs, fruits, and some other things.

I wish it was like new leaf where you would get money and keep your catalog

 

[mayor.lauren]

Honestly, I've flattened both of my old islands, gotten way too overwhelmed, and ended up resetting anyways. Flattening has never gone well for me personally. Yeah, it sucks to lose your DIYs and villagers, but they're usually not too difficult to get back. You can also store your items and bells with someone you know (or even someone on here) so you don't have to stare completely from scratch.

Like someone mentioned above, there's pros and cons to both. Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[JKDOS]

I wish it was like new leaf where you would get money and keep your catalog

An update like that alone would be massively appreciated in New Horizons.