New Leaf or New Horizons? Which Animal Crossing Era was the Greatest?

[@14akamaru]

I'm just gonna say it as I feel it... New Leaf feels like a simple yet close-knit community that you help grow. New Horizons just feels like Animal Crossing: Happy Island Designer. And as someone who isn't into all the nuances of designing (my island is still a lovely, trashy 3-star), I just can't help but love New Leaf more.

[@SaltSpirits]

i ain’t ever even get far enough in to customize my island

[@kanadisch]

Plus, I find that public work projects is better than being able to place furniture at random on your island because public work projects take more work and it pays off in the end, and I hate the crafting and durability mechanic in new horizons.

[@cazzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

Agreed. In NL, you are part of the town. In NH, you are the dictator of the town, and all the others that live there have to bend to your will.

[@MystamiSalami]

I would have loved to have to buy special outside furniture/more buildings but still place the small stuff in your yard the same way you would in NH (Because placing stuff in new leaf was limited and annoying) Like, let my neighbors get cranky at me if I put something in their yard without asking, but give me the ability to do it! I feel like NH would have benefitted if you had to work toward things more whether to get social points for your villagers or just to do things in general! AC has always been a progress-based series.@@kanadisch

[@AlexisTwoLastNames]

@@kanadischcrafting would be ok if you could do multiples at a time. durability for tools is stupid in a non-survival game, so it sucks in NH

[@icebear3034]

Both have pros and cons. But personally I found new leaf to be more involving. And that music man.

[@renethomaz93]

yes the music is indeed waaaay better!

[@aquaabouttogetfunky]

Agreed

[@Alky64]

MuUUUUSIC MAAAN

[@darkmatter9651]

Idc what anyone says, but the music in new horizons was total, absolute, complete fucking shit. Trash, even. Completely and irrefutably beyond saving. No, but seriously, it is actually really bad. The absolute gap between the masterful display put on by New Leaf's music and New Horizons' offense to modern videogame music cannot be described. It's *that* bad.

[@darkmatter9651]

@user-ve3jo3wp8gWild World is generally loved by lots. So I don't think a lot of people would agree

[@Anytyme06]

If New Leaf had the customization and graphics of New Horizons then it would be as close to perfect as we can imagine right now.

[@ferrospr1ng]

Real.

[@kamen6009]

Its perfect the way it is,i dont need the customization,animal crossing is about the villagers and a life simulator

[@timohara7717]

​@@kamen6009it's about both bruh

[@Keef220D]

@@kamen6009it’s about both

[@polocatfan]

​@@kamen6009I mean id love the ability to place things outside.

[@soph7167]

New leaf's music just hit the nail on the head honestly, I think it perfectly captured the game and was and still is one of my favorite parts of it. It just makes it so charming and New Horizons music is just.. ok. Of course im biased cause i grew up with new leaf, though.

[@Superboologan1]

Horizons incorporates a lot of horn and ukulele into its sound track. The latter I guess makes sense for its tropical setting? But it just doesn't hold a candle to new leaf's piano and guitar motifs

[@christiandiaz]

As someone who's only played New Horizons, I also feel that New Leaf's music is way better.

[@coreyclip1]

New leaf 7pm just hits different

[@Voraii]

I'm not a fan of crafting systems so I prefer New leaf because its more like animal crossing to me. It reminded me a lot of the original but in a new way. I wished I could have the rudness but vast personalities of the gamecube animal crossing with its various chores and customization of new leaf/new horizons. I miss my animal crossing characters being more like characters.

[@Dr.Frasier_Crane]

It makes me sad to know they’ll never make another game like new leaf again. In my opinion, that was the peak.

[@how-togamer]

Yeah…. So much content that it’s re playable 12 years later

[@packers12to80]

I would be patient. Nintendo is a smart company. The next game i would honestly expect a mash up of the 2. So have some faith

[@evanrozsa]

​@@packers12to80 Agreed

[@planescaped]

@@packers12to80 Nintendo are also the company notorious for leaving money on the table and squandering good ideas, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

[@Jenny_Rose_]

⁠@@packers12to80I hope for this. I don’t want to lose crafting, cooking, decorating etc. but I appreciate New Leaf players (I never stuck with that one long) missing some of those elements

[@kanityreactions]

New Horizons is more comfortable to play, nice quality of life changes, pretty graphics, cool island customisation, but New Leaf had more interesting stuff to do imo, Island Escape is a great mini game that I love and still come back to play, and ofc other stuff, personalities of villagers felt more interesting and personal so to say, they felt more alive, etc etc etc but New Horizons DLC came in instead of a mini game for me 😀 overall both have pros and cons but new leaf felt more filled with content

[@Shiba_Draws]

Yeah!! In New Leaf and previous games you had to actually work to become Friends with villagers, but in new horizons they're Friends with you when they barely know you. I mean omg I remember Olivia just TEARING ME APART

[@how-togamer]

Yes. The game felt infinite and well rounded. I’ve been playing since 2018, and many since launch, and most still have not gotten close to 100%

[@devilinthewoods3809]

I can't believe they added all those nice quality of life updates, only to slap us across the face with how annoying it is to have people visit your island and vice versa. That and how you can't craft multiple items at a time. I remember that annoying the hell out of me. Then they went and added some nice features and locked it behind paid DLC.

[@hazeldavis3176]

I just wanted a little HD Animal Crossing village I could watch grow, maybe chip in for some public works, talk to villagers. I ended up with an island decorating game. I feel like New Horizons came about that way because execs saw how popular New Leaf building videos were on youtube so thought 'that is what people like about this game'. But it's not necesarily the case. Those videos were just good content for youtube. Guess I just wish those of us who liked the simulation part of the game (and game progression) weren't left behind. I get why they did it tho and the game sold well so job done I guess.

[@switch_rat]

Couldn’t agree more. I was hoping for a New Leaf HD game on switch to be honest

[@Danbo22987]

Well looking at the sales number I'd say they were right that yes, that is what a lot of people liked about the game

[@shrimpshufflr7745]

Not you forgetting it released in a time where everyone was locked in their homes 24/7 and introduced mass amounts of new players. Some old players and MOST new ones all like the building feature

[@hazeldavis3176]

@@shrimpshufflr7745 I'm sorry you feel attacked by my feeling of loss about this games design choices. Actually I'm happy you and so many others love it and find joy in it. Two things can be true at the same time.

[@hazeldavis3176]

@@Danbo22987 Yes, many so enjoy the building features. I wish I was one of them because there is a lot to enjoy about this game

[@MakimasFuneral]

The most perfect version of Animal Crossing would be taking the best of new leaf and the best of new horizons and mashing them together!

[@CyrilHul]

As a fan of both games, I find the New Horizons music to be incredibly annoying to the point where I wish I could just turn it off. But you literally can’t. This is coming from someone who adores New Leaf’s music. You can imagine my disappointment when I heard New Horizon’s music. I just miss the charm New Leaf had.

[@scientistservant]

I didn’t like much of New Horizon’s music either. A lot of it’s repetitive and loud.

[@neonmajora8454]

10pm... I can't fucking stand 10pm

[@bobo_1803]

It really depends on what you play animal crossing for

[@raleo7466]

This, if you want a life sim New Leaf was way better, if you want a sandbox New Horizons is better. But I'm still salty about dumbing down the villagers to 3 unique lines a day, they do really feel like furniture instead of sociable beings in New Horizons

[@savislav1130]

@@raleo7466 I agree, i played new leaf a lot, even though i was late to the party (started playing in 2019), i absolutely loved making relationships, sending daily gifts with personal letters, etc. But i also LOVE the customizability of New Horizons, and all the new content like crops, terraforming, and dreams. Both games are good in their own ways, but if new horizons had the music and personality, it would be perfect.

[@daryl5213]

@@savislav1130do you recommend playing NH first before NL? I only played at least two weeks worth of NL and I’m looking forward to play Animal Crossing again.

[@smol_dot_com]

​@@daryl5213I mean if you already have new leaf then just play that one imo, its still a really lovely game that i even personally prefer to NH. You dont need to play them in any specific order, both are fine to start with!

[@wuzittooya]

​@@daryl5213I recc NH if you like pretty graphics and cute gameplay

[@ODSTD56]

Honestly, I think it's just the fact that Nintendo literally gave NH only a year and then stopped shortly after the 2.0 update is where New Horizons falls apart. I really want to know what was going through their minds at that time.

[@Walnut64]

They weren’t expecting for ACNH to be that successful.

[@Tenshi_ZA]

I actually really wonder how well 2.0 did. But them deciding its DONE in the direct was well... Very weird. Here's an update to a game we want people to play but. Also leave us alone now. As sweet as 2.0 was and everything I always wanted. I didn't play even a month later than that. Why? Because my motivation for playing the game was based on it's gonna be supported. I really wish the 3.0 rumours are true. Even if Nintendo just says more stuff is coming. I'll jump right back into the game now

[@juliangonzalez4038]

@@Tenshi_ZAthink of it this way. The sooner they quit working on this one, the quicker they can start on the next one.

[@Tenshi_ZA]

​@@juliangonzalez4038 well I don't agree, because the game still feels like it missed so much. This is setting a worrying precidence that the next game will again be badly supported and only contain a bare minimum game yet again. Do you want that?

[@4bits4e47]

WildWorld had sassy villagers and money didn't come so easy. Completing the museum was a serious challenge. NewLeaf: You had more control with the villagers, shops and Public projects when building your town. NewHorizons: You are the king and everybody loves you! Forever fan.

[@lemonlime79]

New horizons: Your a slave and owner and wake your neighbors up at 3am to move! Also you hit them with nets because they look ugly to you. Or not talking to the villagers because they have nothing but repetitive dialogue.

[@Klassyy]

idk stiches bitched me out today 😂😂 and one of my octopuses says whatever when i dont talk to him

[@timohara7717]

​@@lemonlime79new worlds makes the villager savage you if you annoy them

[@meltedprincess]

@@lemonlime79 The dialogue in NH is ass. These villagers all look different but sound the same. It was not worth $60. Nintendo can fucking bite me.

[@Chiller-pc1dv]

​@@timohara7717New worlds?

[@CheatingSoi]

I totally agree with this. I truly do not understand why Nintendo abandoned New Horizons. There’s no more perfect of a game to continue adding new events and furniture and other features for years to come. It was already a great game but continued support would have not only been easier to develop than most other games but would have also brought this game from great to amazing. It would be so cool if there were always new things to do. Giving you a reason to jump back in and check things out.

[@DumuziTheOriginalGod]

Pocket Camp was probably the reason as that disgusting cash grab took all the attention and updates… >_> Blame people for spending money on a what was supposed to be a free to play game but got all the updates, constant furniture and clothing added, but all for insane greedy leaf ticket prices…. Meaning New Horizons people have to pay to play it but since Nintendo saw how foolish people payed a bunch of ridiculous amounts of money in Pocket Camp they decided to focus on that greedy disgusting game! Animal Crossing Pocket Camp? More like Pocket Scam and Greed! That game made me hate it so much and even literally made me hate Lottie who begs for outrageous leaf tickets in case you fail! The game doesn’t give you that many free leaf tickets at all!

[@finnthomsen8072]

New Leaf will always have a special place in my heart because I used to play it with my best friend, duping items, using the out of bounds glitch etc.. New Horizons obviously has the better customization, but still I feel like new leaf had a long-term fun gameplay, which new horizons just lacks :/

[@eclipse_eternal8178]

I feel like with new horizons I have too much control and it just feels kinda wrong, I mean I like being able to terraform my island, but I liked that you had to work around what you were given in past games.

[@eclipse_eternal8178]

And I also hate that I can't create a new island on the same console, I would love to create a 2nd island

[@kaikomiyakazi8680]

New Leaf was my first AC game and I have many found memories playing it, but New Horizons fixed every main issue I had with the NL, like villagers moving out of nowhere, soil degradation, the lack of control you had over where villagers would move, the randomness of when you'd receive a pwp, lack of more storage space and the list go on. It's still sad that New Horizons got rid of many things that made new leaf so charming, but at least for me it's very hard to go back to New Leaf after you got used to the amazing features that NH introduced. So, yes, NH still have problems, but it does't need to be New Leaf to be the perfetc Animal Crossing game, it just need to be a better version of itself.

[@lemonlime79]

People moving is a part of life, you cant control that… also they should be able to pick where their house is because you picked the spot YOU wanted to be in. But also because there your neighbors and possible friends not you literal slaves.

[@kaikomiyakazi8680]

​@@lemonlime79 It's a game, not real life, you cannot grab a whole tree and put it in your pocket in rl too, but I don't see people complaining about that. And since Wild World the games always let you have some control over your villagers actions, It's not something NH just invented, but this time It's not a random event that you can loose if you don't talk to a them at the right moment. If you want to let your villagers move anytime they want, you can always say "yes", but some of us players are really attached to our villagers and spent many hours designing their homes and yards for they simply go away without saying anyting. Remember that those are ficctional characters of a game, so It's up to you to decide what role villagers have in your town, not from others.

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

Well said! ☺️👏

[@lemonlime79]

@@kaikomiyakazi8680 sorry I personally would let them

[@tambrielle1]

It’s too easy, imo

[@visibleghost1]

New Leaf and New Horizons are very different games. I don't play New Leaf anymore but I still have a lot of feelings about it. The main issue is not which game is better, but rather what you as a player value in an Animal Crossing game, and what the community thinks Animal Crossing should be. New Horizons lacks a lot of features which New Leaf had. I'm still upset about so many downgrades from NL to NH (Gracie, furniture sets, customisation options, stylized items, home upgrades and customisation, the island, and many more) which put together make the game less charming. However I prefer playing NH over NL these days. I wouldn't go back to only playing NL just because I dislike some aspects of NH. I think the overall topic of interest to me is not about which game is better, instead I think it's about what Nintendo chooses to do with Animal Crossing as a series. As it has become more mainstream (even though NL also was mainstream it wasn't to this extent) with tons of new players, the nostalgia and vibe of Animal Crossing has honestly been ruined to a degree. It's not the new players fault, it's 100% a choice Nintendo made to make the game more appealing to a larger audience. However I think it's sad that any future games most likely will be even more appealing to the mainstream new players, which will wash away the personality, charm and quirks of older games. However, this was still an issue that people discussed during the New Leaf days, that it was too mainstream and Nintendo ruined Animal Crossing by letting the mayor rule the town and whatnot. I think New Horizons fixes a lot of issues New Leaf had. It also appeals to the people who want to finish and fully customize an island/town. But it was a fundamentally rushed game that lacked a lot of features at launch, as well as still lacking in true Animal Crossing feelings to this day. I think microtransactions in Animal Crossing would be a sign the apocalypse is coming lmao we already have amiibo cards, DLC and all of Pocket Camp. If they added actual mobile game-like microtransactions into a mainline Animal Crossing game I would genuinely reconsider my lifetime love of this game series. If Nintendo thinks players are willing to pay for mini updates as if Animal Crossing is the new Sims franchise, they'll have ruined the game forever. Not because of money necessarily, I bought three copies of ACNL and an entire extra switch to have more towns/islands, I'm willing to spend money. But it's the greed and disgusting cash grabby nature of microtransactions, paid mini updates and paid exclusive content that genuinely makes me think the essence of Animal Crossing will be destroyed if it's ever implemented. ik I'm writing an essay reply to this I'm sorry.

[@neheobthe1st]

The amount of effort you've put into keeping the AC conversation going, even through this dry period between games, has been incredible. I can't overstate how impressive it is to consistently make content featuring new topics weekly, all just for the love of exploring the game & It's community. I am very much looking forward to seeing your channel absolutely pop off once the next main game's announced! keep up the solid work

[@oOSabbyOo]

I will never forgive Nintendo for abandoning New Horizons like that. The game had so much more potential but the way they just dropped that last update and then never mentioned AC again felt like "well we have made the money we wanted, now be quiet"

[@1bwash]

I mean it's possible there is a next console to come after the Switch and it'll likely have a new Animal Crossing game or some enhanced version of NH.

[@raleo7466]

"if they did non invasive microtransactions..." I mean the amiibo cards where there since HHD

[@scientistservant]

New Leaf for me, hands down. As much as I like New Horizons’ decorating aspects and QOL improvements, a lot of drama from the fandom and odd decisions the developers made (like tools breaking - even the golden tools!!) makes it not as enjoyable.

[@hazeldavis3176]

I picked up my New Leaf town for the first time in a while and the non-breaking tools almost made me cry it was so magical lol

[@floofgaming1381]

I preferred new leaf a lot more, it had a lot more special item sets that didn’t feel like ikea furniture, with sets like the modern series, the card series, and robo series and these were just more fun to collect than generic table that slightly looks like the average household table, and it at one point had really neat Nintendo items that weren’t just Mario items and we lost all of those in NH. In new leaf although the dialogue isn’t the best, you can actually find your villagers talking about interesting things and having disagreements where as in new horizons everything feels so much more artificial. Then golden tools were downgraded hard, with them breaking which is just disappointing. New leaf definitely was able to appeal to old and new fans much better, as it brought back things from the original GameCube game and more along with new additions. Meanwhile in New Horizons we had to wait to get features that should’ve been in at launch already which killed any real sense of progression that the game could’ve had, and to be honest it feels like a glorified doll house rather than a actual life sim.

[@elena_eleen]

Anyone else prefer new leaf's forest vibe over new horizon's island vibe? It would be cool if you could pick the environment in the next game, kinda like the happy home dlc does, so you could pick a desert environment, island, city, forest, maritime, etc...

[@pizzaroll3356]

While New Horizons had more QOL improvements, Graphics, and Decorations. It feels more pale conpare to the previous enteries. It didnt really feel like it doesent have any soul into it. I do admire the insane creative ideas players put toegather. Its still feel slightly souless. 2.0 wouldve had more potential to make me play the game more longer if they didnt stop there plus its being slighty realistic. New leaf maybe old but yet it still feels very new and fresh. The things you can do there is pretty fun compare to NH. The villagers had more personality and dialouge. The amount of content the game had is pretty crazy.

[@urmeltier1818]

Something that I miss in both games is the feeling of building a real friendship with my neighbors like mentioned later in the video. In older games they were more edgy and sometimes a bit ruff. Each new title gets more and more generic in kind of interaction with the villagers. Everybody likes you and you decide everything. I miss the weird questions, where I had choices to answer, like in WW. Nevertheless the new titles gave us really cool and unique features and more and more freedom. New leaf has more long-term motivation because of the unlockable upgrades and has much more to do and New Horizons is pure freedom in designing and has a real storyline at the beginning. For the next title I hope they mix both games up and bring a bit of living in a peaceful gem-feeling back like in older games❤ BTW, thank you for the good comparison vid 😊

[@stormhought]

New Leaf no question. So much more content and way better music. There quite a bit things I love about new horizons, it's just missing or removes so many things I loved Edit: Thank Nook they did not do Micro transactions. That would be awful

[@hazeldavis3176]

I think they were going to but pulled back after the whole EA controversy a few months before launch. I think that's why there is a ticket system for travel vs a bell system.

[@Danbo22987]

I wouldn't say it has more content, just different content. New Horizons is more focused on design, so if you aren't into that, you won't get much out of the game. But if you are into that, then thats where your time sink will be.

[@hannahc3317]

​@@hazeldavis3176nook miles are mostly real money based in pocket camp... I was worried they were going to go that route

[@Becksnnc]

I experienced New Leaf era completely alone. I didn't have the online experience regarding it and only ever played offline by myself in my bedroom. Whereas New Horizons was a much more community based experience for me personally. I was in the major Animal Crossing discord server and would heavily get involved, get inspiration, trade with people, visit peoples islands, open my island for people to come and sell their turnips, I would advertise my villagers that were moving out, I would seek out villagers that I wanted in the server. It was a much more fun experience for me in this sense. And because it was during the height of covid everyone else had that same passion and enjoyment for the game. It was such a wholesome time.

[@renethomaz93]

im torn about what game is best. i love new horizons nowadays simply cause of the graphics and decorating i guess.. i miss the old gameplay and dialogue alot alot tho. and wish they would put in more time in new horizons instead of pocket camp 🙈 but thankful for all the animal crossings and things they gave us. hopeful for the future of it! 😊

[@alexrichardson2500]

Use this as a button if you agree New Leaf with Wild World character conversations would be better than anything they've released so far

[@charadeEX]

I can fully admit that I'll never be able to put my bias aside when discussing the two games. New Leaf was at its peak in my Junior and Senior years at high school, and then Welcome Amiibo came when I was living with two of my best friends as roommates, both of whom also played. I was also walking to work every day at the time, and would have my StreetPass running, since I'd walk past the local college on my way to work. New Leaf was just the perfect game at the perfect time and place for me. People who missed out on the 3DS era of Nintendo in general, I don't think will ever quite understand how much the console itself added to the experience.

[@kyrak5300]

New horizons always just felt too empty for me. The updates were just catching the game up to New Leaf and then from there we're still missing a lot. Not only was character dialogue downgraded, but so were the holidays. Toy day in new leaf meant talking to your villagers in the month leading up to the day, and taking careful notes to learn what they wanted. Now, you get a bag and can hand them anything inside and they're happy. Why was April fools scrapped altogether? That was such a fun day. Just so many things that were lost in the name of pretty decorations.

[@itsagabe]

Villagers have more personality in NL, sure. But there comes a point when talking to them can be a chore due to dialogue repeating often, or two villagers saying the exact same thing upon greeting ("I think we need more dancing right now," or "you're looking as good as a fair number of cucumbers," etc.). As someone who never played NH and loves NL to bits, it bothers me when people say villagers are better in NL as if they were so engaging to talk to. You have to go back to Wild World and GCAC for that level of immersion. I remember having a full-on beef with a rat villager in WW and always looking forward to talking to Rhonda, whereas everyone's always too nice in NL to the point where not even the "difficult" personality types come across as unlikable as they used to in WW. As much as I think the villagers and their personalities are an integral part of the series, I also think making them less prominent in NH wasn't as bad an idea as some suggest. It would've been neat to have dialogue and interactions that match the first game or even WW, but at the same time it's really annoying to have your town change so drastically with villagers moving in and out without your input when you haven't played for a while, for example. I think the best thing Nintendo could do moving forward is combining the immersion of NL with the customization of NH and sprinkling some GCAC/WW writing and interactivity for good measure whilst still giving the player full control of their villagers.

[@riyamurugappan252]

One of the best parts about New Leaf was Tortimer Island, especially when you could meet other people there

[@acedia3730]

I don't know if it's nostalgia or having more free time but new leaf definitely felt like there was more heart in it. New Horizons just feels superficial especially with the villager dialogues.

[@tanasiascott]

what i absolutely miss the most about new leaf is 1. the villagers being villagers, and 2. tortimers island with the mini games and open world where you could meet people

[@jack37248]

I love new leaf so much I still play it everyday and it’s my favorite game of all time

[@m_for_maggiee]

I love the town atmosphere of new Leaf, but I also grew to love the personalization of acnh. It’s hard to choose.

[@saithvenomdrone]

Microtransactions? Never. I already hate amiibos.

[@itssullyr]

I prefer new leaf mainly because of the whole multiplayer aspect. meeting people on Tortimer's island was the best and the MINIGAMES??? NEW LEAF ALL THE WAY

[@IntergalacticDustBunny]

The perfect animal crossing game would have the villager personality from the first game, a mixture of features from wild world and new leaf, with the graphics of new horizons.

[@jvxday]

for me it’s new leaf since i feel more immersed in the story/town growth and the villagers are more fun

[@waaaaaluigi]

new leaf was basically the french revoloution of animal crossing. It was also my second animal crossing game. I can't help but feel so much nostalgia towards acnl.

[@justclassicglam]

I like New Horizions, but New Leaf had more shop upgrades, more unique furniture and villager diologue. The shop upgrades are the most frusterating part for me, since we don't have anything more than Able Sisters and a Tier 2 Nook shop that only sells a few items a day that always seem to be the same ones over and over again. The crafting system was poorly done as well since DIY's repeat even if you already have them and having to collect all those materials for each item you want to craft is annoying at times. Overall, New Horizions although great customization and creative potential really feels like a hollow game experience compared to how much content was in New Leaf.

[@DylBro101]

Nothing compares to me as a kid on new leaf just constantly going to the online Kappn island to meet new people and fish for money while I talked. We would talk about random stuff, make friendships, etc. It was very fun. Being able to meet other people just enjoying the game same as I did. Also getting to play mini games on the island together, very fun. If that was there in NH, with the mini games and just being able to meet players on a perhaps randomly generated island. It would have been really awesome.

[@user-jl7cz2pe6d]

This might be nostalgia talking, but personally, I prefer New Leaf. The 2.0 update feels like what New Horizons should've been at launch. Aside from decorating and teraforming, there isn't really much else to do. Even __with__ this final update lol

[@Devinloves56]

Defintely new leaf. It had so much charm and felt like a close knit community, it was wonderful

[@sigoogle]

I'm part of the 1% that adores New Horizons over all the previous games. I've played since the Wild World days, WW took over my life as a kid in 2006 and it was my first AC game as i didn't have access to my cousin's gamecube all the time. City Folk was okay, it was a good stand-in for a AC console game at the time but it wasn't that great, the best thing about it was that it shared the same music as WW. NL came along and i was excited like the rest of the fandom for it's release, a new handheld AC game to obsess over.....And i haven't gotten rid of my original town or anything but i just dropped off it pretty quickly, it was a bit too different for my taste, the shops weren't nearby, the only great place was Retail, the items you could technically place outside was very limited...and oh my god the music, i really didn't like it lmao. But when NH came out, oh man oh man, the obsession came back and it came back with full force, i was playing daily for hours, i wasn't able to get work done that''s how obsessed i was, it included the things me and every other person in the AC fandom was asking for, being able to move villagers around, being able to place things outside, and when they said we could actually change the island??? My mind was blown, if they keep what they did with NH and add a few of the older games into the next game, it'll be a GOTY, it has to be. NH was incredible, it'll always be special and in my heart for the way they listened to the fans, i'm so excited for the next game!

[@Twinklethefox9022]

I am too. Mainly because it was my first game and new leaf is really stressful. I'm glad I didn't play that one first because I would have gave up on the series. And it feels like the game punishes you for not playing every day or keeping your perfect fruit safe because someone could easily crush them. New horizons let you actually choose so you didn't have to worry that one day, a villager you invited would ruin your chances of getting blue roses or golden ones.

[@gh0stgarbage]

I will also say, I don’t LIKE the update feature for games like Animal Crossing. It simply doesn’t work with this sort of game, New Horizons should have come out with the features it has now on launch and any updates should have been bug fixes, HHP being DLC is fine, and any other updates adding things should’ve simply been a cherry on top. If a game like Animal Crossing specifically cannot be played by someone out in the middle of nowhere without wifi, it’s a poorly made- or at least poorly planned- game. I also HEAVILY disagree, Animal Crossing is my special interest, but with a company like NINTENDO? I’d quit playing altogether if they introduced microtransactions

[@Now_Roxas]

New leaf for 1 simple reason Very few tools break no I'm not joking that is litterally the final tip in new leafs scale

[@ScottStarrs]

I prefer new leaf

[@NerevarineKing]

New Horizon sacrifices too much to focus on decorating/crafting.

[@teletubbycomplex]

I love new leaf, but new horizons really helps with diversity inclusion which is huge. I haven't played other games besides these last two so idk if it's different in others, but in new leaf you had to sit in the sun (edit: on the separate island after meeting tortimer, I'm not sure about in the town itself) to get darker skin, which is disheartening. There's also a less strict gender binary in the new game, which is huge too. The customization of your character for sure is a plus for the series. Edit: there's also an option to use the mii feature in shampoodle on main Street to become a different race, but still, that takes time to get unlocked, I'm glad the new game doesn't have hurdles for inclusion.

[@Twinklethefox9022]

New leaf is more stressful in my opinion too. Like if you don't play one day, everything you worked hard on could be ruined because a random villager decided to move in. A couple of weeks ago, I was exhausted. I just flopped on my bed and stared at my 3ds, wondering if I should boot up to do some things and then call it a night. But I decided sleep was more important and the game basically punished me by letting a villager crush all my perfect fruit and I have no way of getting it back I don't think. Edit 2: I finally got 2 perfect pears from my normal trees.

[@timohara7717]

​@@Twinklethefox9022maybe plan better

[@timmyb.3426]

I feel like people will appreciate New Horizons more once when the next Animal Crossing game releases, especially if it removes a lot of features that New Horizons has. It just seems to be common that people tend to appreciate the things that were present in the previous game more while they kind of take what they do have in the current or latest game for granted.

[@Wineoclockbookworm]

Such a good point. I've been thinking along the same line. Don't get me wrong I adore New Leaf and still think it's a superior game. But I've also been thinking that I'll be nostalgic for New Horizons one day so I should play it more and appreciate it more now before Nintendo shuts down the online services for the Switch. You know it's gonna happen! 😢

[@TraitorPotater]

Well the series is currently going through an identity crisis right now. There’s only 2 possible reasons that people will appreciate New Horizons more than the next game. For the og fans of the series who’ve been playing AC since the GameCube, they’ll somehow manage to make a game that’s even worse that further distances itself from the series original formula. Or they’ll bring the series back to its roots of being a life/ social sim and abandon the whole town builder/design focused game they have going on now causing the new fan base to complain and wonder why it’s so different than before.

[@JaceTimes]

I dont think both of them should be compared to each other. In my opinion they're both different games all together. It just depends on the player and what they like.

[@Superboologan1]

If you're the type of animal crossing player who made custom sidewalk tiles to create pathways in your town; harassed villagers whose houses were in the way so another person could move in where you want them to; and meticulously planted your flowers to create intricate patterns, you're going to fucking adore new horizons, since it's very much made for that kind of animal crossing player. I, however, am not. And as such will forver champion new leaf as the best ac so far

[@moonamoonz]

New leaf is the best and is prob always going to be the most delightful game of the AC franchise, New Horizons in my opinion only beats the graphics, but when its about soundtrack, content, nostalgia and fun, New Leaf will always come to my mind.

[@GiftedContractor]

I VEHEMENTLY disagree about microtransactions. Something like the connectivity and player interaction focus of Animal Crossing needs every player to start from the same level and have access to the same tools

[@james_nolan]

I loved New Horizons when it came out, but as a long time Animal Crossing fan, going all the way back to the GameCube version, I feel like they made a lot of changes to New Horizons to the point that it doesnt feel like a traditional Animal Crossing game, they took out a lot of furniture sets that were in the original, City Folk and New Leaf.

[@superfire2030]

I hate the fact that Pocket Camp got more attention than an New Horizons...

[@saezmks1]

why would you want microtransaction in an animal crossing game?

[@pika8976]

I think sometimes a game doesn't necessarily need to be better than its predecessor but rather its nice to have a new game with new experiences but you're also happy to go back to the old game and revisit all the unique things it has

[@planescaped]

New Horizons added the ability to decorate outside, a much needed and great addition. But damn did it come at a heavy cost.

[@OlanR24]

I like them both in different ways. They have their pros and cons I like New Leaf for the minigames, villagers having more dialogue and character, Cyrus saying your name instead of just saying squirt, Club LOL, Torminer's Island and overall just has that Animal Crossing feeling to it. I like New Horzions for the graphics, decorating outside, the way you can take photos, villagers not leaving unexpectedly. They have a lot of cons too. So overall, if I want to enjoy an actual Animal Crossing experience I'll play New Leaf (or City Folk) or if I want to relax and do something at my own pace, I'll go with Horizons.

[@Jme_hde]

The fact that terraforming, placing furniture outside and the degree of customisation were the factors that sold me New Horizons in the first place when I was so doubtful I’d even like the game show - to me - that Nintendo really hit the nail on the head when trying to attract new players.

[@OpalFedora92]

The Gamecube was the best era to me but I enjoyed having more rooms for my house, swimming, RVs and new shops in New Leaf. I think the personality of Population Growing mixed with the updates of New Leaf and being able to design your island and character customizing like in New Horizons would be the best game.

[@Jack_MxM]

I totally agree with you and I hope they Don't just see the success of New Horizons and run only in that direction going forwards. It's nice to see someone else who appreciates the Gamecube days too!

[@quietcarselijah]

I know this is stupid but I honestly prefer wild world

[@raleo7466]

I mean the villagers felt alive, understandable

[@stormhought]

I think you just like what ever you grew up with tbh.

[@ShrinkingWallflower]

Wild World will always be my favourite 💞

[@pixelpiekser]

I always used to play Animal Crossing New Leaf with my Friends as a Child. We all used to sit in this one Room and played Animal Crossing together. I just wish I could experience New Horizons with those Friends someday but they don't have a Nintendo Switch.

[@chasetheswift]

New Leaf hands down is a better AC game. New Horizons only has the island creator tools to hold it up. I will say Wild World was the best one.

[@commercialfree]

Both games have its pros and cons as you have stated but for me it boils down to what aspect of the game you want to focus on. If you like decorating and customization the New Horizons is the perfect game, but if you like the Life-Simulation aspect of the games then New Leaf is the perfect game.

[@lionhart1517]

Definitely wish Horizons had more shops you can build on your island, just two is kinda lacking. Also the mini games were always a blast! But got to agree that Horizons is my favorite of the two

[@discussingwhattodo5381]

Played both for hours. Although I’ve had new leaf for ten years now and only new horizons for 3. While new leaf is by FAR. A better game, not just a stupid cash grab. New horizons definently had a better community. The canvass grew WAYYY more. From the 10 mil new leaf owners to the 35 million we have on new horizons. It just felt so fun for my favorite game to be so main stream?

[@SuperKawaiismile]

To me, new horizons was definitively a great game if you haven’t picked up new leaf before but new leaf had a soul to it that was so lively. There were more character interactions and I loved the mini games you could play on the island! New horizons feels more like a cute open sandbox where you can customize so many things. Also the music for new leaf? Perfection. Growing up I remember watching so many videos of people playing new leaf. Saving up my lunch money and collecting coins so I could finally buy a copy of new leaf. That game always has my heart, especially the community. I hate to say it but since new horizons got so big it felt like the community became a lot more toxic. Ex. The star fragment trees and people complaining about hacking these features in the game. Or time travel complaints became bigger. New Leaf had a closer knit community that respected each other and how we’d play the game. New leaf takes replayability up a notch for me but if it had what new horizons brought to the table it would be a perfect game.

[@earth2tonez]

for me personally, i feel like i can appreciate one game *because* i have the other. I love the citybuilding aspect of new horizons in the same way i love the immersive life sim aspects of new leaf. I feel like i can enjoy an island i put a lot of effort and time into and have all my favorite villagers on, and i can have a low-stakes town where i dont need to be perfect and i can just wander around and have fun. Both games have their flaws of course, but for me its more of a having my cake and eating it too situation.

[@diannalynnYT]

Just found my 3DS last night. Never been so excited to start a new town. I was hoping my old town was there but years back one of my boys wanted to try a town so his was. New Leaf just hits the spot.

[@Momo4060i]

Bottom line is, both games are great and I still play both of them regularly. I love a lot of the quality of life changes in New Horizons and the Island setting especially offered something new and fresh for me. New Leaf on the other hand still retains that classic Animal Crossing feeling creating a unique atmosphere that just feels so cozy to go back to from time to time. I also don't agree that Nintendo not updating New Horizons further is a bad thing. Like, I don't want Animal Crossing to become a freaking service game. They always added more stuff and mechanics with each new entry and I think it should be kept this way. Oh, and to outright suggest they should add micro transactions to the game is outrages. I would never touch the series again if it became like Pocket Camp.

[@ignatiousmary8413]

New leaf was the game that got me into Animal Crossing. That game will always be nostalgic to me than New Horizons. I really love the music in this game and the features aswell that they didn't bring back in New Horizons.

[@dom-nx9ik]

i just want one more update, paid or not, that adds minigames 😞 or just something more multiplayer focused

[@ch5rry240]

New leaf with placing furniture outside would’ve been the perfect animal crossing

[@Yoshiinite]

Now i started to think they dropped New Horizons so early in its life cycle because they started to develop the next game, could be on Switch or release around the same time as the next Nintendo console.

[@dangofluff2193]

I'll admit , if new horizons had new leafs music and villager dialogue, I would say it was indeed better by like 2 pts👀, but because I can't stand half the soundtrack and get painfully bored talking to my villagers feeling like all they have to offer now is "cuteness factor" Im gonna stick with new leaf being the better game....not to mention I rlly miss Gracie and nook shop upgrades😢

[@jupiter_jazz]

i love new leaf so very much, it probably could get a remake on the switch with the customization aspects of ACNH added in and be my perfect game. i would never need another game ever. side note: i will never forget the relief that washed over me when i learned that pitfall seeds didn’t exist in new horizons. i walked around my island on the day the game came out in so much fear 😭😭😭

[@timohara7717]

They.... do though the pitfalls I just saw them in the crafting. Also imagine an animal crossing using the orgianal rpg thing and also using the best aspects of each game plus more

[@persephone7702]

I loved what New Horizons brought to the table but... The hourly music, the mainstreet, the multiple stores, tortimer's island and the tours it had + the shopping, Gracie's Furniture line (my biggest miss but because I ADORED Princess and Sweets), Roost being it's own building with minigames, RVs, Amiibo special characters, the feeling like I mattered and was needed more than just "oh they had a good name idea teehee!", playing games with villagers!!! all the missing NPCs (Hell, I even miss the HHA section of the game!!) There was a lot that added character and feeling to the game that I found jarring when I noticed it was gone. It really felt more rushed than I'd have liked it... Especially since NL got support for quite some time after the launch it felt like I had a reason to come back, even after maybe a year. Now? Idk... I'm just kinda kicking my feet waiting for new inspo so i can tear it down and start over. I feel like I'm hoping they'll remember how much just the small solo player stuff meant to us, but I fear we're past Nintendo's ago of caring anymore. Unlike with the failure of the Wii U ad the need to bank solely on New Leaf, there's no urgency to update or appease us anymore. The game released, to massive unpredicted success, and continues to hold more power to it's name compared to New Leaf, and with less to show for. I know I won't stop playing animal crossing games, it's too important to me, but I wish that even a small concern like this could be taken seriously.

[@livelollobotomy]

All rise for the new rocket Elijah vid 🎉

[@kathleendavis1145]

I prefer New Leaf 100%. I have more fond memories of this game. New Horizons was a huge disappointment.

[@renethomaz93]

yep me too! im thankful for new horizons, but alot of dissapointment over time/after playing cause of the unavoidable comparison to new leaf!

[@CreateVilleArtLoft]

Animal crossing new leaf was where my fandom for animal crossing started

[@fiveythefox3318]

My ideal Animal crossing game would be the layout of New leaf, Villagers from the older games and features of New Horizons would be perfect.

[@dom-nx9ik]

i think something that many people fail to realize is that in new leaf’s final years, the majority of the player base stuck around because of the town design aspect of the game. nintendo most likely saw that the remaining new leaf players were spending their time designing towns (and most were using save editors and mods to do unique things to their towns) and leaned very heavily in that direction believing that the design portion of the game is what kept players around the longest, thus giving us the half-baked villagers and life sim elements in new horizons in favor of it being more sandbox-y

[@packers12to80]

5am in nh is top tier as it gets lol

[@heynowitslife]

my first was new horizons and out of curiosity i tried new leaf and was floored by just how much actual gameplay there was. the game just kept me busy and it was fun. I like the story of new horizons and the graphics, but I think I like the villagers and gameplay more in New Leaf

[@seanmaddex4104]

You also have to take into account a global pandemic disrupting the ability to work on updates

[@supremeleaderfrancisco9062]

true to a degree but most of this stuff should have been in the game at launch the game was already delayed

[@cryingwatercolours]

@@supremeleaderfrancisco9062 y’all want a game immediately but don’t wanna wait for it 💀

[@2111jade]

Coming from New Leaf, I was afraid of walking over the fossil posts cos I thought there would be pitfall seeds. Nah.

[@chromedahomiebiggestfanno1]

I adore new leaf, however I find that you need bells to actually have fun, new horizons gives you freedom from the start, if you know what I mean

[@Beefy-Cheese]

16:02 I completely forgot about puzzle league! I played that for hours!

[@KarlaO711]

Without seeing the video. New Leaf hands down. They cut so much from New Horizons...

[@master_atlas]

There is so many things I wish New Horizons did differently or had for itself, like New Leaf and New Horizons shouldn't be a division in the community but New Horizons is just a less-intuitive New Leaf, like all the updates besides the final one really showed the game was released early and on time-constraints. When the final update came out, that is what I expected of major updates, not just content that couldn't get finished in time. Then there are the items that while New Horizons offers a lot, there are many things New Leaf and over time Pocket Camp had that if New Horizons just received, and the fruit that was island fruit in New Leaf, why did that not return, could have made nook mile tours more enjoyable? What I am saying is I just feel like New Leaf survives because the content is timeless, it wasn't spoonfed to us to basically force us to be like, oh new couch, might as well use it because I didn't like the other couches in the game before as much as I like that one, felt that way about the mermaid sofa. For a game that was also emphasized to be multiplayer friendly, it was lacking bad, like why advertise that you can have seven other people just come to your island to get bored? Players were making their own minigames and one person even did Deal or No Deal, but the animal crossing team provided...it just feels like an insult to what New Leaf masterfully done. Now New Leaf wasn't perfect, it lessens that perfection with New Horizons and whatever comes next, but for a 3DS title to outdo content for the switch, like even those amiibo villagers and items, if we had fortune cookies or any of that, could get all fruit single player even if it is just Harvest Day, it forces you to play with people to have everything but doesn't provide anything so our community made treasure islands because what else?

[@Zafaruss]

Honestly I think the breaking tools are really cool and make sense and I like the feature. But golden tools being able to break makes zero sense. It would’ve been such a good insensitive but no.

[@Zombiebutterflies1]

New Leaf always. I was so excited for New Horzons. I ended up hating it so much. I never cared about decorating my town and I feel like that is all ACNH is about.

[@MissinDaSylveon]

I had better experiences with New Leaf. There was just so much more do early in the game's lifespan than New Horizons.