The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!

Sadly I am feeling horribly ill right now, as I have Covid for the 3rd time in my life. Nothing serious, but just feeling like shit for the third day in a row. This made me think back to a game that released at the perfect time during the pandemic (the one that isn’t Among Us).

Let’s discuss the Animal Crossing series. What is your favorite game in the series? What aspects do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? Are there other games that gave you similar feelings? Feel free to share any thoughts that come up, or react to other peoples comments. Let’s get the conversation going!

If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).

Previous entries: Age of Empires, Super Mario, Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire

  • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
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    5 months ago

    If New Horizons was your first animal crossing game and you were disappointed by the lack of personality that the villagers had, go play the original AC. Almost no customization options outside of your house interior, but the villagers have way, way, waaaay more personality. Not really surprising since, iirc the series was originally supposed to be focused on your interactions with the villagers.

    • Russ@bitforged.space
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      5 months ago

      Yep! I’m pretty sure I can remember Resetti in the original Gamecube version making me cry as a kid after getting yelled at for accidentally turning off the system without saving…

      I also remember Phyllis, who basically hated your guts for interrupting her night shift.

      And of course there’s the actual villagers of the town too, some of them were definitely a lot more… liberal… with you, personality wise!

      • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
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        5 months ago

        Oh man, they get absolutely pissed if you hit them +3 times with an axe or net, which is way easier to do by accident than you’d want; if you hit a villager once, the game seems to assume that you want to hit them again, so attempting to interact just results in you pummeling/slashing the villager. I’ve had them tell me I don’t deserve friends, that I’m a freak, that I’m a horrible creature who shouldn’t be around people, etc…

        Even if you don’t accidentally or intentionally piss them off, they can be very rude and condescending when you first start playing. They chill out after you start interacting with them (and you have to interact if you want them to treat you nicer), but it can take weeks for them to start doing that. That’s what I love about the GameCube animal crossing; the villagers aren’t tripping over themselves to make you happy. In New Horizons, villagers basically exist to make you happy and feel better about yourself; however, they make it very clear they don’t like you at first in the original.

        (Also yes, you can hit villagers with an axe in the OG game and they have a slightly different reaction to it. It’s hard to do though and would seem like a bug if it weren’t for the fact that they react differently to it)

    • coyotino [he/him]@beehaw.org
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      5 months ago

      and the gyroids! and the NES emulators! There are additions to modern AC that really bring it up a notch (custom fashion, WAY more furniture items), but there really was a charm to the original that modern Nintendo would never bring back. They don’t want to scare kids with villagers that could be anything other than vaguely positive towards you, and they don’t want to give their back catalog away for “free”.