Animal Crossinghas been out for 23 years now, but some fans seem to believe that the need to interact with villagers has vanished. Animal Crossing first launched back in April 2001, and it quickly took the world by storm with its cozy and immersive gameplay. Since then, several titles based within the original world have been created, includingAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsandAnimal Crossing Pocket Camp.
A recent Reddit post byRobemilakgarnered a lot of attention after they mentioned that the originalAnimal Crossinglaunched 23 long years ago today. The comments were mostly positive, yet some fans feel as though villagers have lost all autonomy that made the original creation what it was. The comments point out thatthe dialogue from villagers inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonslacks emotional depth and variety,which is something that initially captivated fans early on in the original title.
After 23 Years, Animal Crossing Seems To Have Lost Its Villager Autonomy
Villagers Feel Like Dolls And Dressing Pieces Now
Players have raised concerns about how villagers interact inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, which really highlights a notable change in the game’s identity. In fact, anotherReddit post from a deleted userclaims the once unique “dialogue has become so flat.“Building relationships with the unique villagers was a major part of the gameplayin earlierAnimal Crossinggames. Each villager had distinct traits, often leading to surprising and memorable interactions. For instance, the original GameCube version featured villagers with abrasive personalities and unexpected comments.
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Villagers no longer react in diverse ways, leading to repetitive and predictable conversations.This sameness in interactions and limited town development suggests that the fun and lasting appeal of earlier games might be missing inNew Horizons. Without it, it may be hard to bring in newer fans and keep older ones as well. A comment fromwhitepikmin11states,“It feels like there’s been some loss of the charm from when villagers were the main focus…”
Our Take: Can Animal Crossing New Horizons Take More Inspiration From The Original Title?
Maybe Not, But Future Games Can Take The Feedback
While theAnimal Crossingseries isclearly improving over time, it is losing some of the series' unique charm, which is important to think about. It’s unlikely that the developers will go back to handle these concerns since the next game alreadyhas release window rumors, but it serves as a lesson for futureAnimal Crossinggames. I have felt the same way for a long time, and evenJaidenAnimations released a videoabout this issue. While the developer likely won’t fix New Horizons, they can fix future games.
The series’ charm is closely tied to the memorable and unexpected interactions with its quirky animal characters.Future games should refocus on keeping villagers' weird and unique personalitieswhile also introducing new features and graphics. While new technology is certainly helpful for the series, developers need to consider that a core part of the game still needs to be the realistic personalities of each villager inAnimal Crossing. ThenextAnimal Crossingneeds to fix plenty of things, but maybe the developers should listen to the fans' requests and put villagers higher on that list.
