There are a lot of core features in the Animal Crossing series that everyone universally loves. Over time, some of these have been stripped away, diluted, or flat-out removed, while others have been nurtured and innovated upon to make them even better. There has been a lot of back-and-forth with the Animal Crossing games, with each entry moving two steps forward and one step back. New Horizons, for example, managed to push away the core themes of the series while elevating its gameplay.
While we all ponder when the next Animal Crossing game will eventually grace our currently barren Nintendo Switch 2s, I find myself wondering just how it will both push the series forward and see it regress, if only ever so slightly. I think about what my dream game would be, what features I’d toss out – goodbye crafting – and which I’d keep or even add. Surprisingly, every time I dwell on it, which is rather a lot, I find myself feeling more and more strongly that one of Animal Crossing’s most beloved features needs to go.
Animal Crossing Needs To Let You Choose Your Villagers
You Should Be Able To Choose From The Start
People absolutely love villager hunting, and I do understand the appeal. There’s both the desire to fill one’s town with one’s favorite villagers as well as the thrill of the hunt. It is the closest Animal Crossing gets to the excitement of Pokémon’s creature capturing, or really, a sense of progression beyond building up a home or town. It can be quite engrossing to hunt down the best villagers in Animal Crossing and populate your town with them.
However, while it is fun for some, I find it utterly tedious and a frustrating endeavor every time. Not only is the process laborious, but I’m also always deeply unsatisfied whenever I eventually get the band back together. That is, partially, because New Horizons put a far smaller emphasis on villager interactions, making actually finding your favorites a little bit of a fruitless effort. Sure, they look like your friends from a previous Animal Crossing game, but they barely act like them.
Villager hunting isn’t my biggest issue with Animal Crossing, but it certainly ranks up there. It seems to me that there is a relatively easy fix as well, which, admittedly, makes it all the more frustrating. I don’t understand why Nintendo doesn’t just let us pick which villagers we want from the very start. Of course, I understand that removes a lot of the fun from it, but it would also remove a significant portion of stress, too.
Wasting Time On Villagers Isn’t Fun
It Also Detracts From Discovering New Villagers
There is also the issue of villagers coming and going from your town. If you were able to pick who you start with, then, eventually, they’d leave, and you’d be saddled with some random villager you don’t like. However, if anything, getting to choose from the start at least takes the misery you experience when that happens after having spent countless weeks attempting to find that rare villager who always evades you.
Removing the need to hunt for villagers also allows you to better engage with whatever new gameplay mechanics Nintendo has introduced. More importantly, it also ensures you focus on who you’ve already got, rather than being constantly unsatisfied. Choosing from the outset, or perhaps being given a random set that sticks with you forever, would make you better appreciate your current company, and that’s important.
Animal Crossing shouldn’t really be like Pokémon, at least in my opinion. It shouldn’t be about chasing AC’s rarest villagers; it should be about forging relationships with those around you. Sometimes, it feels as if both Nintendo and the Animal Crossing fanbase have forgotten that. I don’t necessarily just want to be able to choose which villagers I get at the start just so I can get my favorites. If anything, I want that option so I can choose those others recommend, or just finally get to see what the fuss is about with some of the rarer ones.
Rare Villagers Could Be Optional
You Could Get To Choose Your Villager Set-Up
Naturally, as with most things, this would all be much better if it were an option, and not necessarily a hard and fast rule. I’m not asking Nintendo to remove the concept of villager hunting altogether, as I appreciate that it is what makes certain villagers rare in the first place. Many enjoy the thrill of it, the relief of finally finding your favorite villager after days or weeks of searching, or even just another excuse to hop into Animal Crossing.
So, instead of removing that, Nintendo could add an option at the start of the game that allows you to select whether you want to choose your villagers. Should you opt out of it, you can go on your merry way and actively pursue your favorite villagers. However, if you were to opt into it, then you’d be able to pick from the available pool of villagers. After that, you could still chase others if you so please, or just be content with your selection.
Were Nintendo to implement such a feature, it would bring the next entry that much closer to becoming my dream Animal Crossing game. I appreciate I’m likely in the minority here, and I don’t really want to ruffle feathers by implying this feature should be cut altogether. It is an Animal Crossing tradition, and not one I wish to get in the way of. However, more options will certainly not make the next Animal Crossing game any worse, and, if anything, just open it up to even more prospective players.
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