Old leaf
Two years back, the husband encouraged me to try Animal Crossing: New Leaf on his 3DS. "What do you like about it?" I asked.
"It's a relaxing game," he said. "You can go fishing, collect seashells, talk to neighbors, decorate your house . . ."
"What's the goal? How do you win?"
"There's no goal. Do whatever you like."
I gave him a skeptical look. "Whatever you like? I need missions."
"It's fun. Just try it."
So I did. And liked it a little. Thought the neighbors were charming.
But there were a lot more things I didn't like: the art style; how long it took to swap tools; the feeling there wasn't much to do; most of all, a sense that the game wasn't going anywhere. Also, I had no one to play with. My husband's house was on the island but long since abandoned. He hadn't checked his last mailbox letter, so there it remained, a perpetually blinking blue light.
I forsook New Leaf after several days and went on to some fancy PS4 game.
New horizons, literally
When the trailer of a spanking new AC hit in 2019, I was again skeptical but a little impressed this time. It's a well-written trailer, I think you'd agree, and graphically a real upgrade from the 3DS.
My husband wasn't slavering chops over it (not super excited, just slightly excited), but he pre-ordered New Horizons anyway.
So we began playing—together—on launch day, March 20, 2020.
And, boy, was I more than a little impressed by the fine animation of sea waves, reflected light on the water, lifelike butterflies, and wriggling sea basses.
New Horizons changed my view of Animal Crossing and made me a follower. Here's why.
Besides the fact that it looked much better than New Leaf, it also played much better. Thanks to the Tool Ring (which ought to have been available from the get-go), I could switch easily between tools.
New Horizons offered more to do—or so it felt. The Nook Miles point collection system made me feel there was more I ought to do, more I wanted to do. The daily bonus goals were simply addictive.
And that's just a small chunk of the game. I'm totally caught up with crafting, customising, collecting furniture and clothes, creating outdoor sets, and . . . have I mentioned cornering the Stalk Market?
Atsumare!
Playing from launch day also made a difference to my experience of AC. It was exciting to join a worldwide activity with thousands of others (all holed up at home in lock-down mode, all yearning for fresh air, blue skies, something social, something happy). And I was on the edge of the first wave, sailing towards a horizon that was new to everyone else too.
Playing with my husband made it even more meaningful. We had just finished Luigi's Mansion 3 and could have withdrawn to our respective, solitary single-player games. But ACNH kept us playing together. So I just had to take this commemorative photo of our first night of co-op on the island.
Two days after launch, we visited a friend's church because ours chose to stop meeting physically for awhile. There, a young lady named M came up to me, saying, "So I hear you play Animal Crossing too!" (Our friend's eldest child had reported it to M, who was her youth group teacher.)
M said she had bought the Coral Switch Lite just for ACNH. She had collected various fruit trees already—thanks to a group of colleagues at her elementary school who were all AC fans—and offered to pass us peaches and pears. We made plans to meet in our mutual friend's house after church. Fruits were exchanged. M kindly gave us a vaulting pole and ladder too, a favor we've sought to pay forward whenever we meet brand-new players.
Since then, it's been a delight to discover unexpected AC friends in our social network. Presents have been mailed back and forth. DIYs scavenged, flowers and fruits exported, furniture catalogued.
When we first received our launch copy of ACNH—the Japanese version—I thought it was a lame title: Atsumare Doubutsu no Mori, "Let's Get Together Animal Crossing."
Let's Get Together? Might not be the slickest game title, but it's pretty apt. The multiplayer element of AC is a powerful one, even if going to group parties is like crawling through Friday night Internet traffic.
The prospect of friends visiting my island motivates me to make it a cool island. Meanwhile, visiting their islands is an opportunity for inspiration (and acquisition of new furniture, which I ever covet).
So just like that, I've sunk nearly 150 hours into Atsumare—spread over 101 consecutive nights. Never have I spent 101 consecutive nights playing a game!
The core of New Horizons gameplay hasn't changed from New Leaf's.
But the lovely exterior and added features hooked me long enough to discover that same core which made New Leaf as addictive to older fans of the series.
End note: So if I'm short on sleep, the baby isn't entirely to be blamed.