As you grow older you cling onto parts of your childhood, desperately hoping to gain that  feeling of when you were a kid. Personally, a great example of a piece of my childhood are video games, more specifically the Animal Crossing series. The older games were one of my favorite things to play and occupy my time with, which is why it’s really disappointing to see the new releases of said series completely change what the game once was. They have become more child friendly, changing items and characters, even taking away their personalities to not come off as rude. The designs of buildings and areas of the game have been updated with newer softwares taking away the feel it once had. The controls and system the older games were on are also unused now for the most part, even if they are better in ways the latest software can’t match. The newer versions of the game Animal Crossing have taken away the nostalgic feelings the series brings and ultimately aren’t as good as the older games because they have changed the design, became even more child friendly, and overlooked the systems the game started on. 

The Animal Crossing franchise has always been child friendly, the game itself being about you moving into a town full of talking animals. Though the problem is that the newer versions have taken the catering to kids a bit too far recently. For example they have taken away a lot of the normal and humane lines the animals say, such as playfully insulting you or getting angry at you for upsetting them. Those lines of dialogue and emotions they portrayed made the game feel more realistic and feel these critters are actually your friends, throwing playful banter at and fighting with you. The developers have not only changed what the animals say but what some of them look like as well to make them friendlier. They have taken specific aspects that make up the character and changed them to appease little kids. Not to mention they have completely deleted certain items and designs of things like gyroids, making them instead out of pots, metals, ceramic, and other things. They have also been painted in bright pastels instead of the dark array of carved wood they once were. The noises and sounds they made have also been modified and made “cuter” and “less scary” to cater again to young kids. It’s understandable to want to gain more audience in the growing youth of today but completely destroying lore and character personalities isn’t justified by that. Nintendo itself has made many games including Animal Crossing different to appeal to children. In the latest releases the game has gotten too child friendly and overall is losing the original meaning of the game just to sell out to kids. 

Mentioned briefly before, the designs in the newer games aren’t as good as they once were and have made the game worse. Of course the newer games have better graphics now then back in the 2000s as well other years leading up to now, but for the overall looks it’s a lot worse. The layout of the game used to have three levels with inclines located on either side of the town for you and the npcs to travel up and down.  There were also stores and buildings where you could do various tasks. For example, there used to be a Lost and Found center where the police picked up your things or random items and you could claim them. The newer games have either deleted the building or have made it something to buy. There was also a beautiful fountain in the town square where residents could make wishes and do daily stretches, exercises, and games. Now it’s been removed, previously it was converted into a tree which grew as time progressed, which is really interesting but they ended up not bringing either ways to the new version. They have taken away many beautiful designs just to better fit a different story plot even if they could still be imputed. The designs overall were very appealing and enjoyable in the older versions but the newer games have forgotten them or gotten worse. 

The systems the game has started on have been overlooked and  unused after years, leading people to believe they aren’t as great as they really are. The gamecube, 3ds, and Wii are all amazing systems and the controls on them are fun and easy. To start off, the gamecube itself is an amazing system because of its square shape, handle making it easy to carry, and overall colors for the design. The controller is also immaculate and a personal favorite.  The shape is great for your hands and the buttons are wonderful to press. There are different colors for each button which help you focus on the screen and be able to know where to press easier by seeing them in the corner of your eyes.  The 3DS is a handheld console with the  controller and system all in one. It used to be very popular, coming out with an updated version of itself after being created.  The buttons and stylist work very well, being similar colors of tnot the exact same as the rest of the system. The console has a touch screen on the bottom half as well as a normal one on the top, being able to conveniently fold in half. Finally the Wii game system was also able to work the game correlating with the Animal Crossing series very well. The controls are very interesting, having a wireless controller and a nunchuck that attaches for certain games. The tracking of the remote to the tv screen is fascinating and a very cool concept. The shape of the system and placement of the disc inserter are really nice and overall the system is great.  These “older” systems are often unnoticed and viewed as bad because they aren’t playstations, xboxs, or switches, but they are what the older versions are played on. The systems are really good and shouldn’t be seen as bad or a reason to counter the older Animal Crossing game being better. 

The newer games from the Animal Crossing series aren’t as great and astounding as the older versions. They don’t have the same qualities as older systems, making the gameplay not feel the same. They also completely deleted and changed character, item, stores, and layout designs as time progressed,getting rid of things that really made the game feel the way the older ones did. The company and game have become even more child friendly on top of that in order to gain a larger audience. Though they may begin losing the older generations because of it. They also fail to realize that all these changes ruin the nostalgia the game brings to so many people. The new games aren’t anything compared to the older ones, if anything they are worse or inferior.