Animal Crossing: New Leaf is superior to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, despite the fact that the latter game was released eight years earlier. Since its release in 2020, the groundbreaking video game for the Nintendo Switch has garnered high praise from both game critics and actual players. Despite this, New Leaf gives the impression that it has more to offer players, even though it is being played on the more compact Nintendo 3DS system.
Of course, in a technical sense, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has more to offer than its predecessor. The video game for the Nintendo Switch was released with a greater number of playable characters and pieces of furniture than any of its predecessors. The Happy Home Paradise downloadable content and the game updates that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has received over the past two years have only served to widen the gap between it and Animal Crossing: New Leaf over the course of time. However, the fact that Animal Crossing: New Horizons receives updates and downloadable content (DLC) is the primary reason why it is not as good as Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The video game for the Nintendo 3DS was intended from the beginning to serve as a finished product when it was released in 2012. On the other hand, after its launch, ACNH went through a period in which it seemed empty and unfinished. The game has only just started to feel complete now, two years after its launch and after the addition of extra paid content.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons benefited from the timing of its release, which coincided with the pandemic. The ability of the game to whisk players away to a simpler and more pleasant world than the one they actually existed in was the source of a lot of the excitement that surrounded the game. The shine, however, started to wear off after a few weeks of consistent use. The dialogue of the villagers was less in-depth than it had been in previous games, collecting museum artifacts was made easier by the convenience of time traveling in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and the progression through the game was so straightforward that it seemed as though there were only one or two activities that players could finish in a day. Because of this, the game started to have an empty feeling to it, and the only event that was immediately available to help combat this issue were seasonal events like the dreaded Bunny Day in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It wasn't until the version 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise came around that ACNH truly came into its own; however, this came at the expense of an additional $25 on top of the cost of the main game.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf, on the other hand, was distributed in its entirety upon its initial release. The base game of New Leaf on the Nintendo 3DS alone was able to keep fans satisfied for an entire eight years between main series entries thanks to the process of gaining villagers, unlocking and upgrading parts of Main Street, and visiting friends. This was made possible by the game's combination of these three elements. In the meantime, fans of Animal Crossing: New Leaf are already looking forward to the next Animal Crossing sequel. In recent years, Nintendo's strategy has primarily consisted of publishing games in an incomplete state and then releasing supplementary content (DLC) for them after the fact; this is the primary reason why even games like Nintendo Switch Sports will have DLC. However, when compared to that of New Horizons, the longevity of New Leaf demonstrates that having a polished product available at launch is of the utmost importance to fans.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still a popular and financially successful video game despite the fact that it contains a number of bugs and glitches. The expansion brought to the series new elements, such as distant islands where villagers could go hunting and outdoor decorations, both of which are likely to become series mainstays in the future. In spite of this, the following games should take inspiration from Animal Crossing:New Leaf more than Animal Crossing: New Horizons to ensure that fans can have a satisfying experience right from the start, rather than having to wait two years after the game's release. Both New Horizons and New Leaf are excellent entries in the Animal Crossing New Horizons Bells series, but in certain respects, New Horizons stands head and shoulders above its predecessor.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the most recent installment in the ACNH 2.0 Items video game series and also the most popular one. However, it is not yet clear whether or not it is the best game in the ACNH Greenhouse Design Ideas series as a whole. There have been a lot of great games released in the Animal Crossing series over the years, but some fans still seem to favor an earlier installment, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, over the most recent iteration available for the Nintendo Switch.
New Horizons made some significant advancements for the bells animal crossing series, and there are some things that it does unquestionably better than any game that came before it. Despite the fact that it is difficult to definitively say which one is an all-around better game, both are fantastic experiences, and while it is challenging to say which one is an overall better game, New Horizons took some important steps forward for the series.