Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a wonderfully relaxing game where players can take their time and build up a beautiful island home; however, there comes a point where every player thinks about replaying and starting over. Many of us have played since its original release in 2020, and the idea of starting fresh and new can be incredibly appealing. Since the new 3.0 update, this draw has been even stronger for many of us, especially if we haven’t played in a long time.
There are some definite pros and cons in Animal Crossing to starting a new island. Players will be able to choose a new name, a new layout for their little community, and perhaps a new theme as they rebuild on a fresh new save. However, there are some aspects of starting a new replay that are tedious and even stress-inducing as players begin from scratch.
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Regathering Materials Becomes A Chore In ACNH
One of the most obvious downsides to starting a replay of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that players will have to begin gathering all their materials from scratch. Instead of having wood, iron nuggets, or even some of the rare materials like star fragments or gold, players will have to rebuild their island from the ground up. While that might not sound too bad, players should also consider that when they first start out, a lot of what they gather will need to be donated in order to start building their Animal Crossing island facilities.
But it won’t just be materials players will have to collect. Tom Nook will immediately expect the player to pay off their debt; meaning all Bells collected or earned need to go into the business raccoon’s pocket. These aren’t the greatest hardships for those accustomed to playing Animal Crossing, but they do slow down early island and home customization.
11
Having To Restart ACNH Seasonal Collections
What keeps players invested in Animal Crossing: New Horizons all year round are the seasonal events. These events run throughout the year, allowing players to meet new special characters, gather special materials, and gain new recipes, items, and furniture. They are a great way to get special furniture and clothes not available at any other time of year.
However, if a player restarts their island for a replay, then all their seasonal goodies will disappear. While some Animal Crossing events have been called boring and repetitive, they’re still a good opportunity to grab fun items, allowing players to create themed islands. For those who may have spent months gathering materials and all the DIY recipes for their favorite event, losing that progress is a hard pill to swallow.
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A New ACNH Game Means An Empty Museum
Blathers and his museum are some of the most beloved parts of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. However, players planning on starting over might forget just how much work goes into completing the museum collections. Everything, from getting Blathers to their island to filling the building full of treasures, takes a fair amount of time.
To get Blathers to build the museum, players will need to bring him 10 unique samples of fish, fossils, and/or bugs, although, in Animal Crossing, Blathers famously hates bugs. However, from there, filling up the museum will take a long time as the fish and bugs in the game are seasonal. Players will also have to donate 60 items to the museum to unlock the art wing, and it is only after this that players will be able to get Blathers’ quest to unlock Brewster and his café.
9
Risk The Luck Of The Draw With New ACNH Villagers
Villagers can make or break an island for some Animal Crossing: New Horizon players. While some are happy with whoever they get as their cute animal neighbor, others have specific villagers that they desire. So an important thing for players to keep in mind when considering a replay is that they will get new villagers.
Who the best Animal Crossing villager is, is the subject of a lot of debate within the game’s community, with everyone having their favorites as well as those they can’t stand. Whether it comes down to looks or personality, every player has that villager they think is terrible. As starting over would randomize the two starting villagers, players could be stuck with one of their least favorites for a while.
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ACNH’s Starting Inventory Space Is Tiny
One of the most frustrating parts of starting a new Animal Crossing: New Horizons game is how small the player’s inventory is to begin with. With no functional backpacks, players carry most of their items around in their pockets. Although their house can also be used for storage when crafting, only resources in the player’s pockets will be used. This means players will need to increase their inventory space in Animal Crossing as they advance.
When starting out again, players will be able to hold only 20 items. This can be upgraded to 30 with the Pocket Organization Guide, which costs 5000 Nook Miles. This can later be upgraded again to 40 slots by spending 8000 Nook Miles on Ultimate Pocket Stuffing which is available once Resident Services has been built.
With crafting and gathering materials playing such a massive part in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, what tools a player has is very important. The best in the game are the golden versions of each of the tools, which have the best durability. However, when starting a new replay, players will be stuck with the flimsy tools, which can be quite frustrating.
The flimsy tools in Animal Crossing don’t last long before breaking, with it differing for each tool. For example, the flimsy fishing rod will only last for seven to 10 fish, while the flimsy axe has a durability of 40. When starting out, the tools break at inconvenient times and a lot of time is spent recrafting them until players can purchase the Pretty Good Tools recipe for 3000 Nook Miles.
6
Being Stuck By Rivers And Cliffs Again
It wasn’t that long ago that I restarted my ACNH island, and learned some harsh lessons in the process. Similar to the previous entry about needing to relearn and upgrade your tools, there is also the pesky problem of not being able to have all your bridges, ramps, and more available to easily traverse your island.
Even just getting the vaulting pole and vines can initially take a bit, and villagers can’t use them. Early on, I accidentally trapped a new villager on the top of a cliff across a river, and they were happily in their own little hidden sanctuary until I could build a bridge and ramp for them to access the rest of the world.
5
Getting And Upgrading ACNH Buildings Takes Months
When beginning a replay, players will have to wait to get key island services again, and some of those take a really long time. Animal Crossing: New Horizons likes players to hit certain targets before unlocking buildings like Nook’s Cranny, the museum, the airport, and having the Able sisters join the island. This means that a replay can get off to a slow start as players will have to achieve all the goals again to gain these important buildings.
To gain Nook’s Cranny in Animal Crossing, for example, will need the player to pay off their initial loan and gather 30 each of wood, softwood, hardwood, and iron nuggets. However, to get the expanded and upgraded version, 30 days will need to have passed since building the initial shop, a player will need to have bought and sold at least 200, 000 bells worth of goods, and Mabel Able will have to have visited at least once. That’s no small amount of work and will require patience from players starting over and used to having all the amenities.
4
It’s So Boring Gathering All The ACNH Recipes Again
Crafting in Animal Crossing: New Horizons can be a little tedious, but it plays a huge role in how players customize their islands. When starting a replay, however, players will have to start from nothing all over again. All those carefully collected Animal Crossing DIY recipes will be gone leaving a replay to start over with only the basics.
Initially, players will start with recipes given to them by Tom Nook and will have to wait to hit key milestones before he will offer more. However, as many of the recipes found washed up on the beach or floating by balloon are random, it takes a mixture of time and luck for players to find the one they really want. Considering there are over 250 DIY crafting and cooking recipes in New Horizons, and that’s not counting the seasonal or special recipes, that is a hefty amount to recollect.
3
Starting From Zero Nook Miles In ACNH Is Hard
Nook Miles in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the main way to track achievements and also acts as the game’s second currency. With them, a player can buy new recipes, furniture, and Nook Miles tickets that allow travel via the airport. However, when beginning a replay, players will have to start from zero once more.
Players earn Nook Miles in New Horizon by completing certain tasks. Some of these are simple such as catching 10 bugs or talking to all villagers in one day. However, some take a really decent amount of time to complete, like the achievements for collecting recipes and reeling in 100 fish in a row without any of them getting away. Players who have put the time and effort into completing all the achievements might want to think twice before starting over.