I feel mixed about Animal Crossing, my favourite game series of all time. It's basically my happy place, but the real time elements give me severe anxiety because
I am not good with acceptance, and I am bad at that aspect of the game. So what happens typically is that I play binge amounts on a file for a month or two to get my fix (I've played through a year in a month before) and then stop because I'm distracted, then get too anxious to get seriously addicted again. Right now I constantly think of picking up New Leaf and playing again for some good chill times, but I tend to play obsessively and have school starting, I worry about picking up all the event items I missed, and I'm worried about my villagers. @__@ I think it's the attention to detail, and the ability to appreciate those things (no other fandom loses its shit over being able to sit on benches except maybe the pkmn fandom), that helps give the game its flavour.
My favourite villager is Bunnie, I love all the rabbit villagers but she's my favourite. I'm a big fan of Stitches too, most adorable design. Don't think I have a least favourite, I've played all the games so many times (except AC:CF, I didn't use my Wii much) that most have some sort of entertaining memory attached.
I wish I was better at improvisation, I use colours and series a lot. I've been thinking of picking up Happy Home Designer when I have some more money. Probably one of my favourite features is recolours, I love using those in my home and when I get new furniture I love seeing what I can do to it. I love food items, they're always so cute. I keep coming back because it makes me happy, because I love powergaming Animal Crossing and because I don't get bored of little touches easily... it's exactly those little moments of tiny discovery or new dialogue that bring me joy, or new items.
The original
Animal Crossing (well, the GameCube one, technically) is my second favourite Animal Crossing because of the events and how they lent the world a relatable charm, and I think Wild World struggled a lot with this, as did AC:CF, but putting that aside, the series itself is basically designed for handheld consoles. It's a game that's in theory meant to be consumed regularly but in small, peaceful doses; it's a game that's meant to ground you in your life and encourage you to focus on small but ritual things every day. The convenience of a handheld is perfect for this, because a) you can take it with you b) it's more likely to stay in your handheld (although now I guess we can get digital copies of games and tbh I think digital AC is a great idea) c) you have it when you need it for real time events. Eventually, portable versions will get big enough villages, I hope -- New Leaf certainly had a good feeling of scope, which is what Wild World really lacked \o/