I have been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons since it came out in March 2020. It was a good way to distract myself from the pandemic and just relax. I played for long hours, decorating my island, catching animals, digging fossils, and exploring everything that the game had to offer. I managed to reach the five stars, and lilies of the valley were growing everywhere. However, after a while, it started to lose its charm. Sure, I got the five stars, but I wasn’t happy with my island, I no longer liked my villagers and I didn’t know where to start to fix it. So, I restarted the whole thing! The thing is, I went in pretty much without a plan… and I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. So, if you ever decide to start from scratch, here is some advice to help you.
1. Before erasing, save the items and villagers that you want to keep by giving them to a friend
Saving items and/or villagers will give you a head start on the game. I have amazing friends that let me put stuff in their islands while I restarted mine. I would also recommend to save all the bells you have. That way, you won’t be as broke when you start the game again.
2. Keep restarting until you are happy with the position of your plaza and airport
It’s one of the things people forget to take into consideration when first choosing the island. You are eager to start playing and not really paying attention to how it will affect your layout. I was lucky to get a good placement in my first try, since I completely forgot to do this. These are places you can’t move when you are decorating and modifying your island, so make sure you get it right.
3. Explore Pinterest
After you restart, Pinterest will be your best friend. Search for ideas and inspo on what to do next. Plan the theme and the things you would like to do on your island, so you know what items you will need. This will also help you once you get the terraform tool, since you will have an idea in your head of exactly what you want.
4.Don’t be afraid of time traveling
You already went to all the missions and story line once, so please keep in mind you don’t need to do it again. So, time-skip to move things faster until you get three stars and get the terraform tool. That way you get to actually modify your island and hunt for your dreamies faster.
5. Look up for treasure islands
Another way to quickly progress in the game is to visit treasure islands. In them, you can find items, villagers and more! If you are lazy, like me, and want easy money, find one with turnips and get unlimited money in your ABD machine! I chose to subscribe to one, since it’s easier to access them that way, but there are a ton of them for free in Twitch.
Animal Crossing is one of the best games out there. It’s supposed to be relaxing, so follow the advice and don’t stress too much. I bet your new island will look amazing!