And it's especially true for a series that's iterative for the most part from Weismart's blog

Why do Leif and Animal Crossing Bells Kicks just ever randomly visit? Why not fold them in to Nook's Cranny and the Able Sisters respectively? Why does the Museum just have description plaques for art now? What's up with all the public works things which didn't get turned into furniture? No Gyroids to collect? It is only a great deal of small things that actually accumulate into big things.

And it's especially true for a series that's iterative for the most part. Good features from past games are nearly always brought to later games. The main exceptions are gimmicks based on the console or smallish characteristics that are neat but finally not game changing. NH ditched a lot of series staples which really hurts if you've been a long time lover. I think a good deal of those NH fans haven't played the previous games so they don't have these attributes to overlook. That great for them but it feels hollow .

Yeah, this is kind of how I've been looking at it lately. Like, yes it introduced a few really great new thoughts in the manner of outdoor decorating (which really much resembles the natural next step for the series) and the landscaping tools. The crafting system is a fairly nifty way to give players sort of mini-goals. Not ideal but it's a neat idea.

However, the pile of missing content and features is really frustrating. I understand nobody wants to compare this to Pokemon (because Sword/Shield have a lot of different problems beyond missing Pokemon and tends to cut features more often) but Animal Crossing is a series which has historically had almost all of it's items/collectibles and features carried forward in some capacity. Even little things like obtaining a reward for saving X quantity of Nook Miles Ticket For Sale money in the bank are directly up dropped.