If you noticed that the journal posts have been getting shorter, there is a good reason for it and I intend to cover it here in this review. This does not mean that Marissa's journals in New Leaf are ending (to my knowledge) and the reason one wasn't out this week is because she was very busy this week. I'm also not the one to speak to in regards to the stability of Mediaton anyway, as it is her project. Onward to the review!
The "plot" of the game can be summed up in one sentence. "You are a villager who was just hired by Tom Nook to make houses". Yeah, that's it, and that's all you do in the game. You make houses for randomly appearing villagers or villagers added in via amiibo cards, and every now and then you can do a town works project, including things like a school, hospital, office building, shopping center, and other buildings like that. While it is rewarding at first, the novelty does run out really quickly as all you are given as a reward for taking the job is the furniture you can use to do it, and you get no reward for doing it other then an emotion that you get depending on which villagers you do tasks for.
You'd think then that the reward for it would be something sentimental, seeing your map grow as more villagers move in. But the game doesn't even have that in it, as the giant map you have to add houses to never changes (allowing you to put as many houses as you wanted on the same bit of land) and you can never walk to the houses. The spaces of land are maps to themselves, and you fast travel between them and the center of the town, your "hub area" which is mostly useless to itself, to the point you may as well stay in Nooks homes because at least that has stuff in it for you to do. You never really get a sense of progression in this game as a result of it.
While the images that I posted might not have given it off (especially in the newer entries), but I am a creative person, and speaking as one, this game has nothing in it to give you a sense of accomplishment. You never really work for your tools, the most work you have to do is spend those practically useless play coins you get by walking around with your 3DS to add more ways to customize furniture and houses. But having the tools given to you, no way of seeing your town actually grow in size, and no real way to fail the designs in the eyes of the villagers takes away any sense of fulfillment in the game. The only way you might get something fulfilling is if someone finds your houses online and likes them, but even then the chances of that are slim. I'd take connectivity with New Leaf to grow the town in that game as a way of seeing progression in Happy Home Designer because that would at least be something! I don't see why they can't have any connectivity, the game uses all the assets from New Leaf already, which I will admit do look nice.
If you want to play an Animal Crossing game that gives you lots of furniture to customize your house, play New Leaf, you'll at least be emotionally attached to that game compared to Happy Home Designer. If you really want the game, try and find one of the New 3DS' that have the game pre installed, at least that way you're getting a good system with it.
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