I think my favorite in the series is New Leaf so far. Granted, I didn’t play a ton of the GameCube version.
The only thing I wish new leaf did better was how you unlocked public works projects.
Additionally, villagers moving in and ruining your paths/designs was a pain. Otherwise, I thought the game was great. It could have used even more dialogue (which is crazy because it was already very long )
The games hit such a good mix of customizing, collecting, and discovery.