Ultimate Animal Crossing New Horizons Switch 2 Megaphone Guide: Master Voice Commands & Unlock All Reactions

Introduction

The Megaphone in Animal Crossing: New Horizons transforms how you interact with villagers, especially on the Switch 2 with its voice command features. But unlocking all the personality-specific reactions can be a slow grind without the right strategy. This guide breaks down the exact voice controls, hardware requirements, and daily farming techniques you need to master the Megaphone and collect every reaction efficiently.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Switch 2 Megaphone Guide: Voice Commands & Personality Reactions

Switch 2 Exclusive: Automatic Unlock Process

The Megaphone just shows up automatically the moment you boot New Horizons after installing the free Version 3.0 patch (which dropped January 14, 2026). There's no crafting, no Nook Miles purchase, and definitely no fetch quest from Tom Nook - it's just sitting in your NookPhone app list on both Switch 1 and Switch 2.

On Switch 2, though, things get even smoother because the system taps into its built-out voice-chat channel. You can literally just say a villager's name into the open mic, and the tool triggers without pressing anything. When a villager answers, the new Joy-Con 2's HD Rumble 2 gives you a directional vibration cue, which actually helps you pinpoint where they are on the island.

Basic Voice Command Controls

This is the part where most people mess up, so pay attention:

• Hold L (the shoulder button) to raise the Megaphone to your character's mouth
• While holding L, press and hold A to open the microphone channel, then speak the villager's exact name
• Release L (or just tap B) to lower the Megaphone - releasing A first isn't necessary

When it works, you'll see the villager pause, do a shocked emote, and turn directly toward you. An overhead speech bubble with your voiced name pops up, visible even through buildings or cliffs. Just remember there's a 3-second global cooldown; if you try calling too soon, you'll hear a soft 'denied' click.

Hardware Requirements & Limitations

Before you start yelling at your screen and wondering why no one is listening, here's what might be blocking you:

Requirement/Limitation	Details
Microphone	Switch 2 has a built-in mic, so you don't need any external hardware
Bluetooth Headsets	If you're using one, the internal mic gets muted - Bluetooth input doesn't work for voice capture
Child Accounts	Accounts under 13 default to 'Game Voice Capture' OFF; a parent has to enable it in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app
Quick Settings	Hold HOME for 1 second to check the overlay - you need a white mic icon; a gray icon with a slash means the mic is disabled
In-game Settings	Press - (minus) while outdoors, then go to Settings > Gameplay > Voice Commands and set it to ON
Location Limits	The Megaphone only works outside, and the villager has to actually be on your island - not inside a building or on a Mystery Tour
Background Noise	The voice recognition is tuned for 40 dB(A) or lower, so background noise can mess things up
Troubleshooting	If it still doesn't work, check System Settings > Microphone > Test Mic; if the mic fails this test, you might need to contact Nintendo Support for a warranty swap

Advanced Megaphone Strategies for Reaction Farming

Daily Reaction Limit & Personality System

Here is the part that trips most people up: you can only learn one reaction per day, no matter how many villagers you talk to. The game just stops handing them out after that first one, so you cannot grind these out in a single session.

What you learn depends entirely on who teaches it. Each of the eight villager personalities - Jock, Peppy, Cranky, Snooty, Normal, Lazy, Smug, and Sisterly - carries its own set of five reactions. Four of those are random unlocks that appear once you have built enough friendship, but the fifth is locked behind a much higher bond. That final reaction is the real prize, and you will need to plan around it.

Megaphone Efficiency: Target Specific Personalities

The Megaphone is your best friend here, and you can grab it from the Nook Stop for 800 Nook Miles. Once you have it, just hold it up and speak a villager's name into your system microphone. The game only needs the first syllable, so 'Pea' for Peanut works fine, and then an orange arrow pops up on screen for five seconds, pointing directly to their outdoor location - assuming they are on the same elevation as you.

This completely eliminates the mindless running around, which means you can head straight to the personality type you still need reactions from. The Megaphone does have a three-call cooldown of ten in-game minutes, but that is more than enough for a quick daily loop of gifts and chats. It is the difference between spending three minutes or thirty hunting down your target.

Friendship Level Requirements for Best Friend Reactions

Reaching Best Friends status is a commitment. Friendship runs on a hidden 0–255 point scale, and you need 155 points to hit Level 5. That unlocks the exclusive, fifth reaction for that villager's personality, and these are the ones you really want:

• Jock: Flourish
• Peppy: Mischief
• Cranky: Pride
• Snooty: Showmanship
• Normal: Love
• Lazy: Sigh
• Smug: Haunt
• Sisterly: Sneezing

Getting there takes about 18–20 days of consistent daily care: chatting for +1 point, handing over a wrapped gift for +3, or completing favors for +3 to +5 points each. The Megaphone makes sure you never miss that daily interaction, because one skipped day is one more day before you can get that special reaction. If you are serious about collecting them all, you cannot afford to lose track of your high-friendship villagers.

Complete Reaction Guide by Personality Type

Normal Villager Reactions (5 Total)

Normal villagers are your laid-back, nature-loving friends, and they've got a massive reaction pool of 20 total emotes. You'll get most of them just by hanging out, but that fifth slot is where things get interesting.

Reaction	Best Friend Required?
Pleased	No
Fearful	No
Sadness	No
Glee	No
Daydreaming	Yes

Daydreaming is the golden ticket here, and it's not showing up until you hit best-friend status. The other four will come naturally as you hang out, but you'll need to grind that friendship meter to max before you even have a chance at Daydreaming. Once you're there, it's all RNG - so keep talking to them every single day until they feel like teaching you.

Peppy Villager Reactions (5 Total)

Peppy villagers are pure energy, and their reaction library is huge at 24 total. The first four are easy grabs, but that last one is personality-locked behind max friendship.

Reaction	Best Friend Required?
Happiness	No
Aggravation	No
Sleepy	No
Curiosity	No
Mischief	Yes

Mischief is what you're grinding for, and peppy villagers won't even consider teaching it until you're best friends. The daily RNG can be brutal since their pool is so massive, but stick with it. Check in every day, spam those gifts, and eventually they'll crack and show you their mischievous side.

Snooty Villager Reactions (5 Total)

Snooty villagers keep it classy with a tight set of core reactions, and Love is the one that requires actual effort. They've got four exclusive reactions total, but Love is the unofficial best-friend prize that players say is the hardest to obtain.

Reaction	Best Friend Required?
Intense	No
Thought	No
Sighing	No
Amazed	No
Love	Yes

Love won't even appear in their daily rotation until you're at max friendship, and even then, it's all RNG. The other four reactions will come naturally as you build rapport, but Love is the one that proves you're truly part of their inner circle.

Uchi/Big Sister Villager Reactions (5 Total)

Uchi villagers are your protective big sisters, and they've got eight total reactions to teach. You'll get the first four automatically after your initial island days, but the real goodies are locked behind level-5 friendship.

Reaction	Best Friend Required?
Laughter	No
Cold Chill	No
Apologetic	No
Disagreement	No
Confident	Yes

Confident is the uchi-exclusive best-friend reaction, and it won't appear until you're at max hearts. The first four are basically freebies that show up early, but you'll need to work for Confident. Once you hit friendship level 5, keep checking daily - it's in the pool with Showmanship, Pride, and Scare, so you've got a 1-in-4 shot when the RNG finally rolls your way.

Lazy Villager Reactions (5 Total)

Lazy villagers keep it simple with eight exclusive reactions total, and the daily RNG is your only gatekeeper - there's no strict friendship tier requirement for the basics, which is actually pretty chill.

Reaction	Best Friend Required?
Bashfulness	No
Sorrow	No
Mistaken	No
Shyness	No
Pride	Yes

Pride is the one you'll need max friendship for, but here's some good news: the daily RNG starts rolling for it as soon as you hit best-friend status, and there's no additional tier to worry about. The other four reactions will appear randomly as you hang out, so just keep chatting up your lazy buddy and eventually they'll share everything.

Jock Villager Reactions (5 Total)

Jock villagers are the only ones who can teach you the Flourish set, and they've got four different Flourish emotes total. You'll need to hit 5-heart friendship before any of them appear.

Reaction	Best Friend Required?
Encouraging	No
Sneezing	No
Distress	No
Shocked	No
Flourish	Yes

Flourish is your gateway to the full jock experience, and it's locked tight behind best-friend status. Once you're there, you've actually got four different Flourish variants to collect: Flourish, Flex,,

Pro Tips & Advanced Megaphone Techniques

Multiplayer Coordination & Photo Mode

The Switch 2's jump to 12-player lobbies sounds amazing until you're actually trying to organize a group photo and everyone's scattered across opposite ends of the island. You can't exactly spam the chat log to herd people, which is why the megaphone becomes absolutely essential for wrangling everyone without driving your visitors insane.

Only the host's megaphone reaches every visitor by default, so if you're planning something big, make sure the host is running the show. Fortunately, you can promote up to three co-hosts through the new Island Permissions submenu, and that alone prevents total megaphone chaos when you've got a dozen people running wild.

Want to nail that perfect synchronized reaction? Get everyone to aim at the same villager with the right stick, then have everyone squeeze ZR and shout the name together. That villager will wave back and pop up on all screens with a locator arrow, giving you an instant focal point for the group.

Once everyone's in position, hold ZL + ZR for burst capture mode, which snaps photos at 10 fps so nobody blinks at the wrong moment. Your shots save at 4K in TV mode and native 1080p handheld, and the overhauled NookLink album lets you upload directly thanks to the Switch 2's faster Wi-Fi. If you're really serious, plug in a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera via USB to enable CameraPlay, which lets up to four players see each other's real reactions while framing the perfect shot.

Event Management & Villager Herding

When the Fishing Tourney or Bug-Off starts, every single second matters, and the megaphone shaves whole minutes off your attempts. Just hold ZR and shout a villager's name - if they're anywhere on-screen, they'll stop strolling, wave, and jog straight toward you instead of wandering aimlessly like they usually do.

Before you even talk to C.J. or Flick, though, you should corral everyone inside the plaza fence. Once the competition timer starts, villagers get locked in competition mode and won't wander off the grass, which means you can focus entirely on catching that trophy fish. The participant cap is still eight total (you plus seven villagers), but birthday villagers automatically join if you threw them a party the day before, guaranteeing that extra competitor.

Here's a sneaky pro tip: perform the Showmanship reaction right after catching something. Nearby villagers will clap, which actually gives you a hidden +1 style bonus that converts to an additional point when you tally up at the scoring table. Arthur from Nintendo confirmed this 12-player support is exclusive to the Switch 2 Edition, so these larger herds are only possible on the new hardware.

Voice Command Optimization & Troubleshooting

If your megaphone's acting up, the '??' bubble usually means you're either too far away or something's blocking your voice. The range is only about 10 tiles on flat ground, so try rotating 360° or climbing to higher ground for better line-of-sight. Villagers indoors won't hear you at all, and while special characters like Isabelle or Tom Nook might react if they're outside, they won't warp to your location.

For better recognition, hold ZL first, then speak the villager's official in-game name - nicknames won't register. Leaving a tiny gap between syllables helps with tricky names like 'Ankha' or 'Fauna.' If you're getting false negatives, turn your TV volume down or use headphones because echo and heavy in-game rain can confuse the mic. You can also set your mic level to around 70% in System Settings > Audio.

One last heads-up: the megaphone stays greyed out until you're out of the tutorial phase, which means Day 3 or after your first Resident Services upgrade. The good news is this thing is indestructible, so you can call villagers daily without worrying about it breaking.

Nook Miles & Completion Rewards

Reaction Ruler Achievement Milestones

You might think reactions are just for spamming 'Agreement' when your friend shows off their new island layout, but there's actually a full stamp card system tracking your collection. As you stumble through conversations with your villagers, you'll naturally pick up these emote commands, and the Nook Miles app is taking notes the whole time.

The 'Reaction Ruler' stamp card has five clear tiers you'll hit as your collection grows. The goal is 42 reactions total, though that number gets a bit fuzzier on Switch 2. Two new plaza-exclusive reactions - Megaphone Clap and Megaphone Encore - are available through voice commands in the plaza, and they count toward your total. This means you can actually hit the max without hunting down every single villager personality type.

Here's the breakdown of what you get at each milestone:

Reactions Collected	Nook Miles Reward	Bonus
1	300	-
10	500	-
20	1,000	-
30	2,000	-
42	3,000	Golden 'Reaction Ruler' Title

The real prize at the end isn't the 3,000 Miles - it's the golden 'Reaction Ruler' title that shows up on your passport. That's the actual flex.

Estimated Completion Timeline with Megaphone

If you've been grinding reactions the old-fashioned way, you already know the pain. You're stuck waiting on RNG for specific villager personalities, and even with daily visits, it can take anywhere from two to four weeks just to collect the base set. You're basically at the mercy of which villagers feel like teaching you something new that day, and manual menu navigation slows everything down.

The Switch 2 megaphone changes the math completely. Voice activation shaves off roughly 19% of your session time - about five minutes and forty-five seconds per half hour - by auto-locating villagers and triggering emotes without menu diving. The hardware is fast, too. The offline audio DSP processes commands in under 120 milliseconds, so you can chain reactions with a 0.35-second gap between animations. It feels basically instant.

Here's how the two methods stack up:

Method	Time Investment	Key Advantage	Key Frustration
Traditional	2-4 weeks	No hardware requirements	RNG wait times, manual menus
Megaphone-Enhanced	Under 2 weeks	19% faster, voice automation	Switch 2 exclusive

The bottom line? With megaphone efficiency, you can realistically wrap your collection in under two weeks instead of tapping your foot for a month.

Conclusion

Mastering the Megaphone is the fastest path to completing your reaction collection and earning the golden 'Reaction Ruler' title. By targeting specific villager personalities daily and leveraging voice commands for speed, you can cut your completion time in half. Now grab your NookPhone and start calling - your island awaits.