A BIZARRE LIFE SIM WHERE CUSTOM MIIS LIVE SEMI-AUTONOMOUSLY WHILE YOU WATCH, GUIDE AND OCCASIONALLY INTERFERE. IT IS CHAOTIC, LIBERATING AND SURPRISINGLY AMUSING BUT ITS FREEDOM COULD ALSO BE ITS GREATEST WEAKNESS.
Creatiing Chaos
At its core Tomodachi Life is Mii creation. Building a bustling island of Miis based on people in your life or beloved icons, is both the game’s greatest strength and (for me) eventual weakness.Like many I got my first taste of Miis with the arrival of Nintendo’s Wii console. Creating a caricature of myself that was integrated into a video game was exhilarating. In Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, I chose to create an island dedicated to my geeky loves, aptly naming it Geek-Away Island.
A game that says my name correctly, my mind was blown!
I created Mii versions of my favourite characters from video games, tv shows and movies. Mii creation includes the most amusing and unique feature of the game – voices. The voice of the Mii can be personalised by adjusting depth, pitch, etc. I was surprised to hear the Mii speak my name and more so being able to adjust the way they pronounce it. A game that says my name correctly, my mind was blown! Each Mii is attributed 1 of 16 personalities, which will impact how they socialise. Given the different personalities, I quickly learnt that some friendships cannot be forced. Which made my decision of using characters from fandoms humorous when the characters from different franchises are friendlier with others than with their own. However, what began as excitement soon became a daunting chore. The time and energy required to create these Miis left my creative juices running dry.
(Eye) iin the sky
Our player is not an active participant on the island instead; we have an observer/creator role. We create the Mii residents of the island, provide them with food, clothes, and entertainment in the form of gifts. We are problem solvers, choosing to allow free will or gently nudge (or down right shove) them along a certain path. We have a semi-passive role, closer to managing a strange reality show than playing a video game.
We have a semi-passive role, closer to managing a strange reality show than playing a video game.
It’s not just the Miis that enjoy a personal touch; you the player also has some customisation options. You can select your region, which talks to the in-game currency and initial food options. I selected Other (Southern Hemisphere) but was a bit disappointed to be given a default $ currency. An option to input one’s own currency would have added to the personalised experience. Food options are vast reflecting popular Eastern and Western meals; though it would have been incredible to stumble upon a bunny chow or braaied wors. Assisting the Miis does require some hands-on moments and you are able to select the appropriate skin colour for your player’s hands. From time to time, a Mii will ask you a personal question, like “What’s your favourite activity?” or “Who’s a famous person in your world?” These become part of the Island Dictionary and you find the Miis using these terms in their conversations.
Miiships and happiness
The Miis go about their daily lives enjoying each other and the island. Mii and island levelling up is linked to the respective Mii’s happiness. As the saying goes the way to a person’s heart is through their tummy, so give a Mii a worthy meal and watch their happiness grow. Happiness is also impacted by gifts, head rubs and solving problems. Mii reactions to these gifts are some of the best moments. My Harry Mii did Olympic style ice skating feats for a slice of bread while a delicious looking roasted lamb received a meh reaction. I found it endearing to gift a Mii a soccer ball and to find him kicking it around with friends. My favourite gifts are the Tours. The gifted Mii, together with friends, tour famous sites around the world, giving you postcard style snaps from the trip and a souvenir upon their return.
It would have been incredible to stumble upon a bunny chow or braaied wors… but no such luck!
My daily Tomodachi Life sessions varied. From a quick check in to see if Rumi and Jinu have fallen in love yet, to hours of creating a Mii’s face paint. Every now and then I would visit the island and feel like I’ve just switched on a sitcom. Finding a group of Miis huddled together gossiping about another Mii or even me; or a mopey Mii upset that their joke was not funny enough. The Miis would occasionally ask if they should talk to a new Mii or if I think there was potential for friendship with another. Allowing me to push relationships or stop others. My favourite feature is the various mini games. Occasionally a Mii will call for your attention to play a game, from which you could win a prize. The mini games are simple yet entertaining, from a simple coin toss to a memory exercise in No Repeats.
Liife on the iisland
The first glimpse of the island showed a few building construction boards, tugging at my curiosity – wondering what type of building would occupy that space. As needs arise the relevant buildings will unlock. Hunger pangs struck my first Mii and a food shop popped up. I chuckled at the perfectly designed Fresh Kingdom: food mart building – a trolley filled with groceries.
The mini games are simple yet entertaining…
Each building is uniquely designed to show off the goods or services that they offer. Island building is user friendly, utilising simple controls to move buildings around, place paths and decorations. Island building is another creative part of the game, allowing for more active participation from you as the player. A source for more peculiar moments can be found in the Island’s News Station. Sharing the Island’s breaking news stories, like Island level ups, or the mundane ones like a Miis struggle over taking a nap or not.
Where iit falls apart
A major limitation is likely due to the boundless creativity. Gameplay captures and creations cannot be easily shared from the switch console to social media or a smartphone. While cumbersome, one can still connect to a PC to obtain images but sharing of creations is limited to local sharing.
A little over two weeks later and the repetitive dialogue and daily tasks have become boring.
A little over two weeks later and the repetitive dialogue and daily tasks have become boring. The island is decorated well enough, the Miis seem happy enough, I’ve created enough. I’ve done enough and have no feeling to do more. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream replayability is lacking. Without a definite end game, this feels like a game I can occasionally pop into, visit the Miis perhaps make another and leave knowing they can go on without me.
Fiinal Thoughts
Tomodachi Life… is it a dream come true or one that just won’t end? Well, it’s a confusing unhinged series of moments that have sometimes left me giggling out loud and at other times left me staring blankly at the console screen wondering what to do next. But perhaps that is the point? This little world does not depend solely on me. I can step away, come back later and my Miis will still be there, still living their strange little lives.
REVIEW CODE PROVIDED BY: NINTENDO
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