Whilst Nintendo is known for the big blockbuster hits like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon, the Japanese gaming giant also dabbles in more experimental ideas from time to time. Both Arms and the now popular Splatoon series were birthed out of less conventional mechanics, plus the WarioWare concept is borderline unhinged.
Nintendo are no stranger to quirky games, and Tomodachi Life on Nintendo 3DS comfortably hits all the boxes. As a life simulation that draws inspiration from the likes of Nintendo’s own Animal Crossing, with a sprinkling of EA’s ever popular The Sims franchise, Tomodachi lands somewhere in the middle. The surreal dialled up to eleven. Yes, it truly was an unrestrained concept and one that’s built up a cult following since.
Fan cries for another helping of Tomodachi Life tales have finally been answered after more than a decade, plonked into a Nintendo Direct announcement to much fanfare. With high expectations to capture the spirit of the original, do Nintendo deliver with Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream on Nintendo Switch?
It is difficult to describe exactly what makes Tomodachi Life just so different compared to traditional life sim games. Essentially you play as friendly island caretaker, only ever seen in a first person POV. Yes, TikTok creators, that’s what POV is supposed to mean. Within the island live curated Mii that can be based on whatever you like – family, friends, celebrities and in the case of this reviewer, video game characters. Essentially anything goes. A co-worker crush? Sure. A delicate Mario, Bowser and Princess Peach love-triangle? Juicy. A problematic historical figure? That’s bold.
As the caretaker or “island administrator”, players give the Mii characters a helpful nudge, with treats and advice to live out their lives. It’s down to these residents themselves to interact, build up friendships and bask in the chaos. Time passes in sync with the real world, and the player role is to check in regularly – like catching up with your favourite soap, just less predictable and more unrestrained. Iain Beale has nothing on the absurdity of Tomodachi Life.
Fortunately, the much loved formula is intact in Living the Dream. The appeal was never realism, but the unpredictability of seeing the Mii behave like they’d found a secret stash of Mushroom Kingdom supply, acting out their wildest dreams. Is it just as bizarre on Nintendo Switch? Short answer, yes. Yes it is. Mii characters still very much take the reigns, but unlike the waiting game of the 3DS, players can now opt for a less passive approach this time round.
Instead of waiting to see if two residents may fall in love, the new setup allows you to pick up and drop a Mii next to another to hopefully spark up a reaction. Sometimes it may not work out, ending in a crushing blow, but other times it could lead to a little something more. The more direct, but still unpredictable approach, makes the Switch sequel a huge step forward. There’s less waiting about and a bigger drive to keep playing to see the drama unfold quicker by being more involved.
Another big upgrade in Living the Dream comes from the wealth of customisation options. Mii creation is deeper, with options available to really get under the skin of your characters. Quite literally. Of course, the standard Mii options are available as a base, but hair, colour, eyes and ears go beyond the bog-standard Wii Sports look of 20 years ago. An extra face paint mode helps add finer details to finish the look. Admittedly, it isn’t quite as robust as the gold standard Mii creator in Miitopia, but still a significant upgrade over the original Tomodachi Life.
One of the more welcome updates is how more open Living the Dream is with relationship and gender – a promise that the team did make off the back of the 3DS original. It’s refreshing to let characters exist as who they are – with male, female and non-binary options available, plus dating and pronoun preferences to be far more inclusive.
Personality quirks like movement, poses and more can also be assigned to Mii throughout the game to really make each resident shine. It’s a meaningful step forward for the series, allowing for players to be better represented. Existing relationships, a new feature this time round, allows for guardrails to avoid some rather awkward dating. For example, setting sibling, family or existing relationships – which cause Mii to gradually “remember” in the game. No, Mario, no marriage to your brother Luigi for you.
Unlike Miitopia, Mii creations cannot be shared online – only locally – at time of review. That perfectly curated set of Super Mario Bros. Mii designs will need to be created, from scratch, instead of popping in a quick code and download. It is a tricky balance of Nintendo wanting to avoid hosting some truly questionable characters. Yes, you know exactly who would probably pop-up. It is a disappointing omission, especially given just how much passion and skill went into the Miitopia online sharing libraries.
Nintendo’s main reasoning for the lack of Mii sharing is to keep the experience “fun and safe”. That doesn’t mean the game itself is censored or restricted, far from it. Living the Dream has no profanity filter. Yes, they can say pretty much anything – with, of course, key phrases suggested by the player. And yes, this reviewer did make poor Bowser say some rather saucy phrases to his long-term crush Mario. The sheer joy when the pair finally admitted their feelings after days of will they, won’t they? Oh, the drama!
Whilst not addressing it directly, it’s highly likely that the lack of profanity filter is exactly why Nintendo removed public content sharing. It’s essentially an offline experience now, so anything goes dialogue wise. Content can still be recorded locally, fortunately, but not transferred to the Nintendo app or shared directly on social. There are ways, of course, but it is more cumbersome than it could be – though understandable from an accountability standpoint. Despite more freedom for unhinged, uncensored gameplay goodness, the closed ecosystem and need to build Mii from scratch may not suit some players.
The island itself is far more customisable. A new build mode allows you to quickly shape the world and easily move buildings around using a grid (Animal Crossing team, take note). Each character starts off in their own distinct house, but eventually can co-habit together with shared spaces. Housemate tension? Yes.
Where the flexibility is dialled up further is through the Palette House Workshop, where just about anything can be tinkered with. Fancy painting an outfit? Do it. Want to go ham on interior decorations? Sure. Want to literally draw food items to feed those hungry Mii? Done. Even a cute pixel pet can be created. It’s surprising fun, with custom outfits adding even more personality to the cast. Plus custom items are cheaper to buy with in-game currency versus the regular items. A win-win!
It leads to a far more personal, immersive experience in a lot of ways due to being a touch more hands on. The colourful world brims full of colour and the usual Nintendo pomp – echoing a cell-shaded style from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. A game like Tomodachi Life thrives on the less realistic style, allowing room for some truly surreal concepts that would look unusual if grounded in heavily detailed realism. It all runs super snappy and with minimal loading, too.
Nintendo has made big strides in some areas, especially pacing, performance, customisation and Mii interactions. However, some aspects of what made the original 3DS concept so beloved have been scaled back or omitted entirely. Daily events like the Rap Battle, Quirky Questions and even the amusing Combability Tester option are all missing at time of review.
These were a huge part of the Tomodachi charm and useful for padding out waiting periods. Because of this, the game falls back to standard dialogue sequences between Mii – something which can become a touch repetitive at times. Hopefully Nintendo could introduce these back in via future updates to bring about more variety.
