Tomodachi Life (video game)
A social simulation game starring your Mii avatars.
Tomodachi Life, a social simulation for the Nintendo 3DS, lets players watch over Miis living on an island, managing their relationships and happiness. This 2013 title is the series' second game, following a Japan-only DS release.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Nintendo SPD
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Director
- Ryutaro Takahashi; Eisaku Nakae
- Producer
- Yoshio Sakamoto
- Programmer
- Masanori Nakagawa
- Artist
- Mai Okamoto
- Composer
- Daisuke Matsuoka, Asuka Ito
- Released
- April 18, 2013 (JP)
- NA/EU
- June 6, 2014
- June 7, 2014 (AUS)
- KOR
- July 17, 2014
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
In Tomodachi Life, players oversee a community of Mii characters living on an island. You can make new Miis, bring them over from the 3DS’s Mii Maker, or use a QR code from another Mii. Each Mii gets a personality through chosen temperament traits, and they speak with a robotic voice you can adjust. Most actions, like chatting with Miis or checking out island spots, happen by tapping the touchscreen. The game’s time matches your 3DS clock. To start, you name the island and create a Mii that looks like you. Miis live in the Mii Apartments, which hold up to 100 residents. As you add more Miis and finish tasks, new places open up, such as shops for food and clothes, an amusement park, a concert hall, and a café. News reports pop up to tell you what’s happening. Miis can become friends or argue on their own, and you can help fix fights. If a male and female Mii of similar age stay friends long enough, one might develop a crush. After you give the go-ahead, that Mii confesses. If it works, they become a couple, and later they can marry. Married Miis may have a child. When the child grows up, you can move them into the apartments or send them to another player’s island using StreetPass.
Development and release
Tomodachi Life was developed by Nintendo SPD as a direct sequel to Tomodachi Collection. Many key developers from the original returned, including directors Ryutaro Takahashi and Eisaku Nakae. Nakae consulted with programmers and designers to establish a clear directional foundation, a divergence from the less focused process of the original. The team wanted to give Miis defined personalities to contrast their usual status as symbolic avatars. Producer Yoshio Sakamoto stated a primary goal was to create entertainment that is fun just by watching. Art direction was refined through trial-and-error; the team initially considered retaining the exact graphical style of the original, but Shinya Takahashi, General Manager of Nintendo SPD, felt the game lacked a next-generation feel. Art director Mai Okamoto reworked the visuals, experimenting with different art styles for about six months before settling on a balance between enhanced graphics and intentional imperfections. Okamoto insisted on retaining the Miis' robotic voices, deeming them integral to the series' identity. Incorporating surreal situational comedy was a goal, and an idea notebook collected over 5,500 gameplay concepts. Developers held internal competitions to create the most humorous ideas, including for the six songs in the concert hall. Localization took over a year, adjusting imagery, currencies, and animations for foreign cultures.
Reception
Tomodachi Life earned a mixed or average reception on Metacritic and a fair score on OpenCritic, where half of critics recommended it. The game was nominated for Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2014 and for Use of Sound, New IP at the NAVGT awards that same year. After its release, it developed a cult following, which Scott McCrae of GamesRadar+ linked to viral social media posts showing bizarre events involving players' Miis. Critics often highlighted the humor as quirky and distinctive. Griffin McElroy from Polygon and Damien McFarren from Nintendo Life called it the game's standout feature. Henry Gilbert of GamesRadar+ found the cutscenes amusing and well-written, comparing the comedy to that of WarioWare and Rhythm Heaven. IGN's Jose Otero appreciated that Miis spoke in intelligible speech instead of the gibberish used in The Sims, saying this gave the virtual world more context and depth. Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica had mixed feelings, thinking the writing targeted preteens and might not appeal to older players. Robert Marrujo of Nintendojo liked the surreal humor but agreed it might not suit everyone. Danny Cowan of Joystiq praised the ability to input custom lyrics for concert hall songs as versatile and entertaining. Many reviewers valued the game as an informal crossover, since players were encouraged to create Miis of friends, celebrities, and fictional characters, which added to the situational comedy. Martin Robinson of Eurogamer was more critical, arguing that the quirky humor could not fix what he saw as major gameplay problems.
More in Nintendo Games of the 2010s
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced