Tomodachi Life

As a loyal Club Nintendo member, I received a special download code for the Tomodachi Life "Move-In Version" in my email before the game launched, giving me an exclusive, early taste of the eclectic social simulator and securing my loyalty in an instant. It felt so special to have that opportunity, and I actually genuinely enjoyed the demo, so I ended up pre-ordering the game and becoming massively invested in it for a few months. There was something about watching those little Miis live their lives and form relationships with each other that felt so fulfilling, and I loved the uncanny humor that tied it all together. Eventually, I squeezed just about as much as I could out of the game a few times over, but for a long while, I was having a blast.

Tomodachi Life offers an island full of amenities and asks you to populate it with Miis, giving you the means to create a new islander at any time. You can customize a Mii's appearance, voice, and personality, allowing you to build the perfect community of friends, family, celebrities, fictional characters, historical figures, and just about anyone else you want. Once you've filled your island as much as you'd like, the real fun begins. Your omnipotence in this world doesn't end at character creation. These Miis live their own lives with their own schedules and plans, and you have a lot of options for both observation and interaction.

When the Miis are at home, you have the most options for getting to know them and for influencing their life trajectory. They will often have problems that require your involvement to resolve, and this forms the basis for most of your one-on-one interactions. Problems usually relate to something they need or want, like food or a new catchphrase, and your input affects their happiness, which can lead to you unlocking new options for them, like toys they can use with friends or songs they can sing in the concert hall. It doesn't stop at trivial wants and needs though; less frequent, but arguably more important, are relationship-based problems.

Miis will ask for your advice when they are interested in making new friends, get in fights, start a romantic relationship, and more. Your suggestions can have a huge impact on how your island's community develops, which I found to be very rewarding (although sometimes quite stressful). My favorite part about Mii relationships was always the formation of families. Tomodachi Life allows Miis to marry and have children, who then become full-fledged members of the island community that you can interact with, just like any other Mii. I loved watching the parents raise their babies, and it felt very fulfilling to know that I had a hand in that.

If the content in Tomodachi Life stopped there, I probably still would have loved it. However, there's so much more to do once you go beyond the residential area. The shops on your island house a constantly rotating variety of things that you can use back in the residential areas, like food and clothing for your Miis, or new interiors for their apartments, and each purchasable item is a part of a Pokédex-style catalog, encouraging you to buy every new thing you see as it becomes available. The money you use will mostly come from solving problems for your Miis, but you can also get a good amount daily from an event in the park where your Miis will donate some of their pocket money. The park also hosts things like frisbee games and pop-up shops, while other attractions on the island provide even more ways for you to interact with your Miis, assuming you happen to be playing while an event is active. Still want to do something fun when no events are available? The concert hall is always available for you to put on custom performances with your Miis. I ended up spending most of my time solving problems, but these activities offered a much-appreciated change of pace for longer play sessions, and the fleshed-out island gives a much better feeling of a real, living community than the residential area could alone.

The authenticity of the "human" interactions and relationships juxtaposed with the game's general wackiness ends up being Tomodachi Life's biggest strength. Every Mii feels like a genuine person, making it easy to feel connected to them and their community, ensuring that Tomodachi Life will keep you engaged for a long time, even if you've already experienced all of the game's mechanics. However, it's things like watching people's weird dreams, collecting every purchasable item, and writing legendary rock ballads at the concert hall that keep the game feeling like a game and not just a simulation. All of that is to say, I think Nintendo found an excellent balance between emotional connection and plain old fun, making Tomodachi Life one of my very favorite 3DS games, hands down.

The game can be purchased for 3DS here (as of 1/12/23): https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/tomodachi-life-3ds/