Tomodachi Life: Why are the people obsessed?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik16YmvTHYs

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream™, a beloved remake of the DS game Tomodachi Life™! Why are people obsessed? Various content creators such as Dan and Phil, KatieB, LaurenZside, and so many others have all played it. So seriously… Why is everyone obsessed? Well through personal experience and other players' inputs, I can tell you why this remake has entered every player's heart!

Let’s start off with what IS the game? Tomodachi is described by Nintendo™ as “Absurd situations await as you populate your island with Mii™ characters based on yourself, family, friends, or original creations. Get to know them, design a world for them to explore, and watch them come to life in the Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream game for the Nintendo Switch™ system.” 

So what makes it so capturing?

Well firstly, let's get into character design! The game uses the beloved structure of the Nintendo Mii, a simple yet fun to customize character, but through adjusting size, shape, color, and position of features, the options are unlimited! One player that I talked to said this, ”My favourite part of the game was making the Miis and designing my island for sure and like during actual gameplay it would be making them talk to each other" Showing how the character customization draws attention.

This brings me to my next point, designing your island, as you create more Miis, your island has to expand, with these expansions your island gains shops and buildings, one of these buildings being a place called “Palette House” here you could customize items (such as books, food, clothing, etc) Two players I reached out to elaborated on this. One says, ”I think what I enjoyed about the game more was DEFINITELY the painting tool PURELY BECAUSE IT UNLOCKED SO MUCH ROOM TO BE CREATIVE ? I found that it made the game longer to play for me too, I made clothes and little Miis that I felt more inclined to use because I spent so much longer” and the other player states, “ooo my favorite part of the game would probably be the pallet house workshop and the ability to create pretty much anything and have in in game” Both of these players insights tell us about the desire to customize and create in game. Another player (@forxxavier on tiktok) created Ashton Irwin from 5sos and using the pallet house workshop was able to create the different shirts Ashton has worn on tour! How cool is that?!

All in all, I personally think a big reason why people are drawn to this game is the freedom it gives you. It allows you to distract yourself from anything you may be dealing with in real life, and immerse yourself into a fictional world of your own. You can make any character or person and have them become friends, enemies, or even lovers with each other. I mentioned Dan and Phil playing it earlier, and they had their Miis propose and even get married! Tomodachi Life allows you to get creative and create something of your own. This game truly shows the desire to create something you can cherish and enjoy. The game offers so much, some of the dialogue and timing is hilarious and unexpected (like Miis crashing other Miis confessions. Yikes!) and other times it’s cute (like Miis wanting to be roommates)! It's such a family friendly game and you can really make it your own.