Hanging out with friends in Tomodachi Life

By Sonya Davidson

I have to admit that when I first heard that Nintendo’s latest game Tomodachi Life was launching, it sounded a little familiar. Only it turns out to be quite the humorous adventure that my 9 year old son has been playing in past three weeks.

Launched on June 6 for Nintendo 3DS, this game sets out to bring a fun "hanging out" with friends style experience into the gaming system. Players create their own playable Mii characters in the game – my son has created his brother and a few friends along side his own character. He’s customized what they wear and their living spaces and they all have their own unique personalities – likes and dislikes. But each time he plays, the characters are brought to life with scenarios that are often funny… apparently his brother now has a girlfriend, and yes, they can even get married, maybe later.

The player interacts with the characters through everyday situations injected with surprises. There are situational play where social problems need resolution. At one point he had to figure out why one of the Mii characters was feeling down. He virtually introduced that character to another and they’ve become friends. Another time he had figured out that the character was ill so he purchased medicine. By helping out the characters he earned points that can be used towards purchasing food (like ramen!), clothes, or buy gifts for others.

What does my kid love about this game? “I like how they can do whatever they want – it’s freeplay! Sometimes the Miis are really funny. And you need to take care of them.” 

The game offer continuous play.  Each time the Nintendo 3DS is turned on you resume back in their world of antics. You may see grandpa dancing the hula or mom dressed funny. You can even play jokes on your brothers and sisters. A fun feature of this game is that players can import their characters to their friends’ Tomodachi islands on 3DS via Local Play. Players can also share the game’s funniest moments grabbing screen shots and sharing on social media networks with family and friends. Note: Nintendo 3DS features parental controls to help manage content for their children.

“Tomodachi”  is the Japanese word for “friend” and millions of fans in Japan have already caught onto this addictive game. Aside from creating your own family and friend characters, Nintendo also provides celebrity Mii characters like Shaun White, Christina Aguilera and Shaquille O’Neal that can be found on the Tomodachi Life Website. So, yes, your Mii can also hang out with the A-list.

Definitely a fun game especially for the upcoming months when there will be some relaxing down time for me, and my kids (hopefully).

There’s a fun quiz to find out your Mii personality - apparently I’m an “Outgoing Entertainer” in Tomodachi Life. Hahaha!

Tomodachi Life is available in stores and in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS at a suggested retail price of $39.99. Anyone who buys the game will get two codes to give to friends who own Nintendo 3DS systems to let them download a special “Move-In” demo version of Tomodachi Life so they can check it out for themselves.