Miitopia was a game that I was never sure if Nintendo would release worldwide.
It's been out in Japan for some time with not even a hint of it coming here.
But that wasn't the case at all as Nintendo does indeed plan to bring the Mii RPG west.
The Miis have already seen success on the 3DS thanks to Tomodachi Life but will Miitopia
catch on in the way?
After 20 minutes of hands-on time with the game, I think it has some potential.
The simplest way to describe Miitopia is it's an RPG where you and your Miis are the stars.
Every time there's a new character, be it ally or villain, you choose who they're
based for your collection of Miis.
And the game is very smart in that it allows you to choose Miis that you create on the
spot or pull from either your Mii Maker or your save file for Tomodachi Life.
If you've already spent a lot of time recreating friends, celebrities, or just creations in
that game, they can easily be used for Miitopia which gives it a lot of crossover appeal.
And even if you don't have access to a ton of Miis and don't want to take the time
to make your own, there's an option called Mii Central where players from around world
can upload their Miis for anyone to use.
The basic plot is that a Dark Lord has stolen the faces of everyone in the land, and it's
up to the hero to confront this evil and regain the faces.
And since you can cast the roles, the Dark Lord, the heroes, and certain people you meet
can be anyone you want, which is sure to bring a few laughs.
I mean, there's nothing quite like Reggie and Doug Bowser teaming up to take down the
Dark Lord Krysta.
The setup is certainly amusing, but what about the meat of the game?
Well, the way Miitopia progresses is that your characters walk across a chosen area.
There they can have events where they talk to each other and potentially bond or have
battles with monsters.
The only character you can control is your own and it's limited to selecting Attack,
Magic, or an item and then the enemy or ally that's your focus.
The other members of your party act on their own.
It's definitely not meant to be deep, but there are elements that add a touch of strategy
to the fights.
One example is the the Sprinkles.
I had the option of both HP and MP sprinkles that could restore these for your party any
time during their turn.
But they're limited to a set amount for each battle meaning they don't get you out
of every jam.
In my experience though, characters tend to be pretty smart with Reggie using his cooking
skills to restore HP when he needed it if I didn't use the Sprinkles.
But yeah, the battles aren't super exciting, but they tie in with what's most definitely
the main draw of the game, seeing your Miis interact.
While it's amusing to cast friends in the roles of the villain or a mysterious ally,
the big roles are your main party.
Whenever you choose a Mii to join you, you'll be able pick their personality as well as
a Job.
The Jobs, at least in this small taste, include typical choices like Warriors, Mages, Clerics,
and Thieves, but also some wacky options like a Chef or Pop Star.
Unfortunately, it's not super clear what these options do, but it doesn't seem to
matter too much considering the battle system.
Like Tomodachi Life though, your characters can interact.
I didn't see a wide variety of these interactions in my short time with the game, but I did
see my two party members bond enough to earn new group attacks.
And from my familiarity with the Japanese release, I can tell you that even rifts can
appear between party members if they get jealous of one another.
So the situations that popped up during Tomodachi Life are very much present here as well, just
in an RPG setting to provide a little bit more active gameplay.
Otherwise, as you travel through the world, you'll come across various inns where you
can restore your party's health, potentially watch more interactions between them, buy
equipment, and feed them in the hopes of increasing their stats.
Food is often dropped by enemies and each one focuses on a different stat.
But each Mii has different tastes so if they don't like it, it won't raise the bar
to increase as much or could even drain that bar.
You'll have to learn what each Mii likes and dislikes, but fortunately the game keeps
track of that whenever you select food that you already gave them.
Buying equipment is a bit of a gamble.
Your Miis will mention wanting to use money to purchase better weapons, armor, or even
items to use in battle.
However, it is possible for them to get distracted and buy the completely wrong item.
This isn't too much of a punishment though as you'll be refunded at least a little
of the difference.
Still, it can be a bummer when you wanted that shiny new sword, but instead your Mii
comes back with a banana.
The presentation of Miitopia is pretty much in line with Tomodachi Life.
But, to my surprise, the music is really catchy with the encounter theme reminding me a lot
of classic Final Fantasy.
Let's face it.
When it comes down to it, Miitopia isn't going to be for RPG fanatics.
You don't need to worry about creating the best build or challenging the biggest bosses.
Instead, the focus is on the interactions between your Miis, whether they're in your
party or the big bad Dark Lord.
It seems like a good way to take the idea of Tomodachi Life and build it around more
interactive gameplay.
Whether or not it'll hook people in the same way, we'll have to see on its July
28th release.
Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe to GameXplain for more on Miitopia and other
things gaming.
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