While it was announced earlier this year and teased in the Japanese broadcast of the recent Animal Crossing Direct, Miitopia received its very own Direct in Japan today. That said, it was less like a typical Direct and more of a mini drama episode. Keep in mind that these are all preliminary terms when it comes to the game itself, as no English text or details were present.
Throughout the 15 minutes or so we got to follow Miiko, a young woman clearly not enjoying life. Coming home to a lonely apartment after days at a job where she’s clearly not appreciated by her boss, life just isn’t fun for her. Even with the help of her cool friend Sakurako she just can’t do things right or catch the attention of ikemen-senpai at the office. Wishing and wishing as hard as she can, a voice guides her to her 3DS where a promised fun adventure awaits her in the world of Miitopia.
The game itself plays off of familiar JRPG ideas, evoking Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy in its imagery and apparent systems. Just like Miiko, players are able to create a party of Miis to embark on a quest to save the people of Miitopia. An evil villain that looks an awful lot like her not-so-nice boss has stolen the Mii-denizens of the world’s faces, attaching them to monsters and bringing the people into despair!
Bringing herself and her coworkers together as a party, Miiko is then able to determine jobs or classes for them all. While some seemed pretty standard for the setting, such as a magic wielder or knight, we also got to see the likes of the cat, tank and idol jobs. Once you’re kitted out it’s time to face the monsters and by defeating them release the poor citizens stolen faces. It looks a little surreal but wholly fitting with the imagery from the likes of Find Mii and Tomodachi Life.
Speaking of Tomodachi Life, it looks like varying personalities based on the details of each Mii are also featured. Here it looks like they translate into the characters’ behaviors in battle and their relationships with each other. For example, even though Miiko is vying for the affections of her senpai, his Mii has ended up with a bit of a rotten personality, hiding behind other characters and even stealing their restorative items on occasion. Others included an energetic but slightly clumsy personality and a kind, protective one that may help others but could put the ones who have it in harm’s way. Seeing the balance of benefits and detriments on display here definitely makes the system seem appealing while adding plenty of variety and flavor.
These personalities come into play when resting at inns, where characters can eat meals to raise their stats and also spend time together in their rooms. The interactions that come up in these moments can range in their effects, some being wholly positive while others not so much. By visiting each member of her party, Miiko saw an increase in two character’s’ relationship with each other after hanging out, another character asking for money to buy equipment but wasting it on something else, and a combination of these elements where a character actually bought what they were supposed to which increased their relationship score, but may have made a third character jealous and affected their performance. These are the moments that made Tomodachi Life so unique and I’m glad they’re finding their way into a game that’s more of an adventure with a goal and plenty of things to do with all this personality instead of just watching it happen.
After an exciting montage of the above mentioned relationship mechanics, like team up attacks and support effects, we saw Miiko and her party finally reach the final “boss”. Steeling their resolve, the group of heroes attack with their fates left unknown. It’s at this point we see Miiko’s been asleep this whole time. After some texts with her friend she sets out to meet up, feeling much happier and clearly ready to enjoy life and the friendships she has, though not without making sure she’s grabbed her 3DS.
This fun little video was definitely a great way to show off Miitopia, maintaining the personality of other Mii-centric games while making the new RPG itself seem much more interesting and driven. It won’t be long till we know more about Miitopia, as it release in Japan on December 8th this year. No word was given on a potential localization, though with how long it took for Tomodachi Life it may be a while for this one to be brought over in English. That said, amiibo support is confirmed and you can bet we’ll be keeping you informed on what features they bring to the fun, if a little strange, world of Miitopia.
Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
