Miitopia Review

Miitopia Review
4.6
out of 5

Nintendo is known for a lot of things, including some iconic game franchises and characters, some innovative, industry-changing technology, and colorful, family-friendly titles that are good for all ages. But above all else, Nintendo games are generally fun. Like, super-amazing fun. The new Nintendo 3DS game, Miitopia, continues that trend, as the big N has created an insanely fun (and funny) RPG adventure game using the Mii characters first introduced on the Wii.

A Mii Kind Of Adventure

Miitopia is a fantasy RPG that takes assorted Miis from all over the world (shared via players’ spotpass feature) and uses them to tell their story. The player also has the ability to “cast” their own adventure using their collected streetpass Miis, their created Miis, Miis used in Tamagotchi Life, or they can have the 3DS auto assign the roles with whatever Miis are out in the world. Because of this, I’m adventuring with my wife, my sister, and my niece, and the scripted interactions between us all makes me laugh out loud. A lot.


Miitopia Review

And since I’m given the choices to assign jobs, like Warrior, Cleric, Black Mage, Pop Star, Chef, Thief, and more, and even assign characters’ mood, I can pretty much nail the real life counterparts in Miitopia. My sister is stubborn, and she likes to cook. So, of course, she’s my group’s pig-headed chef. My niece loves to sing pop songs, and is very witty. So she’s our wisecracking “bard.” My wife is a nurse, so she’s our in-game healer. And all of this is just gleeful to me. I truly laugh out loud every time I play.

Players can even assign a Mii to be the evil Dark Lord, and I even had that covered with an old “friend” from college on my friends list. To put it bluntly, Nintendo gave me the story, but I’m able to cast it and influence it with my decisions. And with Miitopia pulling popular Miis from the “Nintendo cloud” (for lack of a better term), my first town was populated with Miis for Hulk Hogan, Jack Skellington, and Dr. Robotnik. And Batman and Beyonce played a married couple. Miitopia is crazy like that.

Miitopia Review

Mii, You, And All Of Us

The gameplay in Miitopia is reminiscent of the Find Me 3DS game that essentially came standard with every 3DS system. The Dark Lord has stolen the faces of the residents of Miitopia and has put them on monsters. The player and his party must defeat the monsters — usually in random battles — to free the faces and save the Miis who were trapped. Levels are filled with treasure chests and multiple paths, and each area ends with an Inn, where the party can focus on upkeep and rest.

The upkeep involves buying new outfits and weapons, but in Nintendo style, you give the character the requested gold, and they may or may not buy the item they want. My wife, a Cleric, asked for 310 gold pieces to buy a new staff. I gave it to her and she came back with a HP banana. This is my family, ladies and gentlemen.

Miitopia Review

Players can also switch up the rooming arrangements between the four adventurers, and even feed them with the random food dishes that monsters drop, which raises certain attributes. There are two mini-games that can be played using game tickets that are collected during the adventure. Rock, paper, scissors and a prize roulette are available, and in my time with the game, I’ve learned that if you don’t rush to try and buy the new weapon or armor that is offered, it does eventually appear as a prize on the wheel, and spending a few tickets is way better than thousands of gold pieces.

Miis As Far As The Eye Can See

Periodically, the game will pause and ask the player to vote on certain Miis, presumably to cast later portions of the game. Voting earns the players game tickets, so don’t be afraid to use them when you get them, as you will always get more.

Miitopia Review

Relationships between your Miis plays a huge role in Miitopia. As the relationships build and get stronger, it unlocks new skills between the characters. Landing a hit on an enemy will make my wife cheer me on, which empowers me, and next time, my hits do double and triple damage. My sister can cook food to heal anyone with her turn, and when she helps another, their bond grows. Managing these various relationships is the key to building a solid Dark Lord Butt Kicking team.

The graphics and art design are just classic Nintendo, with smooth textures and eye-popping colors used throughout. The characters speak in an Animal Crossing-like language, and, in fact, Animal Crossing has many influences in Miitopia. Not outright, but definitely in the spirit of the game.

Miitopia Review

Amiibo support plays a huge role here too. Most amiibos will unlock new outfits to collect — the outfits are amiibo specific. I tapped Link and now I’m dressed like the Hero of Time. I also tapped Ganondorf, for when I’m in a bad mood, I can dress like King of Evil. I’ve only tapped a few amiibos, but each one has unlocked that character’s outfit, making this a wonderful integration of the popular toy accessory.

Say You, Say Mii

Miitopia is an incredibly fun RPG experience, one that makes me laugh out loud constantly. The battles are turn-based, and can even be set to autobattle, if young players just want to watch the adventure unfold on the screen. The amount of player-controlled customization with the various Miis gives Miitopia a very personal feel. I’m constantly telling my wife about our recent adventures, and she just looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. And maybe I have. Maybe it’s firmly in the land of Miitopia, and that would be great, because I know it — and me — are having a blast freeing the trapped Miis and taking the fight to the Dark Lord, Matt. His name is Matt.

Miitopia is available now for the Nintendo 3DS family of game systems. This review is based off a copy of the game provided by Nintendo.

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