When you first start the game, you are asked to name your island. I named mine Wolf Bobs Island (after a now defunct roller coaster). The name of your island can have up to ten characters in it. You're then asked to create your Mii (I imported mine from the Mii Maker) and enter information such as your name, birthday, and personality traits. You can also customize a voice to try to match your own, but the results will sound a bit robotic no matter what.
Your character lives in an apartment building, and it won't be long before he or she gets hungry. I went to the store to look through the food choices, and this blockhead sold me some pancakes. Yum.
When I returned home, I had to use the stylus to slide them into my belly. Mmm! That raised my happiness level. You don't directly control Miis in Tomodachi Life, but you use the stylus to give them items or click on their thought bubbles to see what's on their mind. Anyway, my character was lonely, so I was asked to make some new characters. I have a bunch of random Miis in my Mii Maker, so I started out by making Mr. Bean!
Jeff and Mr. Bean started hanging out and became friends. But I continued adding more characters; I think it'll be hilarious when a bunch of random characters start interacting. So I added an alien, Tobias and Lindsay Funke from Arrested Development, Miss Piggy, and Bobby Hill from King of the Hill. I have many more crazy Miis I'll be adding soon, too.
From your view of the apartment building, you can click on a window to check on each character. They may be just standing there, running in circles, visiting a friend, sleeping, or who knows what else.
I've unlocked several new things so far, including a clothing shop, a hat shop, an interior design shop, and a fountain where you can make donations for the town. Each time you unlock a new area, there will be a news flash, where one of your Miis appears as the newscaster. Would you trust your news from this guy?
The characters may ask you for food, new clothes, advice on how to befriend another Mii, and so on. But some of their requests are a bit more unusual.
Later on, I unlocked the concert hall. It allows Miis to sing different styles of music (although each must be unlocked separately, it appears). He or she will appear on stage and sing the song. You can even edit the lyrics of each song! This opens the door to making some hilarious performances; the possibilities are endless!
Even the loading screens are fun to watch. As I saved my game, I got to witness a headbanging Miss Piggy.
Out of nowhere, Bobby Hill told me he wanted to befriend Lindsay. Her? What could they possibly have in common? But they were talking and somehow, they clicked; they're now friends.
In a way, it feels like you're just observing the lives of these Miis rather than playing a game. But that's not a bad thing, because Tomodachi Life is not only entertaining, but genuinely funny. I've laughed many times in my short amount of time with the game so far. I think it'll be even better as you add more Miis...especially if you use a variety of personalities and voices. I can't wait to get more of these characters up on the stage and singing some crazy songs.
My adventure is just beginning, so keep coming back for more blog entries and some videos too. In the meantime, have some sausage!
Notes: Nintendo has graciously provided me with an advance copy of Tomodachi Life. Thanks, Nintendo! All Miis shown were made by me or my friends and are not in the game by default.
