Tomodachi Life – First Impressions

Tomodachi Life is not a late April Fools joke, although from watching this mornings Nintendo Direct you may think so.  It is an actual game set to be released on June 6th.  Nintendo did not confirm whether this release would be world wide or not.  The game was released in Japan about this time last year.

If you have been craving a game that mixes the best of life simulators such as the Sims and the quirkiness and cuteness of Animal Crossing, then it appears as if Tomodachi Life will be your go to game this summer.  Tomodachi, which means ‘Friend’ in Japanese, does exactly what the title insinuates: it allows you to live an alternative lifestyle through your Mii.  The game will allow you to interact with your own  creations, Mii’s of your friends, or the Mii’s of random strangers you have collected via Street Pass.  You will be able to customize the look of your Mii, as well as give them a unique voice.  The customization options for this game do seem endless, so when your world is eventually populated with Mii’s, there should be tons of variety.

In Tomodachi Life you will be the mayor of a small island.  The Nintendo Direct this morning did not detail whether there was a story line or not.  All it showed was what a player could expect from every day life during the game, including talking with friends, dating, and even fighting.  Although the video was nearly 11 minutes long, very little was actually shown.  If this is all Nintendo is going to show leading up to the June 6th release, it would not be a surprise if this title fails to sell well.  Nintendo has not done enough via this direct to entice someone to spend 34.99.  However, with almost two months until launch, it can probably be expected that a future Nintendo Direct in May will shed more light on this game ahead of release.

So how can so little come out of a 11 minute Nintendo Direct?  If you find life simulators incredibly dis-interesting, take the 11 minute plunge anyways.  The witty banter throughout the Nintendo Direct make the time you spent watching well worth it.  The entire 11 minutes is very comical.  Want to see a Iwata playing with a cat or trying on a Dinosaur suit?  Want to see a number of Nintendo executives attempt to pick up Samus Aran on a beach?  Of course you do!

Regardless of how you feel about Tomodachi Life, this Nintendo Direct has shown a number of things apart from the game itself.  Fist, Nintendo is still working on new North American and European IP’s.  Second, despite treading through one of the most difficult times in recent Nintendo history, Nintendo has still found away to announce new games out of left field.  Did anyone else expect two Nintendo Directs in one week?

A further preview should be out before this game launches, so keep checking in at gamesreviews.com for more details!