When I heard Miitopia would get released on the Switch I was surprised, a little sad, and really excited all at the same time. Surprised because Miitopia is kind of an outlier. The game got released late in the 3DS life cycle and is not an established franchise like Mario. I am really happy that it gets renewed attention because the original was a really funny and good game. I was a little sad because I hoped for a sequel, but this renewed attention might make it possible in the future.
Cast Your Own Characters
In Miitopia you’re in control of making your own adventure. Cast your Mii version of friends, actors, video game characters, etc. in a fun-filled adventure of a lifetime. The story starts off with the Dark Lord stealing the faces of the people that inhabit Miitopia. These faces are placed onto the monster army of the Dark Lord. This is where your player character comes in. You’re put on a mission to defeat the monsters, release their faces and stop the Dark Lord to return peace at Miitopia. Along the way, you’ll encounter new squad members to help you on your journey. The plot is rather basic but Miitopia is all about the interesting interactions between the beloved characters you cast. This means that a big portion of the appeal of the game is your enjoyment of the fun and silly interaction the characters have.
Quirky RPG
In terms of gameplay, the battle system is turn-based. However you only control your player character and not the other party members, they will attack automatically. The AI does well enough but this makes the battles more basic and less strategic than when you control all the characters yourself. You however can put a party member in a safe spot to heal up for some added tactics.
The stat system is your standard RPG system composed of HP, MP, attack, magic, defense, and speed. Each time you defeat an enemy you gain XP, Gold, and grub. When you level up you’ll increase these stats and learn new skills to use in combat. The battles can get a bit repetitive but it all depends on what you like. I’m a big fan of turn-based RPGs and like to grind XP from time to time, so for me, it wasn’t so bad. Luckily there is a speed-up system and an automatic battle feature for when things get too stale.
Wide Range of Classes
There are 6 classes unlocked from the start and 8 more classes you unlock along the way. These range from the classic Mage, Cleric & Warrior to a Chef, Scientist, and Cat class. Each class has its own attacks and specific skills. For instance, the Cleric can heal your party while the Popstar can boost the morale of your party members so they can attack 2 times that turn. Besides picking a class you also pick a personality for the Miis. These personalities reflect within the attitude of the Mii but also grant them different quirks. For instance, a kind Mii will spare an enemy while a stubborn character may refuse to be healed by your party members.
The relationship between your party plays a big role as well. If they have a good relationship they might take a hit or team up for an attack with your other Mii. A bad relationship can lead to the Miis fighting each other instead of the enemy. Relationships can be build by placing the Miis in the same room in the inn. This is a rest stop that is at the end of each stage. Friendship is also increased by going on outings together which lets your Miis have fun interaction like going to the cinema, sea, fishing, and many more. There is a lot to unpack and a lot of different interactions.
Increase Your Parties Strength at the Inn
The inn is also the place where you rest up to recover HP & MP, buy new items/equipment, fill up your belly or spin the wheel or play rock-paper-scissors in the arcade for rewards.
At the inn, you have to option to eat the Grub you collected along the way. Eating grub fills up your belly because you can’t fight on an empty stomach. But eating grub also plays a role in increasing your stats. Every time you eat grub you gain XP towards a specific stat. Depending on how much your Mii likes the grub you gain less or more XP. Fill up the XP bar and you’ll increase that stat. This is a clever way to increase stats with the items you collect along the way without the need for a complicated crafting system.
Shopping is also handled differently. Your Miis will suggest items that they want to have. You give them gold to buy these items. But you know how shopping goes, sometimes they come back with something different, like a banana. The equipment you buy increases your Miis stats and look. You can choose from a couple of different colors or choose to only get the stat boost and keep your old look. This is a nice addition since some equipment looks interesting, to say the least.
Detailed Miis and Horses
Miitopia is not a straight-up port but has some changes. The graphics have been upgraded to HD and the performance has increased as well. The game runs smoothly both in handheld as in docked mode for the most part. There were some small instances that the frame rate dropped noticeably. Other than that I haven’t encountered any issues or bugs.
A new addition to the roster of allies is the Horse. Enlist the four-hoofed beast to build friendships, to build confidants, or to fight alongside you. This is for sure a fun addition with some interesting interactions but this won’t change the game in a massive way.
The biggest game-changer is the new Mii creation system. The system on the 3DS was basically the old classic Mii creator system. The new system adds options like wigs and make-up but ended up being so much more. This gives you almost unlimited freedom to create whatever you want. You can create them yourself or just simply download them from talented people across the internet with Nintendo Switch Online. See some crazy examples down below. You can give them war cries as well to complete the whole package. You can change the cast of characters whenever you like so if you found a better fit to play the Dark Lord you don’t have to start all over again.
Conclusion
Miitopia is a really interesting and quirky RPG. The gameplay lacks the strategic depth and options that some of the deeper RPGs have. The biggest factor for liking the game is whether you get enjoyment out of seeing the crazy crossover and interactions between your Miis. The game can get a bit monotonous but in the end is entertaining and full of light-hearted, quirky, and wholesome humor. There is a demo available that goes over the first part of the first chapter and gives a good inside if you will like the game or not. If you have been won over by its quirky charm, the save data carries over to the full game.
