Tomodachi Life
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Nintendo SPD |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Release date(s) | JP: April 18, 2013 NA/EU: June 6, 2014 AU: June 7, 2014 |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
| Rating(s) | ESRB:  - EveryonePEGI:  - Ages 3+CERO:  - All ages |
| Game size | 389MB |
| External links | Official Website |
| Game chronology | |
| Previous game First game in series |
Next game Latest game in series |
| On affiliated sites | |
 |
Walkthrough |
Tomodachi Life is a life simulator game for the Nintendo 3DS released in Japan in early 2013, and worldwide in mid 2014. It was both developed and published by Nintendo. Tomodachi Life is the second and final game in the Tomodachi series, proceeding Tomodachi Collection. It, along with the Tomodachi series, was succeeded by Miitopia a few years later.
Gameplay
For sake of uniformity, the following section will describe the North American version of the game. See Regional Differences below.
Like most life simulators, Tomodachi Life is open ended and features no detailed story. The game starts off with letting the player name an island the Miis will eventually live in. The player is then prompted to create a Mii that resembles oneself. Eventually, the player will be able to make Miis whenever they wish and continue the various aspects of gameplay.
Mii Creation
Tomodachi Life has the same Mii making features as the 3DS system, however it adds more personal features. After creating the Mii itself on one page, players must write a full name for the character, as well as a nickname that will be used more often. A birthday can be added, and doing so will allow the game to celebrate it when the date passes in realtime. Favorite color and creator is inputed on this page and gender can be readjusted. If a birthday is not entered, the player must at least determine if the character is a grown-up or a child. The relation to the player can be decided as well to indicate if the Mii is of a family member (thus preventing them from falling in love).
The next page allows the player to adjust the Mii's voice. There are six preset voices, but a random voice can be generated and a custom voice can be configured. For the custom voice, the player can toggle its pitch, speed, quality, tone, accent, and intonation.
The final page determines a Mii's personality. The personality is broken up into five parts (names taken from the US version): Movement, Speech, Expressiveness, Attitude, and Overall. Each aspect has a sliding scale, and the personality depends on how each part is adjusted. Personalities play an important role in Tomodachi Life in that they affect interactions and which Miis will be compatible with each other.
After a Mii is created, it will move into its apartment. The room's interior will depend on the Mii's personality.
Mainland
Town Hall
Mii Apartments
- Main article: Mii Apartments
Mii Apartments is where the majority of gameplay occurs. Miis live in their own apartments and will often request the player to help them or play with them. Miis interact independently, and will oftentimes hang out with other Miis in their own apartments. At night and sometimes throughout the day, Miis will fall asleep and dream. Players can enter and watch these dreams, and when they exit the Mii will wake up and an item related to the dream will appear next to them. When they are asleep at night, players can draw on their faces.
As more Miis are made, the apartment building will upgrade to hold more apartments until it caps at 100 Miis.
Food Mart
Beach
Fountain
Clothing
Mii Homes
Hats
Campground
Port
Pawn Shop
Interiors
Concert Hall
Import Wear
Observation Tower
Compatibility Tester
Rankings Board
Leisure Island
Except for Mii News, Leisure Island is locked until a Mii confesses their love. A newsflash will appear, introducing the secondary island.
Amusement Park
Cafe
Park
Photo Studio
Mii News
Regional Differences
Since Tomodachi Life is meant to relate to the player and stay grounded to reality most of the time, four different versions of the game were released to accommodate cultural differences.
| Features | Japan | North America | Europe and Australia | South Korea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Save data transfer from Tomodachi Collection | Available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Observation Tower | Not available. Replaced by the roof | Available | Available | Available | |
| Quality of Life | Automatically visible | Unlocked later | Unlocked later | Unlocked later | |
| Save screen | Miis have shadows underneath them | Miis do not have shadows | Miis do not have shadows | Miis do not have shadows | |
| Dating | Kids can date grown-ups | Kids cannot date grown-ups | Kids cannot date grown-ups | Kids cannot date grown-ups | |
| Kid-o-Matic | Not available | Available | Available | Available | |
| Confession | Grey "moyamoya" clouds appear when they consider confessing.
Can confess to married Miis. |
Floating hearts with question marks appear when they consider confessing. Can only confess to single Miis | Floating hearts with question marks appear when they consider confessing. Can only confess to single Miis | Floating hearts with question marks appear when they consider confessing. Can only confess to single Miis | |
| Napping | Miis will be directly on the floor | Miis will lie on blue mats | Miis will lie on blue mats | Miis will lie on blue mats | |
| Dream symbol | Represented by 夢 (literally "dream") | Represented by a moon in the sky | Represented by a moon in the sky | Represented by 꿈 (literally "dream") | |
| Depression | Represented by purple embers. Some Miis will cry. | Represented by rain cloud | Represented by rain cloud | Represented by purple embers | |
| Gestures | Some animations were changed to reflect cultural gestures | Some animations were changed to reflect cultural gestures | Some animations were changed to reflect cultural gestures | Some animations were changed to reflect cultural gestures | |
| Catchphrase | No poses | Poses | Poses | Poses | |
| Blood Type | Available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Relationship List | Closer relationships are closer to pink while failing relationships are closer to blue. | Closer relationships are closer to green while failing relationships are closer to purple. | Closer relationships are closer to green while failing relationships are closer to purple. | Closer relationships are closer to pink while failing relationships are closer to blue. | |
| Looking into faces | Miis will have red diagonal lines on the face when blushing. Miis practice winking. | Miis cheeks will turn red when blushing. Miis practice funny faces | Miis cheeks will turn red when blushing. Miis practice funny faces | Miis cheeks will turn red when blushing. Miis practice funny faces | |
| Dialogue | Miis thank player for giving them food or medicine | ||||
| Side Icons | Catchphrases are represented by a mouth. | Catchphrases are represented by a speech bubble. | Catchphrases are represented by a mouth or a speech bubble depending on the country. | Catchphrases are represented by a speech bubble. | |
| Beds | Beds do not have a frame. | Beds have a frame. | Beds have a frame. | Beds have a frame. | |
| Classroom Confession | Resembles a Japanese classroom. | Resembles a North American classroom | |||
| Match | Hearts are lost right to left. | Hearts are lost left to right. | Hearts are lost left to right. | Hearts are lost left to right. | |
| Vs. Match | Colors are green and orange. | Colors are red and blue. | |||
| The wrestling mini-game | Sumo wrestling | Football | Wrestling | ||
| Cards | Holds up a peace sign in victory. | Holds up a thumbs-up in victory. | Aces are replaced with Kings | ||
| Other features in mini-games | "Congratulations" has smiley faces. "Too bad..." has sweatdrops. | "Congratulations" has fireworks. "Too bad..." has rainclouds. | "Congratulations" has fireworks. | ||
| Photo Studio | Some Miis will appear with open mouths. Has exclusive templates. Kappa Costume is an option for babies. | Has exclusive templates. | Has exclusive templates. | Has exclusive templates. | |
| Concert Hall | Genres: Pop, Rock & Roll, Metal, Opera, Enka. There is an option to pick lyrics from templates. If another Mii, food, or treasure is mentioned, they/it will appear on the screen behind the singers. During Metal, a demon face will show on the screen behind the singers. | Genres: Metal, Pop, Rock & Roll, Rap, Ballad, Opera, Techno, Musical. During Metal, flaming guitars will show on the screen behind the singers. | Genres: Metal, Pop, Rock & Roll, Rap, Ballad, Opera, Techno, Musical. During Metal, flaming guitars will show on the screen behind the singers. | Genres: Metal, Pop, Rock & Roll, Rap, Ballad, Opera, Techno, Musical. During Metal, flaming guitars will show on the screen behind the singers. | |
| Donations | Collected in a light gray box. | Collected in a glass piggy bank. | Collected in a glass piggy bank. | Collected in a glass piggy bank. | |
| Fountain Event | Word Chain. | Rap Battle. | Word Chain or Rap Battle. | ||
| Soundtrack | Various piano tracks play in Compatibility Tester. Port has a different track. Special music is played during New Year's. | Various jazz tracks play in Compatibility Tester. Port has a different track. | Various jazz tracks play in Compatibility Tester. Port has a different track. | Various jazz tracks play in Compatibility Tester. Port has a different track. | |
| Compatibility Tester | Can test anyone romantically except same-sex couples (these will be tested as friends). | Will not test family members, child-adult pairings, or same-sex couples romantically. | |||
| Mii Homes | Families can be seen bathing together. Glass door to the backyard is clear. The fence has rectangular planks. | Miis shower alone. Glass door is textured. The yard has a picket fence. | Miis shower alone. Glass door is textured. The yard has a picket fence. | Miis shower alone. Glass door is textured. The yard has a picket fence. | |
| Family album | Exclusive photos: baby on a potty chair and baby washing the father's back. | Replaced with the mother potty training and the family playing soccer. | Replaced with the mother potty training and the family playing soccer. | Replaced with the mother potty training and the family playing soccer. The mask used to scare the child is different. | |
| Babysitting | Baby lies on palms when rocking. When spinning, the child will spread their arms if they're not moving. There is a warning to not spin children in real life. | Baby lies on arms when rocking. When spinning, the child will grab the arms if they're not moving. | Baby lies on arms when rocking. When spinning, the child will grab the arms if they're not moving. There is a warning to not spin children in real life. | Baby lies on arms when rocking. When spinning, the child will grab the arms if they're not moving. | |
| Children | First name suggestion will be a combination of the parents' names. If the grown child stays on the island, the family album will be received in the father's apartment. | If the child stays on the island, the family album will be received in the family's house. | If the child stays on the island, the family album will be received in the family's house. | If the child stays on the island, the family album will be received in the family's house. | |
| Dreams | Superhero: Miis will wear Superheroine costume regardless of gender.
Drive: A Mii is hanging as a Luck Charm. |
Superhero: Female Miis wear Superheroine costume. Male Miis wear Robo-hero suit.
Drive: A Mii is on the dashboard as a Hula Girl. |
Superhero: Female Miis wear Superheroine costume. Male Miis wear Robo-hero suit.
Drive: A Mii is on the dashboard as a Hula Girl. |
Superhero: Female Miis wear Superheroine costume. Male Miis wear Robo-hero suit.
Drive: A Mii is on the dashboard as a Hula Girl. |
Trivia
- The 16 personalities appear to be based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
- Additionally, the four main sections into which they are divided appear to be based on the four temperments.
- QR codes of Celebrity Miis were released to promote the game in the United States. The Miis include
- Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal)
- Christina Aguilera
- Shaun White
- Zendaya
- Debby Ryan
- TomodachiLife.com now redirects to the official Nintendo page for 1-2 Switch. The official website for Tomodachi Life was changed to https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/tomodachi-life-3ds/
Gallery
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | トモダチコレクション 新生活
Tomodachikorekushon Shin Seikatsu |
Tomodachi Collection New Life |
| French | Tomodachi Life | Tomodachi Life |
| German | Tomodachi Life | Tomodachi Life |
| Italian | Tomodachi Life | Tomodachi Life |
| Korean | 친구모아 아파트
Chingumoa Apateu |
Friend's Apartment |
| Spanish | Tomodachi Life | Tomodachi Life |
