Originally an obscure Japan-exclusive DS title, Tomodachi Life has made its way to Europe via the 3DS, and it’s a lot of fun.
You might remember the odd amount of hype that surrounded this game. It looked ridiculous, mysterious, and endlessly re-playable. I was caught up in the excitement of this Japanese oddity’s release, and pre-ordered the damn thing. I have to say, even after twenty hours of amusing gameplay, the game didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
But let’s not start with the negatives. I truly enjoyed my time with this game, and found myself laughing out loud more than once when playing. The game is set on a small island with no facilities, which expands as you add more citizens and spend more time playing. When you have unlocked every part of the island, you could say that the game really opens up.
If your citizens have children, they can go on voyages to other players’ islands, you can stage extravagant whole-island photo shoots, and buy endless quantities of hats. However, a massive factor which affects your enjoyment is the citizens you house on your bizarre isle. My personal favourite locals included Count Dooku, Waluigi, HollowGears Ben, and the lovely Bayonetta. I amassed 60 total residents, ranging from Bellsprout to my brother, and I think that was the optimum number. Any more and it would have been too crowded, and less might have been a tad dull. There were always things going on, and plenty of highly amusing relationships formed. By the end of my time with the game, I was married to Mia Fey from the Ace Attorney series, Tingle was romancing Rosalina, and HollowGears aficionado Ben Humphreys had raised a child with Bayonetta, much to my disappointment. Some of my best moments with Tomodachi Life included:
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Watching Waluigi fly into space with delight after consuming tap water
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My trip to France with a close friend
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watching Bayonetta’s son go on a voyage in to the sunset via Streetpass
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Beholding Peter Griffin crawling like a snail through purgatory
In summary, it was brilliant! The game is actually funny, in a Nintendo-being-weird kind of way, and the feeling of total power lets you go wild with your imagination. I stopped playing because the fun just… ran out. I saw the same hilarious scenes for the third time, and suddenly all enjoyment disappeared from them. Checking the island (purely to make things happen the way I want them to – the islanders carry on with their lives if you leave them alone) became a chore, and the cartridge quickly disappeared into my case, never to be removed. Recommended, but the amusement is not infinite.
Our rating: 8/10
I enjoyed:
- Quirky humour
- Situational comedy
I didn’t enjoy:
- Slightly basic gameplay
- The joke wears thin a few hours in
Jimmy Robinson
Hollow Gears 