Miitopia Review

Nintendo has brought a brand-new RPG to the 3DS starring none other than the Mii characters. Find out what we thought in our Miitopia Review!

I’ll be the first to say that Miitopia wasn’t exactly on my radar when I heard about it a few months ago. I expected it to be a gimmicky game capitalizing on the popularity of those cute little Mii characters. That’s why first impressions aren’t always the best to go by. Miitopia is much more entertaining than I ever thought it would be.

Story

Miitopia starts with a typical day in the kingdom, but that doesn’t last. The game’s antagonist, The Dark Lord, appears and starts snatching everybody’s faces like something out of a horror movie! That’s downright terrifying! Of course, this is a Nintendo game, and the face-snatching is anything but graphic. You wind up with a bunch of blank faces that you can’t talk to. Where did those faces go? The Dark Lord put them on random monsters, which you now must defeat. It’s time for your Mii (and your other Mii companions) to save the world by restoring all the faces.

Choose Your Squad

Miitopia is an enjoyable RPG, primarily because you get to choose your cast. You’ll start by casting your Mii as the main character and choosing his personality, name, and role on the team (mage, cleric, warrior, cook, etc.). Every time a new character is introduced, you’ll choose which Mii you’d like to use to portray them. My party consisted of Lady Gaga and Bob Ross (and we were a pretty formidable team). I just used the online database to find random Miis, but you can assign them from Mii Maker, Tomodachi Life, your Friends List, or even a QR code. It was a simple process anytime I had to cast a character.

Game World

After you finish casting the game, you can begin your journey. This journey takes place on a map similar to what you would see in Super Mario World. Sometimes, you have a bit of choice in your direction, but it’s pretty linear. There are some explorable areas here and there, and as you go through the game, you’re given more opportunities to choose which direction to take. Once you select a region to explore, your party moves automatically through a side-scrolling level, encountering battles, chests, and items. At the end of this, you’ll end up at an Inn where you can rest before the next journey. These side-scrolling levels never feel too dull or long because the Miis have witty banter back and forth (Lady Gaga asked me if I tooted), and there is always a battle around the corner to keep you busy.

Gameplay

Battles

Battles are turn-based and will pit your party against a group of monsters like any other RPG you’ve ever played. You can attack, use a skill or magic, or use a recovery item. You only control yourself. The rest of your party is autonomous. Sounds pretty dull, right? Well, that’s where the other systems come into play. Everything your party does is based on three systems: relationships, classes, and personalities. It adds a whole new element to the game.

Classes

Miitopia has several different classes that determine a character’s skills, strengths, and weaknesses moving forward. What I like most about this system is that there are traditional classes like the Mage and Cleric, but there are also classes like Pop Star and a Chef. As you continue in the game, you’ll unlock even weirder classes like the Flower and the Tank, which turn you into a cannon. It was nice to see that the developers had some fun with these and made this game different.

Personality

As much as the class type determines what a Mii does in battle (a Warrior will take the lead role while a Cleric would take a support role), personality plays just as big of a role. One of my characters was set to cool and would dodge attacks; another was stubborn and would turn down healing but attack twice as often. These different personalities make the game so dynamic that you are never quite sure what you’ll see next.

Relationships

The most exciting aspect of the Miitopia battle system is how relationships impact the battles. Your team members each have different relationships with each other, which will determine how they work together in battle. Characters can show off to dish out extra damage, help teammates dodge an attack, or even follow them into an attack for a 2-for-1 hit. It’s not all good, though. They can become annoyed with each other and refuse to heal each other, and do different things like that. These systems come together so well and make for a far better experience than if it were just a typical RPG.

The Inn

So, how do you develop these relationships between the Miis in your party? You go to the Inn and throw them in a room together! That’s not the only thing you’ll do there. These places are pretty helpful. You can keep your Miis fed with the food you have found on your journey. Money can be earned in Roulette and Rock, Paper, Scissors, as well as mini-games, to purchase new equipment such as weapons, armor, and items. You don’t choose the equipment you get, though. Instead, you give your Miis money while they’re at the Inn, and they’ll spend it however they see fit. Sure, you can end up with an excellent new weapon, but you could also end up with a measly banana. 

Costumes

Miis can grab new costumes, including some fascinating ones, like a chicken suit or even a doughnut frying pan. It keeps things fun, and seeing what new styles emerge next is always exciting. There’s even Amiibo support, which opens up even more costume options. The fantastic thing about this is that the stats are from your best purchase, so that you can wear your most stylish armor without the adverse effects on your stats. All RPGs should have that feature, yet this is one of the first I’ve seen that does!

Final Thoughts

Miitopia surprised me with the level of depth of what is, at heart, a fairly simplistic game. It’s one of those games that’s accessible to the whole family. It’s a decently long game with new items, costumes, and weapons to gain in your quest to defeat The Dark Lord. You’re not getting a game like Fallout 4, but that’s not the type of audience this game is geared to.