Back in 2014 I reviewed Tomodachi Life, a life simulator for the Nintendo 3DS. For the first time on the western market, Mii’s were no longer mere custom characters which were devoid of personality and just served as playable or cameo characters in supported games. Instead, although while still hindered by some limitations, they were individuals with their own personalities, living spaces, fashion tastes and identities. It was a creative and ultimately fun game, albeit only received a grade of C- from me because of how repetitive the game eventually became.
Fast forward to 2016 and Nintendo have opted to take their first steps onto the smartphone market with a new game titled Miitomo. While some might have expected Nintendo to make more of an impact with their first foray on a non first-party console, this was designed as a social game where they combined select elements from Tomodachi Life with those of social media and survey platforms. The end product ultimately presents something which looks pretty and is fun in short bursts, but leaves me questioning how long its appeal will last in its current form.
First of all, let me point out that I am saying this from the perspective of someone who doesn’t really play social games that often. I will communicate with friends via Facebook and do posts for The Otaku’s Study via Twitter, but 
social gaming apps are not my cup of tea. Miitomo’s form of communication isn’t all that appealing to me personally (I prefer lengthy posts with friends without being locked to certain topics), but I do like that it is something you could potentially enjoy with close friends and mere acquaintances alike.
Unlike Tomodachi Life where you gradually learn about the Mii’s residing in your apartment block, your Mii will ask survey-style questions about your tastes, preferences etc. These are then compiled by the app which then shares your responses with those on your friends list. Therefore, while you are unable to directly interact with friends via Miitomo chatroom or social media style, you can have your Mii tell others your responses to questions like “Imagine flowers blooming in your mind’s eye… How many flowers do you see?” or “Do you follow fashion trends or stick to classic pieces?“.
Given how much weight is put on these surveys, the appeal of Miitomo will at least partly rely on just how interesting your friends are. I have a dozen people on my friends list, and most of them have earned a smile or chuckle from me because their responses were not one or two words, but made full use of the 190 character limit for responses. These can also receive comments and be hearted from other friends, meaning there is some two-way means of conversation. The long-term appeal of this system however will be dependent on the number of creative talking points Nintendo can craft in the future in my opinion.
But what can you do outside of answering surveys? There are some limitations at this time in Miitomo such as being confined to one space and being unable to customise your apartment. There are also no other major “game” modes outside of your apartment either, such as Tomodachi Life’s Concert Hall mode, which would be something I could consider throwing money at, and would take great advantage of Miitomo’s speech synthesis systems. 
With more gameplay modes, both from Tomodachi Life and some unique to Miitomo, I think the app would have a a wider appeal to someone like myself.
One system which has returned is the shopping system, where you can dress your Mii up in an assortment of outfits which are available for purchase using in-game coins. Clothing is available either indefinitely or on a daily basis, meaning there is the risk of buying something one day and finding something better the next. There is a good number of clothing and full-body costumes available at this point in time, and for those who would like to crossdress, there are no gender restrictions on clothing. While clothing can be costly, I didn’t find myself tempted to try on anything else after completing my Mii’s current ensemble. There were also enough clothing and customisation options that two Mii’s are very unlikely to look identical.
While many costumes are available via the in-game store, certain themed costumes are only available via the mini-game pictured to the right. With your Mii winched on a crane overlooking a series of obstacles, they must be dropped down, plummeting until they land on a platform. Each platform corresponds to a particular item, which is either a cluster of sweets (used to unlock a response provided by another player which you haven’t encountered) or a distinct piece of clothing. There are many pieces of clothing which make up a themed set, meaning you could be playing the crane game for some time before completing your ensemble.
At launch I didn’t find it particularly difficult to work with the amount of tickets and coins I initially received. But with slow earning potential from my perspective (through game engagement and achieving goals), completing your ensemble might come down to grinding coins or paying real money for a coin boost. As of writing, the cost of coins are ($AUD): 1,000 ($1.49), 3,100 ($4.49), 5,500 ($7.99) and so on.
Once you have some friends and your Mii dressed up nicely, one of other main systems present is the Miifoto system. An enhanced version of the photo system present in Tomodachi Life, this allows you to craft your own unique imagery with up to five Mii’s present in it. 
You can add/resize/manipulate Mii’s, add a pre-defined or custom backdrop and then further personalise it with stamps and text. Should you have some photos of interesting locations and a great idea, I could see this system have a lot of longevity. One such example (albeit a very simple one) can be found to the left, using an image I took at the Gold Coast Film Festival for use on Twitter.
What was wise on Nintendo’s part was to not lock the images to the Miitomo system, as these images can be shared on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I might actually be tempted to use this for occasional posts in the future. In fact, social media integration was easy to use throughout Miitomo. It took mere seconds for me to hook up my social media accounts to the app, and in good time had sent off friend requests to everyone I knew who had the app installed.
In terms of visuals, Miitomo is more or less what I was expecting the moment it was announced. The Mii Creation system has been ported over from other Nintendo platforms well, and been designed in a way which is easy to use on smartphone touchscreens. 
Some of the other features such as the personality system and speech synthesis have also been brought over from Tomodachi Life, and in terms of personalising your Mii work quite well.
However, one thing that is lacking is the ability to customise apartments. While there aren’t many opportunities to peer into another Mii’s residence at this time, it would provide a bit of visual diversity to the game world, and be another use of Coins at the very least.
Final Words on Miitomo
While I question whether or not Miitomo will find itself loaded up on my phone again anytime soon, I will admit that for the first few days it has been enjoyable in small doses. In terms of longevity, I think it will depend on how the community grows and how committed Nintendo are to providing updated surveys and other activities. So far I think it is a decent app in the short term and is certainly good for an initial release. But with less activities to do than Tomodachi Life, which I found became repetitive after a time, I think repetition and a lack of activities could possibly hinder what is ultimately a nice app with potential. Let’s hope Nintendo present their creative flair over the coming months with new updates, content and chances for community engagement.
This review was conducted on the Android version of Miitomo, which was installed on a Samsung Galaxy S6 unit. No other phones or tablet devices were used in the testing process – and depending on a number of factors your mileage may vary.
