Miitopia (2016)

What can I say? I'm a hardcore grinder. To the end.

Where I'm At: Chapter 1 - Greenhorne.

Hero: Bean [Energetic Mage Level 29; food stats are: 5 HP, 99 MP, 99 ATK, 99 MAG, 10 DEF, 15 SPD]

AI 1: Caffèlatte [Cool Cleric Level 29; food stats same as above]

AI 2: Hazelnut [Airheaded Pop Star Level 29; food stats same as above]

AI 3: Cappuccino [Energetic Thief Level 29; food stats same as above]

I'm thinking it will be just easier to grind all at once right now, rather than do it later.

In this game, you get to make Mii characters (or download someone else's Mii characters) to go on a comedic adventure around the Mii's universe. I believe this game was the first ever RPG I've played and I think it was a great game to introduce me to the genre. The game is easy to follow with the instructions.

Now the fact I have fully emerged into the genre, I've played a whole range of RPG games, regardless of how casual or intense they are. I tend to play Miitopia whenever I feel like I need a break from an intense game session.

Things I like about this game:

• The autosave feature! It saves very regularly, and that's a godsend. I can't count how many times I've accidentally exited the game. Happy to find out my data was saved!
• Majority of the time the Mii characters are amusing.
• The fungi/mushrooms like to fart. A lot. The vampire always looks like they fart when purple smoke comes out of their bottom.
• You can feed your Mii characters. I don't really understand the concept of action-based RPG games where there's no food, regardless if they're permanent stat boosts or temporary (yes, those games exist).
• You decide how much you want to grind and when you want to progress to the next chapter of the game.
• The daily log-in bonus.
• The music is very good.

Things I don't like about this game:

• Some monsters look so scary. I don't get what the hype is for scary monsters. I understand I have the opportunity to use auto-battle but c'mon. The game shouldn't be designed for scary monsters. What happened to all the rocks, goblins, butterflies and golems? No, they want to add eight-legged insects to make the game look "cool". It's not cool.
• Mii characters getting sick. I don't understand what the game was trying to achieve, all it did was to prevent the gamer from grinding that specific character. It's a nuisance if it takes days for them to recover. There is a particular place in the game where even if the character is at Level 50 they can recover after it, but if you haven't unlocked it yet it sucks.
• Certain colours aren't available for every armour or weapon. So, if you want to have your Mii character wear brown, there's only a few that have it.

In conclusion, Miitopia is a fun game to play, perfect to pass the time. It saves regularly, so you can play as long or as short as you'd wish. Gamers new to the RPG genre might feel it's a perfect way to introduce them to the genre, and those who have more experience with RPGs might find it worth their time playing. I'm not a beginner anymore and I'm still in love with this game.

Meme games are meme games. You often don't get much else outside of the meme. Miitopia is a meme game.

Having kids that like video games when you like video games is interesting. I give my kids an allowance so they can buy stuff they like. Sometimes they want to buy a video game. Sometimes they want to buy a video game I'm interested in. I feel bad playing and enjoying games my kids paid for. In cases when my kids decide to purchase a video game I'm interested in, I offer to pay for at least some of it. There have been cases where they tell me they're interested in buying a game, and I wanted it enough to just buy it outright (Mario Party Superstars). There are cases where they tell me they are interested in buying a game, and I say you're paying full price for that one (Moving Out*). Miitopia was in the middle. I had mild interest, but it's a meme game. I figured the meme was worth paying for half the game.

I love Miitopia!

It's silly, yes, but it is also so much more than that. It's well designed, especially in how it really encourages you to play with its systems. Getting really fond of your current team? The team is split up for the next three levels and you'll have to try new combos. Is this character an all star on your team? Now they're sick and you need a replacement. Your characters are going through a spat? It might be best to separate that team.

I even like some of their plot decisions. I think it is really cool that the game makes you pick a bad guy Mii- maybe someone you know. By the end of the game, they are your sympathetic ally! That's right. I ended the game with Ganondorf by my side!

I like that I can dress my Miis up in Donkey Kong and Animal Crossing outfits because of my very dumb Amiibos I bought like 7 years ago!

There was a lot more to appreciate about Miitopia beyond the meme. Memetopia? I don't think so!

I'd really like to see a proper turn based RPG take on some of these more whimsical elements. My big gripe with Miitopia is how easy it is by design. I know that makes it a lot more accessible- my 5 year old who can't read plays and enjoys this game. But maybe I want a version that dads pay full price for. A version for grownups.

A Miitopia After Dark if you will. And lady, I will.

Keeps shifting eyebrows up and down until heart explodes.

*No shade to Moving Out, I just knew it wasn't for me.

[Switch Version]

Been playing in between Animal Crossing and DQXI this weekend. I started up a new run with my main Switch when I picked up the game and made a team of all Tales boys (to balance my Lite's demo team of all Tales girls), instead of carrying over the demo save.

• Mage/Controlled character: Mikleo (Zestiria)
• Cleric: Jude (Xillia)
• Chef: Yuri (Vesperia)
• Thief: Regal (Symphonia) [Had a hard time thinking of an actual thief character, so the convict landed the job.]

I still only have a party of four, but the other Miis that I created are Asbel (Graces f) as my Warrior and Laphicet (Berseria) as my pop star. I made Duke from Vesperia the Dark Lord, and Kratos from Symphonia the Great Sage. Asbel isn't like, my favorite favorite as far as warrior/main characters, but I wanted a little more color variety in the party with his hair, and I was also trying to spread the characters across the games without doubling up too much.

I do wish that there was some differentiation when it comes to the "affection" system. I don't care if they're all gonna be boys in love with each other or whatever, but I do wish you could pursue friendship over romance or something other than just one line of affection. I feel bad when Jude is hanging out with someone else and Mikleo gets sad/jealous. I try to have them all gain affection with each other because of the perks, but Mikleo and Jude's level is quite a bit higher than any of the other combinations. I think there are some "resentment" effects that are possible, but I haven't actually gotten any.

IT'S OKAY, MIKLEO. JUDE LOVES YOU, TOO.

[Switch Demo]

So I started up a second run on my other Nintendo account. I wanted to make a team of all Tales characters, and I decided on all girls.

• Pop star/main: Estelle (Vesperia)
• Warrior: Velvet (Berseria)
• Cleric: Raine (Symphonia)
• Mage: Pascal (Graces f)
• Thief: Sheena (Symphonia)
• Chef: Patty (Vesperia)

I made Cumore, that piece of shit from Vesperia, the Dark Lord. And when I got to make the Great Sage, I went with Martel from Symphonia.

The basic Miis are okaaaay renditions, but the wig and makeup editors are what really made creating the characters fun. So far I have four characters, so I don't have Sheena or Patty yet.

I got the Switch demo on a whim last night and... I wasn't expecting to have this much fun?? Like I legit want to drop money on this in four days???

I didn't play the 3DS version or look into it at all, so I was expecting maaaybe a little bit more than what Find Mii offered on 3DS. (I miss StreetPass...) Pleasantly surprised with all that it offers. The wigs and makeup are really great. As someone with really long hair, I've always found the Mii Maker kinda lacking, so being able to edit your characters so much more is really nice.

This legit made me laugh multiple times. I sent my character on an outing with my second party member (based on my boyfriend) to a café. Boyfriend's character is chattering away, and mine looks super squirmy. Mine suddenly goes, "I can't take it anymore! I have to peeee!" and runs off. Our bond levels up. I'm just sitting there like ????? SOLD.

I got a third party member and made Yuna from FFX as my cleric. (I'm a chef and made my boyfriend a warrior, although I almost made one of us a pop star because that job sounds great). I was even able to make her two eye colors! Debating on which character I'm gonna base my next one on to use the pop star job.

I'm not even done with the demo yet, but I'm honestly super down to actually pay for this.

I agree with others who've described this game as relaxing. The story is charming and silly, growing ever more absurd as you populate it with friends, family and pop culture references via Miis. The gameplay is repetitive and never too complicated, easy to put aside for a while and pick up again later. I found myself getting bored if I tried playing for hours at a time as my primary focus, but not while watching TV, riding the train, etc.

(Particularly recommended if you enjoyed the Find Mii game in StreetPass Mii Plaza or Tomodachi Life.)

An epic adventure awaits you in Miitopia! In this unorthodox RPG, players assume the role of Garb, an Isabelle enthusiast on a quest to save the world from the clutches of the Dark Lord known as Anxiety! Such a task sounds daunting indeed, but Garb has a squad of friends at his disposal: Candle the Cat, Raven the Mage, Beef the Thief, MetaJ 92 The Chef, Corncob the Warrior, Giygas the Imp, Peter the Popstar, Todd Howard the Cleric, and SprinxxVR the Popstar all assist Garb on his journey!

At least, these were my main characters. If it isn't obvious, Miitopia lets players assign their Miis to roles within the game, whether those roles be players or NPCs. But this game isn't a mere gimmick; the story & world are well-fleshed out, the character & equipment designs are fantastic, the combat is super fun, and the writing is downright hilarious. While the gameplay can get repetitive and multiple "filler" segments exist within the main campaign, the game was so charming to me that I didn't mind these negative factors. If you're like me and love comedic RPGs, you owe it to yourself to check out this gem!