Nintendo recently released a new version of its beloved game Tomodachi Life on April 16th. I got the game on the day of its release and have been playing it since. As someone who has played the original 2013 version and now the 2026 revamped version, much has changed. From the play style to even how you can make the Miis look, it all feels very hands-on, and there are more possibilities to who and what you create in the game.
For people who don’t know what Tomodachi Life is, it’s a game where you get to create people on an island, having full freedom over what they do, look like, wear, and certain decisions they make. In this game, these people are called Miis. In the new version, you also get to decorate your island to your liking, making it as big or small as possible.
When talking to other players on different social media platforms such as TikTok, X, and Tumblr, we have seen the new open map and drag feature that the revamped version has brought. Compared to the old one, where the Mii would mostly stay in their apartments, and we would not be able to watch them roam around the island. In the newest version, however, we can watch the Mii’s interact with items and each other, and walk around freely, not confined to their apartments or specific buildings. In the earlier version, players were unable to force interactions between Mii’s as well, making the game unpredictable and frustrating if players were trying to make certain Mii’s date or have friendships. Now, you can pick up and drag Mii’s to interact with each other and make them have a relationship with other Mii’s.
However, an ongoing conversation on these platforms is that the new pick-up-and-drag feature loses the original charm of unpredictability and randomness. The community is divided about this issue, but even then, the game has been getting good reviews, even with this complaint.
Another new feature is that now you can add face paint to your Mii’s when creating them, which the player gets to draw on. This allows people to have complete creative freedom when making their Mii’s. Personally, I’ve been using this feature a lot and have been having fun making detailed characters from my favorite games and my friends. Nintendo also added a non-binary option when choosing a character’s gender, and the option to choose which gender your Mii is attracted to. Fans were excited about this new addition as it allowed same-sex relationships and allowed for, once again, more customization. Before, in the 2013 version, Mii’s were only allowed to date and marry the opposite sex, and the non-binary option wasn’t implemented. If players wanted to have same sex relationships, one of the characters had to be female or male, which made fans disappointed in the past.
As I have played the game throughout these days, I’ve found that it’s more extensive than the 3DS version, even though you can only have 70 Miis now compared to the 100 Miis you could have before. The amount of content and possibilities for character design, unfiltered island lingo, and the free roam world make it worth it. Though people have criticized Nintendo for charging 60$ for one game, many people find the price reasonable for the amount of content you’re getting. There are also emulators online where you can play the game for free.
This was a very successful revamp of a beloved game, and it’s impressive that the team working on this project was able to keep the overall vibe of the original game. I believe it’s worth it for the price if you have money to spare and are an avid Nintendo fan, as all the content is new and improved, and can keep you hooked for hours, just like me.
