In May 2021, a 2016 3DS game known as “Miitopia” was ported (re-released on a current-gen console) to the Nintendo Switch. For me, “Miitopia” was a day-1 buy. I played the original on the 3DS and remember absolutely loving it. On the outside, “Miitopia” looks like any other turn-based role-playing game (RPG), where a hero goes on an adventure to defeat an evil entity. However, that cliche is thrown out the window when you realize the power you have over it.

“Miitopia” allows you to cast your Miis into whatever roles you want.

First appearing on the Wii, Miis are custom characters, created specifically for Nintendo consoles. Everyone from the main character, their party members, the dark lord, and to the townsfolk are all decided by you. You as the player can either create your own Miis, or you can download other people’s Miis. Personally, I love to find crazy Miis that people have created and cast them in various roles. For example, I was able to cast The Burger King as the king, and the princess as Wendy. Then, I was able to cast the rival prince as Ronald McDonald, and the Princess’ secret lover as Colonel Sanders. I then got to watch an epic fast food mascot romance story, which was positively hilarious. 

A new feature of the Switch version that was not present on the 3DS is the makeup feature. This allows you to hone in on the details of your Miis. I will be honest when I say this: “Miitopia” has the best character customization I have ever seen in a video game. The characters you can make are infinite. I have seen some truly amazing designs, and all of them can join your adventure simply by looking up their creator’s access code. A quick online search will easily net you access codes to get characters in your game.

Another new feature is the horse, which will join your party in the first area of the game. The horse is a menace in battle, and their abilities can be upgraded by spending time with them.

The combat is classic turn-based battles. A character chooses an attack, the attack plays out, then the turn shifts. Each character has a unique job, which can use different weapons and skills. Jobs can range from the warrior class to the vampire class. The game forces you to change jobs regularly, keeping this somewhat fresh. You eventually gain the ability to swap out jobs and reset your character to level 1, which is a nice touch.

In “Miitopia,” you cannot control your party members.

You can only control the main character. Every other character acts on their own, which can get a little frustrating at times. You have some control over how the battle plays out, but not much. It gets worse in the post-game when your main character can leave your party. You’d essentially be watching a movie where you cut in from time to time to slightly heal the party or take them out of battle temporarily. It can get very boring very quickly. I find it a struggle to continue playing after defeating the final boss. 

“Miitopia,” aside from being an RPG, is also a social simulator. You can raise your friendship level with your party members which will give you boosts in battle. It’s actually quite fun to watch Guy Fieri and Squidward raising their bond together by working out. Be careful though, as party members can also get mad at each other. This will prevent you from raising their friendship until they make up. They also might fight each other in battle rather than the enemy. 

The enemy, which you also cast, is known as the dark lord.

Their goal is to steal the faces of the residents of Miitopia and put them on monsters in order to control them. You as the player receive a magic relic that allows you to fight these monsters alongside your party members. You get nine party members throughout the course of the game. Make sure to equally level them up, as you’ll need everyone’s strength in the endgame.

“Miitopia” is surely a game everyone will find at least some enjoyment in. While it falls flat after the final boss, the game prior to that is a fun adventure that can be as crazy and weird as you want. “Miitopia” is not difficult, so anyone can feel free to pick it up and have fun. There was almost always a smile on my face with the wackiness of this adventure.

Score: 8/10