by Finn, Grade 7
Miitopia was originally a 3DS RPG starring the Miis you chose as the heroes or villains, but is now getting a port to the Switch. To some, this doesn’t mean much, as they don’t care or think it’s nice that this game will be able to reach wider audiences despite the 3DS’ decent success. But, to me, it kind of represents something important, something Nintendo has forgotten about but are now using them again. And that is the Miis themselves. So, let’s go over the history and ups and downs of Miis and how Miitopia getting ported to the Switch may represent something greater for the future of Nintendo.
What are Miis?
For those who are unaware, Miis are Nintendo’s avatar creator in a way, as it’s a character creator allowing you to make yourself, friends, fictional characters, or even celebrities as things like your profile picture and in-game functionalities. Miis have been around for a while now, with their first debut being on the Wii. While that may not seem like that many consoles ago, keep in mind that the Wii released in 2006, making the Miis over a decade old.
The Rise of the Miis
Along with the Wii, you also usually got a game you might remember from one of my past articles, being Wii Sports, with Miis as the main characters as you bowl, golf, or 3 participate in various other sports against computer opponents or friends and families. This game was a fun way to have yourself actually in the game to compete against your friends or having unlikely matches, like Peter Griffin against a literal hamburger in a game of tennis. The game was a huge hit, as it came bundled with most Wii consoles and people just loved the simplicity of it. So, Nintendo took notice, and started to make more games including the Miis, including stuff like Wii Play and Wii Party, which all got a sequel on the same console or on the Wii U. And, of course, the Miis were the stars in the game. So, this pattern continued into the 3DS and Wii U era, including games like Nintendo Land, Tomodachi Life, and of course: Miitopia. And it’s not like these were the same games copied and pasted, they were actually in different and distinct genres. The Wii Party series, Nintendo Land, and the Wii Play series can be seen as party games or a collection of minigames. Tomodachi Life was a life simulator, and Miitopia was an RPG. But it all wasn’t fun Mii games and Wii Play. Along came the Switch, Miis received a major shift in priority.
The Downfall of the Miis
With the Switch’s release, a lot of people were expecting something about the Miis, but there was nothing. They were pushed to the side, only to be accessed deep in the settings of the system. While the maker was there and has had a few slight improvements/changes, the Miis didn’t seem to be anywhere in the games. Many people speculated that Nintendo didn’t want to be related to the Wii U’s failure and thought Miis as a relic of the past that no one would care about if they were gone, so that’s what they did. Although being your avatar in Mario Maker 2 and playable fighters in Smash Bros. Ultimate, that was basically all we saw from the Miis. That was, until a recent Direct.
What Does the Miitopia Port Mean?
During this Direct, Miitopia had a port announced for the Switch, including updated graphics and a horse. So, this of course got people excited, since Miis were finally in something besides Mario Maker and Smash Bros. But this also got people excited for 2 big other things, and that’s including me and is why I’m even writing this article. 1. More 3DS ports are possible. Yes, I believe this is the first first-party port for a 3DS game onto the Switch, so that got people excited, thinking that they could replay things like Kid Icarus: Uprising, Super Mario 3D Land, and most importantly: Tomodachi Life. And 2. Miis are now seen as important parts of Nintendo’s identity again. This wasn’t the only showing of the Miis at the Direct though, as Miis were also featured as playable and important in other modes and the story mode in the new Mario Golf game. So, could we see more original Mii games in the future? I would say that it is indeed possible.
To many people, Miitopia getting onto the Switch is a cool thing and nothing more. But to people like me, it possibly means more than it does on the surface. Miitopia’s port can represent Nintendo taking things from the past and twisting them in a modern way, introducing more people to them and creating more success. So Miitopia is possibly more than a port: It’s a glimpse at the future of Nintendo and its games.