Since the release of the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo 3DS has gradually faded in both popularity and relevance. Not to say that the 3DS didn’t have a good run, it was actually one of the most successful consoles of all time. For the most part, when people think back to what made it such a hit, the easy answer would be the heavy hitters such as Pokémon, Mario, and Zelda games. However, with a closer look, there were a few exclusive hidden gems that subtlety grew quite a cult following. Grezzo, the original creator of Miitopia for 3DS, has remastered their cult hit for the Nintendo Switch and hopes to expand their cult following.

As an overview, the best way I could describe Miitopia would be “My First JRPG,” mixed with a game of mad libs. The hero of your tale is the Mii Avatar you create and the allies and protagonists are either left as default or chosen by you with more Mii creations. Graphically, it feels low budget but it is a port of a 2016 3DS game. There are storybook-style cut scenes when entering new areas or telling story points that are appealing but the world is little more than a bunch of shapes in a room.

There is an overworld that takes you from area to area, but you rarely get to explore at all and the fight arenas have little imagination to them. The frame rates and resolution has been kicked up a notch and are noticeable, which makes longer play sessions much more manageable.

The music has stayed the same and is notably a highlight of the experience. Through dorky trumpet-heavy music for the silly moments, and relaxing upbeat themes while traveling from one point to the next. The Dark Lords theme, however, is an absolutely climactic crescendo of battle drums and violins backed by a choir of dramatic opera singers. I could have sworn it was a Dark Souls boss theme it hits that hard. It is probably for the best as your characters don’t talk, instead, rabbling like a chipmunk and text bubbles tell the conversation for you. Not unusual for a Nintendo game, but could border on the annoying side after hours of hearing it.

The story told out of context revolves around “The Dark Lord” removing people’s faces and leaving it up to you to undo his evil deeds! Being a family-friendly game the removal of faces is a lot less bloody than it sounds. Then through the power of turn-based combat and friendship, you thwart the monsters that are now wearing the faces so they can be reunited with the owners. Surprisingly, this can be a 30 plus hour adventure and the team management is more of a pull than the story itself.

The turn-based combat is a nod to the setup of Final Fantasy games of old. There are classes to pick and mannerisms that add an extra layer of randomness to a fight to pick from. Picking a “kind” Mii may cause them to randomly dive in front of an attack that would otherwise have knocked out their friend. Team composition is important because if you don’t have a healthy mix of Chef’s, Thief’s and Popstars then what are you even doing!

There are traditional means of Warrior and Mages *yawn* but the reason it is important to have a balanced team is due to the fact that you can only control your hero. Everyone else is on autopilot. The most you can influence during the fight is some health or magic sprinkles to keep them alive and fighting. In between the turn-based combat brings an entirely different metagame. Building your friendship levels by sharing gifts or spending the night in their room at the inn, and trust me it’s more innocent than it sounds, can boost your teams exponentially.

Miitopia on the 3DS was limited with your Mii creations but with the remaster, Grezzo has opened a massive can of worms on the internet with the addition of the makeup department. There is a meme that frequently floats around of Masahiro Sakurai, proclaiming the very definition of this game. “No, this isn’t how you are supposed to play the game” rings in my head when I lock my “Vegeta” inspired Mii in a room with a “Thanos” inspired Mii, and their friendship level increases to level 10 while “Macho Man Randy Savage” cries in the window. I personally did not have the skills to create some truly wonderful or horrid Mii’s but luckily, with the right creator code, you can download some masterpieces. I would recommend checking out 15PCK1L for one of the best collections of characters.

While nothing profoundly special, Miitopia exemplifies a true Nintendo exclusive that can have hilarious outcomes when everything lines up. It’s a shame the community at large that is responsible for the most outlandish creations has to search for them outside of the game instead of building the community into the game itself.

Written by: Shane Fletcher