A fair few of the Nintendo Switch's biggest titles, past and present, are ports and remasters of some kind. Super Mario 3D All-Stars made waves last year as a part of Super Mario's 35th anniversary. As for the future, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's HD remaster for Switch promises to make a splash this summer. That's not all that Nintendo has chosen to revive for its current console, though -- there's not much time left before Miitopia releases for Switch. Nintendo surprised everyone when this quirky RPG's return got revealed, but based on its reception from players so far, its future is bright.
Miitopia is mostly the same as it was before. The core structure of casting Miis as everything from the player character to the most minor NPC remains in place and promises all kinds of hijinx. Similarly, the simple combat system still only lets players control the main character, and friendship is a core mechanic in the game. However, Nintendo has found lots of ways to spice up Miitopia. It only seems right that the game gets shaken up a little in its move to Switch. Here are a few of the biggest changes that set Miitopia on Switch apart from the original version on the 3DS.
Miitopia's Big Adjustments
The Miitopia change that's getting the most attention right now is the Mii editor. Nintendo has taken the liberty of adding a wig system to spice up hairdos, and what's more, there's now a really elaborate makeup system in Miitopia. There's plenty of traditional makeup choices like mascara, eyeshadow, blush, and so on, but there's also all kinds of abstract shapes and other tools available. Players on the Miitopia demo have proven that Miitopia's Mii editor is highly versatile, capable of producing really accurate renderings of characters that previous Mii makers could never dream of assembling.
Another addition that Nintendo seems pretty proud of is the horse. Early on in Miitopia, players will find a horse following the party, and the group decides to tame and befriend it. The horse provides all kinds of benefits and builds relationships with the Mii party members. It can fight in battles and provide other support outside of combat. It even has some special interactions with each of the different jobs that a Mii can have. On top of all that, the horse is highly customizable in the spirit of Miitopia. Players don't usually get to make Mii-like animals, so the horse is definitely a unique opportunity.
One more thing has changed about Miitopia that's a little hard to spot initially, but fans of the 3DS version will be acutely aware of it. The Switch doesn't have the two screens or the touch screen functionality of a 3DS. That's one thing that made a Miitopia port seem unlikely. Nevertheless, Nintendo has gone to great lengths to rearrange mechanics and make them work with traditional button controls instead of a stylus. Game balance doesn't seem significantly affected by the loss of the touch screen, and that's probably a good thing.
The 3DS Lives On
There's tons of other little additions and changes in Miitopia too. For instance, the game adds Outing Tickets, a new kind of excursions that helps Miis become better friends, get items, and even earn a little extra experience sometimes. Miitopia's big changes seem frontloaded; once the full version releases, fans will probably spot a lot of small changes down the road. Overall, though, it's pretty impressive how much room to grow Nintendo has found in Miitopia. The Switch version of Miitopia is to the 3DS version what Persona 5 Royal is to Persona 5: an expanded version that's poised to become the definitive edition.
Miitopia also stands for a few significant things too. For one thing, it looks like there's more hope than ever for 3DS games to get ported to newer consoles. The two-screen design of the DS series make it seem hard to port DS games, but Miitopia proves that there's hope for some games. It could also be a good sign for Mii fans who want to see things like Wii Sports Resort 2 come to fruition. At the very least, Miitopia seems like a nicely planned port, building on the core tenets of the game to enhance the whole experience.
Miitopia releases for Nintendo Switch on May 21, 2021.
