Like JRPGs but Hate Convoluted Storylines? Try Miitopia!
This silly, mindless adventure is surprisingly addicting
Many gamers loathe JRPGs (Japanese role-playing games) with a passion, but they’re one of my favorite types of video games. I simply adore the ability to choose how to level up my characters, customize their stats, and take on enemies whenever I feel ready. Usually, this isn’t until after quite a bit of grinding, which can admittedly be boring. However, I personally don’t mind since it’s something I can easily do while listening to a podcast.
That being said, many otherwise flawless JRPGs fall short in terms of their unnecessarily complex plots that take themselves way too seriously. Looking at you, Kingdom Hearts.
Luckily, there’s one JRPG that nails these mechanics while avoiding buck-wild storylines: Miitopia.
This silly yet endearing JRPG was originally released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017 (2016 in Japan) and ported to the Nintendo Switch in May 2021. I’d heard of the game soon after its original release, and it looked right up my alley, but I never got around to playing it. So, I figured the Switch port was a perfectly good reason to finally experience it.
And I am so grateful that I did. Miitopia is one of the most absurdly fun games I’ve played in years.
The Basics
The premise of Miitopia is simple — you live in a world inhabited by Miis (the Nintendo version of a personal avatar) when an evil Dark Lord appears and starts stealing as many Miis’ faces as he can. These faces become attached to wild monsters and wreak havoc. It’s up to you to defeat these monsters (which sends the faces they controlled back to their rightful owners) and eventually take down the Dark Lord.
The twist is that, instead of playing as pre-made characters with deadly serious backstories, you can choose to cast your own Mii characters into every role in the game — including the protagonist, your party members, the townsfolk in the villages you visit, and even the Dark Lord himself.
If you want, you can choose to play as yourself and your group of friends as you go on a quest to vanquish your weird uncle or your sixth-grade math teacher. Personally, I chose to cast Miis of fictional characters into most of the major roles. For example, my protagonist is Peter Griffin, who teams up with other party members — including Dwight Schrute from The Office, Linda Belcher of Bob’s Burgers, and Carl Wheezer from Jimmy Neutron— to defeat the Dark Lord Ned Flanders.
One thing to note is: You’re going to need to create many more Miis than you’d thought. Before playing this game for the first time, I’d only had about seven that were ready. I ended up casting the default characters the game provided in the roles of most of the NPCs, or hitting the “randomize” button for their appearances and giving them silly names that I thought were fitting.
Essentially, Miitopia is a perfect game for people who love the mechanics of JRPGs but don’t want to bother with the famously convoluted storylines. You can just pick it up and start playing without having to plan things too far in advance, making it ideal for gamers of all ages and skill levels.
Combat
As with any JRPG, combat is arguably the most important aspect of Miitopia. What makes this game different from many others in the genre is that instead of controlling every member in your party, you can only control the hero — the first character you created. Everyone else just sort of fends for themselves based on their individual jobs and personalities.
Jobs, which are called “classes” in most other RPGs, affect a Mii’s stats and the role they play during battle. There are fourteen possible jobs in total, although you start with only a handful and unlock more as the story progresses.
In the beginning, you can choose between the basic jobs that you often see in these types of games, such as Cleric, Mage, and Warrior. However, you eventually unlock jobs that I’ve never seen outside of Miitopia. These include Chef, a healer who can also dish some serious damage, pun intended; Pop Star, a support role that inflicts status conditions; and — one of my favorites — Cat, a lightning-fast heavy hitter.
Miis also have unique personalities that can influence their combat. Each of the seven possible personalities has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. For example, a Mii with a Stubborn personality might be able to attack twice in one turn, but they may also refuse help when another party members offer to heal them. This can cause a rift in their relationship that hinders their performance in battle.
Relationships
Besides combat, the main mechanic in Miitopia is the relationships between your Miis. In fact, the friendship between your party members can often make or break a battle.
Each Mii has a “relationship meter” displaying how close they are with each of your other Miis. As this meter goes up, two Miis can learn skills that help them in combat. For example, the Show Off skill lets your Mii inflict more damage than normal to impress their friend, while a Mii with the Warning skill can call out to another Mii and help them dodge an oncoming attack.
Some skills, or even moves like those that heal, can improve friendship while you’re on the battlefield. When two Miis’ friendship levels up during battle, both Miis’ HP gets fully restored. I’m not ashamed to admit this mechanic ended up saving me in more than one particularly difficult boss fight.
While the relationship meter never decreases, there’s a hidden “resentment meter” that grows whenever one Mii annoys another. When that meter fills, the two characters enter a quarrel. If they’re in battle together, they might end up causing the other’s attack to miss, take more damage from an enemy’s attack, or even attack each other.
Luckily, it’s fairly easy to end quarrels by doing the same things that would normally make the relationship meter fill up. Namely, sharing a room at an inn — the place where you rest and regroup after traversing along a route of random enemy encounters.
Humor
On the whole, this game’s sense of humor is adorable. It’s definitely aimed at a younger audience, but that doesn't necessarily make it any less funny.
Many of the common enemies in this game have punny names, which I enjoy while recognizing that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. One of these enemies is called a Twerkey, which is basically a turkey with a face on its butt. I thought it was charming, but I can see why many people didn’t like that one in particular.
As you’re traveling between inns, the Miis in your party will have randomized speech bubbles pop up, none of which have anything to do with each other. They often come completely out of left field. Some of my favorites are, “I am not a happy bunny,” “That hairdo really suits you,” and “We’re in the move! Get in the groove!” And yes, I mainly enjoy that last one because it reminds me of that Madonna song.
Miitopia: A Charmingly Simple, Delightful Adventure
Miitopia was one of my most-played games of 2021, and that doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve clocked more than 175 hours on it so far, and I don’t regret a minute of it. This game is ridiculously addicting without being intimidating or overbearing, and it strikes a nearly perfect balance between role-playing strategy and an overall kid-friendly experience.
In short, Miitopia is the perfect JRPG for people who don’t like JRPGs, and I can’t recommend it enough.
