Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream takes new step for queer representation

I have a confession. I never played the original Tomodachi Life.

I never had a 3DS – my mum told me I had a perfectly good regular DS anyway, and she was sure I’d get motion sick and never use it! Still, for years, I’ve seen clips all over the internet of the many characters people made and threw together in a huge apartment block, based on themselves, their friends, fictional characters, and celebrities.

When I watched the announcement for the Switch sequel, I was interested, but not prepared to drop the £50 that has become the standard for Switch games these days. Downloading the free demo, I expected to make a couple of characters, see a few funny interactions, and quickly lose interest.

As my Miis like to exclaim every time I present them with a plate of food – whether it’s cheese, a sea urchin, or a stack of pancakes – “Oh my.”

I was hooked. Before I knew it, I’d bought the full game and had a small army of my friends and family running around an increasingly populated island.

I was hooked. Before I knew it, I’d bought the full game and had a small army of my friends and family running around an increasingly populated island.

I can pick them up and drag them to each other, prompting funny cutscenes centred around one of the many words and phrases I’ve taught them, like “skydiving”, or “David Bowie”, or “Bavarians”!

While sometimes they don’t quite have the interactions I hope for, like when two of my Miis had an argument on the beach and wouldn’t speak to each other for a day, it is an incredibly amusing game to play.

Is this what the original game was like? Have I been missing out? Could I have been creating characters like this over a decade ago?

No, it turns out. Many of the character customisations present in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream were sorely missed in the original.

The original Tomodachi Life was released for the Nintendo 3DS in April 2013. It has since sold nearly 7 million copies worldwide, with gamers everywhere drawn in by its customisability and the wacky interactions it prompts between its Mii characters.

But, despite its popularity, the game faced much criticism, primarily for its exclusion of same-sex relationships. There was no way to customise the Miis’ romantic orientations, with male characters only developing feelings for female characters and vice versa.

Nintendo responded by stating that they “never intended to make any form of social commentary”, and that the game was supposed to “represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation.”

Obviously, society has changed significantly since 2013. The following year, same-sex marriage was legalised in the UK, with the US soon to follow.

Japan’s central government still does not recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions. Still, many local governments have begun distributing ‘partnership oaths’ that give same-sex couples some of the legal advantages that come with being married.

Nintendo responded by stating that they “never intended to make any form of social commentary”, and that the game was supposed to “represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation.”

Despite their fictionality, life-simulation games typically aim to reflect real life. Games released today should strive to allow players to recreate their real relationships, whatever these may look like.

It’s fair to say that many viewers of the Nintendo Direct at the end of March last year were ecstatic when, at the very end, a sunny scene of Miis lounging on the island heralded a long-awaited announcement: Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.

After the initial announcement, there was much speculation around whether same-sex relationships and non-binary gender options would be included. The dedicated Nintendo Direct for the game in January finally confirmed that fully customisable gender and attraction options would be included, and players were let loose when the demo and full game were released last month.

While creating a Mii, the player can choose between male, female, and non-binary for the character’s gender, and has the same options for romantic attraction. They can choose the Mii’s pronouns (regardless of gender) and can even pick what style of formal clothing they will wear at events like weddings.

All relationships develop in the same way – no matter who ends up together, you could witness one of them shouting, “My cherished cheese! I promise to make you happy!”, at the ocean.

I didn’t even realise when I began playing Living the Dream how unrestricted the game is in comparison to its predecessor. Many of the Miis I have made would be impossible to create in the original, or at least would be unrepresentative of their real-life counterparts.

I didn’t even realise when I began playing Living the Dream how unrestricted the game is in comparison to its predecessor.

Now, while I’m watching tiny representations of my friends and me gathered around their most prized treasure, a “weak-looking elastic cord”, I will try to remember how so many people waited for a decade to see their real selves and relationships represented in this game.