Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is the perfect game for players who love creating things. You can make your own items, food, and even buildings with the Nintendo life sim’s pixel-by-pixel customization tool. Of course, the main event is Mii creation. Living the Dream takes the 20-year-old avatar creator to the next level by adding tons of new options and letting you draw features directly onto characters’ faces. It’s a whole lot of power to give modern players.
That’s probably in part why Nintendo made the disappointing decision to disable sharing in the game. You can’t trade Miis online, nor can you even share your screenshots of them to the Nintendo Switch app. It’s a fatal flaw for a series’ whose legacy rests on community sharing, but it won’t stop me from showing off my favorite creations. Here are just a few of the Miis I’ve created so far, all of which show just how versatile the buffed up Mii creator really is.
Todd Howard
Bethesda’s Todd Howard was the first “celebrity” I added to my island, and frankly, he’s still one of my favorite Miis in town. There’s nothing complicated about him; it’s just a smirking guy with bright blue eyes. But I think the resemblance here is uncanny, thanks to the Mii creator having the perfect option for his hair. I just need to find a supple, brown leather jacket to complete his look.
No-Face
Previously, it could be hard to create Miis that had very distinct facial markings. Living the Dream solves that issue, and you can see that in my take on Spirited Away’s most lovable creature. By excluding a bunch of facial features and drawing some purple markings, I came up with a cute little approximation of the spirit. I’ve had a much harder time getting the voice right, but at least I’ve trained the weirdo to say “ahh” after every line.
David Lynch
In my sincerest attempt to honor the late director, here’s a take on David Lynch that I’m particularly proud of. Getting his look down was my first challenge, but I’m also delighted by how well his unmistakable voice translated to a high-pitched text-to-speech tone with strange phrasing. Even better is that he always greets me by saying “If you can believe it,” a reference to his iconic daily weather reports. (Also, he’s dating No-Face, which feels right.)
Captain Olivia Benson
I’m a big Law and Order head, so it was only right that I add Captain Olivia Benson from Special Victims Unit to my island to keep everyone in line. Doing so would mean getting actress Mariska Hargitay just right, and I think this Mii captures her perfectly. Subtle details like the eye shadow can really help bring Miis to life. And strangely enough, I’ve somehow replicated her voice perfectly with the vocal tools. You can bet your ass I’ll be adding Carisi and Fin down the line.
Skeeter
Cartoon characters have always been especially easy to turn into Miis since they have very specific, defined features. Living the Dream makes it even easier than ever to nail them, though. Just look at this take on Skeeter from Doug. The Mii maker didn’t have any option that came close to his few strands of hair, so I drew them instead. I couldn’t find the right shirt, so I just drew his entire outfit myself. I get the feeling we’ll see a lot of perfect toons recreated in the game.
The Rizzler
I think The Rizzler is cool and I don’t care who knows it. The young social media star earned a spot on my island thanks to his charisma, and I can confirm that he’s the coolest kid in town. I am also not ashamed to admit that I temporarily mistook him for one of the Costco Guys, so now he walks around constantly talking about how good he is at “going to Costco.” My bad, Rizz.
Betty Boop
While I’d call this one more of a work in progress, I think it captures Ms. Boop’s black-and-white glamour well enough. Some big hoop earrings and she’ll be most of the way there. But I do regret to inform you that, after a short fling, Betty Boop did dump The Rizzler. My boy was so close to growing and becoming Mr. Boop.
Doctor Manhattan
A lot of my island’s residents are total goofballs, so I added Watchmen’s living weapon to balance the scales. A shape stamping tool helped me perfectly recreate his forehead insignia, while I was able to draw around his eyes to capture all of his features. While I couldn’t strip him down to his black trunks, the muscle suit feels right to me. He also only moves via levitation and lives in a completely empty white room.
Harry Du Bois
Disco Elysium’s alcoholic detective was a very late addition to my island, but he already feels like a perfect fit. He mostly just sits alone at the table outside of the island’s restaurant and watches everyone else frolic. One time, I caught him dead asleep at the table. Elizabeth Holmes hates him. That’s our boy Harry.
Garfield
In my opinion, no Tomodachi Life playthrough will be complete without Garfield. He’s the ultimate test of all the game’s tools. Can you draw his stripes? Figure out how to cobble together his facial features from the options available? Create a custom outfit that makes it look like he isn’t wearing clothing at all? I still haven’t gotten it exactly right; I’ve yet to solve for his ears, for instance. But if you can make a perfect Garfield who wanders around saying “I hate Mondays,” that’s basically the same thing as hitting the end credits in Living the Dream.







