If a level has multiple branching paths, you’ll have to replay the level once for every possible path to completely clear the area. In each section of the overworld, your party walks itself across a linear map, runs into a few mostly-canned encounters, and gives you direct control of just your main character (or you can choose “Autobattle” and watch the chaos from a distance). If there’s one criticism that popped up a lot in reviews, it was that the gameplay was very hands-off and repetitive. If your answer was “the gameplay,” Miitopia might not be your cup of tea.You’ll eventually develop that sort of bond with your new party, but it’ll take a while. It wasn’t Sephiroth killing Aerith, but it was still aggravating (and would have been even more so had I not known it was coming), and is sure to be off-putting to anyone who’s invested a lot of time, emotion, and food in constructing the perfect party. My one concern is that the game slaps you with a hard reset at certain points, stealing away your entire party and cursing you back to level one. Quarrels popped up randomly from time to time, but these seemed to be easily resolved and didn’t leaving too many lasting effects-if managed properly, team relations are all unicorns and rainbows. As your characters grow closer, they can team up for super-powerful attacks, and there was no better feeling then watching all four party members team up for a single attack that sent a powerful enemy reeling. Oh, and did I mention Greenhorne Castle is ruled by Weird Al Yankovic?) The frequent cutscenes and random overworld dialogue were charming and occasionally hilarious, and discovering your Mii’s personal tastes and quirks (through both battling with them and feeding meals to them) was thoroughly enjoyable. (It’s not just the main party either-watching two of my old IT support colleagues battle for the hand of Princess Nikki from Swapnote just made my day.
If you can fashion a character out of a Mii, you can add them to the game, and the key draw of Miitopia is watching these characters grow and interact with each other. If your answer to the initial question was “the characters,” then Miitopia is right up your alley.In the end, it all depends on what you’re looking for in an RPG:
The scores themselves aren’t terribly useful, but after digging deeper into the reviews and getting some hands-on time with the full game, the pros and cons are consistent enough to offer some guidance. The review scores for Miitopia have been all over the map thus far-some outlets have enjoyed it, others not so much. What’s your favorite part of a role-playing game? Your answer will likely determine whether or not Nintendo’s quirky new RPG Miitopia is right for you.