Tomodachi Collection
Tomodachi Collection[lower-alpha 1] is a life simulation video game for the Nintendo DS, released exclusively in Japan on June 18, 2009. A sequel, Tomodachi Life, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on April 18, 2013, and in North America and Europe on June 6, 2014.
| Tomodachi Collection | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo SPD |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Ryutaro Takahashi [1] |
| Producer(s) | Yoshio Sakamoto [1] |
| Designer(s) | Masanori Nakagawa[1] |
| Composer(s) | Daisuke Shiiba Asuka Ito Riyu Tamura[1] |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Life simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
The cast consists entirely of Miis. Players can transfer Miis directly from their Wii console to their Nintendo DS or create new ones using the in-game Mii Maker. The player then helps their Miis make friends and perform everyday tasks, as well as giving them clothes, food, and special items to help them gain experience. When a Mii gains enough experience, they level up and collect rewards. New areas and shops are unlocked on the island by playing the game and meeting various conditions.
Features
Island
The island is the location of Tomodachi Collection. It is named by the player at the very beginning, and the name cannot be changed. It also has a different appearance according to seasons.
Apartment
The apartment has 13 floors in total, with each having 8 rooms, except the highest one which only has 4 rooms. At the beginning, the mansion can only fit 24 Miis, then after some upgrades (which can be obtained by simply adding more islanders) the amount of rooms goes up to 48, 72 and finally 100, the maximum amount of Miis allowed.
Pocket Money
When the player helps a Mii, they gain yen. The minimum amount of yen is 1 Yen and the maximum is 99999.999 Yen. The money cannot be directly given to Miis in Tomodachi Collection, unlike in Tomodachi Life, where the player has the option to give some money to a Mii when they level up, and the money is put towards a trip into space.
City Hall
Players can register new miis, look at friends list, trait map, album, connect with other devices, and go to options.
Food Shop
Food Shop is unlocked during the tutorial. Players can buy food for their Miis. There are five featured foods daily, new food might be discovered here. There are four categories for food: Japanese, Western, Desserts, and Beverages. There are 136 different foods in total.
Apparel Shop
Apparel Shop is unlocked when there are 2 males, 2 females, and that the player solved 5 problems. Players can buy clothes for their Miis. There are five featured clothing daily, new clothing might be discovered here. There are seasonal clothes for each season which is only available in a specific season only. Clothes are classified into five categories: Masculine, Feminine, Unisex, Formal, and Costumes. There are 300 different clothes in total.
Interior Shop
The Interior Shop is unlocked when the player has at least ¥20,000. The player can buy interior designs for their Miis' apartments. There are four interiors featured daily, along with one interior that is available for one month each. There is a category for special interiors that can only be unlocked if the player fulfils the criteria for each one. There are 70 different interiors in total.
Pawn Shop
The Pawn Shop is unlocked when the player has obtained at least 5 different types of treasures given to them by the Miis. The player can sell treasures that are collected to receive more yen; each individual item has its own value. The player can sell more than one of the same item. There are a total of 90 different items the player can receive and sell.
Question Hall
The Question Hall is unlocked when there are at least 2 residents on the island, and at least 60 problems have been solved. There are two sections to the Question Hall: "Vote" and "Question". In "Vote", all Miis are presented as small stickmen. There are two sides of a large field; the player can write or draw on the sand on both sides of the field. The player can then watch the Miis run over to the different sides of the field as they make their choice. The "Vote" segment will end if there are more Miis on one side, or if there are an equal number of Miis on both sides. In "Question," three Miis are present on a stage along with another Mii who stands before them. On the lower screen, the player is given three different questions with a blank space in each sentence, and the player can fill out the blank line to complete a question. The Mii stood at the front will ask the questions towards the Miis on stage, the Miis will either raise their hand to answer the questions or remain silent. The "Question" segment ends after three different questions have been asked.
Job Diagnosis
Job Diagnosis is unlocked when there are 2 males, 2 females, and solving 15 problems. It finds out the ideal job for Miis. Miis are required to have a birthday.
Mii News
Mii News is unlocked when there are at least 3 males, 3 females, and a total of 7 Miis. At 7 am and 7 pm, there is one random news broadcast. If there is a Mii's birthday on that day, the random news broadcast will be celebrating their birthdays. There is breaking news when the player unlocks buildings, rankings, getting to a certain number of Miis, solving enough problems, upgrading apartments, and leaving without saving.
Blessing Fountain
Blessing Fountain is unlocked during the tutorial. Occasionally, Miis go here, either alone or with their friends. The player can collect donations daily here. There are events at a certain time.
Morning Market
Morning Market is an event that is from 6:30 am to 11:30 am. There will be a random Mii selling a random food. The food will be half the original price.
Street Live
Street Live is an event which is from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm, and from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Several Miis play music by the fountain, while a Mii listens to them. The music are remixes of Tomodachi Collection music. The songs in this event might be Tango, Waltz (Happy or Langorous), Allegro, Bossa Nova or Folk Dance. The Miis plays Guitar, Flute, Accordion, Triangle, Tuba or Timbales. The player can clap after the music ends.
English Lesson
English Lesson is an event which is from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. There is a random Mii dressed as a teacher who asks the other Mii a few questions. These questions include favourite songs, whether they have an item, hunger, problem, best friend, blood type, birthday, number of clothes.
Rankings Board
Rankings Board is unlocked when there are at least 5 Miis and solving 15 problems. There are seven rankings: Best Condition Ranks (requires full birthday), Popularity Ranks, Best Friend Ranks, Best Lover Ranks, Popular Guy Ranks, Popular Girl Ranks, and Most Favorite Ranks. There is unique music for each ranking.
Song Creator
Song Creator can be accessed by the song icon. Songs are performed only with voices, and the Mii will perform in their mansion, instead of in the concert hall. Like the Japanese version of Tomodachi Life, there are 6 types of music you can create, including J-pop, Ballad, Rap, Idol, Enka, and Heavy Metal. In Tomodachi Life, Heavy Metal was replayed both with Metal and Rock, Ballad was replayed with Opera (in the NA/EU Version replayed Enka with Musical and Techno genres) and Idol was deleted. Although you cannot compose music yourself (Nintendo's Japanese staff decided that each genre of song will have the same rhythm), you can edit their lyrics however you would like. You can put item/food-related lyrics which will add thought bubbles above the Mii of what is being described. You can still customize the lyrics manually by filling in the words. All songs except the Rap song have 4 verses.
Miis
Miis are people who populate the island. They are required to have a full name, a nickname and favorite color. Players can erase Miis for ¥2100. Miis have problems that can be solved. When solved, the happiness bar increases. Miis level up when their happiness bar fills. When all gifts are given, the Mii gives you a coin instead. Players can give them a song, an item, an interior, and a phrase. The maximum level is 99, but they can still level up after that, but the level will not change. Players can stroke Mii's head to increase happiness. They can also tap their head. Sometimes, Miis have a grain of rice, wool, ladybird, leaf, and bread crumb on their face. Removing them increases happiness. Feeding food with rice and bread increases the chance of the event. In addition, Mii sometimes has clothes tags behind them. The player can remove them. This happens once per clothing. Each Mii has his/her own favorite and least favorite food. Feeding their favorite food gets them to start dancing, which can be skipped by pressing A. It greatly increases happiness. Feeding their least favorite food causes them to vomit and greatly decreases happiness.
Songs
When a Mii levels up, they can be given one of six songs to perform:
Items
When a Mii levels up, they can be given one of the eight items to use:
Sleep
Miis need sleep just like normal humans. They sleep at night. The player can draw on Mii's face or watch their dream.
Dreams
When a Mii is sleeping, either temporarily or for the night, yume (夢, meaning "dream") bubbles may appear over their head. By tapping the bubble, the player may enter the dream the Mii is experiencing. After the dream concludes, the Mii will wake up and, if they are in bed when they wake up, fall back asleep, and the player will swipe an object from the Mii's dream, bringing it into reality and inserting it into their inventory. Dreams can be viewed if the player hypnotize them. However, there will be no rewards.
Personality
One part of the Mii Maker involves sliders that will determine the personality of the Mii depending on what the player chooses. They can set the speed of their actions, their speech patterns, and various other things. There are four main categories for personalities: Calm, Cool, Fun, and Dry, with each one having four sub-categories within them, giving us a total of 16 unique personalities. The personality of a Mii determines how they act, who they do and don't get along with, and their likes/dislikes of certain items.
Problems
Mii has problems from time to time. There are different types of problems: Normal problems, Love Problems, Sad problems, and Games.
Normal Problems
Normal problems are the most common type of problems. They are represented by a black icon with a dust cloud on a Mii's apartment window. Types of normal problems include:
- Giving the mii a new item, such as food, clothing, interior, bath set, camera, or medicine)
- Looking inside a Mii's stomach
- Rubbing the Mii's back
- Slapping mosquitoes for the Mii
- Making new friends
- Asking about his/her relationship
- Having a fight with another Mii
- Wanting to break up with another Mii
Love Problems
Love problems are represented with a pink icon with a heart on a Mii's window. There are two types of Love Problems: Confession and Marriage. The first type requires the player to decide whether or not they should confess, how they should confess, where they should confess, and if they should change their clothes. It has a higher chance of success if their relationship level is higher. When the player encounters the second type, the game automatically shows that they got married, and the game's credit is shown (in Tomodachi Life, the player must before wait the couple have a baby and the six day, independently of this choose Become a Traveler o Live at the Mii Apartaments, the credits will be shown off instead.
Development
Because the Nintendo DS didn't have Miis in the first Nintendo DS Games (Miis were released on November 19, 2006 and first appeared on the Wii), the Miis were be shown in various games like Wii play, Wii sports, Wii party and most other games. Miis first appeared on the DS two years later in 2008, in Personal Trainer: Walking, and this game was released in 2009, one year later, only in Japan on June 18, 2009. The DS version of Final Fantasy can control Mii's date, and there are playable characters also in a Yakuman game. This game and the Yakuman game were released only in Japan, but the first was translated on November 9, 2013, in American English by jjjewel, a US English speaker. The game was developed by a small, young team at Nintendo SPD Group No.1 with Yoshio Sakamoto as a producer. According to an interview, it was originally titled Otona no Onna no Uranai Techou (大人のオンナの占い手帳, lit."Fortune-telling Notebook for Adult Women") and only featured female characters. A western release was considered, according to an interview with Gamekult.fr, however, issues with localizing the vocal synthesizer software to handle English words (which were resolved in Tomodachi Life) caused the release to be cancelled. However, a fan translation patch created in 2013 by jjjewel exists, which translates the game's text into English but retains the original Japanese voices. Other unfinished changes include the fact that the Mii News is still in Japanese (like the logo in the top screen while there is news) and other small parts in-game. The Concert Hall default lyrics are partly in Japanese and partly in English. Thanks to jjjewel's mod, the English translation can be downloaded.
There is a function only found in the Japanese version of Tomodachi Life that allows you to call the Mii from the Tomodachi Collection, and you can copy and transfer the Miis onto the 3DS, but the newly created Miis are added in the Mii Studio. It is not possible to send the Mii to the Tomodachi Collection from Mii Maker.
Sequel
A sequel for the Nintendo 3DS titled Tomodachi Life was released in Japan on April 18, 2013, and on April 10, 2014 in North America and Europe.[2][3] The game was the best-selling game in Japan during the week of its release, selling about 404,858 units.[4]
Reception
Famitsu gave Tomodachi Collection a rating of 29 out of 40.[5] It was the best-selling game in Japan during the week of its release, selling about 102,000 units.[6] By September 28, 2009, it had sold 1.15 million copies in total, making it the fourth-best selling game in Japan in the first half of the 2009 fiscal year.[7] At the end of the 2009–2010 fiscal year on March 31, 2010, Nintendo reported that the game had sold 3.2 million units.[8]
Notes
- (Japanese: トモダチコレクション, lit. "Friend Collection")
References
- "Official Japanese Iwata Asks with Tomodachi Collection staff". Nintendo. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/10/tomodachi-life-could-be-nintendoas-next-animal-crossing?abthid=534687ec7eb0922a6f000012
- http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-3DS/Tomodachi-Life-871968.html
- "This Week in Sales: Tomodachi Collection Sees Big Launch Sales". Siliconera. April 24, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- "Revue de presse internationale" [International press coverage] (in French). Gamekult. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- John Tanaka (2009-06-26). "Virtual Miis Rule in Japan". IGN. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- 2009年度上半期のゲーム市場規模は前年度同期比10.5パーセント減 [Gaming market decreased 10.5 percent in the first half of the 2009 fiscal year] (in Japanese). Famitsu. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- "Nintendo Fiscal year report". GameSpot. 2010-03-31. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
External links
- Official Site (in Japanese)