As an enjoyer of the 3DS original, here are 4 things I want to see from the upcoming Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Nintendo Direct presentation

Date:
Wed, 28 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Description:
Were learning more about Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream soon. Heres everything I hope the upcoming Nintendo Direct shows off for the game.

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Since it was announced last year, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has been among my most anticipated games. The 3DS original is one of the most charming games Ive ever played, not to mention one of the funniest. It was a brilliant usage of Nintendos Mii avatars, letting you house all your creations on an island to see how they interact with each other.

The original Tomodachi Life is far from a Sims- esque life sim, however. The Miis arent particularly reactive, mostly waiting on you, the player, to interact with them to learn about their thoughts, ambitions, or simply what theyre getting up to at that moment in time. Be they dreaming about being spied on by the player (via the 3DSs camera, no less), or hosting a hilarious news broadcast, Tomodachi Life was rarely predictable and often gut-bustingly funny.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is that games long-awaited sequel, set to launch on the Nintendo Switch this year. Were set to learn more about the
game (finally) via a 20-minute Nintendo Direct happening on January 29. Nintendo is usually pretty great at packing a ton of information into short, succinct showcases like this. So on that note, heres a list of features and improvements Id love to see confirmed for the sequel. A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition? (Image credit: Nintendo)

So far, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has only been confirmed for the original Nintendo Switch. That means it will still be compatible with
Nintendo Switch 2 , but whether or not the game will receive a Switch 2 Edition - or specific enhancements for the new console - remains to be seen.

Now, sure, its not necessarily a candidate thats screaming for an enhanced version. Its going to be a fairly basic game in both the visual and performance departments, so a Switch 2 Edition isnt exactly a requirement.

But Id argue that was also true of Animal Crossing: New Horizons , which recently received a low-cost Switch 2 Edition upgrade that arrived in tandem with its 3.0 update. The enhancement here offered crisper image quality, Joy-Con 2 mouse control support, and GameChat compatibility, among other improvements. Similar quality upgrades would be great to see for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. More proactive Miis (Image credit: Nintendo)

One of the bigger drawbacks of the original Tomodachi Life - perhaps due to the limitations of the 3DS - was that Miis werent particularly autonomous.
You could occasionally find one chilling by a fountain, or nattering with a neighbor, but by and large, they were waiting for you to check in on them.

For Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, I love the idea (or at least the illusion) of Miis having a life outside of when the console is switched on.
If I load the game up in the evening to see that Willem Dafoe has fallen down a manhole, or Hatsune Mikus caused her kitchen to explode, Id be delighted.

In the original, relationships between Miis also felt a bit sporadic. They needed your permission to hang out with one another or even start romantic relationships. I dont mind this as an option if youre looking to ensure certain Miis get along with one another. But I think itd be great to let
these relationships happen organically, without us needing to act as overseers. Better Mii customization (Image credit: Nintendo)

The 3DSs Tomodachi Life let you dress your Miis up in various items of clothing, but its actual Mii creation suite wasnt too far removed from what youd find on the 3DS app or indeed the Wii.

It was a far cry from what was available in Miitopia later, which let players get truly wild and creative with Mii making. In Tomodachi Life, you could
just about make Duke Nukem or SpongeBob if you knew how to game the system,
so to speak. But with Miitopia, even to this day, Im seeing social media
posts of folks making everything from Like a Dragons Goro Majima to Spirited Aways No-Face.

The sheer breadth of customization options is what ultimately gave Miitopia such longevity, especially after it really took off with its Switch port in 2021. Itd be great if Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream continued to let players unleash their creativity again. Plus, an option to share creations online would be a fantastic way to populate ones island. Freakier dream sequences (Image credit: Nintendo)

Alright, this one isnt for everyone. But my honest-to-goodness favorite thing about Tomodachi Life was its many, many dream sequences. Tapping on a
sleeping Mii would give you a glimpse into their subconscious mind.

Some were hilarious, like a gathering of your islands Miis enjoying high society and discussing the economy, or worshipping a giant bowl of
minestrone. Some were a little weirder, including two Miis driving down a foggy road, chatting utter nonsense to one another.

They were always fun little skits, no matter what the game decided to show you. But in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Id definitely want the game to take some more literal cues from its subtitle.

Longer, more elaborate dream sequences would be such a treat to see. Im not asking for horrific nightmares or anything like that; rather, stuff that really leans into Nintendos often off-kilter sense of humor. Im sure dream sequences will be just as bizarre here, given the snippets of what weve seen so far in prior trailers, but itd be wonderful to see Nintendo get extra
weird with it.

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