What is Miitomo? Everything You Need to Know

You’ve probably seen a lot of buzz on the internet about Miitomo, Nintendo’s first foray into the mobile market.

If I had to describe it in the most simple way possible, I’d tell you that it’s basically a stripped back version of Tomodachi Life, but the characters you interact with are your real life friends. It’s Nintendo’s very own social media/video game hybrid.

Miitomo has quite a bit going on, making it a lot to take in. Here’s everything you need to know.

Getting Started

The app released on March 31st in the USA and select countries for iOS and Android to much acclaim, and it’s currently sitting pretty at the top of the app store, so it’s not hard to find. Once you log in you’ll be prompted to make a Nintendo account, which you can merge with the account you use for your 3DS or Wii U.

After you’ve got your account all sorted out, you then need to create your Mii, which you can import from your console or start from scratch. The character creation is more in depth in Miitomo, though, allowing you to configure your characters voice and personality with a handy little graphing tool. You can also modify the greetings that your Mii will utter when visiting or having friend over.

Once done, you’re dropped into a Tomodachi style hotel room, which is where the fun really starts.

Questions and Answers

Miitomo is based heavily around social interaction. The way this works is you get asked a myriad of questions on a multitude of topics, and your answers get posted and shared to all your friends, to which they can react with comments or likes. The questions aren’t too deep, often asking you what your favorite TV show is, or what the last sweet treat you had was.

When you make friends, you can visit the other persons apartment, and comment on their latest outfit or answers to questions, and they can visit you and do the same. This is the basis to which you earn gold in Miitomo, which can be used to acquire a variety of items.

There are also 2 ways to level up in Miitomo, and they’re both directly connected to the Q&A system.  Reacting to posts and answering questions feed into your popularity meter, while changing your wardrobe and snapping photos boosts your style meter, both of which grant you rewards when you rank up. Currently, #MiitomoStyle on Twitter is booming with pictures of the latest Mii fashion trends, so put on your best gear and make your mark!

Miifoto and Miitomo Drop

Miifoto is your very own photo shoot creator for you and your Miitomo friends. You can use photos from your mobile device as backgrounds, pose your Mii’s in any animation or expression you see fit, and add your own text and stamps. It’s basically a contest to see who can make the wackiest collage, and a chance to show off the rare items you find in Miitomo drop.

Miitomo Drop is the only ‘game’ aspect of the entire app. It functions like a game of Pachinko where your Mii is the ball. You choose where to drop your character and if he/she lands in one of the allotted slots, you receive the item stationed there. There are a variety of themes of clothing you can try to collect, which currently range from a Bakery themed board to one that is all about cats.

It costs 500 Gold to drop your Mii . Game tickets can be received as rewards for completing MyNintendo tasks, the new Club Nintendo that is linked in with the app. Coins are easy to come by if you’re answering questions daily and being a social butterfly, but there is a micro transaction system if you run short and you really want that ugly cat sweater.

My Nintendo

MyNintendo is Nintendo’s replacement for the now defunct Club Nintendo, and it is linked directly with the Miitomo app. Like Uplay’s reward system, there are a certain number of missions with criteria to fulfil, and you receive rewards for completing them. Some of the missions are one time only, like linking your account to Twitter or Facebook, but there are also radiant tasks that occur every day such as changing your outfit, or receiving 5 comments on a post.

The MyNintendo points you earn can be used in game to redeem outfits and game tickets for Miitomo Drop, but they also work with the wider MyNintendo program. They can be used towards rewards like Zelda Picross skins and Eshop discounts at the MyNintendo website.

Miitomo Shop

You can also  spend your hard earned gold in the Miitomo Shop, which has new lines of clothing daily, ranging from hot dog suits to pirate outfits and so much more. It covers pretty much every article of clothing from socks to scarves, and you can even buy yourself a name badge.

There are also daily sales on different items, which gives you a great incentive to come back every day for a bit of shopping while you’re checking to see how your Mii and his/her friends are all doing.

Check Out More

• Miitomo is No.1 on US iOS App Store Chart in Under 24 Hours
• An Enhanced Nintendo eShop Is Launching Alongside Miitomo
• Miitomo Reaches One Million Registered Users