Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream — 9 main new features of the sequel

The original Tomodachi Life was released in North America in June 2014, and after 12 long years of waiting, we finally got a sequel in April 2026 – Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. Create a series of Miis and watch them coexist on your dream island in this charming, cozy game.

While we miss some things from the original, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream boasts several improvements over the first installment on the Nintendo 3DS, which are definitely worth noting after all these years of waiting!

9. Depth of Mii Editor

More detailed Miis than ever

The Mii Editor wasn’t new in Tomodachi Life, and it isn’t now, returning in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, but we’ve all definitely benefited from how richly detailed you can make your Miis in this game!

Whether you’re creating your best friends, loved family members, celebrities, cartoon characters, animals, monsters, or someone else – you’ll be able to work out Mii details on your island like never before. You not only have more facial feature options and more precise ways of placing them, but you can also draw freely, unlocking all sorts of new possibilities.

8. Platonic Roommates

“And they were roommates!”

Of course, your Miis could live together before, but they couldn’t do so until they were officially married. This meant you had to work with meeting Miis a lot before they finally tied the knot and started living together. And if your Miis were just friends, they had no hope of sharing space at all.

Now you can put friend Miis together, just like unmarried couples or Miis who have mutual crushes. When they move into a two-story house, the second Mii gets their own room upstairs! It’s a big step, but now anyone can take it, not just husbands and wives.

Speaking of husbands and wives…

7. Same-Sex Relationships and Pronoun Settings

No more forcing it in the Mii Editor

The original Tomodachi Life stuck to a strict binary gender system – your Miis were either male or female. This forced you to get creative with making same-sex couples, technically assigning one of the Miis the body of the opposite sex.

Now, though, you can not only set your Miis’ romantic preferences, but also change their pronouns if they want to use something other than “he/him” for a male model or “she/her” for a female. Miis can and will marry any other Mii they’re attracted to, so the world is really open to you.

6. Mii Introductions

A little nudge in the right direction

In the original Tomodachi Life on the 3DS, you couldn’t make Miis meet – you just had to hope one of them would take an interest in the other or that they’d get a mutual friend who’d ask to introduce them.

Now, introducing Miis is as simple as dragging them to each other – whether it’s on the streets of your island or in the “Residents” menu, where you get an overview of all the islanders. Do you have a pair of friends or lovers in mind?

Drag one Mii to another and hope sparks fly, depending on their personality types.

5. New Clothing Options

A sea of accessories

Clothing stores have always been a key part of Tomodachi Life. In the first game, there was not only the standard store with daily updates, but also “Camping,” where you could find items from far-off lands.

Now, in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, we have even more clothing options! New types of clothing have appeared: from necklaces to tails, socks, and everything in between. Plus, you can create your own designs, which Miis will wear as they stroll around your island.

4. Additional Minigames

Play more, play often

In the original Tomodachi Life, Miis would ask you to play minigames to spice up daily checks. There were games like “Shadow Quiz” (guess an object from its silhouette), “Pixel Quiz” (guess a pixelated object), and “Zoom Quiz” (guess an object from its enlarged center).

These classic games are back, but Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has introduced many new ones. You’ll unlock new options as you build buildings on the island. Now you can flip a coin, name items without repeats, or even knock down Miis like bowling pins.

3. Customizable Items

Food, treasures, clothing, and more

In the original Tomodachi Life on the Nintendo 3DS in 2014, there were many items to collect, but you were limited to only what the game offered.

In the original, there were many things – Mii clothing, food, treasures, and more – but you could never fully control what appeared on the island.

However, now in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, almost nothing can’t be customized in the “Palette House”! Unlock new possibilities at the “Wishing Fountain” in exchange for your “Warmth” and create everything: from home interiors and exteriors to edible dishes for your Miis and more.

2. Island Speak

Make your Miis talk like you

You’ve probably already seen one of the most discussed features in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, even if you don’t have the game, as “Island Speak” is one of the fan favorites. Since the game, unlike most Nintendo projects, lacks censorship, the internet has gone wild with these new possibilities.

Your Miis will occasionally ask you questions with blanks – about the real world, what to discuss with a potential new friend to start a conversation, how to express their affection, and more. Everything you tell them in these fields may and will be used on the island.

1. Little Features

Each Mii will become even more unique

In Tomodachi Life, there have always been distinct personality types that affect who gets along with whom and what relationships they form. While they’ve certainly remained in the sequel, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream gives you dozens of “traits” that make your Miis even more different from one another.

Change how they do almost everything: how they stand when you interact with them, how they walk around the island, how they greet you and other Miis, and more.

Adjust their appetite, add a facial expression they occasionally use during conversations, and more. The higher your Miis’ level, the more you can customize their personalities.