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Tomodachi Life

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This page details pre-release information and/or media for Tomodachi Life.

Tomodachi Life went through a fairly unknown development cycle that lasted from 2011 to 2013 for the main game, and 2013 to 2014 for the regional releases.

Prerelease Videos#

Trailers for Tomodachi Life were shown off at various public events, and each of them contain various differences from the final game.

Nintendo 3DS Conference 2011#

Watch on YouTubeThis was originally shown at the Nintendo 3DS Conference held at Tokyo Game Show on September 12th, 2011 - and was the public's first glimpse at a sequel to Tomodachi Collection.

  • The game is still called "Tomodachi Collection", likely as a placeholder name.
  • The only location shown in the trailer is an interior which isn't in the final game, and is likely an earlier version of the Midcentury Modern interior.
  • The only music shown in the trailer is a remastered version of the Credits music & Night music from Tomodachi Collection, likely as placeholder music.
  • Some footage shown in the trailer is taken from Tomodachi Collection, likely because the locations shown in the Tomodachi Collection footage haven't been implemented yet.
  • All of the edited stock-images shown in the trailer are using the Tomodachi Collection versions of the Miis, rather than the upscaled 3DS versions.
  • The Mii Models shown in the trailer have rougher shading around the arms and legs compared to the final release.
  • The animations for the Mii Models - such as the Idle animation, Joy animation, and Sitting animation - are an updated version of their Tomodachi Collection variants, containing a white border around the notes.
  • The music-note sprites used for the Joy animation are identical to the ones used in Tomodachi Collection.
  • The head-turning animation showcased in the trailer isn't in the final release, and was likely made for the trailer.

Nintendo Direct 2012.8.29#

Watch on YouTubeThis trailer was originally shown at Nintendo Direct Japan at August 29th, 2012 - and was the public's second glimpse at a sequel to Tomodachi Collection.

  • The game is still called "Tomodachi Collection", but a footnote at the end of the trailer confirms that it's a temporary title.
  • The only music heard for the first-half of the trailer is a prerelease version of the Mii Apartments theme.
  • The Mii Models have darker shading in some locations.
  • The Idle animation is still identical to the one used in Tomodachi Collection, albeit a bit faster - likely to match the tempo of the prerelease Mii Apartments theme.
  • The Café has an unused Mii location - outside the middle-right window there's a Mii sitting on what's apparently a park bench.
  • The curtain animation for when a Mii gets dressed lasts twice as long compared to the final game.
  • There seems to be no carousel music implemented at the Amusement Park yet - when the text-to-speech is heard, there's no background music accompanying it.
    • However, this could be because the footage was captured with music (which includes the carousel theme) turned off so that it wouldn't clash with the background music.
  • The Rock & Roll, Enka, and Rap songs all share the same background video as Pop. Enka and Rap seem to be the most unique of the bunch as they both have a yellow tint applied onto them - this is likely due to a lighting error.
  • The final line of the Rap song seems to be a placeholder, as it contains gibberish symbols.
  • Rock & Roll also has different mixing, sounding louder and more "dynamic range compressed" than the other songs shown.
  • The "Wig Dream" is laggier than it is in the final release.
  • The dream background music is missing a note.
  • The Photo Booth images are slightly different from the final release.
    • The 1st and 2nd images are present in the final game worldwide, unchanged from this build.
    • The 3rd image, "シンプル/雲模様" ("Simple / Cloud Pattern"), is present in the final release worldwide, however one of the Miis (second on the right) is in a different pose.
    • The 4th image contains a Mii in the top-left with a wooden frame surrounding it, as well as a background containing a sepia photo of a school - this photo, "卒業アルバム" ("Graduation Album"), is present in the final Japanese release, but not internationally. The shading varies slightly in this version.
  • The furigana above the text "編集" is missing. It's unknown if the other text in the game is missing it or not, as this is the only in-game text shown in the trailer.