Official promotional image by Nintendo

Official art by Nintendo for its latest project “Miitomo,” a new social media networking app available for iPhone and Android.

Cute animated personas, fun interaction with friends, and a free therapy session where anything goes. Welcome to “Miitomo.”

In Nintendo’s mobile social media app, “Miitomo,” people can connect with their friends, converse in post comment sections, and even design their own personalized Miis. The Miis come with a variety of hair, facial, and outfit variables that cover almost any style the user wishes to create.

“Miitomo” follows the format of a social media network, but because photos of the player are not seen and usernames often do not pertain to people’s real names, the app allows the user to have the option of being completely anonymous.

Additionally, nobody can see the answers that you post unless they choose to specifically visit you, and even then there is a limit to how many answers they are able to view at once, as the game usually makes you pay in candy (the highest form of “Miitomo” currency) to view more than four or five answers at a time. This is a unique system that may seem like an inconvenience, but it only gives the player more of an incentive to revisit the game at a later time to view their friend’s posts.

“I think that people are drawn to “Miitomo” because it’s sort of ironic,” communications senior Amanda Goodman said. “At first I was confused by it because it was so popular, and everyone stopped playing [with the Nintendo Wiis] forever ago, so I thought it was just a weird game by the company to try to be ‘cool’ and ‘popular’ again, but I checked it out for myself and it turned out to be a really interesting social media app.”

Answering questions on the game can be done at any time, and it is easy to lose track when users don’t have to worry too much about what they are typing.The game has no filters on what can be posted and said by players to one another. Although this seems like an issue, many find a creative outlet in answering the seemingly dull questions that the creators pose.

“I think it’s funny because you are talking through these cute little cartoon versions of yourself, and you wouldn’t expect people to say ridiculous things through that kind of source,” Goodman said. “For example, a lot of people use dark humor [to answer the pre-set questions] so the game will ask something simple like ‘what have you been up to recently?’ and people’s answers will say something like ‘suffering’ or ‘regretting being born’; it’s honestly just a bunch of people venting through comedic disposition.”

People can also express themselves and their unique sense of humor through the “Miifoto” option, which allows players to edit their own, or friend’s, Miis into photos from their phone’s libraries.These photos are often posted in response to comments or posts, and generally pertain to a single idea or person.

“Miifoto is especially great for reaction photos. You can edit yourself and friends with various actions and expressions, and the final products are hilarious. They often tend to incorporate a lot of dark humor and sarcasm,” strings junior Emily Winters said. “My friends and I like to make edits of our Miis screaming in front of the classroom photo backdrop.”

Despite all of this, the most fun part of the app is probably earning different clothing and items through minigames, most of which are completely based on chance, not skill. Your score and targets correlates with the prize you wish to achieve. Some of the most common awards include ridiculous, colorful costumes for your Mii and some being smaller, unusual items such as ninja stars.

“The mini games are an interesting addition to the app because they allow you to win outfits that you can’t get anywhere else,” Winters said. “A lot of users complain about them though, because they’re a bit limited, and are mostly based off luck.”

Overall, “Miitomo” is an extremely fun way to connect, laugh with your friends, and have an opportunity to express contempt through the hilarious medium of small caricatures. I would highly recommend it for people who want a social media platform that has elements of privacy that most don’t provide. Hopefully, in the future, it will add even more features and improve on the elements which have made the app so popular.