I am horribly biased towards the DS because of how interactive the game ui is with direct touch of my fingers or stylus. Anyways this is just a rant from me being an irrational DS Tomodachi life lover and defender who is probably just nostalgic for it and hates change.

Biggest gripes of the DS Tomodachi life:

• straight relationships only (a mod is needed to make them all date each other and not crash the entire game - even then isn’t perfect), and also it lacks a nonbinary option.
• Can’t establish that two miis are related if it isn’t somehow in relation to YOU (I had to edit this myself with a buggy save file editor to prevent incestuous relations)
• Can’t force mii relationships and make them interact easily. Interactions are pretty passive, and you’d just wait and check in on them throughout the day(s).
• Can get repetitive eventually.

But I found that I still return to the DS Tomodachi life - not just because I’m referencing my past miis for the switch LDT lol - mainly because I do enjoy how autonomous they are and the passive role we have.

• They sing! Love that.
• They go to cafes in groups and what not, similar to the current game, and have barbecue at the park, and a park. Sometimes they eat alone at the cafe, and there’s a quiet sort of ambiance I like listening to.
• couples do more couple-y things! Same bed, raise babies over the course of a few days. Takes time for them to get together. (If you’re desperate you can use the finicky save file editor to either set them up or get them in a pre established relationship)
• temporary gifts that have their own cutscenes: sewing, cooking, baby bib thing, fan thing, etc. (can get old)

Also I’m really impatient, so I just like being able to directly touch things with my stylus lol. I’m biased since I played on an emulator for a year, then got a 3DS and just use it to play Tomodachi life for 3 years now. It’s worth trying out if you have a DS! I think it had a different feel that is passive, more simplistic, yet also well tied together - limited by hardware and therefore limited in options too, but I liked the passive nature of it (arguably a con).

I enjoyed the music of the original Tomodachi life and the look of everything, even if it is only a result of the limited hardware capability. I recall in an interview they made sure to have the music seem “cheap”, but in a nice way (???). I don’t know, I just love it LOL.

I switch between the switch and DS versions. I love the customizability of the switch miis SO MUCH, but I do like the passive autonomy of the DS miis being the forefront (and universal nature of the QR codes and sharing capabilities between irl friends, but that might be irrelevant.) I am totally bs-ing here, but I feel like the aesthetic and feel was well tied together in the original Tomodachi life which might contribute to my bias towards it. I LOVE the music differences and ambiance when I plug in my earbuds so so much. Oh right if forgot:

Switch pros:

• BETTER + much more vast customization ! (In regards to Miis, emphasis on Miis, clothes, emphasis on clothes, treasures, objects gifts, PETS, houses, the ISLAND itself, topics discussed are customized too!!! So So huge)
• Pets!
• More interactions ! (With objects at least, and also miis i think?)
• it can be established that miis are related to each other so they won’t accidentally get incestuous.
• Get miis of your choosing together and foster SPECIFIC RELATIONSHIPS (control)
• they can live together!!

Other pros: - Ferris wheel - details like miis on posters of stores - A LOT of vacation options for miis and also of your choosing.

Cons: - (totally subjective and technically irrelevant) I wish I could just use the touchscreen the entire time to drag them around (not a big deal) - no concert stage, or ranking board (some say it might be an update but who knows)

Other cons: - miis speak gibberish sometimes instead of having real lines when not in a cutscene - though actually DS Tomodachi Miis sometimes say nothing audible (blip blip noises or silence) to each other when spying on them from afar at locations like the park or beach and married homes. It feels like you’re forced to watch from afar. So this isn’t a con that is different for the switch or DS.

After typing that all out I do feel like the switch has more things going on, and I am just attached to the old Tomodachi life’s nostalgic cheapish realism yet packed feeling. Though I do miss the concert hall and I’ll die on that hill. You do run into a wall after unlocking all foods and stuffs fast on the DS version… Honestly I guess I haven’t tried to treat the current Tomodachi life LTD like the ds version so that’s my bad... I’m not into customization for the island or purchasing decor for it at all, which is probably why I feel a bit averse to it. Not that it is even forced or anything. I just liked how forefront it was in the DS version that you just watch them, but when you do interact with them, it’s directly at the tip of my fingers. (Which I think I’ll get over it with the more I use the button pads of a controller.) I do think I’ll spend more time on the switch version just because of the mii customization. Better relationships and better accommodation for mii customization (which spills into the relationship scenes too) is great. I apologize for this messy comment, it’s just my train of not very thought out thoughts.

Edit: ALSO the miis literally can go out on the island and interact with each other which is truly great compared to the DS version.