Title: The World Ends with You
Price: $39.99
System(s): Nintendo DS
Release Date: April, 22, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix and Jupiter)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for fantasy violence, mild language and mild suggestive themes
Pros: Everything
Cons: Getting used to controlling two characters at once in battles can be tricky, and occasionally Tin Pin Slammer is frustrating.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 100/100, A+, *****
The World Ends with You (TWEWY) is one of the most innovative and engaging games ever released. If you are only going to get one game for the DS in 2008, this is it. It provides a new way in which rpgs can be executed and proves that Square Enix, a company often criticized for its remakes and ports, is capable of releasing phenomenal new intellectual properties.
The story in TWEWY starts with a typical rpg stereotype - an amnesiac character is placed in an unreal situation and must triumph over countless opponents. Don’t be put off by that, as the storyline twists and turns countless times. Just when you think you have everything worked out and pinned down, something changes. You’re left realizing that you only were looking at one side of the story.
Step into the UG
Neku begins his adventures with no memories in Shibuya’s Scramble Crossing. He’s disoriented and confused, and after a few moments is attacked by frog monsters (noise). He runs off, ending up at the Hachiko statue. There, he sees a number of innocent people erased by the frog monsters. A girl named Shiki spots him and demands he form a pact with her so they’ll survive.
It turns out that Shiki and Neku are both players in Reaper’s Game, a game which takes place in UG Shibuya, which is on a different plane than the real world (RG) Shibuya. They must play for seven days, completing a mission each day, if they want to live.
The secret to enjoying TWEWY is to go in without any preconceived notions about the characters. Each one will surprise you, and if you typecast them, you’ll miss out.
I am going to admit right now - I cried at the end of Shiki’s storyline. The characters and the story sucked me in, and I couldn’t help getting emotionally invested in TWEWY. Not many games are able to evoke such strong emotions.
Totally innovative
Among the things that I like most about TWEWY is the realism. The Shibuya map, the music, the food and the clothes all are reminiscent of things you would see and hear if you actually visited Shibuya. While other titles set in modern times have done admirable jobs of replicating the real world, TWEWY goes above and beyond to recreate the area.
Even the effects of fashions and trends feel real. Your characters set the standards in the game. If they were or use a certain brand of pin in an area for a while, that brand grows in power.
The battle system is another triumph. Though initially it is a bit cumbersome to control the top character with the direction pad and Neku with the stylus, the game provides plenty of time to grow accustomed before offering real challenges. There is also a surprisingly intelligent AI feature for the top screen that will pick up instantly if you stop touching the face buttons.
Finally the manner in which information can be acquired and imparted is a refreshing change of pace from typical rpgs. Rather than going up to everyone to talk, you can read minds, play Ouija style games like Reaper Creeper or plant ideas in people’s heads in order to affect the world around you.
There’s even more to love in the game. For example there are the effects that come from eating food, the relationships you can build with shop keepers and the entertaining Tin Pin Slammer mini-game, but there simply isn’t enough time to address everything Square Enix has done right in TWEWY.
It’s a wonderful world
The World Ends with You is easily one of the best games being released in 2008, and hopefully it will received the audience and attention it deserves. It introduces and successfully accomplishes things I haven’t seen before in my 19 years of seriously playing video games. I’d love to see this become a series.
Site [The World Ends with You] Product Page [GameStop]
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