Now usually I try to come up with some witty title revolving around the subject I am talking about, but the title of the game itself is so off-beat that I figured it best to just go with it. The premise of the game is that you are a Japanese boy named Neku and that you are dead. You must survive week long games and trials against dark monsters called noise while being a ghost to the world you once knew. If you survive, you are given a second chance at life. If not, you are erased into oblivion forever.
Pretty simple concept except of course nothing is as it seems as Neku explores Tokyo with several interesting characters and learns that he can read minds with special pins and use powers like pyrokinesis with others. There are larger forces at work conspiring beyond the concept of trying to get a second chance. Neku must also get over the fact that he does not trust people, that he only believes in himself and must overcome this short sightedness, this concept that the world ends with him (hence the title of the game) in order to survive.
Overall, this is one of the most refreshing and enjoyable RPGs that I have played in a long time. The story is original and involving and well developed as it keeps leading you along. The level up system is solid and there are unique ways of powering up your characters such as eating food and fighting to digest it to receive bonuses. Add in the revolutionary combat system of using the control pad to string together combos on the top screen for your partner and the stylus to activate pin powers on the bottom and you have one heck of a game. The music was original and catchy and a nice feature was that you could buy CDs in the game to change your menu music since if you take the game seriously, you will spend a good deal of time switching and analyzing the pins you acquire. Also, the style of pin and clothes you wear changes the style of the area you are fighting in and if you use styles that are popular you get more combat bonuses. This game screams originality and it is refreshing to see Square Enix make such a quality RPG that doesn’t start with the words “Final Fantasy”. I cannot recommend this game enough. From the great cell shaded anime style to the vibrant characters that you cannot help but root for to the unique fighting system, this one is a winner.
Rankings based on a score of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
Graphics: 9.0: The World Ends With You takes full advantage of everything the DS can throw at us. The cell shaded anime style works well for this style of game play. Aside from the overhead sprites not being as detailed as I think they could be, this is a solid visual experience in terms of the cut scenes and the battle animations.
Audio: 9.0: Original Japanese score that does not always make sense in English. It is still very catchy though. A nice feature is that you can buy CDs at stores in the game to change the menu music even if you can’t change the overall game music, which is understandable since some of the music is meant to set a mood. The music does get somewhat tiresome after listening to the same songs over and over again though. The SFX are solid even if a bit repetitive at times.
Plot/Plot Development: 9.5: Very original plot that draws the players in. Starting each new day and chapter and then having to work your way to revealing what happened in between that passage of time gets repetitive and tiresome after a while, but the story does not disappoint with its many twists and turns that you can’t see coming.
Gameplay: 10.0: With the innovative dual screen fighting system and having to constantly stay aware of both screens surroundings, the action is constant and consuming. With no lag and pretty accurate sensing of the stylus, the gameplay is also surprisingly smooth. No less than the best in terms of score.
Replay Value: 7.0: Once you beat story mode, you can replay any chapter of the game with any partner and collect things you missed along the way and complete extra side missions. If you complete all the extra side missions, you acquire a super pin. Not much else to the story so in my opinion, aside from the stellar gameplay, there is not as much as I would like to see to get me to play this again. This is the only weakness of this otherwise stellar game.
Overall: 9.5 (not an average): There is not much to not like about this game. The gameplay is revolutionary, the story is engrossing, and the characters can be related to so you end up loving them. Could have been a little longer and I thought the ending might have been a little weak after the great buildup, but aside from that, I have no real complaints about the overall presentation of this game. This game does not need a second chance because if you pick it up once, you will never let it go. One of the best of the year.
-Ray Carsillo
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