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World Ends With You

RPG
Releases: 04.22.08
Square Enix
Jupiter
ESRB: Teen

The World Ends With You

by Jessi Prouse

t’s hard to say much about the story line for The World Ends With You without marinating this review in spoiler sauce. It’s even harder to avoid the spoilers when the main character, Neku, wakes up in Tokyo’s Shibuya district with a classic case of amnesia, because when in doubt there’s always amnesia. There’s the usual cast of mysterious characters that, as the story line unfolds, you’ll discover more about. Neku partners up with the overly cheery, fashion loving Shiki to play “The Game” they’ve both been unwillingly forced into – a seven day contest in which they must complete missions to avoided permanent erasure (read: game over). You’ll fight a variety of Noise, critters ranging from trippy Dixiefrogs to a Mosh Grizzly which the game describes as, “Massive bears with tattoos for arms. The pain they deal is as hardcore as the tats.” Now if only the rest of the dialog were that amusing. Neku is your typical angst filled teenager, pissed at the world and loaded with dialogue that’ll make you roll your eyes and tap next in hopes of reading something a little more palatable. Luckily the story does get better as you progress and can actually be intriguing at times.

Rather than leveling characters The World Ends With You focuses on leveling and evolving pins. These pins activate psychic abilities, such as pyrokinesis, controlling thunderbolts, or flinging street fodder like construction signs at the Noise. Neku can use three to six pins at a time and finding the best or fastest combination to fight a particular Noise will be important. As you win battles pins gain experience points and naturally increase in strength and ability until you’ve mastered them. Each pin requires you to perform a different task with the stylus, such as drawing circles, slashing in various directions, tapping wildly at the screen, or touching the pin itself. This can get a little frustrating when you can’t remember which action activates which pin. This can get hella frustrating when you’re switching pins out a lot and combat only becomes more complicated as the game progresses and you gain access to more special moves.

Still, frustration aside there is a lot of awesomeness to be had in the combat system and you might find yourself having to call up some actual skills to overcome the learning curve. Combat utilizes both screens simultaneously, the touch screen will control Neku and his pins while the top screen and the directional pad will allow Neku’s partner to perform combos. A green light puck will pass back and forth between the characters as they execute attacks, giving the character with the puck a hefty increase in damage. Keeping an eye on both screens and watching the puck will definitely force you to call up your powers of multi-tasking, but if you’re like me and find walking and talking to be the kind of ordeal that can lead you face first into a tree, you’ll be happy to know that when your slashing away at the touch screen, forgetting all about that poor partner of yours, the game will take over and at least keep the attacks coming up there. You’ll want to hone your mad concentration skills though because entrusting AI to make combos, especially as the game progresses and the combos become more difficult to perform, will leave you staring at a big game over and the possibility of having to click through 30 screens of dialogue just to attempt the boss battle a second time. If this were a consistent issue from beginning to end of the game I’d of tossed it aside and never looked back, but luckily you’ll be “awarded” the option to repeat a battle without having to tap your way through the same old cut scenes. Maybe if the dialog didn’t have the attitude of a fifteen year rebel smoking outside the mall it would have been easier to deal with, but honestly it should have been avoided completely.

The World Ends With You is a game with style. Fashion matters in the Shibuya district and you’ll be able to switch up your characters clothing to find the ensemble that gives you the best bonuses. Watch the trends and dress accordingly or force the trends to change as you battle wearing all the wrong things. Characters come with a bravery attribute that you’ll have to raise, especially if you want to get Neku into the latest pair of bright red pumps. Buy the right foods and after a couple of battles, you’ll have a very stylish drag queen in no time at all. It’s not all about clothes though; The World Ends With You has got music you’ll actually want to turn the DS’s volume up to hear – think Japanese pop with a bit of hip hop mixed in. The graphics have a feel all their own and make for a great urban setting – a much needed departure from the usual fantasy world based RPG’s Square Enix is used to shooting out.

There’s a lot going on here and more variety than I’ve bothered to mention. Fortunately, there’s plenty of gameplay hours to spend mixing and matching your pins with your pumps and you’ll need it if you want to work out the best strategies for your play style. Teen angst aside, The World Ends With You offers plenty to do and an actual challenge that’ll lead to more fun than frustration once you get the hang of it.

Stylish and varied gameplay

Frustrating until you get the hang of it

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