The World Ends With You And Art by Tetsuya Nomura

By 

E. David Swan (South Euclid, Ohio USA) –

  

  

Fun: 

The first thing that struck me about `The World Ends With You’ is the high quality of the production values. This is a one slick looking game. The next thing that hit me was how complicated the game is. I tend to prefer simpler RPG’s like Paper Mario and the fantastic Mario and Luigi games but once you get past the moderate learning curve this is an awesome game. It’s also a game the devilishly hard to put down.

As with just about every RPG ever created the meat of the game involves battles and leveling up. The action takes place on both the top and bottom screens. The top screen is managed using the directional pad while the lower requires the stylus. Players are given the choice as to which screen to control while the action in the opposite screen is taken care of by the system. I would generally switch back and forth in mid battle. The stylus attacks are more fun and powerful but the directional pad attacks can allow for devastating synced attacks. It all works very well and has yet to grow tedious. As a player gets more confident in fighting she can chain battles to fight multiple enemies in a row for greater rewards.

The rewards for battles include the standard experience points, cash and treasure but you also get experience points for the pins you bring to the fight. Pins? Pins are a way to customize your attacks. By attaching one or more pins you can employ various attacks including flames, ice, bullets using motions of the stylus. Most pins are upgradable through experience and some even evolve into more powerful pins.

The game I’m most reminded of playing TWEWY is the classic River City Ransom and that is high praise indeed. The game involves traveling around a city, fighting battles and purchasing clothes, foods and pins to increase your fighting abilities. River City Ransom was one of the all time great games and I always wondered why its formula wasn’t emulated more. I’m not sure that the developers of The World had River City Ransom in mind when they created this game but it certainly was on mine while I played it.

This is one of the best handheld RPG’s I’ve ever played. The story is very good if a bit more verbose than I usually like. The best thing I can say about this game is I never got bored and that’s not always the case with RPG’s. There is so much character building in the game whether it be upgrading your pins, creating relationships with salespeople or just increasing your attack and defense stats. I would have to put this game in the must get category for RPG fans.

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By 

Scott Allan “Jajuka” (San Francisco, CA) –

  

Fun: 

I just wanna tell everyone about an EXCEPTIONAL game. From beginning to end, in every way, I found it to be a true work of art… in fact, the elements come together to make it one simple thing; a masterpiece.

It is called The World Ends With You, by Square-Enix for the Nintendo DS. I won’t go into details about exactly what happens… but just know, the plot, storyline twists, and character development are some of the best in any game I have ever played. They are on par with the best movies I have ever seen.

The game takes you through a journey questioning what it means to be alive, and what the point of living truly is. It keeps you on your toes trying to guess the end, and in the final moments still leaves you absolutely shocked, and even leaves many points unresolved (but luckily you can go back after you beat it and complete tasks which answer these ideas which were vaguely laid out for you). It does so in a mind-twisting way that is so distinctively Japanese its brilliance is astounding.

On top of all of that, it features an exceptionally unique art style, with an innovative and fun battle system. In fact, every system or menu in the game is extremely original, yet simple and easy to get a hang of. The music is also top notch (all sorts of j-pop & rock), and theres lots to collect and play with.

Its rare I will praise ANYTHING this much… but this game rekindles that majesty Square used to be known for; the ability to touch the player with a story told not in a couple hours, but through a course of dozens of hours and countless interactive experiences. The ending, as well as several moments in the game, struck a cord with me and what I am dealing with in my own life. Almost never has a game been so inspirational and therapeutic, while completely avoiding sounding like a self-help book.

The World Ends With You mixes fun and an incredibly powerful narrative into one interactive masterpiece. Its games like these that make me remember why I consider video games to be the most potent art form in our world today.

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