The World Ends With You

Game: The World Ends With You (Nintendo DS)
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Publisher: Square Enix
Game Rating: 10/10

Hi, Zelos here! I'm officially the DS G-Pig, and will be doing all the ratings for DS games, such as this one! Alex and Ron will be covering the TV game systems and such henceforth.

So, this game's called "The World Ends With You." Square Enix really did a wonderful job on, well, every single part of it!

Let's see, first I would like to mention the graphics. They were very different than usual game graphics, but wonderful nonetheless. The game really managed to capture the essence of a city atmosphere, complete with people walking in and out of buildings, graffiti, etc. The style of the art was really something else, and the character designs and outfits were amazing. I was especially stunned by the variety of clothes there were in this game!

Music, too, was different than normal, in the fact that it was actual viced music, or at least half of it was. even the instrumentals though had the essence of real music, with depth and stuff, as if they were the background music of a movie or something, but more extreme. Much of the music was Ska, some was more leaning towards rap, and others were more of pop and rock. Techno, too- lots of techno music. Overall, it created a wonderful effect in the game!

Now, you're probably wondering what the game itself is about. It takes place in Shibuya, Japan. Well, the main Character, Neku, waked up without his memory. Skiki forms a "pact" with him, leaving him a bit confused- but, he soon learns that he is playing something called the "Reaper's Game," and that you have to have a partner to survive in it. Well, Neku doesn't want anything to do with it, of course. Soon, though, he thinks otherwise, when he realizes that the prise is another chance at life- yes, he's dead, as are all the players in the game! "You have seven days" is what he is told- the game lasts seven days, and Neku and Shiki must survive all the challenges and reach the end of the seven days to win. If you a player fails at a task, the player is erased- meaning they are truly dead, souls lost. Or, they can be taken out by "Noise"- creatures that Reapers create to take out the players. The Reapers are not allowed to attack players directly, except on day seven. However, before long Neku finds himself in a much larger plot once he beats the Reaper's Game for the first time- first of all, only one player gets the second chance at life. Shiki is given it, and Neku gets to play the game again- but Shiki is taken as his entry fee this time! Yes, all players give up their most precious possession as an entry fee. Neku's first game, it was his memory. I won't tell you much more about the story; that's something you have to discover yourself, upon playing it! It's a wonderful story.

Character stats and stuff have an interesting way of evolving, too. Of course, since you're fighting Noise, you gain experience and can level up. But that only raises your base HP! to raise other base stats- defense, attack, and bravery- you have to eat food. Food takes time to digest- meaning you have to fight battles to digest it. The number of battles depends on the food. Upon digesting it, the stat the food effects will be raised. Bravery is an interesting stat; it effects what types of clothes you can wear. You can buy clothes at many stores, and can wear up to four articles of different types. The higher your bravery, the more extreme outfits you can wear. Each article raises different stats while it's on. They also have various abilities, which store clerks will tell you about the more they like you, meaning the more you buy, the more clothing abilities you will have. I really liked this way they dealt with stats. It's different, and it works wonderfully!

Now, for battle style. It takes a while to get used to, definitely. But, overall, it's very innovative and new, and a great change from normal styles. A bit difficult for me, as a G-Pig, though. Luckily, my claws can act as a stylus; it would be very difficult to hold such a big thing without opposable thumbs. Nacho could hold it, though. He's my friend rat. Rat's have opposable thumbs. Plus, Larissa has this huge stylus with a big Pokeball at the end, since she keeps losing the smaller ones. But, how could she possibly expect me to hold that thing? I told her that I had to use my claws-; she frowned upon it, but I promised to let her cut them before each time I played, so they weren't so pointy. Nail-cutting is annoying, but has to be done before shows and stuff, and every other week, or they get too long and painful. My last owner never cut them, and they became too long... I'm lucky to have Larissa! Oh, wait. I just got rather off-topic, didn't I? Kay, battle style... it takes place on both screens. You fight on the bottom, your partner on top. Neku uses the touch screen to activate pins. Pins can have all sorts of powers, activated by slashing, tapping, scratching, drawing, pressing, etc. At fist you can only have 2 pins on at a time, but eventually you can get more an have up to 6 on. Pins earn pp after each battle, leveling them up. Sometimes, they can evolve into better pins, too. I like to use one healing pin, one status inflicting pin, at least 2 attacking pins, one pin that powers up other pins, and one other, usually teleport or another attack pin. Of course, in the beginning, i couldn't have so many. You get the third pin slot fairly soon, so I suggest starting with two attack pins and one healing pin.Oh, and pins can be set to be used only when holding L and R, if you have pins on with the same command, such as tap, so they don't get mixed up, but I prefer not to use them, seeing as I can't reach those buttons. So, I just don't put on pins with the same command. Now, the partner is on the top screen. Of course, while you're using pins, the computer can automatically control the partner. You can set how fast you want it to take over- instant, a few seconds (I think three and five are options, and maybe one is, too), or never. I usually set it to the faster one, but not instant. The partner is controlled with the directional arrows, or abxy buttons if you're a lefty. The buttons pressed navigate though a small grid on the bottom of the screen to different symbols. The symbols depend on the partner. When one is reached, the partner attacks. The symbol goes onto the top of the screen, and once they symbols are matched in a certain way (different for each partner), a fusion star is earned. Once enough fusion stars are earned, a fusion attack can be done. Those are really cool! The more stars, the higher level the fusion attack is, so don't use it right away- unless of course you can't reach a higher level yet. Level three's the highest it can go, but you have to find special items to get the ability to go that high. The items are traded in at various stores. You can get the items from various Noise or completing sections of the game. You can also earn yen from Noise, which allows you to buy clothes and stuff.

So, that's all you need to know about The World Ends With You! It's really a great investment if you're looking for a new DS game. Might I suggest getting it used, as well? That's how we get most out games- after all, a G-Pigs budget isn't too large. But we find that the used games are just as good as the new, usually. If they're not, we can just take them back to Game Stop and get a better used copy. Why pay more for the same game new, if they both work the same? If you like new, that's fine too. wither way, The World Ends With You is one of the best DS games I've ever played! You really can't go wrong with it; unless of course you're under 13, and your parents don't want you buying T games. It's okay for us, though, since G-Pigs never reach the Teen years; at 4, I'm a pretty old G-pig. We just mature much faster than humans... Oh, I'm off topic again. The Game. The Reaper's Game. Go play it; not a real life one, of course, but the one in The World Ends With You! You really can't go wrong with it; I'm sure everyone who plays it will love it! It may not be as well advertised as other companies' games, but it doesn't need to be, when a game's this great, for it becomes known by word of mouth and stuff. The greatest games are usually those from lesser-known companies who don't advertise much, after all. You won't see this game on a TV ad, but it is definitely one of the best you will ever play on the DS!

Well, this was my first review, so I hope you liked it! This is Zelos, signing off; maybe I'll go play The World Ends With You now, too. Even though I completed the main story, there's still much to go back and do, collect, discover... ah, the post game play is just as good as the regular game play!

~Zelos~

Cover:


Characters: ("It's A Wonderful World" was the Japanese Title)


Main Charries:


Neku:


Reapers: