The World Ends With You has some really nice things going for it,
especially when it comes to utilizing all that the Nintendo DS hardware
allows for. From using pretty-much every single gesture the Touch
Screen has to offer, to the Microphone, to the “Mingle Mode” and “Tin
Pin Slammer” (local Wi-Fi), it's all here. The only thing really
missing from this wonderfully amazing package is online play, but being
as it's an Action RPG it's totally understandable.
Beyond the
gameplay mechanics and story, there's one thing I usually don't even
pay attention to with my Nintendo DS games… the music. I'm usually got
my ears strapped-into my music phone while I'm drudging around the city
via pub-trans, playing my muted DS. I will say it outright; The World
Ends With You has the best soundtrack you have ever heard on your
Nintendo DS. It's truly amazing what Square Enix and Jupiter did with
the music in this game! I just can't get enough.
As far as the
story goes, you play as a 15 year old boy named Neku, who finds himself
waking-up in the middle of Shibuya Tokyo with a spam text message from
hell that just won't be deleted, a sweet looking Emo Pin with artwork
resembling a skull, and not to mention a demonic timer imprinted on his
hand. The text message is Neku's first in a series of missions. The
timer is just for story's sake and does not intervene with gameplay as
you really can take as much time as you want with each mission, making
it much more like the Action RPG that it is then some crazy fast-paced
Arcade game.
I found the story within the game quite engrossing,
shrouded in a nice layer of mystery, which thoroughly excited me; at
first. Unfortunately, as I neared the end of the game I was thoroughly
bored. The final “Chapter” of the game totally had my interest lost,
when it came to the plot. But none-the-less, the engaging gameplay and
collection aspects had me coming back for more… and as a side-note, the
dialog in The World Ends With You is perfect. Hats-off to the
localization team!
Anyway, your main means of interacting with
the world is with the Touch Screen. Moving your Party from place to
place, going through menus, buying the most fashionable clothes and
music from stores. The Touch Screen works just as great in The World
Ends With You as most other DS games of this generation. But what sets
it apart from other DS games is the combat, and that is where The World
Ends With You really shines. They left no touch gesture unturned and
you really have to play it for yourself to see how nice it all works.
Combat
is played-out on both screens, simultaneously. The main character,
Neku, battles on the bottom Touch Screen while his partner, at the
time, battles on the top screen. Neku uses touch gestures (and
sometimes the microphone) and his partner uses the D-pad/buttons. This
is an extremely daunting task at first, until you start getting used to
it… but even if you can't, they've got you covered. From Auto-Play
partner mode to Easy difficulty settings. Just know that using these 2
options will not necessarily net you the best loot and the highest
battle scores, which can be used to really rack-up the PP (Pin Points)
for your Pins. Neku uses these Pins as abilities in battle. This works
really well for the most part, but there are a few instances where some
combinations of the Pin's touch gestures kind of over-power other ones;
and as such, some abilities don't work too well with each-other. But
none-the-less, this is an extremely small gripe. For the most part, the
Pins and Touch Screen systems are really awesome!
You'll also be
Evolving (Upgrading) said Pins, creating newer and more powerful
versions, with even more sweet art to drool over. I found this part of
the game really satisfying when it actually happened, but very
disappointing when not. The problem here is that the game uses
different kind of Pin Points and if you didn't use the correct kind,
your Pin may not evolve for the best; or most likely, not at all. One
thing I strongly feel that Square Enix and Jupiter should have done
with the game is to allow for a fully “Mastered” Pin to duplicate… much
like how Materia does in Final Fantasy VII. This would have allowed for
more experimentation and tries at evolving your Pins just right. When
it comes down to it, I really didn't like having so many types of
Points to put into my Pins and would have also like a way to remove
certain kinds of Pin Points, much like how you can “untrain” in many
MMORPGs. Nothing's more frustrating than forgetting to unequipped a
certain Pin before turning-off your DS, only to have it Level-up and
not Evolve with “Shutdown Pin Points” the next time you
fire-it-back-up. :(
The World Ends With You has some extremely
solid ideas packed-in, but the lack of an epic RPG story and few other
minor game system grips slightly holds it back. I immediately liked The
World Ends With You, but as the repetition set in as the game's end
approached, my initial impression gave way to some slight
disappointments. Collecting every Pin, CD, and Clothing item was more
of what The World Ends With You turned-into (which this game has an
eerie sense of calling to me when my DS is turned-off and lying still
on the table), than caring about the story or it's amazingly cool as
hell characters.
The World Ends With You is not the blockbuster
game of the year, deserving a 4.5 or 5… but a 4? Yes, this game
deserves the solid 4 out of 5 Stars that I'm giving-it, and nothing more.
With that said, The World Ends With You is a must buy for the Nintendo
DS, and I'm really looking forward to the next game in the series where
Square Enix and Jupiter will create that A+ 5/5 title next time
around.
