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By KevinG (3rd Jun 2008)

From the Square Enix and Jupiter teams, whose creations include Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, comes the innovative action-RPG The World Ends With You, which is one of the most multifaceted, stylish and engaging games I have played on any games system.

This is definitely not just a rehash of the elements that make up the developer’s back catalogue but a brand new spectrum to the RPG genre. With sales over 140,000 units and glowing reviews all around, expect this game’s star to keep rising and a new RPG franchise to be born.

Based in the real-world setting of Tokyo’s Shibuya district you must guide Neku through the mysterious Reapers game, a seven day challenge to save Neku from being erased from existence. This is done by fighting Reapers and The Noise with the use of magical pins. There are three separate weeks of the seven day missions in the game and also bonus missions that can be unlocked.

Each day Neku will receive a new mission through his mobile phone and have his hand imprinted with the time he has to complete it in. The missions are decided by the Gamemaster (a new one is selected each week) and are enforced by the aforementioned Reapers, who are found throughout the district. The Noise are used by the Reapers as pawns for Neku to fight and also to enforce the Gamemaster’s plot for the missions.

It starts with Neku awakening confused and bereft of any memory, at the busy Scramble Crossing in the Underground version of Shibuya. In his possession he finds a strange player-pin that allows him to scan the minds of the many pedestrians around him. Shortly after he meets up with Shiki Misaki and they agree to form a partnership to complete the Reapers game. Each week Neku is paired up with a different partner and each time the cost of joining in the game is raised too. What is the cost in joining the Reapers game? Well, to tell you would be to hand out the story, which is genuinely too good to give away.

The first few days in week one are just an explanation of the game mechanics and to give a more in-depth character background of the protagonists. This is done very well as the player develops an understanding of not only how to play the game, but an empathy with Neku and his mates.

The story unfolds in a striking comic-book format, using dialogue balloons. There can be a lot of story to get through at times but it moves as quickly as you can read. During this time the use of pins, food, clothes, accessories and styles are explained and the importance of partnerships is repeated. As you play, you will find Reapers strategically located around Shibuya to help with the day’s missions and they can be found near the invisible walls that stop progress from one area to another.

It is during the fight scenes that I thought The World Ends With You truly excelled. The combat takes place on both top (where your partner can be controlled with the buttons or control pad) and bottom screens (where Neku can be controlled by the touchscreen) and you can simultaneously control the two players throughout the fight. The option to control the top player can be automated but for the best results both should be controlled at once. Neku’s pins can be used for ranged attacks, close combat moves, hitting multiple targets, defensive abilities and much more, all done by slashing across the touchscreen on an enemy, tapping it to shoot a target, holding the stylus down for focused area effect and encircling areas to fire off an ability. There are many different types of pins that can be selected for use and the more you use them the more they will level up. Some pins can evolve if they reach their full capacity. With Neku’s partner you can choose defensive blocks, jumps, counter attacks and the direction of attack, but you\'re limited to one weapon and cannot move position.

Pins can be bought, collected from the Noise during fights and are also handed out by Reapers during missions. If you lower the level of Neku’s health during fights and also chain fights with the Noise you will receive a lot more pins. This is the best way to start gathering up the yen required to shopping. It is very easy to stick to using the pins that are most effective but it is best to level up a good selection of them as different opponents have different abilities, and some are best fought at a distance and others up close. The pins can be organised into different decks so that you can easily access preferred pin selections for the different types of Noise. Some are branded, and if that brand is not popular in the section of Shibuya that Neku is in it will have a negative effect, like having their attack power halved.

Neku is a loner by nature, but if you try to play this game like that it will be a lot harder than if you make use of your partner. Health is shared between both characters so if one is taking a beating the other will die no matter how well they are doing. During combat you can see a light puck passing between Neku and his partner, which if continually passed back and forth will increase the damage done by attacks. There is also a powerful dual attack available: a special pin will appear on screen when this is accessible. This is attained by selecting a specific partner attack (tapping the buttons or control pad in a pattern marked out on the top screen), which matches one of the series of cards that are displayed on the partners screen, e.g. for Shiki, if you match up her attacks to the cards displayed you will unleashes a special move that hits all enemies in the area. The combined attack and how to set it off differs slightly with each partner but it is quickly mastered once you have figured it out.

As well as the pins, food, clothes and accessories are required to help with character development. Food can be used for increased health points, better partner sync rates and you must fight the Noise for it to take effect. You are allowed a certain number of bites per day so stacking up on different foods is advisable so that you can avail of all the bonuses possible. Purchasing food or any other items will help develop friendships with the store clerks, and the friendlier you become with them the more items become available and item abilities will be unveiled. The abilities of clothes and accessories that Neku and his partner are wearing, have higher or lesser power depending on the popularity of their brand in an area, so brand awareness is required as before. The good thing though is that by using branded pins in an area, to fight the Noise, the brand will become more popular and reduce the power reductions.

The Multiplayer section was not really what I was expecting as it only lets you swap items and play a simple pin bashing game, but with the level of content in the main game I am surprised they could fit this in at alll. The menu interface is simple to use and lets you save the game, apply food, change clothes and accessories or set up your pin decks with ease. It is activated through Neku’s mobile phone icon on the touchscreen however you can’t call anyone for a drink or a game of pool on it.

The World Ends With You is one of the first titles I have played that truly makes the best of the DS system design and really challenges you to master character control through control pad, buttons and stylus for a unique gaming experience. It contains the expected elements of an RPG, as you must spend time developing your character, collecting items and making good use of the time available for the missions but it is unique in its execution. Overall the game is visually impressive, absorbing to play and well worth a look.

Single Play 9.0
Friend Play 0.0 – not really applicable
Multi Play 5.0
Graphics 8.5
Sound 8.0
Challenge 9.0
Entertainment 9.0
Overall 9.0