Into the Depths of Terra’s Mind: The World Ends with You

Someday – TWEWY OST

So by now you know Im a big Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts fan.

Yeah, I ain’t ashamed of it Should i be? They’re great series’ of games. In Final Fantasy’s case, i love both Pre 7 and Post 7 Style.

So, it’s no suprise that i would be interested in Tetsuya Nomura’s Passion Project for the Nintendo DS.

For those who don’t know, Tetsuya Nomura worked for Square for many years. He designed Monsters in Final Fantasy V, did some work on VI and finally got his big break with Final Fantasy VII as lead charachter designer and Co-story maker. So, in a lot of people’s eyes, Nomura is the man most responsible for VII’s new style. He then went on to create Kingdom Hearts and even Directed Advent Children.

Yeah, pretty cool dude.

So, ok… back to the review.

Title: The World Ends with you
Developer: Square-Enix / Jupiter
Released: JP – July ’07. NA/EU – April ’08

The World ends with you is an RPG (Well, yeah, sorta… let’s settle for ”Unconventional RPG). Yeah, big suprise, Terra reviews an RPG, yeah shaddup…

So, um, yeah. It’s about a boy named Neku who wakes up in the middle of the Scramble Corssing in Shibuya, Tokyo, with little to no memory on how he got there. He soon find’s out that there is something wrong with Shibuya, as strange monsters begin attacking him, called the Noise. He meets a girl named Shiki and together they form a Pact, enabling them to fight said monsters. Neku fights using ‘Pins’ using a sort-of Telekenisis power. Neku learns that he is in the middle of ”The Reapers Game” and in order to survive, he must last in Shibuya for 7 days, or face Erasure.

Sorry if that’s a little vauge, but surely you’ll have guessed that there’s much more to the story, this is Nomura we’re talking about…

It’s Japanese, what did you expect!?

What’s fascinating about this game is the focus on Shibuya itself. You get to shop at the various shops, wear different brands of clothing and read the minds of the people on the streets. The atmosphere is truly like a city. There seems to be a major focus on looking into the Youth Culture of Shibuya, the varying styles, mindsets and Fad’s. You get the feeling that the game is very accurate in it’s portrayal of the city and the people in it

As far as the story goes, i liked it. This is where it kinda get’s subjective. I love stories in which im constantly confused up until the ending, and even after it. It’s just the type of guy i am, but i know that other people are not like this. There is a heavy emphasis on Story, Charachters and Dialouge. At some points you feel as though you’re playing a Point and Click Adventure game. Still, if you like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy’s stories, Im sure TWEWY will appeal to you.

I ONLY HAVE TWO HANDS!!!!

Gameplay is where it gets interesting. I’ll go on record and say that TWEWY is one of the most original game’s i have ever played, thanks in part to it’s battle system. It’s hard to explain, so bear with me for a bit. To engage in battle, you need to ”Pull” the noise marks to Neku when Scanning. You can also pull several at a time, for more experience. There are two battle screens, Top and Bottom. You control Neku at the bottom and your partner at the top. Playing with Neku requires using the stylus in all different manners, wether it be slashing, drawing a circle, tapping or even pressing the stylus down on an enemy. All battle’s are done in real time too. Controlling the Top screen requires use of the D-Pad, as various button combo’s appear, you must key them in to deal dammage. If you get the combo’s in the right order, you’ll be able to excecute a special attack with both Neku and your partner attacking.

Phew…. Sounds complicated? Well it should. The learning curve here is pretty severe. Controlling Neku can be difficult at times, but once you’ve got a handle on him, you’re flying. However, my biggest gripe with the combat system is the fact that you have to control two people at the same time. This is very confusing. Now, you can switch this off in the Menu, but during Boss Battle’s you’ll still need to key in Button Combo’s while controlling Neku at the same time. Also, a little warning. YOUR DS TOUCH SCREEN WILL BE DAMAGED IN SOME WAY, SHAPE OR FORM AFTER PLAYING THIS GAME. Right now im looking at my DS, there is a minor crack at the side of the touch screen as well as a lot of marks that weren’t there before. However, this game does require a lot of movement, so just be careful guys

And this is what makes the most sense…..

Exploring Shibuya is pretty fun. I personally loved reading people’s minds, seeing each people’s stories, problems etc. You can tell that the designers put a lot of effort into creating the atmosphere of the game. Charachter Customization and Leveling up are pretty easy to understand. The Pin system reminds me a lot of Final Fantasy VII’s Materia system. The amount of Shops and Brands makes the game that more Interesting going into battle, as some brands have a better effect than others.

Overall, i would say the Gameplay is the weakest part of the game, but still has it’s moments. I applaud that they tried something new, and im sure a lot of people really love the battle system, but it came across as really confusing, and i found that i kept on dying at every boss battle, until i went down to easy mode.

What suprised me was the effort put into the game’s soundtrack. What even suprised me more was discovering that 1/4 of the game’s memory is taken up by putting in the Music. That’s commitment to atmosphere, im telling ya. The game’s music encompasses many genres, combining rock, hip hop, and electronica, designed to fit the various moods of Shibuya. With over 30 original tracks from many different vocalists, there is real variety. It was nice to hear different Song’s ever time i went into battle.

Calling

Twister

Detonation

While i can’t say i enjoyed every song (‘Calling’ really annoyed me) i appreciated the mood that each track set.

Ohhhh, Spiky…. I want to touch it….

With Tetsuya Nomura on board, it’s no suprise to see his Art style all over the shop. Fortunately, i love it. The charachters are drawn realy well, and while looking Final Fantasy-esque, still retain the modern touch. There is a lot of emphasis on the charachters themselves, especially their conflicting personalities. Neku begins the game as a ”Im a loner, everyone pulls me down, Im more of a badass then Cloud” figure, but as the game progresses he learns more and more about expanding his world, rejecting the notion that ‘The World ends with You’. For those who love shady charachters, look no further than Joshua. He’ll surely have you trying to discover his true intentions. And not to mention, one of the most original charachters i’ve seen in a long time, Sho Minamoto, a Mathamatical genius, who’s obsession with Numbers really makes him an interesting charachter.

I Love the Internet….

Overall, for a DS game it’s very well made, well thought out, ambitious and story driven, and competes with main console titles even today. It’s story, charachters, Music and Atmosphere will have you immersed in the city of Shibuya. But, a difficult Battle system seems to pull back the game ever so slightly. Everything else is solid.

8/10

So, right now Im busy playing the ‘Ace Attorney’ Games, so expect a series review from me sometime in the near future.

Seeya later chaps

-Terra