Commonly known as TWEWY
Since I have been all over the fantastic world of eljay (by which I mean, my own f-list) and have yet to find a satisfactory review of The World Ends With You (Subarashiki Kono Sekai), I feel like I must now provide said f-list with exactly that.
This game, in a word, is fun.
Firstly, may I say that I find the conversion from the Japanese name - "It's a Wonderful World"/"This World is Wonderful" - to 'The World Ends With You' is kind of hilarious? But I do have to admit that I doubt I would be picking up a game called 'It's a Wonderful World'. The associations with It's A Wonderful Life is far too strong.
This game was specifically made for the Nintendo DS, designed by the same team as Kingdom Hearts, and apparently animated by them as well, because your talking heads for the dialogue, as well as the cover art, is all done in that funky awesome KH style. At the risk of being lynched, this is the game that KH:CoM wishes it was. I know they were made for different handhelds, but I think I might actually finish TWEWY whereas I could only get an hour into KH:CoM.
Because I know most of you probably do not have the patience or the time to sit through a thorough review based on my own limited research and gameplay, I'll summarize with nice, easy lj-cuts. =D
Storyline: i like it so far. And I want to cosplay Neku.
The main character is Neku, who wears a randomly awesome outfit. He also HATES THE WHOLE WORLD, and I am not exaggerating. Who is he voiced by? Hm. Anyway, he is basically your picture of an average angsty teenager: he hates everyone, he does not help himself out by being a bastard, and he doesn't like you. Or anyone. Did I mention he hates everyone? Anyway, he wakes up in Shibuya with absolutely no knowledge of how he got there, a weird text message on his phone that he can't erase, and discovers that not only can he not talk to anyone, but he's also getting attacked by psychic frogs (which are really creatures called Noise as we find out later). (Seriously, psychic frogs! A GAME WITH PSYCHIC FROGS CAN ONLY ROCK.)
Anyway, panicking and defenseless, he ends up meeting Stereotypical Friendly Girl A, by which I mean Shiki. Shiki also wears an awesome outfit. She's almost overly friendly to make up for the fact that Neku is a jerk. She forges an alliance with him, a psychic partnership, and reveals that they are now playing the Reaper's game. What the end objective of the game is, nobody knows, but basically if you don't do what you're told you're gonna get 'erased'.
You can probably guess what the Reapers are about and why Neku can't talk to anyone except a few select people, but I'm not very far along in the game. I will say the following:
--Neku is awesomely smart. Yes, he's a jerkface who is probably secretly a big woobie, but he is definitely smart. He figures everything out while Shiki runs around and encourages him. I kind of love his asides, thinking to himself while ignoring Shiki. ♥
--I love these stylized designs, the stylized clothing, stylized wording, everything. Every sprite is adorable. I want to cosplay Neku, seriously. (I need to get RIGHT ON TOP of this if i don't want to be one of a million, though.)
--The animation sequences use both screens and are really, really fun to watch.
Music: Rocks hardcore, if a teensy bit repetitive.
I mean, I rarely have anything to say about music, but this shit is FUN. I think there might later be a way to pick what music I want to listen to, but I'm not sure yet. It's still a lot of fun and really imparts the 'feeling' of Shibuya. In fact, I wish I was listening to the music right now. I'm going to have to look for downloads.
Gameplay: There is so much shit I don't know what to do with it all yet.
By 'Gameplay' I do not mean 'combat', but rather all the other stuff. This is fundamentally an action RPG, so the use of your stats screen, items, etc. is just as important as how you actually perform in combat, if not more important.
You lead Neku around with the stylus. To make Neku move through the world you do not need to drag him, just point to where you want to go. This differs from during combat which is what keeps screwing me up, but it's really very easy, I'm just an idiot. You can go into various shops and buy various things, and buy food, and use pins, and -- augh, seriously, this game is VERY COMPREHENSIVE.
--Pins are what you use in combat and apparently in a game called 'Tin Pin Slam', which sounds to me like it should resemble Pogs (popular when I was in 5th grade. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's okay.) Pins provide you with the psychic powers you use in combat. There's a place where you can organize them into 'decks' so you can pick a 'deck' to play with before entering combat. Other pins are secretly money, but you have to cash them in first. They can 'level up' and 'evolve' like any good ability system, depending on various things.
--Items are bought in fashion stores. It's kind of a joke on Shibuya, but depending on what district you're in, the clothes you buy will help or hurt you. That's because Shibuya is a very fashion-conscious district. I find this hilarious and also somewhat complicated. What if I waste my money on an item only to find it doesn't provide me with any benefits on my mission?
--Food can be bought (apparently) and is 'digested' in 'real time'. In other words, you can feed your DS character only a certain amount per real day. Food has combat benefits and also ability plusses.
--Relationships are important. You have to cultivate your relationship with your partner (at least initially Shiki) and raise your 'sync rate' to achieve higher combat rankings and thus more items and money. You have to cultivate relationships with shop owners as well, so that they'll tell you what clothes are the best to buy.
--You can gain experience by combat, by getting your DS to hook up with others on a wireless system, and by turning off the game. Indeed, if you play straight through, you'll miss out on a lot of the cool Pins and various other things. I know, right!? A game that encourages you to get out and do something else? HILARIOUS.
--You can pick when you want to go into combat about 99% of the time. like most RPGs it's a good idea to fight as many enemies as you can, for experience and money, etc. Basically you use a special 'psychic' pin to find the Noise, your enemies, and then you pick which enemy you want to fight. It's fun, and as a bonus you can also listen in on random people's thoughts.
Combat: Totally awesome and requires multitasking.
The combat system also uses both screens. On the bottom screen, where Neku fights, you use the stylus in various ways - depending on the pins you have equipped, you tap your enemies, slash across them, slash across objects and THROW them, etc. To move Neku around you must first touch him and then drag him across the screen. The disadvantage to this system is that if an enemy is on top of Neku, you can't really fight them because instead you'll move Neku. This is my only complaint, although I generally fail hardcore at accomplishing anything because I'm bad at video games.
The top screen is where your partner fights, using combos tapped out on the D-pad (or, for lefties like me, the letter pad). This is pretty straightforward, but you kind of have to do both stylus stuff and combo stuff at the same time, which is where I FAIL HARDCORE. You can set the partner to auto-play by the computer, but of course the AI isn't as awesome as good reflexes.
There are three ways to get combos that I know of: one, by combining the use of various pins; two, by sending back and forth a green 'puck' between the screens. The puck is sent back and forth by successful attacks and whomever has the puck has a greater chance of getting a bonus combo, I think. And the third way is by minigame.
YES, A MINIGAME IN THE MIDDLE OF COMBAT. You tap out combos on the top screen with the D-pad that result in cards, and if you turn over three cards in the correct order, then you get the oppurtunity to use a SUPER-ULTRA POWER MOVE that includes an animation sequence. It's cool but very hard to get, at least for me.
If either Neku or your partner dies, it's game over. Fortunately you can save anytime you want. I save a LOT.
You can't change pin decks in the middle of combat. This is the only thing that I think would be even more awesome. Maybe it would make the game too easy, though.
Blah blah blah, yadda yadda, most of you won't even read this. Basically, this game rocks and you should pick it up right now. I MEAN IT. The Vikki commands you.
This game, in a word, is fun.
Firstly, may I say that I find the conversion from the Japanese name - "It's a Wonderful World"/"This World is Wonderful" - to 'The World Ends With You' is kind of hilarious? But I do have to admit that I doubt I would be picking up a game called 'It's a Wonderful World'. The associations with It's A Wonderful Life is far too strong.
This game was specifically made for the Nintendo DS, designed by the same team as Kingdom Hearts, and apparently animated by them as well, because your talking heads for the dialogue, as well as the cover art, is all done in that funky awesome KH style. At the risk of being lynched, this is the game that KH:CoM wishes it was. I know they were made for different handhelds, but I think I might actually finish TWEWY whereas I could only get an hour into KH:CoM.
Because I know most of you probably do not have the patience or the time to sit through a thorough review based on my own limited research and gameplay, I'll summarize with nice, easy lj-cuts. =D
Storyline: i like it so far. And I want to cosplay Neku.
The main character is Neku, who wears a randomly awesome outfit. He also HATES THE WHOLE WORLD, and I am not exaggerating. Who is he voiced by? Hm. Anyway, he is basically your picture of an average angsty teenager: he hates everyone, he does not help himself out by being a bastard, and he doesn't like you. Or anyone. Did I mention he hates everyone? Anyway, he wakes up in Shibuya with absolutely no knowledge of how he got there, a weird text message on his phone that he can't erase, and discovers that not only can he not talk to anyone, but he's also getting attacked by psychic frogs (which are really creatures called Noise as we find out later). (Seriously, psychic frogs! A GAME WITH PSYCHIC FROGS CAN ONLY ROCK.)
Anyway, panicking and defenseless, he ends up meeting Stereotypical Friendly Girl A, by which I mean Shiki. Shiki also wears an awesome outfit. She's almost overly friendly to make up for the fact that Neku is a jerk. She forges an alliance with him, a psychic partnership, and reveals that they are now playing the Reaper's game. What the end objective of the game is, nobody knows, but basically if you don't do what you're told you're gonna get 'erased'.
You can probably guess what the Reapers are about and why Neku can't talk to anyone except a few select people, but I'm not very far along in the game. I will say the following:
--Neku is awesomely smart. Yes, he's a jerkface who is probably secretly a big woobie, but he is definitely smart. He figures everything out while Shiki runs around and encourages him. I kind of love his asides, thinking to himself while ignoring Shiki. ♥
--I love these stylized designs, the stylized clothing, stylized wording, everything. Every sprite is adorable. I want to cosplay Neku, seriously. (I need to get RIGHT ON TOP of this if i don't want to be one of a million, though.)
--The animation sequences use both screens and are really, really fun to watch.
Music: Rocks hardcore, if a teensy bit repetitive.
I mean, I rarely have anything to say about music, but this shit is FUN. I think there might later be a way to pick what music I want to listen to, but I'm not sure yet. It's still a lot of fun and really imparts the 'feeling' of Shibuya. In fact, I wish I was listening to the music right now. I'm going to have to look for downloads.
Gameplay: There is so much shit I don't know what to do with it all yet.
By 'Gameplay' I do not mean 'combat', but rather all the other stuff. This is fundamentally an action RPG, so the use of your stats screen, items, etc. is just as important as how you actually perform in combat, if not more important.
You lead Neku around with the stylus. To make Neku move through the world you do not need to drag him, just point to where you want to go. This differs from during combat which is what keeps screwing me up, but it's really very easy, I'm just an idiot. You can go into various shops and buy various things, and buy food, and use pins, and -- augh, seriously, this game is VERY COMPREHENSIVE.
--Pins are what you use in combat and apparently in a game called 'Tin Pin Slam', which sounds to me like it should resemble Pogs (popular when I was in 5th grade. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's okay.) Pins provide you with the psychic powers you use in combat. There's a place where you can organize them into 'decks' so you can pick a 'deck' to play with before entering combat. Other pins are secretly money, but you have to cash them in first. They can 'level up' and 'evolve' like any good ability system, depending on various things.
--Items are bought in fashion stores. It's kind of a joke on Shibuya, but depending on what district you're in, the clothes you buy will help or hurt you. That's because Shibuya is a very fashion-conscious district. I find this hilarious and also somewhat complicated. What if I waste my money on an item only to find it doesn't provide me with any benefits on my mission?
--Food can be bought (apparently) and is 'digested' in 'real time'. In other words, you can feed your DS character only a certain amount per real day. Food has combat benefits and also ability plusses.
--Relationships are important. You have to cultivate your relationship with your partner (at least initially Shiki) and raise your 'sync rate' to achieve higher combat rankings and thus more items and money. You have to cultivate relationships with shop owners as well, so that they'll tell you what clothes are the best to buy.
--You can gain experience by combat, by getting your DS to hook up with others on a wireless system, and by turning off the game. Indeed, if you play straight through, you'll miss out on a lot of the cool Pins and various other things. I know, right!? A game that encourages you to get out and do something else? HILARIOUS.
--You can pick when you want to go into combat about 99% of the time. like most RPGs it's a good idea to fight as many enemies as you can, for experience and money, etc. Basically you use a special 'psychic' pin to find the Noise, your enemies, and then you pick which enemy you want to fight. It's fun, and as a bonus you can also listen in on random people's thoughts.
Combat: Totally awesome and requires multitasking.
The combat system also uses both screens. On the bottom screen, where Neku fights, you use the stylus in various ways - depending on the pins you have equipped, you tap your enemies, slash across them, slash across objects and THROW them, etc. To move Neku around you must first touch him and then drag him across the screen. The disadvantage to this system is that if an enemy is on top of Neku, you can't really fight them because instead you'll move Neku. This is my only complaint, although I generally fail hardcore at accomplishing anything because I'm bad at video games.
The top screen is where your partner fights, using combos tapped out on the D-pad (or, for lefties like me, the letter pad). This is pretty straightforward, but you kind of have to do both stylus stuff and combo stuff at the same time, which is where I FAIL HARDCORE. You can set the partner to auto-play by the computer, but of course the AI isn't as awesome as good reflexes.
There are three ways to get combos that I know of: one, by combining the use of various pins; two, by sending back and forth a green 'puck' between the screens. The puck is sent back and forth by successful attacks and whomever has the puck has a greater chance of getting a bonus combo, I think. And the third way is by minigame.
YES, A MINIGAME IN THE MIDDLE OF COMBAT. You tap out combos on the top screen with the D-pad that result in cards, and if you turn over three cards in the correct order, then you get the oppurtunity to use a SUPER-ULTRA POWER MOVE that includes an animation sequence. It's cool but very hard to get, at least for me.
If either Neku or your partner dies, it's game over. Fortunately you can save anytime you want. I save a LOT.
You can't change pin decks in the middle of combat. This is the only thing that I think would be even more awesome. Maybe it would make the game too easy, though.
Blah blah blah, yadda yadda, most of you won't even read this. Basically, this game rocks and you should pick it up right now. I MEAN IT. The Vikki commands you.