Story & Playability

The World Ends with You (Subarashiki kono sekai/It's a Wonderful World) is an action RPG for the Nintendo DS produced by Square Enix and Jupiter Media. Unlike Square-Enix's crop of fantasy RPG titles, World Ends with You is set solidly in the here-and-now, taking place in Shibuya, a district at the heart of Tokyo's youth culture. Also unlike S-E's fantasy titles, WEWY is not very grand in scope. You are not part of an enterprising band of heros out to save the world from the forces of evil. You are a street-smart kid trying to survive each day in what is basically hell. The story takes place entirely within the Shibuya district of Tokyo, and it's not very large (you can walk from one end to the other in about 15 minutes.) The game's version of Shibuya has about 13 different areas you can visit (some areas are blocked off on some days depending on circumstances) so there's not a whole lot of exploring to do, so there isn't much distraction from the plot (unless you like mindless level grinding.)
The game starts as Neku Sakuraba wakes up in Shibuya's busy scramble crossing with no memory of his past. He finds himself thrust unwittingly into the "Reaper's Game". Players in the game must complete a series of missions in order to progress to the next stage. To fail is to be erased. To win is to gain a second chance.
It's a pretty simple premise that carries the body of the game. As Neku you complete a series of tasks in a day to complete a mission; a game takes place over 1 week, so you get 7 missions. Missions can be simple ("Go to Towa Records") or complex ("Defeat the master of A-East") -- each day is different, and circumstances sometimes change within a day. Each mission is self-contained, so each day can stand alone (although they will often build upon and allude to events from previous days.)
Due to various circumstances, Neku ends up playing the game 3 times in a row. Each week has a different dynamic depending on your partner (one of the tasks in Day 1 of each week is to find a partner) and who the reaper in charge of that week's game is.
It is really the dynamic between Neku and his partners that drives the story. Neku starts out as an insular boy who wants to shut out the rest of the world with his headphones. He quickly finds out he has to learn how to communicate with the others around him if he wants to survive. It's not an easy transition for him, but he is aided by a dynamic, quirky cast of supporters. Neku's partners only have 7 days each to get a full character development out of them so their growth is sometimes a bit rushed, but their changes are more on gaining maturity and acceptance, which are not so drastic.
As can be expected from a JPRG the story is linear, and there really isn't anything you can do outside of the story plotline (at least until you finish the game and can visit each day whenever you want.)
Although small in scale compared to a fantasy RPG, WEWY has a fairly concise plot and a focus on character interactions instead of grand schemes. The relatively short story (3 weeks, or 21 days) doesn't have a lot of room to get bogged down, so events happen in a snappy fashion. Add in a few interesting plot twists, and WEWY is a fun game about some teenagers growing up just a little bit, and learning to live life to its fullest.

Rating: 8

Graphics

The art for WEWY is pretty simple. It's all either 2d cel-shaded artwork or 2d sprite artwork. One reason is the limitation of the hardware -- the DS was never impressive graphically speaking, so WEWY doesn't try too hard. The artwork has heavy urban and pop influence, from the graffiti stylings of CAT to the tribal tattoo designs of the Noise monsters. Character artwork is slightly exaggerated and angular, but just enough to push the urban feel more without feeling outlandish.
Dialogue scenes basically consist of character artwork, that changes poses depending on the character's mood. Instead of the standard 3-line box at the bottom of the screen, dialogue takes place in speech bubbles, giving the game a comic book feel which complements the storytelling style.
Cut scenes are equally simple, generally consisting of flat character artwork that sometimes moves on the screen, more akin to a Flash animation than an anime cutscene. It's not very exciting, but it gets the point across, and is more in line with the comic book feel.
World exploration and battles use 2d sprites on 2d backgrounds. The character sprites are just character sprites. Each character has a distinct design which is carried over in the sprite form. The backgrounds are flat, slightly off-skelter depictions of Shibuya. The exaggerated perspectives of the world help carry the impression Neku has of Shibuya, which he finds a discordant and somewhat confusing place.
The art serves its purpose, if with little panache. The cut scenes are pretty lame when compared to anime or CG cutscenes that are common in most other DS RPGs. Having lived next to Shibuya for a year, I am biased towards liking the art more. I can personally attest that the game designers were very detailed in their depiction of the town. Landmarks look quite true to life (if slightly off-perspective) but even small details (like a Lawson's convenience store tucked away on a corner of Dogenzaka) are preserved. Those little details make the game even more fun for me (I cannot being to describe how delighted I was to have to go to Tokyu Hands/Shibukyu Heads, and then how disappointed I was that the twin curry restaurants next to it weren't in the game.) But that probably won't apply to most players.

Rating: 7

Sound

WEWY has a heavy musical influence, evident in just about every aspect of the game. The game's monsters are called "Noise", and the names for Noise are all musical; for example, you have penguin-like noise called J Popguins, Brit Popguins and Electro Popguins; the shark noises are called Swing shark, Bebop shark and Fusion shark. A lot of effort is put into the music of WEWY. There are quite a few vocal background tracks and most of the instrumental background tracks are similarly high quality, especially for a DS. The background music spans a variety of genres including R&B, hiphop, pop, punk and rap. There are even two chiptune-styled tracks for the Tin Pin/Marble Slash minigame. The Japanese and English versions of the games have slightly different track listings, but both are quite strong and are fun to listen to, even when you're not out fighting Noise.
There isn't a whole lot of voice acting in the game (I think most of the space went for storing music tracks.) There are only a few places of full dialog (in a few cut scenes, and the ending animation), but during battles, characters will talk to each other a lot (if only to call encouragement or give an indication of their status.) During dialogue scenes there are occasional outbursts (Shiki says "Hey!" a lot, while Neku ends up sighing more than is healthy) but no one ever speaks long lines. Because of that its a bit hard to judge the voice acting. However, being the only lead female, Shiki ends up with that annoyingly high-pitched cutesy-girl voice in Japanese, which is rather grating. Her English voice is much more mature and aiming for the "I'm a lot older than my 16 years" voice, which I think describes Shiki's character better. One thing that amuses me with the Japanese version is that Japanese store greetings/partings are a lot longer than their English equivalents, so they end up having to say them very, very fast.

Rating: 7

Fun

WEWY is a fun, fast-paced game with a unique setting. It's a refreshing change from your standard fantasy RPG. You don't need to worry about rescuing any princesses or doing battle with evil overloads. You just have to fulfill an increasingly complex set of missions and learn more about who Neku is, and why the heck he is even involved in the Reapers' Game to begin with. There's not a lot of room to explore, so stick with the plot, and enjoy running around Shibuya. And if you're near Tokyu Hands/Shibukyu Heads, go look up Samraat. They have good dosa, and are great for that chicken tikka masala hit.

Addendum 1: Battles
The one thing that will make or break WEWY for players is the battle engine. It's quite frustrating to use at first, and seems incredibly unwieldy. If you can't get over the system, you will not have fun with the game. In a battle, you control Neku on the bottom touchscreen with the stylus. Neku can equip various pins (as the game progresses you can buy enhancements that allow Neku to carry more pins into a battle). Each pin has a different power (or psyche) and they are activated in different ways. For example, to use the Murasame pin you slash across an enemy, and Neku will slash across it too, like using a sword. To use an energy rounds pin you tap somewhere on the screen and Neku will fire a bullet in that direction. Keeping track of how each pin works is a bit of a challenge, and choosing an appropriate pin set (such that pin actions do not conflict with each other) is a bit of trial-and-error and a bit of an art.
THEN, you have to deal with your partner battling on the upper screen. You control your partner with the D-pad (or the x/y/a/b buttons if you're left handed). By tapping the left or right arrows you progress through a series of cards; each time you hit a different card your partner attacks the noise. At the end of the sequence you may be able to use the last card in a special attack. However, cards are presented in different branching patterns, so sometimes you have to hit up or down to reach an appropriate final card.
So basically, battles are about paying attention to both the top and bottom screen, and using both the dpad and the stylus, and keeping track of cards and pins and where the noise is on a screen and... it's a LOT to keep track of. You can set your partner mode to auto, but the AI is rather slow and if you can't figure out dualscreen battle, you'll quickly be toast.

Addendum 2: Item collection
WEWY is great for OCD types. Neku gathers pins, both through story events and by defeating certain noise. There are over 200 pins for you to collect, which can become a bit addictive. Additionally, some pins can only be collected by evolving them from other pins, either by using them in battle or gaining pin points through shutdown or mingle modes. The only way to really figure this out is to use a chart (there are numerous online resources) which adds an extra layer of complexity. There are also a lot of goods you can collect, usually by buying things at various shops, but also through events. After you finish the game, you get access to each day, and new subquests for those days, which will net you even more goods. (If you like the game music, you can 'buy' the tracks in various stores and listen to them whenever you have the menu open.)

Addendum 3: Replayability
WEWY gets far more interesting after you finish the main game for the first time. This unlocks several extra aspects of the game, which expand upon the main game, and will likely keep you playing the game long after you beat that final boss (for the first time.)
The first is the Ultimate difficulty, which means the noise are really hard to defeat, but it's the only way to collect certain pins, especially the powerful Black Planets set.
The second is the chapter select mode. This means you can go back and play any day whenever you want. Although the day's plot will feature Neku's partner for that week, in battles you can choose any of your 3 partners to fight with. Certain areas of Shibuya are only available on certain days if you want to go exploring/shopping; noise availability also varies by day, so you can use this mode to fight specific noise if you're trying to collect specific pins.
The third is the Secret Reports mode, which is part of chapter select mode. You get an additional series of tasks for each day; completing these tasks will unlock a Secret Report that describes a bit more backstory of the game. You'll also gain some useful (or not so useful) goods.
The fourth is the extra chapter, which takes place in a parallel universe to WEWY. In this world no one is playing the Reapers' Game. Instead, everyone is obsessed with Tin Pin Slammer/Marble Slash, which is a minigame where you can use Neku's pins in a Beyblade-style tournament. All the characters (protagonists and antagonists) show up in the extra chapter, often with markedly different personalities, so it's funny to see what's changed between everyone.

Rating: 7

Final Verdict

7.3333 (above average)

Reviewed by Tama-Neko, Sep 22, 2010

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