IGN the other day reviewed the US version of the newest hit Square Enix DS game,
The World Ends With You. It received top praise from review Mark Bozon, taking note of the game's excellent soundtrack, unique and challenging battle system, and the atmosphere generated by the game.
The World Ends With You features the Stride Cross Battle System, which involves the player controlling both the protagonist Neku and a partner, with the touch screen and D-pad, respectively. An auto-battle system for the partner exists for people to ease into the action. There also is the ability to increase a battle's difficulty to increase drop rates, and to chain battles together, keeping one health bar throughout those battles.
Visually, Bozon finds the game extraordinary, and the accompanied soundtrack creates an atmosphere that, with the ability to read the minds of NPCs, gives the feeling of an "alive Tokyo".
Shibuya's status as one of the hip parts of Tokyo plays into the game as the fashion system. Players must pay attention to current trends; while players will still have to consider stats and other things for their equipment, not paying attention to current trends can prove to be a disaster in battle, while using the correct "pin" attacks and wearing the correct clothing will increase Neku and his partner's effectiveness in battle. Also, you can foster relationships with shop vendors by continuing to shop their wares, which can lead to discounts, more items for sale, etc.
Also a unique feature is the DS mingle mode, where the game will actively search for any other DS, similar to Nintendogs. However, there's multiple tiers to this mingle mode: find someone else with the game running this mode, and you'll share player cards and data, and can also create your own custom shop. The key thing is however that if there are any DSs transmitting wireless in the area, you can leech off of them, gaining new items and experience. This can also be done with the DS closed.
Overall, Bozon calls The World Ends With You one of the best games available on the DS.
The World Ends With You is set to release April 22, 2008 in the US for $39.99. The game is already available in Europe.
Check out IGN's screenshots
here.
Most gamers out there would probably agree that the world of role-playing games has been stuck in a specific rut for quite a while. We're not talking down on games like Fire Emblem and Advance Wars on DS (RPG-like tactical games), or the still-remarkable Final Fantasy series, but rather the hundreds upon hundreds of RPGs out there that don't dare to be different. We can understand a few "period piece" role-playing games, but does every story-heavy adventure out there need to revolve around swords, bows, magic, castles, and hoards of monsters emerging from some sort of ultimate evil? It's fine in moderation – and when done extremely well, games go beyond any preconceptions – but the RPG world could use a little kick in the pants to get it moving, and that's exactly what The World Ends With You is. Square Enix – more specifically Team Jupiter, the creators of Kingdom Hearts – has challenged every facet of the RPG genre, and the result is one of the best pocket games we've played in years, and one of the top DS experiences out there.
More than any other DS title out there we could write volumes on the features and intricacies in The World Ends With You, so while we'll be covering every aspect in this final review, we urge players that want to know more to check out our latest in-depth hands-on with the game, as it too has a wealth of information to read through.
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