Information technology's pleasing to see that Square Enix--despite having the Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts megafranchises in its lineup--is still willing to go boldly into new frontiers with the release of original games similar The Globe Ends With You. This role-playing game eschews the company's tried-and-true swords-and-sorcery settings and instead transports the action to modernistic-solar day Tokyo. Although in that location's nary a chocobo or keyblade to be found hither, The Globe Ends With You still incorporates some of the company's best-known trademarks and wraps plenty of innovative new gameplay around them, particularly an initially mind-angle dual-screen combat system. The event is a game that manages to feel familiar and yet strikingly new at the same time, and one that deserves to be ranked alongside Foursquare Enix'south best works.

Yes, fighting on two screens can be a little confusing at first, but you'll get used to it.
Yep, fighting on two screens tin be a little confusing at start, but yous'll go used to it.

At beginning glance, the game seems piddling more than a pastiche of all the things that have fabricated the famed Japanese programmer's RPGs massive successes in the past. Angsty teen hero with an absurdly athwart haircut? Check. Complex, squad-based combat system? Yous betcha. Detailed customization options with weapons and armor that border on the anal retentive? Fer sure. Only The Globe Ends With You simply uses these Foursquare Enix conventions as a launching pad for a unique experience that is both impressive in its employ of the Nintendo DS's capabilities and compelling in its storytelling.

The most apparent difference from previous Square games is location. The Earth Ends With Yous is prepare not in an imaginary kingdom, but entirely within Tokyo's fashion and shopping hub, Shibuya. Several real-world landmarks from Shibuya are re-created within the game, such as the train station, Shibuya Crossing, Hachiko'southward statue, Dogenzaka, and more. However, this shift to a modern setting isn't mere window dressing, given that it profoundly complements the game's overall design. Programmer Jupiter Corp has stuck to a graphic symbol look similar to that plant in the Kingdom Hearts series, and though the far-out mode seemed somewhat out of place inside that game universe, hither it seems entirely advisable to the fast-paced and fashion-conscious world of trendy Tokyo.

The story itself is a little The Matrix, a lilliputian Battle Royale. The game follows main character Neku Sakabara every bit he'due south forced to play The Reapers' Game, a sinister contest in which the (mostly) evil Reapers assign players like Neku a task every solar day for seven days. Neglect to complete the task within the set time limit and the thespian is completely erased from existence. Strangely, none of the other inhabitants of decorated Shibuya tin see Neku or the other players, although a mysterious pin that Neku finds on his person when he outset wakes upwardly in Shibuya lets him read people's minds. What's even more disconcerting are the large groups of foreign creatures now roaming the streets. Although normal people tin't come across these creatures--chosen the Noise--they can see Neku, and they're out for claret. Along the way, Neku is forced to make pacts with other characters because forming these bonds and fighting in pairs is the simply mode to deal damage to the Noise.

There are some genuine twists in this game's intriguing story, and there is also enough of heartfelt emotion from its teenage protagonists, which makes for some truly touching moments. The themes explored here--finding your identity, overcoming insecurity, teen angst, coping with guilt, the weight of obligation--are nothing new for a Square Enix game, only they seem somewhat more than resonant and identifiable considering they're coming from characters who employ mobile phones, eat fast nutrient, and who exercise other things that ground them in the same world we live in.

Traversing the world of Shibuya is washed through the stylus and touch screen, just battles are where it gets more complex. The game's setting might be somewhat of a departure for a Square Enix game, only the combat is a completely new take that uses both of the DS's screens at the same time. Neku and his partner share the same health bar, while the Noise they're fighting appear on both screens at once (although not necessarily in the same location). On the bottom screen is Neku, whom you command via dissimilar directional swipes with the stylus on the affect screen. Neku uses objects chosen psych pins to assail, and each type of pivot requires a specific move with the stylus to unleash its power. These moves can include rapidly tapping the screen, performing slashes across enemies, quickly scratching empty space, drawing circles with the stylus, and more. At that place are besides some pins that require you to yell into the DS'southward microphone.

These pins characteristic such varied powers as the ability to call a meteor strike, erupt a mini volcano, create lines of flames, throw cars and other objects around, shoot out electric fields, and much more. Though in that location are supposed to be 300 unlike pins to be constitute in The World Ends With You, that doesn't mean there are 300 different types of powers to be unleashed in the game. Considering that many powers are replicated amid different brands in the game (more than on this later) you can definitely expect to see the same powers once more and once again. And just like Neku, psych pins tin gain experience in battles, going upwards in levels the more times they're used.

The DS'southward top screen is where Neku'south current partner will battle the Racket. The partner'south actions are controlled via the D pad, with different combinations of directional presses resulting in different attacks or defensive maneuvers. Both Neku and his partner can besides unleash powerful combos, which are earned past post-obit a specific design of attacks on the height screen and released via tapping the bottom screen.

Some real life Shibuya landmarks can be found in the game.
Some existent life Shibuya landmarks can be found in the game.

As you might gauge, controlling both characters at the same fourth dimension is confusing. Thankfully, the Earth Ends With You rewards you not for trying to control the action on both screens simultaneously, but for speedily switching control from ane to the other in a smooth fashion. At the beginning of each fight, Neku will be bathed in a green light. As presently as he makes a successful attack, this green light will move to his partner in the top screen, which volition then move back to Neku after the partner makes an assault. Successfully passing this light-green puck back and forth between the two results in increasing damage bonuses done to enemies, which of course means that you'll need to concentrate on whoever has the puck to keep the combo going.

Sound whatsoever less hectic? Even with the puck-passing mechanic, fights in The Earth Ends With You lot can nonetheless be quite chaotic, with eight or more attacking you on both screens at the same time. But despite this complexity, it's a system that gets easier to utilize with practice. In fact, one of the greatest joys we found in the game was the dawning realization that, after a few hours, we wanted the green puck to movement faster to allow the states chain attacks more quickly. It'due south an crawly feeling to accept what seems so conflicting at the start become 2nd nature. The merely downside to what is otherwise a compelling gainsay organisation is that, though many of the pins available to Neku characteristic unlike abilities, the movements required to unleash them are in many cases likewise similar to provide fine control over what pin to use at a sure time. With Neku eventually able to carry half-dozen pins into boxing, that means being more than strategic well-nigh which pins to carry to create the most damage. This is because having two pins with the same stylus move requires you to completely use up the charge of 1 before being able to use the power of the side by side.

Character models are the requisite level of Square Enix kooky.
Character models are the requisite level of Square Enix kooky.

Although The Earth Ends With Y'all'south unique gainsay arrangement is sure to initially misfile and bewilder many players, the game does permit for a gentler learning bend thanks to combat options that can be tweaked on the fly. These include varying the speed with which the game's AI will automatically have control of your partner if you get too distracted with the bottom screen, and even changing the game's difficulty between fights. The World Ends With You also lets you lot choose your battles, with no random fights occurring as Neku traverses through Shibuya. Instead, Neku can pick his own fights; the same pin that lets him read people's minds besides alerts him to the presence of any Racket in the expanse.

On the flip side, the game also lets you kick things upwards a notch at any time past lowering the level of your characters or even chaining several fights together. Players who cull to fight at a lower level than their character'southward electric current maximum (say, fighting as a level 25 when your character is actually level xxx) evidently have to suffer the requisite drops in attack, defense, and health stats, but the compensation is that defeated Noise will tend to drop more lucrative items. Chaining fights together--that is, taking on consecutive groups of Noise on the same health bar--also boosts the quality and frequency of dropped items. This chemical element of adjustable risk is a nice add-on to the game, giving you the selection to play it condom or live on the edge in the promise for a big payoff, or even switch between the two from encounter to encounter. Y'all might find yourself consistently fighting five levels or so below your maximum to keep the new pins and money rolling in, coin you can then spend on hundreds of items from the stores in The Earth Ends With You lot's virtual Shibuya.

Just similar in the real world, brands are everything in this game. Specific brands exist for each detail, such as wearable (the game'southward version of armor) and pins, and some brands are more than fashionable than others. Wearing unfashionable wearing apparel or pins results in some pretty hefty penalties; conversely, wearing the right items can confer impressive bonuses. For example, if yous fight with an unfashionable pin, your assail harm is halved. If y'all fight with something that'southward hot, your attack is doubled. Each surface area in the gameworld's Shibuya has its own hot list that you lot'll need to refer to if you're to get the most out of battles. Being a fashionable young Shibuyan yourself, you can affect the tendency in a given surface area with the vesture and pins y'all wear into battle, so having an initially unfashionable ensemble won't handicap yous indefinitely.

The World Ends With You packs a decent single-actor campaign length of roughly 12 hours for the beginning run-through, but the game does give you lot a great reason to play the campaign a second time. Subsequently you starting time complete the game, each chapter will be available to play in any order (and with any of your previous partners), with each of the chapters now having a set up list of requirements that yous'll need to complete to unlock special information dossiers that unveil more than about the game's backstory. This is a great way to notice out more about the Reapers' Game, particularly because The Earth Ends With You lot'due south initial ending is vague enough that most players will want to know exactly what happened to all of the game'due south master characters. Multiplayer isn't forgotten, either. The Globe Ends With You features a minigame called Tin Pin Slammer that tin can be played wirelessly with upward to four players.

Tin Pin Slammer isn't that compelling a minigame, only there are notwithstanding plenty of reasons to use wireless with The World Ends With You. Turning on the game's Mingle mode will use the DS's built-in wireless to search for other DSs, with each device found resulting in different bonuses. For example, finding another DS with wireless enabled and with a copy of The Globe Ends With You lot will allow you trade cards and other items. Likewise, finding a DS with wireless enabled with whatever other game volition cyberspace feel points for your psych pins. Y'all even proceeds experience for your pins every time you lot turn your DS off: the longer y'all leave it off, the more experience gained. Y'all'll never maximize your pin levels past not playing the game, merely it's still a nice advantage for taking a break once in a while.

The World Ends With You looks absolutely top-notch.
The Globe Ends With Yous looks admittedly superlative-notch.

The presentation of The World Ends With You impresses right from the game'south first. Graphically, the game just sparkles, and its stylized version of Shibuya pops with color and detail. Large, colorful graphic symbol models with speech and thought bubbles are used for the game's many cutscenes, and the battles sport some pretty effects. There are also a wide diversity of strange-looking Noise that Neku and crew will run across, ranging from insane-looking kangaroos and penguins to gigantic bats. Audio is another area in which this game excels, with enough snippets of dialogue packed in to put other DS games to shame. (One of your partners yelling "At that place's a party in my oral cavity" when yous give him a slice of food stands out.) Of particular annotation is the game's soundtrack, which is made upwards of an eclectic mix of J-Popular, hip-hop, and stone songs that go into your head and decline to exit. Fitting such a large mix of music on a DS cartridge is impressive plenty, but having decent songs in that mix is a luxury few games accept.

Flawless presentation, gameplay depth, an engaging story, and innovation all add up to brand The World Ends With You a worthy improver to the already-impressive pantheon of Square Enix works. There's very little to complain about in this bundle, which makes The Earth Ends With You lot a must-have for whatsoever DS owner needing an RPG fix.