The first time I saw The world ends with you, back when it was titled It's a wonderful world and had no plans of a UK release date; I was in love. I found a game that I just had to have for my DS. I was initially worried that the sharp art style would out-do the substance. And that behind the A-grade looks, would like an F grade game. After all, Square Enix are no strangers to dressing up stank-mutton-lumps of games in lovely lambs clothing.
Thankfully, Square Enix delivered with The world ends with you. And within moments of switching on the game, you're completely absorbed into the world of the game and become embroiled in it. You know that you're about to play something really special and that this game is going to rob hours of your time.
The world ends with you has a really good story. In fact, it's a bad ass story. Beneath all of the colours and the young cast, lies a really dark tale of life, death and despair. You don't really see it coming, which is what makes it such a great story. The plot throws you some serious twists within the first few chapters, which serve their purpose and do what a plot should do for a game: compel you to keep playing it until the end. Parts of the story, the antagonists, the premise and the feel of some of the enemies are similar to Kingdom Hearts, which is no surprise given the 3 directors behind The world ends with you all worked on the popular Disney crossover series. The comparisons (aside from the character designs) aren't glaring, and I can't go into specifics without ruining the whole game for you. But if you've played Kingdom Hearts, you will see similarities between the 2 titles. Some subtle, some not so subtle. So needless to say: if you liked Kingdom Hearts, you will like this game and latch on it very quickly - even though in terms of play style they couldn't be any more different from one another.
The characters exhibit your typical Tetsuya Nomura designs. Spiky hair, big feet, chains, skinny legs, jewelery, with fashions bordering on almost trendy at an extreme. Neku is an Emo ginger haired Sora with that same broody reluctance that Cloud, Squall and Lightning have; carrying around what looks like a ladies tampon around his neck. Beat looks like Kingdom Heart's spin on Seifer with a skateboard. And the bad guys you encounter could all be members of Organization XIII without the black cloaks. Shiki is the only wholly original character design. She fights with a magical stuffed cat. She's auto-awesome for that alone. Comparisons to other Square Enix characters aside, they are all a great bunch. And you really do grow attached to them as they try to make sense of everything. Even the bad guys are likable...well, up until you have to fight them (they're all sons of bitches in battles).
The gameplay is really fun and addictive. Despite the game area being so small, so much happens and you're constantly kept on your toes. The game has enough familiar RPG traits that you can familiarize yourself with the genre, but has enough unique twists to help define itself from being just another Squenix RPG. The game does throw a couple of unnecessary game play quirks into the twist which feel as though Square tacked them on. But more works than what doesn't.
As solid as the game is from a playing standpoint, the adventure does tend to drag on for several chapters too long. A theme within the game is Groundhog day. At the start of each chapter, Neku finds himself back where he'd started before; trying to make sense of everything and unravel the new mystery's which arise. This is cool for the first few chapters - but it soon gets old and strips the game of fun. You become bored with re-playing many of the same elements and scenario's over and over, and just want it all to end.
The world ends with you's battle system is ingenious, and one of a kind. You battle between the two screens: your assisting character at the top, and Neku at the bottom. You use the stylus to execute Neku's attacks, and the D-pad to execute your partners' attacks. It makes zero sense at first, and you won't fully get your head around it straight off the bat, even during the tutorials. But you do hit a point in the game where it clicks, you find your rhythm with it, and you acclimatize to the co-ordination which is required to battle effectively.
A major part of what sold this game to me was the style. It's striking. And whilst familiar enough for you to identify with, it's different enough that it sets itself apart nicely. The whole time you're playing the game you're just completely in awe of the art style and the way in which it all comes together. The world ends with you reminds me a lot of Jet Set radio. There are many parallels between the way in which the developers used a quirky art style, a fun play mechanic and music to really push the uniqueness of the game.
The entire game is presented in 2D, but makes use of parallax scrolling to give the areas a sense of depth, and has backdrops drawn from really crazy perspectives to make them dynamic and a but trippy. The game is set within the real life Tokyo ward of Shibuya, and the area has been faithfully represented in the game. There's no reason why it shouldn't be, given Square Enix's HQ is there. But they do a great job recapturing the hustle, bustle and hip fashion focused ward. Bottom line? This is a great looking game.
The audio is top notch. The game features full speech in the intro, with all of the character voices in-game limited to grunts, yelps, Hey!'s and name calls. It works really well, and the lack of speech helps the dialog shine on the merits of how well it's written. The banter between characters is always witty and fun, and really helps bring them to life. The soundtrack is all kinds of awesome. You'll bop you head to the music, sing-a-long during battles, spend money in shops buying the records so you can spin them in the sound test, and you'll probably be naughty and hit up isohunt to download the damn soundtrack. In a nut-shell, the soundtrack rocks; and really helps set the tone of the game and encapsulate the world it is set in.
The world ends with you is a brilliant game. It shouldn't quite work as well as it does. The battle system is anything but normal. The game area is small. The characters are nut cases. The story is convoluted beyond belief. But it all manages to come together in a package that you can't help but fall in love with. Amidst all of Square's (progressively worsening) Final Fantasy games, it's a breath of fresh air to see that they can still deliver a enthralling title which takes risks and bucks trends. If you own a DS, you need this game. Essential purchase whether you're an RPG lover or a fan of something that's a little bit different and quirky.
The good
+ Great graphics
+ Kick ass soundtrack
+ A unique battle system
+ A nice dark story
The bad
- The game drags on longer than it should
- Some boss battles can be frustrating
- On a couple of occasions, you'll find yourself wandering around aimlessly
Thankfully, Square Enix delivered with The world ends with you. And within moments of switching on the game, you're completely absorbed into the world of the game and become embroiled in it. You know that you're about to play something really special and that this game is going to rob hours of your time.
The world ends with you has a really good story. In fact, it's a bad ass story. Beneath all of the colours and the young cast, lies a really dark tale of life, death and despair. You don't really see it coming, which is what makes it such a great story. The plot throws you some serious twists within the first few chapters, which serve their purpose and do what a plot should do for a game: compel you to keep playing it until the end. Parts of the story, the antagonists, the premise and the feel of some of the enemies are similar to Kingdom Hearts, which is no surprise given the 3 directors behind The world ends with you all worked on the popular Disney crossover series. The comparisons (aside from the character designs) aren't glaring, and I can't go into specifics without ruining the whole game for you. But if you've played Kingdom Hearts, you will see similarities between the 2 titles. Some subtle, some not so subtle. So needless to say: if you liked Kingdom Hearts, you will like this game and latch on it very quickly - even though in terms of play style they couldn't be any more different from one another.
The characters exhibit your typical Tetsuya Nomura designs. Spiky hair, big feet, chains, skinny legs, jewelery, with fashions bordering on almost trendy at an extreme. Neku is an Emo ginger haired Sora with that same broody reluctance that Cloud, Squall and Lightning have; carrying around what looks like a ladies tampon around his neck. Beat looks like Kingdom Heart's spin on Seifer with a skateboard. And the bad guys you encounter could all be members of Organization XIII without the black cloaks. Shiki is the only wholly original character design. She fights with a magical stuffed cat. She's auto-awesome for that alone. Comparisons to other Square Enix characters aside, they are all a great bunch. And you really do grow attached to them as they try to make sense of everything. Even the bad guys are likable...well, up until you have to fight them (they're all sons of bitches in battles).
The gameplay is really fun and addictive. Despite the game area being so small, so much happens and you're constantly kept on your toes. The game has enough familiar RPG traits that you can familiarize yourself with the genre, but has enough unique twists to help define itself from being just another Squenix RPG. The game does throw a couple of unnecessary game play quirks into the twist which feel as though Square tacked them on. But more works than what doesn't.
As solid as the game is from a playing standpoint, the adventure does tend to drag on for several chapters too long. A theme within the game is Groundhog day. At the start of each chapter, Neku finds himself back where he'd started before; trying to make sense of everything and unravel the new mystery's which arise. This is cool for the first few chapters - but it soon gets old and strips the game of fun. You become bored with re-playing many of the same elements and scenario's over and over, and just want it all to end.
The world ends with you's battle system is ingenious, and one of a kind. You battle between the two screens: your assisting character at the top, and Neku at the bottom. You use the stylus to execute Neku's attacks, and the D-pad to execute your partners' attacks. It makes zero sense at first, and you won't fully get your head around it straight off the bat, even during the tutorials. But you do hit a point in the game where it clicks, you find your rhythm with it, and you acclimatize to the co-ordination which is required to battle effectively.
A major part of what sold this game to me was the style. It's striking. And whilst familiar enough for you to identify with, it's different enough that it sets itself apart nicely. The whole time you're playing the game you're just completely in awe of the art style and the way in which it all comes together. The world ends with you reminds me a lot of Jet Set radio. There are many parallels between the way in which the developers used a quirky art style, a fun play mechanic and music to really push the uniqueness of the game.
The entire game is presented in 2D, but makes use of parallax scrolling to give the areas a sense of depth, and has backdrops drawn from really crazy perspectives to make them dynamic and a but trippy. The game is set within the real life Tokyo ward of Shibuya, and the area has been faithfully represented in the game. There's no reason why it shouldn't be, given Square Enix's HQ is there. But they do a great job recapturing the hustle, bustle and hip fashion focused ward. Bottom line? This is a great looking game.
The audio is top notch. The game features full speech in the intro, with all of the character voices in-game limited to grunts, yelps, Hey!'s and name calls. It works really well, and the lack of speech helps the dialog shine on the merits of how well it's written. The banter between characters is always witty and fun, and really helps bring them to life. The soundtrack is all kinds of awesome. You'll bop you head to the music, sing-a-long during battles, spend money in shops buying the records so you can spin them in the sound test, and you'll probably be naughty and hit up isohunt to download the damn soundtrack. In a nut-shell, the soundtrack rocks; and really helps set the tone of the game and encapsulate the world it is set in.
The world ends with you is a brilliant game. It shouldn't quite work as well as it does. The battle system is anything but normal. The game area is small. The characters are nut cases. The story is convoluted beyond belief. But it all manages to come together in a package that you can't help but fall in love with. Amidst all of Square's (progressively worsening) Final Fantasy games, it's a breath of fresh air to see that they can still deliver a enthralling title which takes risks and bucks trends. If you own a DS, you need this game. Essential purchase whether you're an RPG lover or a fan of something that's a little bit different and quirky.
The good
+ Great graphics
+ Kick ass soundtrack
+ A unique battle system
+ A nice dark story
The bad
- The game drags on longer than it should
- Some boss battles can be frustrating
- On a couple of occasions, you'll find yourself wandering around aimlessly