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The World Ends with You

aka: Subarashiki Kono Sekai, TWEWY
Moby ID: 34746
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Description official description

The World Ends With You is an action RPG that puts players in the role of Neku Sakuraba, a sullen loner of a teenager who wakes up to find himself in modern day Shibuya, Japan, with no memory of how he got there and a ticking clock in his hand that tells him to complete the mission - or face erasure.

Neku and his partner Shiki Misaki find themselves as "Players" in a game that lasts seven days. Each day, players are given various missions to perform for the "Reapers" within a certain time limit, or be erased from existence.

Players use collectible pins to amplify their combat powers against "The Noise", animal-like creatures which can corrupt the people and environment around them. Each pin is activated in a different manner, from tapping the touchscreen, making sweeping motions with the stylus, or even blowing into the DS microphone. Neku fights on the lower screen of the DS, while his partner fights on the upper screen. Their combat styles are different, but can be combined to form more powerful attacks.

Players can purchase clothing to increase the effectiveness of their attacks, and gain PP points to enhance their pin abilities. PP is usually gained through combat, but can also be gained by coming into wi-fi contact with another person's DS.

There is also a wi-fi mini-game called "Ten Pin Slammer", where players can use one pin at a time to knock the other players' pins off the game board.

Spellings

  • すばらしきこのせかい It's a Wonderful World - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Nintendo DS version)

340 People (322 developers, 18 thanks) · View all

Director
Co-Director
Planning Director
Music Composer
Background Art Director
Lead Character Art Designer
Director (Jupiter Corporation)
Planning Director (Jupiter Corporation)
Graphic Director (Jupiter Corporation)
Main Programmers (Jupiter Corporation)
Publicity Producer
Associate Producer
Creative Producer
Main Character Art Designer
Scenario: Base Story
Scenario: Event Planner
Field Planner
Battle Planner
Character Art Designers
Character Graphic Supervisor
Character Graphic Designers
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 88% (based on 58 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 34 ratings with 1 reviews)

You can outsmart it by doing what it tells you.

The Good
I'll certainly say that the art direction has it's own flair to it, though the inner-city backdrop is kind of bland if I'm honest. While the monster designs don't seem to be that memorable, it's certainly clear who each person is and what they're like just by looking at how they're drawn.

The soundtrack also sticks in the mind. While it often doesn't fit the mood, you'll be able to hum more than a few tracks.

The writing shows some interesting concepts, while still remaining consistent as to the tale it's trying to tell. I shan't spoil it, but there's one good scene where you feel like something might happen even though none of them care that anything might happen, but then the thing happens and they don't scream like they're auditioning for a B-movie.

The Bad
It's basically a game of chance. You keep going through the same motions of slashing up, rapid tapping, slashing up again until the fight is over. On some of the larger fights there is a chance you might not win, but it seems to have no bearing on your slashing and tapping prowess. Whether you win each bout is entirely the luck of the draw. There's no skill or high thinking involved and it just gets repetitive in no time at all.

Sure, you can equip different abilities, but what's the point? The same four attacks will pretty much serve you fine throughout. The fashion trend system is a completely useless addition as the game STRAIGHT UP TELLS YOU that you can render it redundant by being stubborn about the brands of attack you use.

And who ever thought that being able to control two different fighters with two different control schemes might work? The second guy is basically there to show off, their attacks aren't defined at all. You're better off setting their AI to instant and focusing on player 1, for all the good it does.

The Bottom Line
I wouldn't hunt down a copy of the game, but you'd probably find some amusement if you came across it in a store for a decent price. TWEWY doesn't offer a whole lot to sink one's hands into, but it tells an interesting enough tale to keep one from noticing the repetitive strain injuries.

Nintendo DS · by CrankyStorming (2927) · 2011

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The World Ends with You appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 34746
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Guy Chapman.

Additional contributors: monkeyislandgirl, NatsFan, FatherJack, Harmony♡.

Game added July 5, 2008. Last modified June 2, 2024.