The World Ends with 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.