Review - The World Ends with You (2007)

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and I had a really great time at a local anime fan convention yesterday, and today's review is somewhat anime related. As in, the game in question has an anime aesthetic to it, and some years after the game came out it was adapted into a twelve-episode anime series. This is my review of the 2007 Square Enix video game The World Ends with You, released for the Nintendo DS, with a Nintendo Switch remastered release in 2018, followed by the aforementioned anime adaptation in 2021. 

      So, the idea of The World Ends with You is that our plane of existence is called the "Real Ground" or RG for short, and existing in tandem with the RG is a plane of existence called "The Underground" or UG for short. The UG is controlled by an individual called The Composer, and it serves as the setting for an event called the Reaper's Game. The Reaper's Game takes place over seven days, and has Players complete several missions over the course of those seven days, usually within a set time limit, for which failure means being erased from existence. Completing all seven days, and defeating the Game Master/GM, will result in Players regaining their lives in the RG. Yeah, pretty much every Player in the Reaper's Game is dead. Other elements of the Reaper's Game are the Reapers, who are charged with observing the Game, but not attack Players directly as that is limited to the GM on the final day of the Game, and also monsters called the Noise. Noise take the form of various animals mixed with tattoo art, and they are the predominant enemies of the Game. Players can fight back against the Noise using powers gained from Pins, but can only access the powers from the Pins by making a Pact with another Player, and the two Players that make a Pact with each other are Game Partners for the duration of the Game. Now, with the base concept of The World Ends with You out of the way, let's focus on the actual game. 

          So, our main protagonist is Neku Sakuraba, who finds himself in the UG version of the Shibuya shopping district in Japan. Neku ultimately is shocked and disoriented with what's going on around him, but finds himself making a Pact with a fellow Player named Shiki Misaki. Neku is shown to be a bit of a loner, and initially finds Shiki to be an annoyance. As they go through the week, Neku and Shiki also befriend two other Players named Beat and Rhyme. Shiki also shows Neku that Players, while invisible to people in the RG, can Scan people to read their thoughts, and sometimes gain helpful thought suggestions known as Memes. Unfortunately, Rhyme sacrifices herself to save Beat from a Noise attack, which leaves him defenseless against the Noise. Luckily, Neku and Shiki are still a team, and they are able to make it through to the GM, and they are able to defeat him. After this victory, they meet a Reaper named Megumi Kitaniji, who reveals that only Shiki has earned her life back. He does, however, offer Beat and Neku other UG opportunities, one of which is to become a Reaper, which Beat does. Neku, however, opts to become a Player in the Game once again, but for a different Entry Fee. Yeah, Players are required to give up what they treasure most in order to be Players in the Reaper's Game. Neku's first fee was his memories, whilst Shiki's was her physical appearance, and her UG appearance was that of her friend. This go around, however, Shiki has become what Neku values most, thus she is his new Entry Fee, and thus we enter a second week of the Reaper's Game. 

       In the second week, the new GM is a dangerous Reaper named Sho Minamimoto, and Neku's new Game Partner is a mysterious boy named Joshua. Joshua's goals seem to involve the Composer, and attempting to locate the Composer's hideout in the Shibuya River. Also, surprisingly, Neku can Scan Joshua, and it's revealed that Joshua had a hand in Neku's death. We also learn that Sanae Hanekoma, who helped Neku and Shiki previously, is working with Joshua, and is also known as The Producer. In addition to that, Hanekoma is also a notes graffiti artist that Neku idolizes called CAT. On top of dealing with the Noise, whatever goals Joshua has, and what few missions Minamimoto sends to Players, Neku has one other issue: Beat. As I mentioned before, Beat is now a Reaper and hellbent on getting back at Neku for what happened to Rhyme. Ultimately, Neku and Joshua reach the Seventh Day of the Reaper's Game, and face and defeat Minamimoto, with Joshua apparently sacrificing himself to finish off Minamimoto. Unfortunately, because Joshua was technically a living person, he broke a major rule of the Reaper's Game making so only the recently deceased can be Players. As such, Neku, being his Game Partner, is punished accordingly, and this particular Reaper's Game is voided. Neku is given one last chance to play the Reaper's Game with a penalty: this will be the final time he plays the Reaper's Game ever. The entry fee? No other players are going to be in the Game, making him completely powerless. 

        So, the third Reaper's Game begins, and Neku is powerless. However, Beat abandons the Reapers and makes a Pact with Neku, thus the two become Game Partners. Beat also reveals a small Noise that helps him. This Noise was summoned from a Pin made by Hanekoma from the remains of Rhyme, who is revealed to have been Beat's little sister. Unfortunately, both people in the RG and Reapers in the UG have fallen under the influence of Red Skull Pins, which are of a similar design to the Player Pins but with the power to influence any wearer into having a single thought. Also, the new GM is Mitsuki Konishi, a no-nonsense woman whose goal is to be the next Conductor. Konishi ultimately is instructed to treat Beat as a Player once again, and collect his Entry Fee accordingly: Rhyme's Noise. It's also here where Beat's full name is revealed as Daisukenojo Bito, making Rhyme's full name Raimu Bito. 

         So, as the Game goes on, Neku and Beat face off against Noise, including a dangerous form of Noise called "Taboo Noise" which attack both Players and Reapers, and Reapers under the influence of the Red Skull Pins. Finally, they make it to the Shibuya River, defeat Konishi, and reunite with Shiki before facing off against Kitaniji, who reveals himself to be the Conductor. He also revealed himself to have created the Red Skull Pins as a means to make all of Shibuya think alike. After defeating him a second time, Neku and Kitaniji are confronted by the Composer himself: Joshua. Yep, Joshua was the Composer all along. One final fight sees Neku, Shiki, Beat, and Joshua finish off Kitaniji for good, and Neku and Joshua have their own confrontation. Joshua confirms that he did, indeed, kill Neku, and that Minamimoto was there that day to try and kill Joshua in the RG. Joshua tosses Neku a gun as a final test, but Neku refuses to pull the trigger. Ultimately, Joshua restores Neku, Beat, Rhyme, and Shiki to their lives in the RG, and Shiki gets her original body back. Happy endings overall.

          Okay, so while the story of The World Ends with You is pretty complex, the gameplay is pretty neat. Neku can unleash various attacks based on Power Pins. And defeating various Noise allows Neku to collect more powerful Pins to attach and unleash new kinds of attacks. Also, Neku's three Game Partners throughout the game can also be brought in to assist with attacks. For example, tapping on an enemy allows Shiki to attack it using her stuffed animal Mr. Mew, and swiping left and right on the screen allows Beat to attack on his skateboard. Joshua's attacks are the more tedious to summon, as you're required to swipe from the top of the Nintendo Switch screen down for Joshua to attack. The best part is that Partner attacks also fill up a gauge that allows for a more powerful Combo Attack. You can increase the strength of the Combo Attack with a timed mini game based on Card Matching. Shiki, Joshua, and Beat each have their own Card Matching mini game, and successfully timing each one will make the Combo Attack stronger. And believe me, Combo Attacks are the best bet against the Taboo Noise. 

         Speaking of the Noise, what's really neat about their designs are that they are based on the world of the familiar, taking the form of animals like frogs, sharks, rhinos, kangaroos, foxes, and so forth, but combining them with bits of tattoo art. Unlike things like the Heartless in Kingdom Hearts which take forms that are unique to that specific franchise but still inspired by things we know, the Noise in The World Ends with You have a familiar look that works for the world the game is set in. And the way to finds and fight against the Noise is by Scanning for them, and tapping on a Noise symbol to initiate a fight against the Noise. Not only that, but Noise battles can be stacked up to a total of four in a row, yielding a much greater reward in the long run. Taboo Noise, however, will drift straight towards Neku upon initiating a Scan, so be careful. Each Noise is identified by a symbol color and symbol design. Colors include red, orange, and green. Green Noise are a QuickTime fight against a Pig Noise. 

        Overall, how do I recommend getting into The World Ends with You? Well, I do recommend checking out the twelve episode anime adaptation first as a means to check out the story without the gameplay. The anime is pretty much beat for beat, no pun intended, the plot of the game, just minus the running around and fighting the Noise and the Reapers. However, I do recommend actually playing the game as well, as while just watching the anime is a good way to get into the story, the actual game is the more immersive experience. The version most readily available is the Final Remix version on Nintendo Switch, and I recommend playing that version of the game Tablet-style as opposed to the JoyCons. Trust me, it's easier playing it Tablet-style. 

          While my favorite Square Enix franchise is still Kingdom Hearts, which we'll be getting into more of that series throughout the year to celebrate one hundred years of Disney, I definitely enjoyed The World Ends with You , and I give the game a 4.85/5. Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back this Thursday with my retrospective on the Indiana Jones franchise.