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The World Ends With You January 28, 2010

Posted by huymix in Games.
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What constitutes a Japanese RPG anyways and what does it matter to you. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of RPGs since I’ve only really played a handful. Of those that I’ve played I suppose half are considered Japanese and even from that group I have only finished 1. Notably Final Fantasy 3 on DS (which is the original FF3 that was released in Japan). It’s fair to say that of the RPGs I have played, I prefer the more action-oriented RPGs. I typically use DS games as commute fodder and The World Ends With You did a great job of entertaining me on endless commutes because:

  • The combat is very action-packed and varied. For the most part I controlled Neku (the main character on the touch screen) while I let the computer control my partner (either Shiki, Josh, or Beat). Between the 2 different characters and the many types of pin attacks, there is no shortage of combat variety. It’s not confusing as it is a relief to have so many choices.
  • Sound. Everyone has talked about the music and make no mistake I do like the music in this game (I did love both Ouendan 1 and 2 despite not knowing any Japanese). But in this game, it’s more than just the music that plays that is worthwhile. Sound is crucial because in an RPG you will inevitably listen to it for many hours. The sounds in the game stay fresh even after 20+ hours of hearing the same stuff over and over again.
  • Progression. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it many times. The progression mechanic is easily why games will hook me. The right thing The World Ends With You did was to offer multiple levels of progression. The character, and each pin will separately gain experience. In another twist, clothing and food options also allow for progression while adding in a dose of collection instinct as well.

There are a ton of mechanics in The World Ends With You that I could just keep listing off. IGN can handle all the micro-details. For those of you that either like action-y RPGs or have a killer commute you would like to blast through, then I can definitely recommend The World Ends With You.