The World Ends with You

The World Ends with You
Developer(s)	Square Enix, Jupiter
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Release date	JP July 27, 2007 EU April 18, 2008 NA April 22, 2008 AUS April 24, 2008
Genre	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player + 2-4 player Wireless DS Multi-Card Play
Age rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: T PEGI: 12+
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS

The World Ends with You (すばらしきこのせかい, Subarashiki Kono Sekai, lit. "It's a Wonderful World") is an action RPG for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by the Kingdom Hearts team, Square Enix, and Jupiter. The character designs were made by Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi. The distinctive art style is inspired by the aesthetics of Shibuya youth culture. Development was inspired by elements of Jupiter's previously released game, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The game was released in Japan in July 2007, and in PAL regions and North America on April 22, 2008.

In the game, Neku Sakuraba and his allies are forced to participate in a game that will determine their fate. The battle system uses many of the unique features of the Nintendo DS, including combat that takes place on both screens, and attacks performed by certain motions on the touchscreen or by shouting into the microphone. Elements of Japanese youth culture, such as fashion, food, and cell phones, are key aspects of the missions.

The World Ends With You received positive reviews, praising the game for its graphics, soundtrack, and integration of gameplay into the Shibuya setting. Common complaints related to the steep learning curve of the battle system and the inaccurate touch screen controls. In the week of its release, the game was the second best-selling DS title in Japan, and the top selling DS title in North America. Shiro Amano, writer and artist of the Kingdom Hearts manga, later created a manga based on the video game.

Gameplay

The World Ends with You is an action RPG for the Nintendo DS, and uses many intricate gameplay elements.

Combat

See Also: Combat

Fighting Noise

The combat system in The World Ends with You, called the Stride Battle Cross System utilises both DS screens to function. The top screen is occupied by Neku's current partner, and the bottom screen is used by Neku himself. The two places are called "Zones", and in each Zone, there are the same Noise, the enemies in the game. The enemies inside the Zones share a HP bar between them, meaning that attacking an enemy in one Zone will damage it in the other zone as well. Neku and his partner are synchronised as well, and therefore also share a HP bar, though being synchronised allows their access to powerful Fusion attacks which attack all enemies for large damage. During battle, a Puck will pass from Neku to his partner, as attacks are used. The more the Puck is passed around, the higher the combo built up and therefore the higher the damage.

The bottom screen is used to control Neku. Various touches of the bottom screen make Neku perform specific actions and move, depending on what pins he has equipped. These can range from short slides on the enemy to tapping at the air to shoot projectiles, but only 6 pins at maximum can be equipped at once. The top screen, containing Neku's current partner, is controlled by pressing the directional buttons, or the control pad, in specific directions to select a pathway of arrows. What lies at the end of each arrow varies by partner, however. If the right set of commands are met, the player gets a star, which contributes towards a Fusion attack. For example, Shiki has arrows leading to cards, based on Zener Cards, and matching them with the cards on top gives a star. The partner cannot directly move, but can dodge, block, or in Joshua's case, float. Once a Fusion command has been acquired, it can be tapped on the touch screen to use it, and special cards can be used to upgrade these to a higher level.

Pins

"Psych pins", equipped out of battle, are decorative pins which possess powers that usually only Neku can activate while wearing them. Psych pins are used for combat, for "Tin Pin Slammer/Marble Slash", or scrapped as trade value for money or equipment. All pins can be traded, but many of them have low trade values to deter the player from selling the valuable ones. Most pins, particularly those used in combat, can become more powerful as the player accumulates "Pin Points" (PP) which may lead to evolution of the pins into more powerful, and valuable versions. Pin Points are commonly earned through battle, but can also be earned through a period of inactivity with the game, for seven days maximum, by interacting with other DS players or randomly if none are found. Each of these methods influences the growth of pins within the game, but battling increases it the most.

Tin Pin Slammer

A poster for Tin Pin

For full information and rules, see also: Tin_Pin The mini-game Tin Pin Slammer, also known as Marble Slash, consists of both players, NPCs or up to 3 friends who also have the game, selecting Pins and choosing to play with them. However, Multiplayer mode is only enabled when both players have acquired the "(S) Tin Pin Versus" Sticker, available from the Shibuya Department store. Any Pins can be used to play the game, but there are several which are specialised specifically for Tin Pin. The game basically consists of both players shooting their pins towards the opponent's pins, and attempting to knock them off the stage. There are also special abilities which can be used to aid the player while playing. These include jumping up in the air and crashing down, and turning the pin into a spiky ball. If the other player's pin is affected by these abilities, it suffers a Stun Period in which it cannot move.

Outside of Battle

The story is arranged into three chapters, or "weeks", in each of which he has different parnters while participating in the Reapers' Game. Each chapter is further divided by each day of the week. The player controls Neku while walking around Shibuya, and his partner automatically follows while they attempt to complete the mission set for the day. Although most missions require completion within a certain time period for Neku, his partner, and indeed all the players, this timer is not connected to the passage of time for the player.

A map of Shibuya.

Shibuya is divided into many districts, some of which may be inaccessible on certain days or blocked by a wall. These walls, guarded by Support Reapers, can be removed by satisfying the request of this Reaper, such as erasing Noise symbols, putting on a certain brand of clothing, or bringing an item. The first wall in the game is even cleared by simply forming a pact. Neku can scan the area by activating his Player Pin, in the bottom right of the touch screen. This scan reveals the thoughts of the non-player characters in the Realground (players cannot be scanned) and Memes, which may help to progress the plot. The scan also reveals the Noise symbols that drift about the area, or float around a specific character. These come in different shapes and colours, signifying what they are and their difficulty. For example, green symbols are always Pig Noise, which always drop pins upon defeat. The player initiates a battle by touching these Noise symbols; each symbol constitutes one round of battle. Selecting more than one Noise symbol at a time results in a multi-round battle "Combo" that gradually increases in difficulty with each round, but conversely leads to greater rewards upon success. The overall difficulty of battles can also be changed in the manu to also lead to better rewards. This can be changed at any time while walking around Shibuya.

Each district has fashion trends that affect gameplay. By wearing pins or clothing from the more popular brands in that district, positive effects will come to the player, but conversely, wearing the least fashionable items will do the opposite, and no effects, or even negative effects happen. However, the player can increase a brand's popularity in one district by repeatedly fighting battles in that district while wearing items of that brand, explained in Week 1, Day 6 when the Red Skull Pin must be promoted as a mission. Though players are invisible, the player can enter shops with red marks outside which make them visible. There, the player can buy new pins, clothes, and food items that are gradually consumed during battles to improve the characters' basic attributes.

After completing the game, the player can return to any day in the story and play those events again, keeping the characters' current statistics and inventory. "Secret Reports", written segments that reveal background elements of the story, can be unlocked through doing this by completing specific missions during each day. Completing the game allows the player to access "Another Day" from the game's menus, an additional day of missions that explains certain events related to the main storyline.

Characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or character details follow.

See Also: Characters The World Ends with You features 5 major main characters, all or whom are players, but only four of them are playable. Each Player has an entrance fee, the most important thing to them, so that they can enter the game, explained below. These are:

• Neku Sakuraba — Neku is an antisocial fifteen year old boy who doesn't care much for other people. Throughout the course of the story, Neku learns the importance of having people in his life and becomes very close to Beat, Joshua, Rhyme, and Shiki, as well as Sanae Hanekoma. Neku is very good at utilizing psychs, and can use every pin he is confronted with. His first entrance fee was his memory, his second was Shiki, and his third was all of the other players, showing how he progresses from liking no one to everyone.

• Shiki Misaki — Shiki, Neku's partner for the first week, is generally friendly, but she harbours jealousy for her best friend, Eri. She is very creative and makes her own clothes and toys, including her attire and Mr. Mew, but (as she claims) only due to Eri's inspiration. Because of her jealousy, her entry fee for the Reapers' Game was her appearance leading to Shiki's true appearance is only ever seen properly at the end of the game, and her face is not shown. Shiki is one of Neku's best friends by the game's end. She uses Mr. Mew to battle, and the mini game involves cards. Selecting the correct card from the bottom menu to the ones flipped over at the top earns the player a star.

• Joshua (A.K.A.: Yoshiya Kiryu) — Joshua is Neku's partner for week 2, and is sly and clever, finding enjoyment from teasing others, and harbouring dark secrets. Neku believes that he has finally found someone who he understands in Joshua, but it is apparent near the end that he is not the person who he is thought to be. He is not actually dead, and therefore not from the Underground, making him an illegal player, and leading to him not having an entry fee. As the game progresses, the player finds out that he is Shibuya's Composer, and is Neku's killer. He uses psychic powers to battle, using nearby objects as projectiles, and being able to float, allowing him to use powerful beam attacks. The mini game used is a number-matching game, in which the player must select a card which is lower, higher, or the same as the cards above, depending on the card.

• Beat (A.K.A.: Daisukenojo Bito) — Beat is Rhyme's elder brother, and her partner for week 1, as well as Neku's for the third week. He says that he dreams to be the best skater in the world, and can skateboard very well; using this as his battle style. While he acts tough in front of others, he is truly caring and open. After Week 1, Beat joins the Reapers to avenge Rhyme after she was erased; however, when he is asked to attack Neku and Joshua, he does not erase them as he should, and joins Neku as a player again in the third and final week. He expresses how sorrowful he is that he has no actual dreams, and how he is not all that bright, compared to his little sister, who is the exact opposite. His entry fee was Rhyme's memories and lover for him, leading to a very traumatic experience for him. The mini game used when battling is a matching game where the player must select cards of the same suit and match them up in a row to gain stars.

• Rhyme (A.K.A.:Raimu Bito) — Rhyme is Beat's younger sister as well as his partner for the first week. On Day 4 of the first week, Rhyme is erased by Reapers. Mr. Hanekoma then binds Rhyme's Soul to a pin, with which Beat forms a pact to turn it back into Rhyme again. When acquired and used by Neku, it summons Rhyme's Noise form to attack the enemy. Her entry fee was her ambitions and dreams.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

Story

Setting and Themes

The setting of The World Ends with You is heavily based on the Japanese city of Shibuya, including major landmarks like the Scramble Crossing. It even has the same currency, Yen (¥), which is used in shops. Many elements of the game are also based on Japanese culture, including the food, fashion and artwork in the game.

Plot

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