New RPG Game:
July 25th 2008 17:04
The world ends with you (TWEWY for short) is a unique Japanese RPG released exclusively for the Nintendo DS handheld console. The game saw an English language release in April 2008 and it is the sole reason why I bought the Nintendo DS the very day the game was released. The development team behind this JRPG is the same team that created the highly acclaimed Kingdom Hearts series, a team lead by JRPG legend and ace character designer Tetsuya Nomura.
TWEWY revolves around a teenage rebel named Neku, a lone wolf who hates people and lives a very antisocial life. Neku is stubborn, sticks to what he believes in, and just does not seem to understand the society he dwells in.
The game is set in present day Tokyo, inside the trendy and modern Shibuya district. Neku is roaming the busy district when all of a sudden he finds himself in a parallel version of the Shibuya District where he cannot be seen or heard. He later finds out that he is now a ‘player’ of a week-long ‘game’ which is run by the ‘reapers.’ Neku, along with other players, must complete a mission each day in order to succeed and survive. Failure to complete a mission will result in erasure; in other words, the players will cease to exist. Reapers control monitor and enforce the game.
Another entity involved in the parallel world is the ‘noise,’ and these are monsters that Neku and the other players will have to fight throughout the course of the game. These creatures are basically embodiments of negative human emotions and exist all over the Shibuya district. In order to survive this game, Neku must form a pact/partnership with another player and work effectively as a team with him/her.
Shibuya district is a fun place to explore and has been well-designed with plenty of style and graffiti art flair. The district is divided into several regions and is bustling with life and modern Japanese culture. There are a number of interesting shops, stores and restaurants to visit and every region of the district is heavily crowded with interesting people.
Since Neku is not visible to normal people, he cannot talk to them, and the only way to communicate is by reading the thoughts of people. This he does by using his special Scanning Pin. It is always fun to observe people’s thoughts and you also gather some useful information and hints. Later in the game, you can use ‘memes’ to manipulate a person’s thoughts and manipulate their actions to an extent. Neku can detect ‘noise’ around him by scanning as well, and engage in battle with them.
Neku and the other players are able to interact with shopkeepers, and this is where the socialising aspect of the game comes in. One has to befriend shopkeepers by browsing their stores, purchasing their goods and becoming regular customers. As a result, shopkeepers will reveal new items and abilities associated with items available in the store. Restaurants allow one to purchase food to be consumed later.
Shibuya is a trendy district and thus fashion trends play a very important role in the game. There are several brands and each region of the district ranks these brands differently. The clothes, pins, jewellery and accessories, etc., that you wear have an affect on a character’s state. The popularity of the brand name labelled on these items also makes a lot of difference: wearing a label that is popular in a particular region will enhance battle performance and vice versa. Another interesting effect of trends is that if you walk into a shop wearing something that impresses the shopkeeper, then it will strengthen your relationship with him/her.
Battles in TWEWY are fought using Pins alone and you will not be equipped with massive swords. Instead Pins grant Neku unique abilities (both offensive and defensive). There is a large variety of Pins to collect and Neku can equip a limited number of Pins in a battle, with the result that many Pins can be used in several combinations. Pins grant unique abilities such as melee combo strikes, telekinetic powers, projectile attacks, flame attacks and defensive shields, etc.
With regards to the battle system, TWEWY plays unlike any other JRPG and it makes intuitive use of the handheld’s unique gaming technology. Battles take place simultaneously on both screens of the console with the Neku occupying the bottom touch screen while his partner occupies the screen on the top.
Neku is controlled with the stylus; you can move him around by dragging him wherever you want to and the various attacks are performed by drawing specific patterns on the touch screen using the stylus. However, Neku’s partner is controlled with the traditional digital button pad.
The end result is that battles in TWEWY seem very confusing, hectic and chaotic when one initially starts playing the game. Keeping track of two separate characters occupying separate screens can be very difficult at first, but after a while you will get the hang of it. Once you discover a suitable combination of pins and learn to handle two characters at once, TWEWY becomes a dangerously addictive game. The battles are fun, involving and very rewarding when you perform combo attacks effectively and are able to perform crazy team-based attacks. This dual screen battle system results in some interesting boss battles in which each character has to approach the boss differently and work together in order to defeat it.
Like any other RPG, TWEWY also involves character building: as you take part in battles, you earn points with which your character builds up and the Pins used also level up. But what is interesting about this game is that you continue to earn points (Pin points to be exact) even while you are not playing the game! If you are unable to play the game for a few days, the next time you turn it on, you will see that the game has automatically generated points for you.
The graphics of TWEWY are pretty decent for a sprite-based video game, a bit ‘pixilated’ and blown out at times, but the look still remains very appealing. The game animates smoothly and the urban backdrops have been drawn with an aesthetic eye. The art work is gorgeous, similar to an edgier version of the one used in the Kingdom Hearts series. Character designs are also top notch since all the characters in the game have a lot of detail, style, uniqueness and personality.
As for the music, it is simply outstanding. The tracks range from some intoxicating female Japanese pop songs to catchy raps to even some modern rock. The soundtrack complements the game perfectly and it certainly does a good job of sinking one into the trendy, hip and urban jungle that is the Shibuya district.
The modern day Japanese setting, the cool modern soundtrack, the aesthetic artwork and the unique gameplay mechanics of TWEWY reminds me of Persona 3 (Playstation 2). Both Persona 3 and TWEWY play very differently, but they have one thing in common: both games successfully break away from JRPG conventions to provide a unique experience that breaths new life into a genre that lost quite a number of fans over the years. Such games are saviours of the JRPG genre and have taken it to new heights. TWEWY is what a modern JRPG should be like and I strongly recommend this awesome game to all Nintendo DS owners.
| 43 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
