The World Ends With You
This game with such a unique title is a Nintendo DS RPG. however, forget everything you know about RPGs. Coming from the company that buries one of my favorite series a bit more with each release (Final Fantasy - more on that another time) and who publishes generally sub-par RPGs of other franchises, along with a few gems (Dragon Quest), this was surprising, as it abandons all trappings of regular games.
You play as Neku. When you wake up, having forgotten part of your past, you realize you are still in Shibuya – the hip area of Tokyo – except you are like a ghost. People can’t see or hear you. You are then attacked by monsters and find a partner. Apparently, you are in some kind of “game”, the winner of which will be revived. that’s the initial set up, anyway.
To fight, you must use Pins. These are real pins, little round items. Each Pin carries an ability that you can use. You can equip multiple pins, as well as prepare multiple sets of pins, and each of these levels up separately. In combat, you control two characters at the same time: one on the upper screen, which is controlled by either the buttons (A, B, X and Y) or the D-Pad. The main character, Neku, is on the bottom, and controlled with the stylus exclusively.
To activate your powers, you need to use the stylus in particular ways. Some Pins only require you to press on the enemy to jolt them with electricity; others require you to draw lines to create walls of flames, yet others require you to hold the stylus in one place to generate an explosion at said place. So in addition to varying powers, to need to make sure some pins don’t have the same activation method (although there exists a way for such Pins to coexist).
Battles are thus frantic as you try to control both characters at the same time, avoiding attacks in the process. The good news is that your character can gain level as well as equipment. Every piece of clothing and Pin is associated with a "style" that has bonuses and penalties depending on the area you fight in. You can also upgrade your stats by eating. Eating diverse foods will fill a meter. When your character has finished digesting his food, he will gain bonuses in some stats. This allows you to customize your chars even more.
Each Pin can level individually, and even evolve into other Pins. The way you make Pins evolve involve the multiple types of experience a Pin can earn: rest xp is gained through not playing for a while, and battle xp is gained from winning. Some xp can be earned through a mini-game. To evolve, you require some xp of each kind (for instance, Pin A could require 100 rest xp and 200 mini-game xp to evolve into Pin B, or 300 xp of any kind to evolve into Pin C). Some pins are very rare, and you can adjust difficulty on the fly to increase your chances of finding a rare Pin.
The game is thus very much unique. The setting and the gameplay are one of a kind, but it is the story that is the piece de resistance. The story is appropriately convoluted, and features many interesting characters. If you own a DS, you have to try this game, there is no way around it.
I was supposed to mention other favorite games, notably BlazBlue, Killer7 and others. However, it seems long enough. It will be for another time.
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Sidenote: I mentioned the Scott Pilgrim movie the other day. You can also try the Scott Pilgrim game, on sale on the PSN, and soon on XBox Live. It is reminiscent of Double Dragon and River City Ransom, with a modern touch and references to many classic videogames. Definitely worth a try!
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