11. The World Ends With You (Square-Enix/Jupiter - DS)

Ever since merging with Enix, Square have practically sold out. Instead of being the company known for Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and some interesting little side projects (such as Shump Einhander, fighter Tobal and stuff like Final Fantasy Tactics and Front Mission), they're basically now the Dragon Quest and FF company. So when something like The World Ends With You comes along – it's a refreshing change of pace...and more.

It's refreshing in that it's not like your standard RPG. It takes place in modern day Shibuya (a suburb of Japan – home to a very famous scramble crossing that no doubt you've seen before), and places a focus on elements that most people wouldn't even consider for an RPG. For instance, clothing plays a big part in the game – as does the brands of clothing and pins that you wear (said pins give you differing powers to fight monsters). Different brands are popular in different areas of Shibuya – and gives you bonuses if you have the coolest outfit at the moment (well, coolest brand anyway). However, by continuously fighting monsters, you can make a brand that's not popular at all into the most popular brand in that area – and get the bonuses.

Speaking of combat, it too is really unique. The action takes place across both screens – and you control both characters at the same time, in real time. The bottom screen is controlled via the stylus, while the top screen is controlled via the D-Pad. Both characters have different stylus gestures (based on the pins currently equipped) and different commands with the D-Pad to learn. This system may seem confusing at first, and it does take a little getting used to, but you can always leave one character as being automated, so you can focus on playing the game more. Best of all, NO RANDOM BATTLES. And if you want to fight more enemies than just the one group – that's also easy to do.

That being said, it's still not an entirely perfect experience. There are two major problems with the game – the fact that you have to unlock key gameplay elements and the dialogue. The gameplay elements in question include difficulty settings, the ability to retry battles, the ability to skip dialogue scenes that you've already seen and more. It doesn't feel right – I mean, you shouldn't have to unlock that kind of thing. And then the dialogue. Not that what's being said is bad, or the story is bad, but the fact that there's too much of it. Literally – you walk into an area, and you'll get hit with a LONG and unskippable dialogue scene. Get killed and need to restart? Then you'll get to see that dialogue scene again, and YOU STILL CAN'T SKIP IT.

But despite these two flaws, TEWEY is easily of the best games to be released this year. It's extremely refreshing, has a fantastic visual **** some excellent music (that you can buy in-game), a great battles system and plenty of cool ideas. If you want a DS RPG that's not set in medieval times and is not named Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest – then pick up TEWEY.