What would you expect from the Kingdom Hearts team? Yep. The best RPG You've played in a looooong time.
The World Ends With You is set on the Shibuya district in Tokyo, a place that actually exists (sorry, they are no swords and castles this time). A boy named Neku, who doesn't trust anyone, wakes up in the middle of the street, with no memories, after being attacked by some weird frogs, Neku meets a girl named Shiki, and they form a pact so they can counter the Noise (the monsters in TWEWY, like the frogs), then, she explains that you are playing a game, in which you have to accomplish one mission per day, for a week, or else, be erased. That's only the beginning of one of the most awesome stories ever! TWEWY's story is also very dependant on its cast of characters, (and it has some of the most charming characters you've ever seen) being trust one of the major themes on the game.
Every mission in TWEWY follows a simple pattern, I'll get a mission on your phone (like going from point A to point B, or talking to someone), but your path will get constantly blocked by invisible walls. Usually, you'll just have to talk to a Reaper in a red hood and do whatever he tells you to (like killing x number of Noise or bringing a pin) in oder to open your path. Some missions can be pretty annoying, specially in the beginning, since they tell you where you need to go, but not how you get there, and the map is pretty useless. Thankfully this is a minor problem since Shibuya isn`t very big, and after a while, you'll know how to get where you have to go.
But TWEWY biggest innovation and highlight is its battle system. You battle in both of the screens at the same time, this may sound too hard, and it does take time to get used to. In the bottom screen you control Neku using only the Stylus, you use pins to attack (there are 300 in the game), each pin has its own effect and must be activated in a different way, some may be activated by scratching the enemy, or even blowing on the DS mic, also, the pins evolve with time, gaining more attack power, or even, new functions. While controlling Neku, you can also control Neku's partner on the other screen, even though you DON'T HAVE to, since after a few moments of inactivity, the computer will take on the upper screen. Neku's partner is controlled with the D-Pad, you have to press a pre-determined sequence of buttons to unleash combos, but Neku's partners have different fighting styles, so there are different ways to unleash Fusion Attacks (extremely devastating attacks, that refill some HP) with each one.
TWEWY has other unusual mechanics. Here, your equipments are T-Shirts, Jackets, Backpacks, and this kind of stuff, each equipment (and pins too) has a brand, brands can be strong or weak in certain places, so if you're wearing a strong brand, you'll get some bonuses but in the other hand, if you're wearing a weak one, you lose def our atk power. Another interesting feature is the ability to read peoples thougts and imprinting ideas on them, even though you'll rarely use these abilities.
On the technical standpoint TWEWY is a blast too, its sprites look great, specially in motion and it has some of the DS most awesome tracks (actually, I bought TWEWY soundtrack at iTunes store, and I wrote this whole review listening to "Someday").
TWEWY isn't quite the biggest game ever, it last about 15 hours, but you WILL want to replay it, since there's so much to do. 300 Pins, many equipments, side missions, unlockable tracks and Secret Reports to collect (that add a lot to the game's story).
So, if you have have a DS and like RPGs, that's the perfect game for you. Awesome graphics, one of the DS's best soundtrack, interesting story, and a innovative battle system await you in one of the most different RPGs released in years. THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU.
Graphics......................... 9.0
Sound............................. 9.5
Replay Value.................. 9.0
Gameplay....................... 10.0
Story................................. 9.5
Overall............................. 9.5