Best DS game I have played! The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is that there are games that are only slightly better.
The bad: The battle system can take a while to get used to
The story of this game focuses on Neku Sakuraba, a 15 year-old, who lives in Shibuya. Neku wakes up one day, without remembering anything but his name. He finds out that he is playing the Reapers' Game. The Reapers' goal is to "erase" Players like Neku, using monsters called Noise. Neku has to survive 7 days in the game, without being erased.
As regards the gameplay, the battle system is hard to get used to, but it is revolutionary and fun, in my opinion. What makes it stand out from other games is that you have to play in both screens at the same time and each screen has a different battle style. On the bottom screen, you use Neku who fights by using pins. On the top screen, you use Neku's partner, who you control with the directional arrows.
The main character may seem a bit, well, emo at the beginning but don't be discouraged by that. As the story progresses, he changes and becomes more social. Apart from the main character, there are a lot of other characters with interesting personalities.
The story is really addictive as there are a lot of plot twists and many elements of mystery. Another thing that makes this game good is that there is a lot of background story, which is revealed by completing tasks after the main game is finished.
Which brings us to replay value. There are special "missions" that are unlocked after defeating the game's final boss. In order to complete the missions you have to replay the game's chapters and perform special tasks. Upon completing a mission a "Secret Report" is obtained and new (mainly background) information is revealed. In addition, a bonus chapter is unlocked after defeating the final boss.
This game's difficulty is completely adjustable. There are 4 levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard and Ultimate (which is unlocked after finishing the game). You can select which level to play on, not at the beginning if the game, but during it and you can change it anytime. What's more, you can select what level to play on. That is, you level up, but you can chose to play on a lower level than the maximum level you've reached.
Another interesting fact is that the game is set in Shibuya, Tokyo. There are shops where you can buy clothes for the characters and pins for Neku. Depending on whether the brand you wear is popular or not, you might get an advantage or a disadvantage in battles.
Last but not least, this game, unlike others, is very funny. The dialogues will have you laughing for hours.
RPG and SE fans must buy. Just think how great a game must be to deserve such a huge review!