VIDEO GAME REVIEW: ‘World Ends With You’ a unique DS experience

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By Aimee Green | Thursday, July 3, 2008 9:38 AM CDT | () comments

(REDOCTANE) In "Guitar Hero: On Tour," the notes scroll on the left screen while the player strums with a pick on the right screen. Buy this Photo

Square Enix makes good games. That can’t really be denied. Of course, gamers know all about its big games, such as the “Final Fantasy” series, but Square Enix also has some fantastic lesser-known games.

One such gem is “The World Ends With You” for the Nintendo DS.

“TWEWY,” as I shall call it, is definitely an odd little game, but that’s part of its charm.

The story follows a boy named Neku, who wakes up in a section of Tokyo with no memories other than his name (go figure). He wanders around and realizes he can’t talk to anybody else. Soon after, he gets a message on his cell phone telling him to complete “the game” or face erasure.

Turns out Neku and a handful of others are in a parallel dimension and are players in a game run by “Reapers.” The Reapers issue missions to the players, and any players who fail get erased. The game lasts seven days, and players who win the game supposedly get their lives back.

The missions are based around monsters called “Noise.” Using pins (as in the kind you stick on clothing), the players can attack the Noise and defeat them.

Neku partners up with a girl named Shiki. Despite being antisocial and irritable, Neku can’t survive without a partner.

This partnership is key and one of the most interesting aspects of the game. You control Neku’s attacks using the touchscreen. Depending on what pins he has equipped, attacks involve drawing slashes across the screen, tapping, drawing circles, etc.

The twist is that, at the same time, Shiki is fighting on the top screen — and you control her, too. Shiki’s attacks are dictated by button combinations using the directional pad, such as hitting the right button six times.

The game allows Shiki to be on autopilot, but controlling them both is best if you want to be effective. Powerful combos can be built up between the two.

It’s a bit bewildering and chaotic at first, and my initial battle “grades” were absolutely terrible. But after a few hours of playing, the back-and-forth attacks became like second nature — and it’s a blast.

In addition to fighting Noise and collecting and leveling up different pins, there are shops scattered throughout the world. Characters can be equipped with food and clothing and given stat boosts.

The game is set to catchy Japanese pop songs, with more available for purchase in the shops.

The worst part is the game has only one save file, meaning family members wanting to share will just have to wait their turn.

“TWEWY” is one of those rare games in which a short play session quickly turns into hours. It has an intriguing story, fantastic presentation and a battle system unlike any I’ve experienced. Play it.

‘Guitar Hero’ on DS fun, but painful

“Guitar Hero: On Tour” brings the popular music series to the DS.

What? The DS?

Yes, as odd as it seems, the DS has a “Guitar Hero” game, and it actually works pretty well — if a bit painfully.

The game uses a peripheral that plugs into the Game Boy Advance slot. This “grip” has four buttons and a strap. If you’re right-handed, you hold the DS vertically with your left hand wrapped behind the system to hit the buttons. With your right hand, you use a pick-shaped stylus to “strum” the notes.

Overall, the system works pretty well. The grip’s buttons are responsive, and strumming is almost as easy as pushing a button.

The visuals and sounds are just like other “Guitar Hero” games, meaning they’re solid. But the game itself isn’t very long, with just five venues, six characters and about 25 songs.

Multiplayer battle modes have been improved, with fun “attacks” that use the DS’s unique abilities. The other player can hit you with a broken string, for example, and you’ll have to use the stylus to reconnect it. One attack involves blowing into the microphone to put out a fire.

Gamewise, “Guitar Hero: On Tour” is as expected and certainly can be fun.

However, the awkward angle needed to hit the buttons hurt my wrist quite a bit, which killed some of the fun. After extensive play, my wrist went numb, but I don’t think that’s necessarily better. I would have liked it if the buttons were angled instead of flush with the DS, reducing the strain.

I also had a problem with the grip sliding out of the GBA slot, resulting in having to restart the game. I don’t know why I couldn’t just push it back in and resume the song.

These issues are annoying but not totally game-breaking. The ability to take a “Guitar Hero” game anywhere might outweigh the possible carpal tunnel syndrome.

Aimee Green of the Lincoln Journal Star, a Lee Enterprises newspaper, can be contacted at (402) 473-7326 or Aimee.Green@lee.net.

SCORECARD

“The World Ends With You”

Square Enix, for DS

Rated: Teen

Cost: $39.99

Score: 9/10

Guitar Hero: On Tour

RedOctane, for DS

Rated: Everyone 10+

Cost: $49.99

Score: 7.5/10

Scores based on an evaluation of gameplay (4 points), visuals (2), sound (2) and replayability/value (2).