A look back at: The World Ends With You

Well done me, I just finally reviewed my 100th RPG and done some post game stuff, and what do you know, I picked a good RPG for my 100th. Amidst the sea of turn-based RPGs, active-time RPGs, and most other action RPGs, The World Ends With You does something you probably wouldn't have expected Square Enix to actually do. See, they've got quite a few controversial releases, particularly the Lufia 2 remake as well as the Final Fantasy III and IV remakes which I still can't figure out. But TWEWY? Original, fun, innovative, quite difficult but quite rewarding at the same time. And it's even got memes.

Controlling both top screen and bottom screen is key to victory, but damn near difficult. Square, being the tutorial gurus they are after numerous Final Fantasy tutorials, at least make these ones count, since the game perplexes me on a lot of things here. Eventually, I'd learn, then I'd conquer every fight I get into. The completionist in me gave up trying to master every pin, since the drop rates are difficult with the higher difficulties, but I did get the secret reports, Another Day, and all of the jazz and pig noises. Rough, rough times were had here and there, but prevailing through much of the meat is what I live for. Speaking of meat, the food system is quite the difference, as is the outfit system (not that any NPC notices what people wear though, due to plot circumstances).

And then we get the story that evokes shades of It's a Wonderful Life (the game actually was titled that in the Japanese version), but with loads of twists. Who'd think? Brainwashing a whole city using pins from a much earlier day? Circumstances of death? The big bad Composer being one of your three partners and at odds with the Conductor? Another Day completely rewriting character roles for a poor man's Beyblade? God this game went crazy. And I enjoyed the craziness. Helping matters was a fantastic soundtrack too. This ends up being a Top 5 game for me. And guess what? I'm gonna be ranking my RPGs in a future post. Keep posted, folks.