Right, with that generic opening out of the way, let's jump straight into a review, shall we?
THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU (or "It's a Wonderful World" if you're into importing stuff that's just as easily available in your own country). (On a side note, if I use lots of capitals its because this game DEMANDS it by being so AMAZING.)
^sexay box art ;)From the box art (and believe me, it's one helluva good one) alone, you can tell this game is going to be amazing. Not only is there the comforting "Square Enix" (who make the best RPG games ever, by the way) logo emblazoned on the front, there's a cool emo type person in an awesome outfit. Seriously, he's WEARING PURPLE HEADPHONES and has SPIKY ORANGE HAIR. What's not to like?
This though, is not your standard RPG. It's a beat-em-up-adventure-action-RPG. Snappy!
The plot? As usual, it's an amazing one, with some really likable characters. Essentially, there are some bad guys and they take people and make them play the Reaper's Game, which lasts a week, and every day new challenges are set and...it's good, okay? And the plot has enough twists and turns to keep you occupied during the more than ample playing time.
The gameplay in this game is REALLY QUITE MESSED UP and yet, somehow, AWESOME AT THE SAME TIME. Outside of battle, you'll wander around a gritty urban landscape, interrupted by anime-style cutscenes, and of course, battles. And there are no immensely irritating random battles that occur every thirty seconds.
I wouldn't mind if there were, to be completely honest, because the fighting system is fantastic. On the bottom screen, you control our spiky-haired friend Neku with your plastic pen of death (er...that's the stylus, by the way), unleashing hell on the incredible variety of monsters (or 'Noise'). On the top screen, you control one of Neku's partners (you'll go through three in the course of the game) with the buttons. I'm doing a really bad job of explaining this. Dammit! Never mind, all you need to know is that this game has a crazy amount of crazy ideas. Truly mindblowing.
As for the games graphics and sound...well, they're fantastic. Style overflows from every frame and the soundtrack really helps to emphasise that. All the characters, no matter how small a role they have to play, Noise, all the Pins and their respective attacks are beautifully drawn in a graphical style which I think more games should have.
^Woo, more low-quality screenshots casually stolen from other websites! :D yes, it's as crazy as it looks. And then some.
All of this wouldnt matter though, if the game was a walk in the park. Thankfully though, it is a real challenge, especially on hard difficulty (well duh). So while that is not an issue, there is one small problem with this game, it may be a little too styled for some.
If you have a hatred of anime (silly you), or are against innovation then a) what did you buy a DS for?! and b) go and sit on a cactus. Underwater. Suspended over an undersea volcano. With some sharks. hungry sharks. (weirdly, there's a shark boss in this game :D ). But that doesn't matter, because I, personally, absolutely love it, and well, it's my blog, so I have no problem in awarding this with not just an A*, but also the title of my favourite game ever :) :)
A*
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