Just a preface to my review crim. I'm the type that always values authenticity and honesty over tact, and sometimes I step on toes because of that nature. Please forgive any criticisms. I know how dear this game is to you. I mean no offense - only sharing my own genuine opinion. And hey, I liked it! I had plenty of fun with it despite the things that rubbed me a little sideways.
I had long been curious about The World Ends With You. It had been in my backlog for years and years, and I finally decided to experience it for myself. Truthfully, I knew very little about it, despite it having been so many years since release. I only knew that the combat might be complicated, that it was anime-inspired, and that it was loved by so many. But, I decided it was time for me to see what it was in my own hands, and having now played it, I will say that it's an interesting mix of very good with some stains that sullied the experience somewhat for me.
The most immediate impression was how this was going to be very much an anime / manga type of vibe. From the angular lines and use of color and speech bubbles, to the setting, characters and music, everything was very “Tokyo”. While the visual stylings are very comic-infused and familiar, they also had their own unique flavor, and I found the look and tone to be engaging and was a vibe that grew on me throughout. Wandering the streets of Shibuya and listening to the catchy j-pop tunes while playing in a Matrix-like “game” that involved a real world and an under/other-world - a game with heavy consequences to the players, of which the main character Neku as your avatar, was a participant - was fun and engaging in an imaginative way typical to much of the anime I've experienced. Everything was very *dramatic* and over the top, both in terms of the primary story as well the characters that inhabited the world - both heroes and villains. Everything popped with that type of melodrama characteristic of the medium (of anime), and it was surely entertaining in that hyper-real and exaggerated way.
In terms of mechanics, things were certainly interesting. In this “game” within the game, you, as Neku, are required to have a partner as you venture forth. (I'll avoid spoilers about the details just in case.) As you encounter opposition and must fight, your partner battles foes on the top screen and Neku battles on the bottom. You (as Neku) utilize a variety of stylus gestures as indicated by collectible “pins” he acquires, physical movements like slashes, pokes, presses, drags and swipes in various directions and with various environmental elements to generate damage according to the equipped pins instructions. The upper screen where your partner fights is mostly about simply pressing left or right on the d-pad in the direction of enemies in order for attacks to land. There is more to it than this, however. There are also plenty of equipable items that function as stat modifiers. You can purchase a variety of gear at many shops in Shibuya to aid you in your efforts, and some of the better gear could really make a great difference in battle outcomes. These elements are very “fashion-centric”, a theme that is present throughout. There's also an element where you can try to match certain sequences for the partner character on the top screen by taking branching paths on your directional inputs (up and down in addition to left and right) to fill in certain patterns to gain additional abilities and healing. I must say that this element really came across as overkill, as I found it tough enough to simply focus on both screens with the directional inputs for the partner being all I could really manage in addition to Neku's problems on the bottom screen. This game is truly a multi-taskers paradise, I suppose - something I most certainly am *not*. I guess I'm a smooth brained ape that can only think peel banana and *then* eat banana - not both simultaneously.
To be fair though there are multiple difficulties and modifiers for how to handle your partner - including making them fight on their own completely. So, it's not like you have to crack your brain in two in order to play. I played throughout as both characters, but made no attempts at the pattern matching aspect of the upper screen after realizing it was an ask too large, rather simply directing my attacks to the enemies side as best I could while controlling Neku as the bulk of my focus. This multifaceted approach to combat was unnecessarily complex in my view, but I suppose there are some high-functioning savants that probably make this juggling act look like child's play. I also felt like the control inputs didn't always register as executed. They mostly worked fine, but there were instances where I was trying to do one thing and it did another, but with the level of inputs available and the relatively small screen, it's understandable that there would be some difficulty in precision. And it could be possible to equip two different pins that utilized the same or very similar gestures, resulting in frustration at times. As stated, it mostly worked fine, but there were surely moments where I felt I was not getting the response relative to my input, and that was not pleasing. But when you got a nice collection of pins (evolved to be more powerful through use) and got into a flow state with your attacks, things were not only flashy and exciting, but felt very satisfying to execute. Slash into a group of enemies, uppercut them all a couple of times, create an earthquake to immobilize them, fire out bullets to the stunned crowd and pick up a car to drag over them - or any combination you might find fun from the myriad potential options. Wow - to be sure, *playing* TWEWY could be great fun at the best of moments.In terms of story, I don't want to spoil the narrative, but I will say that the characters - Shiki, Joshua, Beat and Neku all felt very unique and well-developed, if in an exaggerated and caricature sort of style. And the themes present were resonant, with a focus on loyalty and interdependence carrying a warmth that I appreciated and helped sustain the otherwise sometimes-clumsy, if frequently entertaining story.
And some other points that detracted from my experience a bit were the fact that there were some sharp difficulty spikes in a couple of spots that caught me off guard. I also didn't really care for the “style” and “trends” aspect of the game. I am my own style, and have always been utterly disinterested in following the herd. And the fact that some pathways were blocked if you didn't use the right fashion trends for attire and pins annoyed me quite a bit. I guess that's more about me, to be fair, but I simply don't care about blending in with what the world may expect - kind of like Neku, in the beginning, lol. But the style theming was very much in harmony with the overall tone, so it wasn't out of place, just not my personal cup of tea. Also, TWEWY is not the friendliest game on the hardware. The constant and frantic swiping, slashing, poking and pressing really left its mark. The DS(iXL) hardware is a tank, and I've got two of them. One of them I keep pretty pristine, but this old girl really felt the effects of things. She made it through fine, but she's got some battle scars to show for it, ha. My screen, even on this more heavily used device, accumulated some scuffing and blurriness that, to be fair, isn't really present while the screen is on, but when off there's plenty of visible scratching on it now.
So what to say about The World Ends With You in summation? I felt like it was a fun game with some interesting aspects. I love that this game is really married to its hardware. The DS offered some interesting control options and, to be sure, many games used them, but TWEWY really embraced things and it feels like actual hardware is by far the best way to enjoy it. (Granted there are many touch devices in the world today, but the fact remains that this game was built for the machine on which it released, and I love that about it.) The themes rose above the bones of the narrative, but were simultaneously dragged down by clumsy, scattered and sometime tedious exposition that left me a bit sour. I love the potential depth of combat, but that's more of a positive if it were a game I felt a strong desire to replay. Generally for me, I'm only interested in the idea of replaying games that I rank 4/5 or above, and TWEWY, for me, was just average when I place everything on the scale and wait for it to balance. I really appreciated the overall style and the unique flavor of everything, but those pluses were tied to some heavy anchors like inexact inputs, overly complex control ideas and an unnecessarily lengthy experience, given the repetitive nature of the nuts and bolts. I had fun with my time, to be clear, but it's ultimately an average (good) experience taken in totality for me, but unfortunately not a game that lived up to the hype surrounding it for my own tastes. 3/5
16) Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles : Rondo of Blood (PSP)
I never really got into Castlevania until Symphony of the Night on the PS1, and while I've really loved that formula of the series, I've only briefly sampled the older school variety, having not even played a full entry in the “classic” selection of games. Having just played Aria of Sorrow earlier, it reminded me of that gap in my gaming history, and so I decided to go back to the PSP and play the Rondo of Blood remake on the Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles collection. Having Aria fresh in my mind, I was pleasantly surprised by the music. The GBA chip stands no chance against optical media, and both the sound quality and musical pieces were very nice here, most of the time. And being an early form of Castlevania, it leans much more heavily into the pure platforming aspects of gaming than the RPG-tilted Igavania entries. And for the most part, it worked well for me. Using your whip and secondary (heart-dependent) weapons was enjoyable because of the fun bosses, well-designed levels, enemy placements and (varied) movement patterns. I do have to say that this was a stiffer challenge than Aria of Sorrow, and to be transparent, I did use save states rather than replaying longer sections when meeting my end. But the overall sense of resistance was pleasantly tough without being overly frustrating. I could have skipped those save-state shortcuts, but in this day and age, I like the convenience unless I'm just wanting a pure experience because a game is simply undeniably compelling to me. I got other games to play man!
But even with that "cheesing" of things, there was some entertaining and challenging platforming, whipping and pattern-based combat. I also have to say that the game is quite short. I finished it in a couple hours or so (with the acknowledged use of save states), but it's not very long to make it from beginning to end. Having said that, the game is chock full of secrets to find, alternate paths and things to unlock, including the classic Symphony of the Night and the original Rondo of Blood. I did go back and find some alternate routes and secrets, and I appreciate when a game makes discovery and exploration worthwhile. But even with those carrots on a stick, you'll end up playing through much of the same content repeatedly in the process of digging out all those goodies, and unless a game just really hits the sweet spot for me, I don't enjoy retreading my steps so often. But there is more than adequate content and reason to keep it on your screen if you really desire to “complete” everything. There were also a smattering of short cut-scenes that added to the flavor with some fairly poor, but not overly off-putting, voice work. And the visuals in general were pretty nice with 3D models and aspects upon the 2D plane of play, and infused with that gothic mood that all fans enjoy. I also felt the platforming could be a little stiff sometimes, especially with the double jump which had to be positioned just right much of the time as the second jump awkwardly somersaulted you backwards. (As Richter - you can also play as Maria with a different move set and selection of secondary items.) Getting the feel for the timing to nudge your jump - even regular jumps that called for precision - was a little finicky, as you weren't in control of the movement throughout the entirety of the motion. In all, Rondo of Blood on PSP was a fun, if not exceptional, time. I appreciate that this remake made up for the supposedly poor and incomplete North American SNES version, which was all that gamers in the US got until this came along, and I can see why classic series fans enjoy it. If you're really into things, there's plenty to keep you busy as you scour for secrets and unlockables, and it's got that traditional platforming appeal that is often really enjoyable, even if those mechanics weren't as fluid as I would have preferred. I can't say that it approaches the more modern Metroidvania formula for me, however. I found it to be a fun game while lacking the same pull of those entries. I really miss the tons of items, abilities, collectibles and percentage-based map exploration of more recent Castlevania. I know this is a fairly well-loved entry in the classic formula, but I'm likely just more drawn to the rpg-like 'Vanias as a gaming template - worth playing, nevertheless. Rondo lives in that hazy area between a 3 and 4/5 for me, but if pressed I lean slightly to the “good” but not “very good” side of that continuum. 3/5.
17th!?!?!?!? GOOD!?!?!?!? THAT'S ******* AWESOME!
) and a bunch going on, I still think it's worth a shot and hopefully full playthrough. I fully understand that my favorite game won't have to be someone else's. Additionally, other people are going to have different criticisms of something like TWEWY. Which is great! Again, my goal was not to het you to love it but to play it. I appreciate that you tried it and saw it through. Thanks izzy, I'm just glad you enjoyed your time with it 
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