The world ends with you final remix4/17/2023 Boasting stylish art design, unique gameplay and a stellar soundtrack, it successfully set itself apart from Square-Enix’s more traditional franchises Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. If there’s one classic game you play in 2020, I really hope it’s TWEWY.Originally released on the Nintendo DS way back in 2007 (slow down, time), The World Ends With You is a cult hit with JRPG fans. It’s a real testament to the dreamweaving developers behind this series that a game like this can endure and wow me with a surprising level of relevance even decades after its release. I’m sure you’ll feel the same after a few hours with this cult classic. All I care about is the fact that we’re getting another chance to explore this world. While I’m sure it will be flush with unique systems, I don’t really mind whether NEO meets the gameplay mystique of the original. Who knows what kind of unique combat systems they’re conjuring right now to evoke the incredible idiosyncrasy of the original. I’m stoked to see what Square Enix can do with a full-blown 3D sequel. Given that the future of that series seems to lie in the hands of Nomura and the streets of modern pseudo-Shibuya, I’m sure there’s a part to play for the stylish new blood teased in NEO’s recent trailer. With such powerful themes and distinct characters, it’s no surprise that TWEWY’s cast have appeared in Kingdom Hearts games since. More than ever, we are realising the importance of the most minor forms of social contact that we took for granted, and the benefit of touching base with friends and family to make sure they’re doing ok. The importance of vulnerability and empathy in an ever-distant, agnostic world is a moral that cannot be understated, especially in a year like 2020. Neku isn’t able to endure the Reaper’s Game - or any combat engagement, for that matter - without the help of his friends on the opposite screen. The game’s withdrawn protagonist can wear his headphones in the scramble and push away anyone who gets close to him, but the truth is that we need to give parts of ourselves to others in order to understand our existence and thrive. Despite what the title may suggest, the point of TWEWY is that it doesn’t. The best part about all of this is that the game ties its elegiac co-operative combat mechanics to the central thesis of its narrative. Given that a poster for Loveless was used prominently in Final Fantasy VII, it’s not unreasonable to assume that Square Enix’s creative cabal is influenced by the melancholy power of shoegaze. But then you’ve got a song like ‘Underground’, with its angelic crooning and noisy shoegaze backdrop - it sounds like a B-side from My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. Here we have trip hop, techno and neurotic piano evocative of Shoji Meguro’s work on Persona. The game’s Takeharu Ishimoto soundtrack is similarly full of stylish variety. If that wasn’t enough, Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi’s peerless character designs bring such raw personality to the game, cementing its cult classic status. What a special and unforgettable place to set a game. The art direction and typography sticks in your mind’s eye - truly, what an achievement it is to capture the immense milieu of Shibuya in a portable game like this. You’re playing the Reaper’s Game and wiping out the ‘Noise’ to save your souls, all the while wearing killer clothing brands that alter your statistics depending on where you’re fighting across the ward. The team behind Kingdom Hearts weave an effortlessly cool tale embedded in the 00s streetwear culture of Shibuya. If that wasn’t enough to put you under this game’s spell, TWEWY’s premise is genius.
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