JRPG by Square-Enix that does a phenomenal job of displaying the full capabilities of the DS's dual screens.
Story: 10/10
You play as Neku, a troubled teen who's currently suffering from amnesia. He quickly discovers that he's part of The Game in which he needs to partner up with someone, Shiki, in order to stay alive and must fulfill missions in order to avoid being "erased". The game takes place in Shibuya, one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo that serves as a fashion center for mainly young people, and for a JRPG, is a pretty unique setting, especially from Square-Enix since their games usually take place in the past or future (or bizarre alternate reality). As you progress, Neku regains his memories and discovers the secrets of "The Game". The World Ends With You has pretty great character development and you learn to care about pretty much every one of the main characters.
Visuals: 10/10
Considering this is the same team that made Kingdom Hearts, I'm not surprised how awesome the art style of The World Ends With You is. Each character is unique and their clothes are full of style and personality, even Neku who's usually pretty indifferent throughout the game. The areas are vibrant and reflect well on the actual setting of Shibuya.
Sound: 10/10
For a DS, I was surprised to hear voice acting, and although it's not full on dialogue, hearing the voices of the characters just adds to their already unique and memorable personas. All the voice acting is well done and perfectly cast. As for the music, it's super catchy, especially the battle music which adds to the fun of going into battle.
Gameplay: 10/10
Very different from most JRPGs, The World Ends With You features real time battles and utilizes the DS's dual screen capabilities by having you control two characters at the same time in battle. On the touch screen, you have Neku which you use abilities (through pins) and activate using touch gestures. On the top screen you have Neku's partner that you control using the D-pad (or ABXY for lefties) to activate combos and special moves. It is a lot to handle at first but eventually you learn that you must primarily focus on Neku, while constantly activating combos for his partner and just knowing which side the enemy is located on. Battling (aside from mandatory battles) are also optional, as you have to use Neku's mind reading ability to see the enemy "the Noise" then touch them to initiate a battle. Outside of battling, there aren't really much side quests, aside from unlocking special items from store owners through item quests. There are a LOT of items to collect, especially pins. Pins serve as Neku's abilities and choosing which pins to take into battle can make it either easy or difficult. Pins are primarily obtained through battle drops and the higher your level, the higher your HP, the higher your HP, the more you can sacrifice to raise your drop rate.
Value: 10/10
For a handheld game, The World Ends With You is huge. It took me nearly 35 hours to beat and would take the average person probably around 25 hours (I did a lot of grinding). After you beat the game, it unlocks a chapter mode that allows you to replay through any section you want. This is very much a game that I will definitely want to play through again so this is indeed a great value.
Overall: 10/10
The best RPG on the DS and one of the best JRPGs of this generation. The World Ends With You is an ambitious game filled with personality and style, and I'm hoping Square-Enix does more with this franchise.