More than worth your time
The Bad: The Joshua arc is a little on the lame side; moneymaking, and pin system feels unbalanced.
It isn't often that RPGs get creative, or that Square Enix creates a truly quality RPG. The time for that is now.
The World Ends With You is an amazing experience. The plot teems with suspense, and heartfelt moments. The gameplay is challenging and exciting. The characters and their fates will actually concern you as you go through the plot.
The battle system is actually split into three parts. The game has three different cycles of seven days, and during each week you'll fight alongside a different character. This cool, but I can't help but suspect that the game really dragged when I teamed up with Joshua. The fights were frustrating as hell, while the mystery/detective-like aspects of the game that usually aren't that bad, were suddenly a chore. It's a good thing that the combat still remained as addictive as ever.
It's tough at first. You'll need to fight on 2 screens at once, real time, and it isn't easy to learn. You'll control Neku through the touch pad, and his partner on the top screen through button presses (Think Stepmania RPG style). Monsters will maul the living crap out of you, and you'll frequently adjust the difficultly level (and your HP!) to ensure your victory. The game is forgiving in this regard.
You fight with pins. You'll equip them on Neku, and them for particular attacks. The problem is that the balance is really lame. Some pins level faster than others, and many that you'll spend time leveling up initially will become useless after a while. This basically means that you'll need to grind in combat if you ever want great pins. The popularity system, which determines a pin's power based on where you're using it, makes this even more frustrating as your best pins are suddenly weak as hell against the competition.
Visuals and sound are great. Shibuyu Japan is portrayed amazingly, and the character models and colors are top notch. The music is largely forgettable, but it fits the mood, and can get very upbeat in a crazy way when you're fighting.
The game is great. Do I want a sequel? Absolutely. I hope we get one, because although this game is great, and you'll do whatever it takes to finish, there's not much reason to come back to the game after the erasers have been erased. Play the game if you want to know what that last sentence meant!
- Josh Sumara