I won't lie though, nothing really interesting is happening right now. It's the end of my freshman year of college and I'm not prepared for the impending rape that is final exams. It is also to be noted that it is ridiculously cold in my dorm room, because the fucking shithead that runs the housing at UMass Dartmouth decided to shut off the heating systems for the summer. I can't feel my toes and my roommate is wearing about 3-4 layers of clothes because he is even colder than I am.
The only thing that I have right now to keep me warm and happy is The World Ends With You for the Nintendo DS. After reading a shitload of mostly positive reviews and doing a little research, I decided to buy it. I was kind of upset that I had to pay $40 for this game, mostly because Square Enix is a giant money grubbing whore, but I can safely say that the game is worth the money for anyone that owns a DS, even if the box art is a little lame.
I mean, the title is written on the box twice, just in case you're not sure of what game you're buying, just in case you only buy games based on what the box art of the game looks like. Oh yeah, and that kid all the way the way on the right with the beanie and red shirt? It's a girl, I thought it was a boy, it's like a fucking reverse reverse trap or something.Since I am only through what is considered 1/3 of the way through the game, I am not at liberty to deliver a final opinion on the game, or write a wicked in-depth review of the game. But what I have played is an enjoyable experience. But it is not without its flaws, which I will now explain in a somewhat comical fashion.
The introduction movie to the game, as serious as it was trying to be, made me laugh when I first started the game. The main character of the game, Neku, is your basic angsty teenager who hates the world. His only saving grace is that he wears huge headphones, and if you know me, you know that I think huge headphones are fucking awesome. But anyways, the opening cinematic, which consists of:
"Shut up, don't talk to me, leave me alone"
"Get out of my face"
"I don't understand people, never have, never will"
"I've got my values, so you can just keep yours okay?"
It basically sets us up for a story that will eventually end in this character learning abou
t the importance of having friends, but like any other cliched storyline, will eventually come around and change his ways. And that's exactly what happens, as Neku is forced to make a pact with some girl named Shiki and they become partners in a game known as the Reapers' Game, where the players of the game have seven days to complete missions assigned by reapers (not actual grim reapers) or be 'erased.'Neku acts like a total douchebag towards everyone, including his partner, the mandatory girl (to the right) that wears next to no clothing. I mean, look at the character art, are we supposed to be able to see those lines? Is that a tatoo? I don't fucking think so. She's like 15, get the fuck outta there, you're gonna get raped.
The story and characters are pretty underwhelming and cliche, and all the enemies encountered so far have been animals (wolves, bears, birds, sharks, porcupines) It is expected because this game is made by the same people who made the Kingdom Hearts series, which was also fun to play, but the story, well, mostly appealed to 12 year old girls with anime obsessions. Leave it to a fanbase to make you feel ashamed about something you play.
That being said, the gameplay for TWEWY (goddamn I hate the abbreviation for this game) is pretty fucking sweet. For a game that is controlled mostly with a stylus, it works well in most aspects. The major problem with this game is that it can be too complex, and a little bit overwhelming to learn all at the same time. They throw all this shit at you at the same time and then are like "Hey did you get all of that? Didn't think so" and then the game cartridge pops out of the DS, sprouts legs and kicks you square in the balls.
Here's a quick breakdown of JUST battling.
-You have to control two different people (Neku and his partner), with two different control schemes (stylus and the d-pad), at the same time (on separate screens).
-Neku uses 'pins' to attack. These are simply buttons that you equip to Neku that will allow you to perform cert
ain actions by using the stylus (slashing a character, tapping a character, drawing a penis, yelling "NIGGER" into the microphone, etc.) You can only use an attack pin for a certain time before it runs out and it has to recharge.-I find that some of the responses for the pins do not work sometimes, I don't know if it's because I'm playing with an old scratched fat DS, or that when you equip pins that require you to perform similar actions (like dragging items combined with drawing shapes) it will cause the game to shit out and scream "AFRAID I CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT STAR FOX"
-At the same time, you control Neku's partner by tapping combos with the D-Pad (or a/b/y/x buttons if you're left handed like me). Luckily, the game will take over for your top-screen duties if you find doing both to be too overwhelming, which would be helpful if the CPU actually did stuff. Either way, the partner just stands there and takes it in the butt. Did I mention that the two characters share HP? Well guess what, they do, so if the CPU decides to let the top screen player get raped, be prepared to die and start over or using your healing pin ALOT.
-They also add fusion attacks, which requires the top screen player to perform the correct combos in order in the right combination in order to unlock the power to unleash a dual screen attack that doesn't even really do much. Maybe I'm not doing it right. Maybe I'm just retarded
As if you wern't already confused enough, the game also incorporates the oh-so-interesting (/sarcasm) element of fashion trends into your item and battle management. Any pin or item that can be equipped has a brand name to it. Depending on what section of the map you are on, your stats may go up or go down depending on what brand you are wearing. So if you're wearing a brand that's popular in the area, you'll get a slight stat boost, if you're wearing the one unpopular brand in that area, YOUR FUCKING ATTACK POWER AND HP GET HALVED WHAT THE FUCK. There's nothing better than going into a battle and going "Wow my attack power is down? That's kind of exciting" AND THEN YOU GET FUCKING RAPED BY A PACK OF BEARS WITH TATTOOS FOR ARMS. So be prepared to hit start and check the map for fashion trends every fucking 30 seconds.
Oh yeah, did I mention that they have bears with tattoos for arms? That's some pretty hardcore shit right there.
Aside from that the game requires somewhat of a learning curve and the characters and plot are somewhat laughable, I have enjoyed what I have played so far. Anyone who considers themselves to be a legit non-casual DS owner should buy this game. Unless you hate Square Enix, which is completely understandable.
Now Listening: The World Ends With You OST
