The World Ends With You

The World Ends With You is a new Square-Enix RPG that was released in North America on April 22, 2008. The game features an eclectic anime art style and a unique combat system that utilizes all of the major features of the DS, including both screens. The stylus controls allow the player to get into the kinetic flow of the action, performing various gestures to complete special moves and powerful spells to wipe out the enemies that line up before you.

The so-called "stride cross" battle system is rather involved and difficult to learn. It requires highly precise stylus movements, so it's best to play the game in a relaxed setting in which there isn't much bumping and shifting about, like there would be on a train or bus. Unlike many other Japanese RPGs, it has a contemporary setting that follows a group of young teenagers as they navigate a strange virtual reality that is far more important than it seems at first. The bright graphics and catchy techno soundtrack make it stand out from the rest of the pack, particularly as so many RPGs these days seem to favor bleak settings and conventional genre tropes.

The combat system utilizes the stylus perhaps more than almost any other DS game to date. You can tap the screen rapidly to fire bullets, draw special symbols to cast spells and conduct special attacks while players monitor special mechanics like the sync ratio and light puck to maximize their damage potential against the monsters that they face.