The World Ends With You: Final Remix under review
If you, like me, have been testing games for a few years now, then you play a lot that you forget right away – and then there are some titles that you still remember vividly after more than eleven years, because they were simply so different and fresh that they stood out in the flood of games as something very special. The World Ends With You was one of those games for me and I’m even more happy that the title hasn’t lost much of its stylish charm in the final remix version for Switch.
A game of a different kind
The World Ends With You throws you directly into the action: Your main character, Neku, wakes up in Shibuya, a (by the way real) district of Tokyo, and has to find out that something is wrong. Not only does he have no idea how he got there, but the city is besieged by strange monsters and nobody seems to be able to see him – and then there’s this countdown in his hand … A short time later we learn that Neku is part of the Reaper game, that he as such can only see these and other players, and that he has to solve daily tasks with the help of his cronies in order to survive. And the motivation for it is great, because a victory does not only mean a probable escape from the game, a failure would additionally end in the extinction of its existence. What is particularly difficult for the sociophobic Neku is that only in a team with his partner Shiki can he tackle the monsters, called Noise, and master the challenges.
Teamwork is also crucial for the combat system of The World Ends With You, which uses a very special mechanics : With the help of pins, which you get during the story or buy in shops, you use attacks and other abilities against the noise. In the original game for Nintendo DS, this meant that per pin you had to perform various actions on the Touch Screen, such as tapping on enemies, drawing on free areas in the Battle Screen to draw fire trails or the like, or stroking through noise to inflict damage to them. The Final Remix version for Switch uses the same pin mechanics, but lets you choose between two input options: In handheld mode, you play more or less like you did on the DS, except now you don’t have to use a stylus to enter the data, but use your finger directly. The whole thing still works just as well as I remembered it from the DS version (which I played through several times).
The second variant is the control with Joy-Con in TV mode, and unfortunately it can’t even begin to convince : Instead of the touchscreen control by finger strokes, you perform the maneuvers here using Joy-Con movement in front of the TV. A pointer should show you exactly where you are pointing and you can recalibrate it in no time by pressing the Y-key. What doesn’t sound so bad in theory, unfortunately works more bad than right in practice. Despite the pointer, the input is never precise enough to perform even complex maneuvers, and the whole thing is never cozy anyway, especially when you’re playing on a bigger TV. In my version, I also had the problem that my pointer was constantly moving to the right, so I had to recalibrate without interruption. Of course this can only be due to my Joy-Con, but it was still strange, because it usually works without any problems. The consequence: The TV mode was quickly abandoned and exchanged for the game in handheld mode.
Slam them pins!
After you have solved the input problems thanks to handheld mode, you can now concentrate fully on the unique gameplay of The World Ends With You, even after eleven years. As mentioned before, you fight with pins that all require touch maneuvers – but it doesn’t stay that simple: First there are the limitations of the pins themselves. Each of them can be used for a certain duration – either a certain number of seconds or a certain number of tap/slashes. After that there is a short cool-down until you can use the pin again. The necessary manoeuvres should also be considered: If, for example, you only have pins in your current slots that are activated by tapping, it will be difficult to use the individual actions in a targeted way. However, if you vary between passive pins (which give you status boosts such as a random defense break at the beginning of the fight on your opponents), pins with wipe and pins with tapping manoeuvres, you can use them specifically. A little tactic is needed for the use as well as for the selection of the pins.
And then there would be, as mentioned, also your partner – first Shiki, later also other characters. This person will support you in battle in the form of partner actions, which you will also execute using special touch inputs. If you alternate between these and your own attacks, fill in the Synch indicator. If it’s 100%, you’ll be able to perform particularly powerful team attacks, which will also increase the drop rate for rewards, such as yen pins, which you can scrape in the menu for money or trade in NPCs and shops for special quest items. In the menu you also have the option to lower your level in order to increase the drop rate – so harder fights are a better chance for rewards.
A game with a lot of style
Whoever is a long-time fan of Square Enix will probably know at a glance who is responsible for the art design of The World Ends With You (no pun intended): Tetsuya Nomura is known for his very special style, including an unmistakable fashion statement, and a large part of this obvious passion has also flowed into The World Ends With You: So here you buy equipment, including pins and other equipment equally, not only from some vendors, who all offer more or less the same, but from different brand shops, which also have influence on the gameplay: Every area in Shibuya has a brand radar which shows you which labels are particularly popular at the moment. If you use pins and clothes of these tokens there now, you will get bonuses in battle. The whole thing doesn’t have an enormous effect, but it helps you to fight one or the other particularly annoying opponent a little more effectively sometimes.
And what’s new?
Up here you could find all the above (except the new input options) also in the original game (or in the mobile version released in 2012) – so what’s new about the Final Remix now? Several things: On the one hand you can, should you decide for the input torture at the big TV, now also play in the co-op . One of you takes over Neku, while the other one controls his or her partner. The mode is a good idea so far, but it would have been much nicer if this feature had also been implemented when playing together in handheld mode.
Another and much more interesting innovation is the new Epilog which was added especially for the Final Remix. We don’t want to spoil at this point, but we can tell you that fans of the characters of The World Ends With You shouldn’t miss this section.
Finally, the Sound has also changed a lot: If you take a closer look at the menu, you will discover the option to set the background music (BGM) to classic or remix. Personally, I still like the original soundtrack the best, but there could also be a little bit of nostalgia. Whichever of the two versions you choose, the cool Rock-Hip-Hop-Punk-Electro-Songs go into your ears and fit perfectly to the style-focused rest of The World Ends With You.
FAZIT:
The World Ends With You has always been and still is an idiosyncratic title, but with its unusual fighting system, its exciting story and its stylistically confident presentation it is simply a bribe. Visually, the game hasn’t lost anything at all thanks to Cel-Shading graphics and even though the stylish fashion trends may no longer be up to date (eleven years ago, other things were in than today), the title still has plenty of style in the usual Nomura look. With the innovations of the Final Mix version it looks already different there: The new input options in TV mode are absolutely not convincing and the co-op, which is unfortunately only available in this mode, would be a nice idea, but suffers as a result. The added epilogue is fun, if it alone justifies a new purchase, but is left open. So if you haven’t played The World Ends With You yet and don’t have a problem gambling in handheld mode, you should definitely get it. If you already know the original and love it, the best way to get the Final Remix is to watch the epilogue or retire the DS.
What is The World Ends With You: Final Remix? Action RPG switch port for Nintendo DS incl. new control option and additional epilogue.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Tested: Switch-Version
Developer / Publisher: Square Enix, Jupiter Corporation / Nintendo
Release: October 12, 2018
Link: Official Website
