The World Ends with You

Few games look and play as unmistakably as The World Ends with You. In 2007 (in Europe 2008) Square Enix sent out into the world a title that has nothing to do with swords and dragons but with the streets of modern Tokyo, fashion, mobile phones, and teenage loneliness. It takes place in the Shibuya district, which the creators captured with a love of detail, from graffiti through clothing brands to the music pulsing in every menu.

The story follows the withdrawn teenager Neku, who wakes up in the middle of a mysterious Game of survival. Together with his partners he must complete tasks over seven-day cycles, or else erasure awaits him. This existential premise of alienation and the necessity of opening up to others gives the game a surprising emotional depth beneath its layer of stylish pop culture.

The battle system is a marvel devised directly for the DS's two displays. The player controls Neku with the stylus on the bottom screen using so-called pins, badges with various abilities, and at the same time steers a partner on the top screen with buttons. Both battles play out simultaneously, and synchronizing them requires a genuine division of attention. It is one of the boldest attempts to use the DS hardware to the fullest, and nothing like it was created before or since.

Over everything hovers the artistic style of Tetsuya Nomura and a soundtrack mixing hip hop, rock, and electronica that became cult-favorite in its own right. Fashion, moreover, isn't just cosmetic: clothing brands have an effect in the game, individual Shibuya districts favor different trends, and so the player indirectly follows a kind of street-fashion simulation.

The World Ends with You earned enthusiastic reviews and gradually gained the status of a cult classic. It received ports to newer platforms as well as a full-fledged sequel and an anime adaptation, confirming that its bold vision had staying power. For the DS it remains one of the most original titles of all, a game that proved an action RPG can look and sound like nothing else on the market.

Why play: A stylistically unmistakable action RPG with a unique battle across two displays and a cult soundtrack. An original that uses the DS hardware to the fullest.