The World Ends With You
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''The World Ends with You'' is an
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
developed by
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
and
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
and published by Square Enix for the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
. Set in the modern-day
Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...
shopping district of Tokyo, the game uses
urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for cl ...
elements inspired by Shibuya and its youth culture. Development was inspired by elements of Jupiter's previous handheld game, '' Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories''. It was released in Japan in July 2007, and in
PAL region The PAL region is a television publication territory that covers most of Europe and Africa, alongside parts of Asia, South America and Oceania. It is named PAL because of the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) television standard traditionally used in ...
s and North America in April 2008. Later, an enhanced port by h.a.n.d. for mobile devices was released in 2012 under the title ''The World Ends with You: Solo Remix'', while another enhanced port for the
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
was released in 2018 under the title ''The World Ends with You: Final Remix,'' which was published by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
outside Japan. In the story, protagonist Neku Sakuraba and his allies are forced to participate in an event called the Reapers' Game, a week-long competition that will determine their fate. The battle system utilizes many of the unique features of the Nintendo DS, including combat that takes place on both screens, and attacks performed by certain motions on the
touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
or by shouting into the microphone. Elements of Japanese youth culture, such as fashion, food, and cell phones, are key aspects of the missions and character progression. ''The World Ends with You'' received critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising the graphics, soundtrack, and integration of gameplay into the Shibuya setting. It is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. The few common complaints were related to the steep learning curve of the battle system as well as the sometimes imprecise touchscreen controls. In the first week of its release, the game was the second best-selling DS title in Japan, and the top-selling DS title in North America.
Shiro Amano is a Japanese Mangaka, manga artist who has worked on several projects, including his adaptation on the popular Kingdom Hearts (series), ''Kingdom Hearts'' series. Career Amano worked on the manga adaptation of the ''Legend of Mana'' video game ...
, writer and artist of the ''Kingdom Hearts''
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
, later created a manga based on the video game. An anime adaptation by Square Enix, DOMERICA, and
Shin-Ei Animation is a Japanese animation studio owned by TV Asahi and founded in Tokyo in 1965 as A-Production by Daikichirō Kusube, who was previously an animator for Toei Animation. Shin-Ei is known for being the animation studio behind two of the anime tele ...
aired from April 10 to June 26, 2021. A sequel game, '' Neo: The World Ends with You'', was announced in late 2020 and released worldwide on Nintendo Switch and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
on July 27, 2021, with a
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
release on September 28, 2021.


Synopsis


Setting

The game takes place in a fictional version of the
Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...
shopping district in Tokyo, Japan. While everyday life goes on in the Realground (RG), the chosen dead are brought to an alternate plane of existence called the Underground (UG). The UG is also the venue for the Reapers' Game. By offering their most treasured possession to enter the Game, the dead gain the chance to contest for the prize: to be brought back to life or to transcend to a higher form of spiritual existence. Most of those who choose to transcend become Reapers, the opponents of players in future Games. Lasting a week, each Game is a contest to judge the worth of humanity. Players set out to accomplish objectives under the rules created by the Composer, who is a god-like entity that maintains Shibuya. Another Reaper, the Conductor, tasks other Reapers to obstruct the players' efforts. Failure to complete a mission will disperse the mind and spirit of the player or Reaper, thus erasing his or her existence. A player in the UG is invisible to the living in the RG, though one can sometimes read and influence their thoughts. The UG is frequented by creatures called "Noise", which are attracted by the negative feelings of the living. To progress in the Reapers' Game, players are often required to defeat Noise by killing or "erasing" them. However, each Noise exists in two parallel universes (or "zones") simultaneously, and can only be defeated by two players simultaneously fighting and defeating the Noise from these separate zones. To do this, players are required to form a pact with another player to survive the Noise. Players receive assignments via text messages sent to their
cell phones A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
, and their right hands are imprinted with a countdown indicating the time left in the mission. After a day's mission is complete, the remaining players find themselves at the start of the next day's mission, having no sense of the time that has passed in between.


Characters

The player assumes the role of , an initially asocial teenage boy who claims that he does not "get" people, and rarely interacts with others at first. Computer-controlled characters make up the rest of the cast, which includes players who are paired with Neku. In the first Game, Neku is paired with , a teenage girl who takes on the form of her best friend, as her physical appearance was her price of entry for the Game. In the second Game, Neku's partner is an intelligent and sly teenage boy, , who prefers to be called . Neku's final partner is , originally a player and ex-Reaper who calls himself . Beat became a Reaper to find a way to bring his younger sister, (nicknamed ), back to life. Rhyme had sacrificed herself to save her brother from a Noise attack. , the Producer, bound her soul to a pin from which her Noise could be summoned, and gave it to Beat. The final Game Master, , crushes her Noise form and transformed it back into a pin. Besides the Composer and the Conductor, there are other high-ranking Reapers. For each week of the Game, Game Masters are assigned by the Conductor to lead the opposition to the players. Of the Game Masters opposing Neku, is the most dangerous. He willingly circumvents the rules in an attempt to supplant the Composer. Participating in the Games to earn promotions for their performance, the Reapers' goal is to ascend to the highest form of spiritual existence, the Angels. Angels supervise the Games and if the stakes of a Game are particularly high, they send down one of their own to serve as the Producer. For the three weeks of the game's story, Sanae Hanekoma is the Producer. Disguised as a Shibuya café owner, he guides new players and narrates the "Secret Reports" that are obtained by completing additional missions after completing the game.


Plot

The game's story follows Neku over the three weeks that he plays the Game, paired with partners Shiki, Joshua, and Beat for each week, respectively. Neku is confused at first, lacking knowledge of how he died or how he arrived at the UG. As he develops friendships with his partners, he starts to understand the rules of the Game. After the first week, only Shiki is allowed to return to the living, and she promises to meet Neku at the statue of Hachiko. He also recovers his entry fee, which was his memories, except for the events leading up to his death. However, Shiki has become what Neku values most, and she is used as his new entry fee for the second week; in addition, Beat defects to the Reapers hoping to find a way to revive Rhyme after she sacrifices herself to save him. During the second week, Neku recalls small details of his death; eventually, he recognizes that he was shot at by Sho Minamimoto, one of the Reapers he faced during the Game. At the end of the second week, Joshua seemingly sacrifices himself to save Neku from an explosion created by Minamimoto. However, because Joshua was never actually dead, the Game is nullified and Neku is forced to play the game a third time. His entry fee this time is all of the other players, meaning Neku cannot form any pacts and stands no chance against the Noise. However, Beat immediately defects from the Reapers and rejoins Neku. Neku and Beat find that the Reapers and the entire population of Shibuya are wearing special red pins that brainwash them into thinking the same harmonious thoughts. Without any missions to complete, the two venture to the fabled "Shibuya River", which Joshua was looking for during the second week. At the river, they find , the Game's Conductor. Kitaniji explains that he created the red pins in an attempt to remake Shibuya, which the Composer challenged him to do. If he fails, both he (as his price for losing the Game) and Shibuya will be erased. At that moment, Joshua reappears and reveals himself to be the Composer. Joshua returns the missing part of Neku's memory of death: Joshua himself shot Neku, choosing him to be his
proxy Proxy may refer to: * Proxy or agent (law), a substitute authorized to act for another entity or a document which authorizes the agent so to act * Proxy (climate), a measured variable used to infer the value of a variable of interest in climate ...
in his challenge with Kitaniji. Minamimoto, who had been trying to usurp the position of Composer, was trying to kill Joshua in his weakened state as a human. After Kitaniji fails to defeat Neku by using his friends against him, Joshua gives Neku one last challenge: To fire upon Joshua to determine the fate of Shibuya. Neku is too conflicted to make a choice, and is shot down by Joshua. Neku finds himself once again at the scramble crossing, confused by events, but alive this time. The game's credits show scenes seven days later in the RG. As Neku walks from Udagawa to Hachiko to meet Beat, Rhyme, and Shiki, he discusses how the past three weeks have changed him for the better. In a statement directed at an absent Joshua, Neku says that although he will not forgive him for what he has done, he trusts him. Neku then asks if Joshua will be present at Hachiko as well. Secret reports that can be obtained by completing additional missions after beating the game reveal that Joshua, after seeing the change in personality of Neku over the weeks of playing the game, decides to spare Shibuya, now believing the city to be ideal. The game ends with Neku abandoning his headphones before a title card appears entitled ''"The World Begins with You"''.


A New Day

The ''Final Remix'' version of the game adds new storyline content taking place after the main game. Neku and Beat awaken in a geographically distorted alternate version of Shibuya and are assigned a mission to escape Shibuya within 24 hours. Accompanied by a Reaper named Coco Atarashi, the two begin to make their way through the alternate Shibuya while encountering Shiki and Rhyme along the way. As they progress, Neku has visions of a city being destroyed and a strange girl with Shiki's stuffed animal, as well as what seem to be distorted flashbacks of his death and Rhyme's sacrifice. When Rhyme sacrifices herself to save Beat in a manner identical to Neku's vision, Neku realizes that he is having visions of the future. Neku and Beat arrive at Mr. Hanekoma's café, and he reveals that the Shibuya they have been traversing is one giant Noise created by Coco. Neku and Beat defeat the Noise and return to reality. An enraged Coco shoots Neku dead but is driven off by Joshua. Joshua meets with Mr. Hanekoma to discuss recent events; they reveal that Shinjuku has been erased and Noise are starting to appear in the RG and that the strange girl from Neku's visions was a survivor of the incident who they theorize caused Neku's visions and was helping him along. Elsewhere, Coco plots to continue using Neku for her plans and resurrects Minamimoto to serve as his partner.


Gameplay

''The World Ends with You'' is an
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
, arranged into three chapters based on the three weeks that Neku is involved in the Reapers' Game, with each chapter further divided by each day of the week. The player controls Neku and his partner as they explore Shibuya to complete each day's mission. Although most missions require completion within a certain time for Neku and his partner, this timer is not correlated to the passage of time for the player. Shibuya is divided into several districts, some of which may be inaccessible on certain days or blocked by a wall that can only be removed by satisfying the request of a nearby Reaper, such as erasing Noise symbols, putting on a certain brand of clothing, or bringing an item. Neku can scan the area by activating a special pin. This scan reveals the thoughts of the
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s in the Realground and
meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
s, hints which may help to progress the plot. The scan also reveals random Noise symbols that drift about the area, or in some cases, float around a specific character. The player initiates a battle by touching Noise symbols; each symbol constitutes one round of battle. Selecting more than one Noise symbol at a time results in a multi-round battle (referred to in-game as multiple noise "reductions") that gradually increases in difficulty with each round, but conversely leads to greater rewards upon success. Altering the difficulty of the Noise and the amount of health for Neku and his partner also alter the benefits conferred. Each district has fashion trends that affect gameplay. By wearing pins or clothing from the more popular brands in that district, items' effects will be improved; wearing the least fashionable items will do the opposite, and items from brands in between are not affected. However, the player can increase a brand's popularity in one district by repeatedly fighting battles in that district while wearing items of that brand. The player can enter shops to buy new pins, clothes, and food items that are gradually consumed during battles to improve the characters' basic attributes. After completing the game, the player can return to any day in the story and play those events again, keeping the characters' current statistics and inventory. "Secret Reports", written segments that reveal background elements of the story, can be unlocked through this mode by completing specific missions during each day. Completing the game allows the player to access "Another Day" from the game's menus, an additional day of missions that explains certain events related to the main storyline. ''The World Ends with You'' has one
minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...
called "Tin Pin Slammer" (or "Marble Slash") that can be played against computer opponents or with up to 3 others via a wireless connection. Tin Pin Slammer is similar to the marble game ringer, in that each player attempts to use their pins one at a time to knock the other players' pins off the game board. ''The World Ends with You'' features "psych pins", decorative
pins A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...
which possess powers that only Neku can activate while wearing them. Psych pins are used for combat, for "Tin Pin Slammer/Marble Slash", or as trade value for money or equipment. Most pins, particularly those used in combat, can become more powerful as the player accumulates "Pin Points" (PP) which can also lead to the evolution of the pins into more potent versions. Pin Points are commonly earned through battle, but can also be earned through a period of inactivity with the game, by interacting with other DS players or randomly if none are found. Each of these methods influences the growth of pins within the game.


Combat

The game's combat system is called the "Stride Cross Battle System". The combat takes place across both screens of the DS, with Neku on the touchscreen and his partner on the top screen, representing the different "zones" of the same local area; the two characters battle the same enemies that exist in both "zones" simultaneously. Neku and his partner are synchronized during battle; they share the same health bar so that even if one character does not take any damage, the pair can fail in battle if the other takes too much. A green "light puck" will pass between the characters during battle; by alternating battle between the character who possesses the puck, damage is increased. The movement of the light puck is determined by the "sync ratio" between Neku and his partner; the puck stays longer with the character with higher ratios. The player can equip Neku and his partner with clothing that can alter the light puck's speed. The light puck also can magnify Neku and his partner's attacks as long as when they hold the puck, they are not attacked by an enemy and can continue this in a volley. The player controls Neku by performing touchscreen actions based on the currently equipped pins. These actions may include slashing across an enemy, tapping the screen rapidly to fire bullets, holding down on an enemy to inflict damage or shouting into the microphone to cause a full-screen attack. Other pins need to be touched to activate them, such as for health restoration. Each pin has a limited number of uses before it must recharge for a certain time. Other pins may only be used a fixed number of times during a series of battles, and do not recharge until the battle sequence is over. Neku can only be equipped with a maximum of two pins at the game's start; this can eventually be upgraded to a maximum of six. Neku's partner on the top screen can be controlled by the player using the face buttons, although players can use options to have the computer assist them. Each of Neku's partners has a card game-based mechanic; for example, Shiki's card game requires the player to match face-down
Zener cards Zener cards are cards used to conduct experiments for extrasensory perception (ESP). Perceptual psychologist Karl Zener (1903–1964) designed the cards in the early 1930s for experiments conducted with his colleague, parapsychologist J. B. Rhi ...
. The partner can make a basic attack after the player navigates through a pathway of arrows to select one of several shown cards using the directional pad or face buttons. By navigating to a card that fits within the card game rules, the player earns a star. Once enough stars are collected, the player can launch a powerful "Fusion" attack using both Neku and his partner through the "Harmonizer Pin" that appears on the upper right of the touchscreen (assuming that the player has not rearranged where it is displayed). The player can also help the partner character dodge attacks. In the game's re-releases on single screen systems (mobile and Switch), the battle system has been modified to reflect the lack of a second screen. The current partner instead acts as a separate pin among Neku's other pins, which the player can call in to perform attacks by similar touchscreen actions like tapping on an enemy or slashing down on one. The player must balance the use of the partner pin with Neku's attacks, going to their partner repeatedly to build up towards the Fusion attack. The Fusion attack is launched by tapping the partner pin on the screen; the player then has a limited period to complete card-based minigames to build up a damage multiplier. For example, with Shiki as their partner, the player is shown one Zener card, along with several other Zener cards that are shown face-up for a moment before being turned over. The player must select those face-down cards that were matches for the shown Zener card. Furthermore, the Switch version offers a local cooperative mode, where a second player using a second
Joy-Con Joy-Con are the primary game controllers for the Nintendo Switch video game console. They consist of two individual units, each containing an analog stick and an array of buttons. They can be used while attached to the main Nintendo Switch cons ...
has control over the partner character and a limited set of pin attacks during battle.


Development


Gameplay design

''The World Ends with You'' was developed by the same team that created the ''
Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...
'' series, with input from
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
, the company that developed '' Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'' for the
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
. Development of the game started two and a half years before its Japanese release, during the development of ''
Kingdom Hearts II is a 2005 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive Studios, Buena Vista Games for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is a sequel to ''Kingdom Hearts (video game), King ...
'' and as development of ''Chain of Memories'' was concluding. At that time, Nintendo had announced their next handheld system, the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
, but it was not yet available to the market;
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
requested the team to develop a game specifically for the handheld system. The creative team — consisting of Tatsuya Kando (director), Tomohiro Hasegawa (co-director), Takeshi Arakawa (planning director), and
Tetsuya Nomura is a Japanese video game artist, designer and director working for Square Enix (formerly Square). He designed characters for the ''Final Fantasy'' series, debuting with ''Final Fantasy VI'' and continuing with various later installments. Addit ...
(character design and creative producer) — were able to experience the DS during the "Touch DS" event in November 2004. From this demonstration, they had envisioned a version of ''Chain of Memories'' in which the card game aspects would be present on the bottom screen and an action role-playing game on the top. As they continued to work on the game, the developers realized that they wanted to use the touchscreen more, to make "a game that can only be played on the DS". However, they also encountered the problem that by focusing heavily on the touchscreen, the top screen would be ignored. From this, the idea of the dual-screen battle system arose. Several other options were explored for the top screen gameplay, including command-based battles or a rhythm game, but once they reviewed the game from the eyes of the player, they ultimately settled on the card-game approach with the player having the option to control the game if they wanted to. Even with the completion of the Japanese version of the game, the team felt the dual-screen system was too much for overseas audiences, and attempted to change the card-game mechanic into a special meter that would fill up with normal attacks from Neku, but this was not completed in time for release. However, the team was able to alter the "information overload" of the numerous tutorials at the start of the game in the North American release, reducing the amount of text presented as well as allowing the tutorials to be skipped. The "Active Encounter" system, the ability for the player to select when and how to go into battle, was developed specifically to avoid the issues of "
grinding Grind is the cross-sectional shape of a blade. Grind, grinds, or grinding may also refer to: Grinding action * Grinding (abrasive cutting), a method of crafting * Grinding (dance), suggestive club dancing * Grinding (video gaming), repetitive and ...
" that are common with most standard RPG systems. While they included the mechanics of being able to scan non-playable characters to see their thoughts, the team was not able to integrate this mechanic more into the game.


Graphics design


Character design

The team decided to stay with two-dimensional sprites instead of three-dimensional models for this title, believing it would help differentiate themselves from other Square Enix titles as well as better represent their vision for the game. When first approached with the task of creating the art for the game, background art director Takayuki Ohdachi thought the modern-day setting would be too boring, and opted to use highly skewed and angular images of Shibuya to avoid this; the rest of the creative team found this approach to fit the game quite well. For combat, the background of the top screen was selected for visual interest, while the bottom touchscreen background was designed to emphasize the gameplay. Ohdachi was also responsible for the artwork for the psych pins, and used a mix of pop art and tribal designs for the various graphics. Character designs were handled by Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi. Character designs were made to match with the real-world Tokyo setting, after which their outfits were designed based on the character's personality. Kobayashi was also in charge of designing the game's non-player characters and noted how most designs made it to the final product. Hasegawa was responsible for creating the designs for the Noise creatures, and he wanted to have them recognizable as creatures before they decay into skeletons. In keeping with the theme of human emotion in the game, Hasegawa selected creatures that conveyed such feelings, such as wolves and crows. Representation of the Noise in the game required drawing the 2D sprites from several angles to match the action on screen as well as using
rotoscoping Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced ov ...
on pre-rendered sprites, and took several iterations between Square Enix and Jupiter to make sure that the sprites' art matched the style of game, with Kando making the two-hour trip between Tokyo and Kyoto weekly to check on the progress.


Setting and scenario

In addition to creating unique gameplay, the designers wanted to build the game around a real location. Initially, they had planned to use a large number of locations across the entire world as the setting. They narrowed down the settings to specific cities due to practicality issues. Ultimately, Kando selected Shibuya as the main setting within the first year of development, despite concerns that overseas players would find the setting unfamiliar. The team wanted to make sure the city was represented accurately within the game, and went on "location hunts" onto building rooftops without permission to get photographs. The layout of Shibuya was duplicated for the game, retaining the real-world landmarks while rebranding the names of stores and buildings for copyright reasons; for example, the 109 Building was renamed to be the "104 Building", while one of the busiest
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
, adjacent to the scramble crossing, was renamed "Outback Cafe". The success of the game has led to fans going on tours of the district to match physical locations in Shibuya with those in the game. The selection of Shibuya led to the incorporation of much of the game's other features, including food, clothing, and cell phone usage. The team initially thought of the idea of using
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
around Shibuya as the source of the player's power in the game but had difficulty representing it; this led to the creation of the psych pins used in the game.


Writing

The developers knew that for the story they wanted to "throw the player right in the action, with things he had to do without explanation" in addition to creating a sense of urgency and mystery for the player. They developed an initial draft of the game's plot and gave it to scriptwriter Sachie Hirano and scenario event planner Yukari Ishida to expand on. The returned version was very close to the initial vision for the game's story. However, there were still difficulties in filling out the story, only achieving some smooth development about halfway through the process, and even then, there were still changes made just before creating the master image for the game. Several inconsistencies with the game's story were found in the final quality checks that had to be resolved. The Square Enix localization team preserved many Japanese elements while translating most of the dialogue and interface items into English and other European languages to avoid losing the culture of the game. The team was also limited by the size of the dialogue balloons used in the game and took several steps to avoid losing the meaning. As ''The World Ends with You'' focuses on the character of Neku Sakuraba, to create a believable story the developers put a lot of focus on his development, such as how he would feel, what thoughts lie behind his actions, how he interacted with other characters, and how the people around him feel about him. The developers included aspects and daily concerns, hoping that they could be things that players would have to deal with their personal lives and therefore would let them relate with Neku.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack to ''The World Ends with You'' was composed and produced by Takeharu Ishimoto. The game's music encompasses many genres, combining rock, hip hop, and
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
and was designed to fit the various moods of Shibuya. The song appearing during the credits of the game is "
Lullaby for You "Lullaby for You" is Jyongri's third single released in Japan under the label EMI Music Japan on December 13, 2006. It peaked at No. 8 on the Oricon Daily Charts and at No. 12 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. The A-side track, "Lullaby for You" is u ...
" by
Japanese pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...
artist,
Jyongri Jyongri (born August 30, 1988) is a Japanese pop singer of Korean ancestry currently signed with EMI Music Japan. Biography Background and early life Jyongri attended Osaka International School, and is fluent in both English and Japanes ...
. Vocal artists featured in the game include Sawa Kato, Makiko Noda, Leah, Ayuko Tanaka, Mai Matsuda, Wakako, Hanaeryca, Cameron Strother, Andy Kinlay, Nulie Nurly, and Londell "Taz" Hicks. The developers used
CRI Middleware (formerly CSK Research Institute Corp.) is a Japanese developer providing middleware for use in the video game industry. From the early nineties, CRI was a video game developer, but shifted focus in 2001. History CRI started out as CSK Research I ...
's Kyuseishu Sound Streamer, a compression algorithm normally used for voice-overs, to compress the soundtrack and fit more songs on the game media, while replacing full motion video cutscenes with
Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...
-style animations to save more space. The ADX-compressed soundtrack and cutscene audio on the final version of the game take up approximately one-fourth (32 of 128 total MB) of the game media. The official soundtrack of the game, was released in Japan on August 22, 2007 and is on sale in most English-language
iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
s. This release, however, does not include the four tracks unique to localizations outside Japan and is simply a digital version of the Japanese soundtrack. Square Enix, however, released the digital 6-track EP on June 25, 2008 through the Japanese iTunes Store. This release contains the four songs unique to the international version of the game, along with the English version of "Owari-Hajimari" and a remix of "Twister". A 19-track version of the album was given a physical CD and iTunes release on July 30, 2008.


Release

The Japanese title, translated as ''It's a Wonderful World'', was not used internationally due to copyright issues. Instead, the game was released in North America and Europe under the name ''The World Ends with You''. The game was officially announced on September 13, 2006 by Square Enix, and premiered at the 2006
Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...
two weeks later. On December 5, 2007, Square Enix announced that the game would be released for Europe and Australia in April 2008, while a similar announcement was made for a North American release on December 17, 2007. A special "Wonderful World" edition of the "Gloss Silver"
Nintendo DS Lite The is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It is the second iteration of the Nintendo DS and is slimmer, brighter, and more lightweight than the original. It was announced on January 26, 2006, more than a ...
was created and sold as a bundle with the game as part of its Japanese release. The game's early plot was adapted into a two-chapter one-shot manga by
Shiro Amano is a Japanese Mangaka, manga artist who has worked on several projects, including his adaptation on the popular Kingdom Hearts (series), ''Kingdom Hearts'' series. Career Amano worked on the manga adaptation of the ''Legend of Mana'' video game ...
, published over two issues of ''
Monthly Shōnen Gangan is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company re-branded as Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese mar ...
''. In North America, the manga has been released online via the Square Enix Members website, along with mobile phone ringtones. Both Nomura and Tatsuya Kando stated that they hoped they would be given the opportunity to create a sequel to the game. Neku, Shiki, Joshua, Beat, and Rhyme appear in the 2012
Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
title '' Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'' as non-playable characters who are challenged to a task similar to the Reapers' Game. The cameos are the first non-
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and non-''Final Fantasy'' characters to appear in the ''
Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...
'' franchise. Three of the tracks, "Someday", "Calling", and "Twister", were rearranged for ''Dream Drop Distance'', with "Calling" and "Twister" also remixed as downloadable tracks for '' Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call''. A revised soundtrack, ''The World Ends With You - Crossover'', was released on September 20, 2012. It includes the original tracks from the DS game, the ''Dream Drop Distance'' versions of "Calling", "Someday", and "Twister", and the remixes from the iOS version. The ''Dream Drop Distance'' arrangement of "Calling" was also featured in the 2020 rhythm game '' Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory''.


''Solo Remix''

A port for mobile devices, entitled ''The World Ends with You: Solo Remix'', was released on iOS on August 27, 2012, and on Android on June 26, 2014. This version was developed by Square Enix's mobile development team and h.a.n.d. within the course of the year. The game's combat system was reworked to accommodate the lack of a second screen. In addition to combat changes, ''Solo Remix'' includes redrawn high-definition sprites and is optimized for the Retina display of iOS devices. The original soundtrack and additional remixes of these songs are included. Wireless and social media features are also included: the Tin Pin Slammer can be played with other players via wireless connections, and the game can connect with the player's social media applications to display these as scanned thoughts from non-player characters within the game. The ''Solo Remix'' version features a remixed soundtrack from the original DS release. A new character, the Reaper Coco Atarashi, is introduced and is a shop owner dealing with microtransactions. New assets at the conclusion of the iOS game include the appearance of Tsugumi Matsunae, a character later appearing in the sequel, ''Neo: The World Ends with You''. The iOS version of the game was delisted from the App Store in February 2015 due to an issue that prevented the game from working with the iOS 8 operating system launched in September 2014, though the Android version remained available. It returned to the App Store in June 2015.


''Final Remix''

Another port for the
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, entitled ''The World Ends with You: Final Remix'', was announced in January 2018 and released on October 12, 2018. The port, based on the ''Solo Remix'' version and with additional development from Square Enix and h.a.n.d., includes a new control system adapted for the Switch, specifically allowing for the use of the
Joy-Con Joy-Con are the primary game controllers for the Nintendo Switch video game console. They consist of two individual units, each containing an analog stick and an array of buttons. They can be used while attached to the main Nintendo Switch cons ...
in docked mode in addition to the touchscreen and optional co-op support for Neku's partner. An additional new scenario featuring Tsugumi and Coco Atarashi was added to this version.


Anime television series

An
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
adaptation was revealed with a teaser website on June 25, 2020, and officially announced on July 3, 2020 as ''The World Ends with You the Animation''. It aired worldwide from April 10 to June 26, 2021 through
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
, as well as the Super Animeism block on
MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician Places * MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US * Mari ...
and TBS.


Reception

''The World Ends with You'' received positive reviews and has been commercially successful. ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' named the game its Handheld Game of the Month award for May 2008. ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' gave ''The World Ends with You'' its Editors' Choice Award, and named it the DS Game of the Month for April. In Japan, the game premiered as the second-best selling DS title during the week of July 27, 2007. Nearly 193,000 units were sold in Japan by the end of 2007. ''The World Ends with You'' sold 43,000 copies during April 2008 in North America. The first shipment of the game sold out mid-May and a second shipment was made in mid-June 2008. The game was the top-selling DS title the week of its release and again two weeks later. As of September 30, 2008, ''The World Ends With You'' has sold approximately 140,000 copies in North America and 20,000 copies in Europe. Critics praised the departure from other popular titles such as Square Enix's ''
Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
'' and ''
Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...
'' series. Both the graphical presentation and the soundtrack were very well received. Reviews also commented that initially, the character designs were too similar to previous Square Enix titles and may be off-putting to some, though in the Shibuya setting they were "absolutely in their element". Some reviewers also complained that the Stride Cross Battle System was too complex for new players; ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
''s review felt the "sink or swim" reliance on learning the complex battle system was a significant stumbling block for the game. ''
GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' noted that the
stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...
input was imprecise, often mistaking movement and attack actions. On the other hand, the system was praised for its approach, and for the ability to alter the difficulty of the system within the game. Neku Sakuraba's character arc was praised by several reviewers, such as ''
G4TV G4 (also known as G4TV) was an American pay television and digital network owned by Comcast Spectacor that primarily focused on video games. The network was originally owned by G4 Media, a joint venture between the NBCUniversal Cable division ...
'' editor Jonathan Hunt, who praised his growth from a "mute teenager" to a "civil human". '' 1UP.com''s review summarized that the game is much more than the sum of its parts: "By all rights, ''The World Ends With You'' should be an annoying disaster, a bundle of tired gimmicks and trite clichés. Yet somehow all the things that should be unbearable fall into place and create a game that's far more unique, interesting, and addictive than it has any right to be". ''IGN'' gave ''The World Ends with You'' multiple awards, including best
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
role-playing game, best story for a Nintendo DS game, best new IP for the Nintendo DS, and the best DS game of the year. It was also nominated for other awards, including best original score for a Nintendo DS game and best artistic design for a Nintendo DS game. It was ranked as the tenth best game of the 2000s released on a
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
system by ''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...
''. ''The World Ends with You: Solo Remix'' received a score of 9.5 and an Editor's Choice from ''IGN'', who praised the port and its additions, although criticized its price point and lack of universal compatibility (the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad versions of the game must be purchased separately). ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
'' also criticized the high price and lack of universal compatibility as 'indefensible', though it praised the port for its controls, saying "in many ways, it feels more suited to (the iPad) than it ever did on the DS". ''The World Ends With You'' was nominated for Best RPG at 2008
Spike Video Game Awards The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 to 2013 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by ...
, but lost to ''
Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
''.


Sequel

A sequel, ''Neo: The World Ends with You'', was announced in late 2020 and was released worldwide on July 27, 2021 for
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
, with the PC version released on September 28, 2021. It features a new cast of characters playing the Reapers' Game in Shibuya, and uses three-dimensional graphics. Tatsuya Kando returns as series director.
Tetsuya Nomura is a Japanese video game artist, designer and director working for Square Enix (formerly Square). He designed characters for the ''Final Fantasy'' series, debuting with ''Final Fantasy VI'' and continuing with various later installments. Addit ...
returns as creative producer, along with Gen Kobayashi as character designer, and Hiroyuki Itou as director. Takeharu Ishimoto, the composer for the original game, though no longer a full-time employee of Square Enix, also returns as composer for the sequel.


References


Notes


Footnotes


External links


''The World Ends with You (DS)'' English official website
Archived

''The World Ends with You (DS)'' Japanese official website
Archived

''The World Ends with You -Solo Remix-'' English official website
Archived

''The World Ends with You -Solo Remix-'' Japanese official website
Archived

''The World Ends with You -Final Remix-'' Japanese official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Ends With You, The 2007 video games Action role-playing video games Android (operating system) games Fiction about death games Gangan Comics manga H.a.n.d. games IOS games Japanese role-playing video games Jupiter (company) games Kingdom Hearts Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo DS games Nintendo Switch games Role-playing video games Shibuya Square Enix franchises Square Enix games Urban fantasy video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Takeharu Ishimoto Video games set in Tokyo World War III video games