It should come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of The World Ends With You (TWEWY). I mean I wrote a ten-page summary of the main character arc. Sure that was technically a school project but I loved writing it nonetheless.
Up till now, I have considered TWEWY to be my second favorite RPG, right below Tales of Xillia 2. Just so I don't accidentally repeat myself I'll try to keep it short. The first game is one of the most unique games of all time. Nothing else really compares when it comes to atmosphere, combat, music, characters, or story. And while the combat has always been the reason it was so hard to recommend the game, Neo fixes that right out of the gate. It is simpler, not reliant on hardware gimmicks, but most importantly, it is still fast-paced and fun. In fact, the demo showed improvements in all the other above-mentioned areas as well. In just 5 hours, this demo has me thinking that Neo could become one of, if not, my new favorite single-player game of all time.
Some of you may be asking why it took me five hours to beat a two-hour demo, and the answer is simple; I wanted to soak it all in. As soon as the game boots up, I was greeted with banging music and a stylish environment to explore. I spent too much time walking to the first objective because I was leaving no dialogue unread and no corner unexplored. The environments in this game look so good and have so many little details I love it. Seeing all these new and familiar streets from an all-new perspective was the ultimate combination of awe and nostalgia.
My eyes weren't the only parts of me that felt blessed though. The music, oh the music, it's so damn good. Every track I heard was fire. This isn't too much of a surprise given that Ishimoto is the composer once again, but even the first game had its fair share of songs that I did not like. Specifically, I was not a fan of the hip-hop-type songs. I'm more of a fan of high-energy music; stuff with heavy guitar and drums (Guilty Gear Strive ost for example.) However, now that they have chosen to go full nu-metal with this soundtrack, every song, even the rap songs, has a sick instrumental. My favorite track from the demo has got to be the new remix of "Transformation." This is the song that plays when Rindo and Fret first meet Minamimoto. This song was originally Minamimoto's boss theme from the first TWEWY and this new, non-battle, version of the song perfectly encapsulates the new air around the character. Instead of being loud and intimidating, it's now oddly calming. Minamimoto is still a very powerful character, but that power is on your side this time, and that's what the song sounds like. Changing which lyrics are louder in the second half of each verse was also a cool touch. The chorus no longer drowns out the singular singer's voice, which makes me feel closer to the character in question. This new arrangement brings clarity to parts we couldn't hear as well before. Just like how this new game will show the character in a new light as well.
Now, I don't want to get into too much detail about the characters because this was just a demo and we have not seen their arcs yet. However, I will say I like them all so far, even the reapers. What I will talk about though is the combat. When I heard that you would be controlling all party members at once, I was excited. I thought this would give the combat a lot of depth and strategy. However, while visually you are swapping characters on the fly, in reality, you are controlling one person who keeps changing their appearance. Positioning is the weakest part of the game's combat system. You just automatically teleport to the enemy you are locked onto from wherever you are no matter what pin you have equipped; be it melee or ranged both auto-target. Pair this with the fact that non-controlled party members are unable to take damage and you get a very flashy, but overly easy action game. I was feeling far too powerful compared to my enemies, especially for that early in the game. By the end, each wave of noise was erased in about five seconds by the same combo of attacks. Even the bosses barely took more than a minute to beat. If the gorilla did not do its move where it jumps off the building with a way too easy to dodge attack, it would have been dead in less than thirty seconds. Despite all of this though, I was not bored with the combat, I did enjoy being overpowered in the moment, but part of me wants the game to be harder so that it takes longer to beat. I want to feel like I am good at a hard game. But, I will reserve giving a final judgment to the combat until the full game is released and we have access to higher difficulty options.
In conclusion, the demo is amazing. And as long as the full game isn't too easy, it could be one of the best JRPGs of all time.
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