NEO: The World Ends With You. How Does it Compare After All?

     NEO: The World Ends With You (henceforth referred to as NEO) was released on July 27, 2021, for Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4. It was also released for PC on September 28, 2021. Developed by Square Enix and h.a.n.d., this game is a sequel to 2007s The World Ends With You (TWEWY). Like its predecessor, NEO is directed by Tatsuya Kendo, produced by Tetsuya Nomura and Hiroyuki Itou, and its soundtrack was composed by Takeharu Ishimoto.

     You might have noticed the gap in the release dates between the two titles. The primary reason for this was that it took the staff a long time to secure an environment to produce the game. Part of this is due to most of the team from Square being busy with the Kingdom Hearts franchise. One of the hopes of NEO was that it would do well enough to warrant more entries in the series. The recent anime adaptation of the first game was also made with this in mind.

     The story of NEO follows Rindo Kanade and his friend Tosai "Fret" Furesawa as they get dragged into the life or death Reaper's Game. In this version of the Game, teams compete for points by completing challenges in a realistic depiction of modern-day Shibuya. Whoever has the most points at the end of the week gets whatever they want. This includes the ability to leave the game, which is otherwise impossible without being erased (killed.) The main difference between NEO's version of the Game and the first TWEWY is that the players are all on teams rather than just in pairs. Along the way, Rindo and Fret are joined by several other eccentric characters, such as a zetta-powerful math freak, dating sim-loving college girl, and a dense but lovable skater, just to name a few. Together they make up the Wicked Twisters, the dark horse of the competition.

     To put it simply, my experience with this game was a very positive one. Everything from the nu-metal soundtrack and stylish cel-shaded graphics to the information architecture of the menus was god-tier. As shown below, the inventory screen is very well designed. Pins, the items you will be swapping out most often, are conveniently located on the first screen you see when you open your inventory. These pins can also be sorted by several categories, including element, attack type, and even input. The design of the battle screen is also very well made. None of the bars block your view, and you always know what pins you have equipped, as well as their input.

     Speaking of pins, this is as good a time as any to talk about the combat. The combat in NEO consists of controlling all of your party members simultaneously in an active battle environment. Every button (with the exception of dodge) corresponds to a specific party member, and pressing that button activates the pin they have equipped. The attacks (called psychs) vary a lot and allow for an insane amount of player expression. With a max party size of six, it is unlikely that two players will have the same exact pin loud outs. Fast-paced combat combined with this level of freedom is a recipe for success in my book. It was always fun to experiment with a whole new deck.

     Regarding how well the game runs, I admit that while I cannot speak for the Switch version, the PS4 version does lag during some of the more elaborate super moves. However, playing the PS4 version on a PS5 removes any lag entirely. Additionally, walking around the environments outside of battle is smooth on both platforms. 

     In fact, just walking around Shibuya is one of my favorite parts of the game. This is because NEO features one of the best game mechanics of all time; sound surfing. The way sound surfing works is that if you press a button to the beat of the song that is playing at the moment, you will move faster and start your next battle with a small bonus. The music was one of the highlights of the first game, so the fact that they turned the soundtrack into an actual game mechanic was genius.

     As of the writing of this post, NEO is still a full $60 on all platforms. I'd say this is a fair price purely for the amount of content there is. It takes about forty hours to play through the story of this game, and if you want to enjoy all the post-game content, it could easily double your time spent with the game. There are a plethora of bonus boss fights and collectibles as well as achievements.

     Do I recommend this game? Of course! Any fan of RPGs or action games will find an exhilarating battle system and an engaging story with wonderful characters. Even if you do not quite meet the teen/young adult demographic that is being targeted. However, I would recommend that you either play the first game or watch the anime before playing this one. The story is digestible without doing so, but I feel like people would get confused in some parts without that context. 

     None of this means the game is flawless though. Admittedly, the only negative thing I can say about the actual gameplay is that there is a bit of a difficulty curve in controlling so many characters at once while managing psych cooldowns. However, the game's difficulty settings should allow anyone, regardless of skill enjoy the story. Speaking of the story, this is where my main complaints lie. Compared to its predecessor, NEO's story is, in my opinion, lacking. Without going into too many spoilers, all I can say is that I liked the smaller scope of the first game more. The first TWEWY felt like a more personal survival story. The characters were not playing the Game with the end goal of saving the world. They just wanted to live. NEO, on the other hand, discards this philosophy about halfway through as the plot develops. Yes, the first game had a grand scope in retrospect, but those plot points never affected character motivations or actions. Rindo's character arc also wasn't as good as it was for the previous game's main character, which reminds me.

     (Full spoilers for the next part.)

Spoilers

     By far, my biggest gripe with the game is its handling of the previous game's protagonist Neku Sakuraba. Neku had one of the best character arcs I have ever seen in the first game. However, they completely ignore what made him such an interesting character in this entry. Instead of being a confused, scared, and bitter human capable of making mistakes, here he just shows up at the end of the game to save the day and scold Rindo. They treat Neku like the exaggerated in-game stories about him do. He is just an all-powerful and legendary player who is always right. This is not at all how he was before. Yes, he became a better person over the course of the first game, but it's not like he's Jesus or anything. This just feels like a slap to the face to someone like me who absolutely loved Neku's journey.

     

     But I digress. At the end of the day, this is a fun and suspenseful story with some enjoyable and colorful characters. While the first game was about learning how to trust others, this one was about learning to trust yourself, be confident in your own decisions, and not just follow other people. I like that kind of synergy. It's good that they did not just rehash the same message they already used. And while I still personally enjoy TWEWY more than NEO, I do think it is easier to recommend NEO because of the more intuitive gameplay.