kagesora

If you didn't get a chance to check out the original TWEWY on the DS, absolutely give this a look. If you did, go for it anyway because it's a great game even now. A bold art style catches the eye and holds it, with great character design and amazing enemy design. The mix of animals with tribal-style tattoo limbs/features is creative and both new and pleasing to the eye. The Switch version allows for noting a number of details missed in the origianl, simply because it's now in crisp HD and so much easier to see small things. The music is a great mix of things, with subtle changes as you go. Several fantastic numbers, and generally works very well. Speaking of music, it's a constant theme through the game from the positions that a few characters hold to the naming of the Noise. The game has an engaging cast of characters with beautiful interactions that manage to seamlessly blend fluffy, snarky, humor, and heard-wrenching. They feel like actual people, and like people who are interacting. Even the background characters have little things that make them more than just "Generic Background Character #2943415". The attention to detail from the movements of the characters when idle to the little blurbs the shopkeepers say as you buy things from them help give the game the feel of an actual place. And, speaking of, it's a pretty solid representation of the actual Shibuya in terms of how it's laid out. Obviously names changed for legal reasons and other things added since it's fictional, but still. There's a number of themes in the game, deeper than simply "save the world". Themes of dealing with other people, of trust, friendship, individuality, cooperation, freedom, family... So many things are explored on a number of different levels and it's honestly just fantastic. It **** you in and doesn't let you go, and you don't have a problem with that. As for the technical things like gameplay... The DS version was innovative, using just about every input method on the system including shutting the DS to take on a certain optional enemy. With the changes they had to adapt it a little--removing one of the EXP types and reworking the distribution of the remaining 2, for example, with the lack of the Mingle feature. The lack of dual screens is a sad loss, of course, but the mobile port solved that with a method of play that was challenging in it's own right. And the Switch port adds a co-op mode! (Or, in all honestly, a "pretend you're two people but you're actually just one person using co-op mode" option). Psych activation is in a number of ways, I strongly suggest using it as a handheld if you can! You have a number of ways to use your attacks--pressing empty space, tapping empty space, tapping enemies or obstacles, rubbing empty space or enemies, pressing Neku (your main character), slashing enemies or across the screen or across Neku, dragging across empty space... And more. Each Pin has a Psych, which you use to attack, evade, defend, and heal yourself in real-time combat. There's several families of skills that use a different input method like the ones just mentioned and they have their own stats. And that's not even getting into the evolution trees! Using them differently--such as in battle or while the game is off (that's right, there's a type of EXP for not playing the game--or messing with the system clock to time travel)--will either master them, or possibly allow them to evolve depending on the Pin itself. Better grab a chart because there's a lot to keep track of. Just be sure it's a Final Remix updated chart, ones for previous versions aren't accurate thanks the reworking of the EXP system to remove Mingle EXP. Overall, the game was a 10/10 when it came out, and it's aged just fine. It's still a 10/10. If you were on the fence and looking for a game to make that Switch worth while, this is absolutely that game. If you just need something else to play, give it a shot. The World Ends With You, so embrace a new and innovative experience to expand your world!