I’m going to get a start at these year-end retrospective posts. This one is pretty easy for me because I’m limited by the hardware that I own. If I had one of a Wii, 360, PS3, or computer with a video card, this will likely have been very different. After all, 2008 saw the arrival of Spore, Fallout 3, LittleBigPlanet, GTA4, MGS4, SSB: Brawl, Left 4 Dead, Fable 2, Rock Band 2, and a long list of other solid games.

But the game that I chose is one that I’ve been playing since I got it at the end of April, after finishing up my last WoW raid. The 2D, handheld action-JRPG, released Stateside as The World Ends With You (?????????? in nihongonese, Subarashiki Kono Sekai in weeaboo) has dominated my time like no other game has except WoW. That’s right, I’ve spent more time in Square Enix’s funny little handheld project than in a Final Fantasy.

This game came out of nowhere for me. I found out about it looking at Wikipedia’s list of DS games shortly after getting a DS. I noticed it among Square Enix’s army of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest remakes. The concept sounded fresh and the battle system looked interesting, so I decided to give it a chance. The very first intro cinematic was kind of lol. It featured the young protagonist being an annoying antisocial whiner, but once the second intro cinematic rolls along, the style of the game will grab you.

The style is amazing. The game is set in Tokyo’s centre of pop culture and fashion, Shibuya district. The style needs to fit and it does so perfectly. This game proves just how good 2D can look. The attention to detail in the game is ridiculous. The game features 304 different pins, each of which have really neat designs, many of which form sets and share thematic elements and motifs. The backgrounds are stylized and match locations in real-world Shibuya. The sprites and animation are fantastic.

The combat system is one of the most innovative, making full use of both screens. Because of this, it has a slight learning curve to overcome, but once you understand it, it makes battles incredibly fun. The immense amount of pins and accompanying gestures takes the monotony out of battles and gives you incentive to try different attacks. There are certain monsters that require taking advantage of both screens to beat.

The other game mechanics are really interesting too. Being able to adjust the difficulty on the fly is great for everyone. The leveling and stats system is interesting and well thought out: levels only increase your maximum HP pool, while stats are gained through eating food, which requires time to digest and is measured in the number of battles you fight in. The equipment system is just as interesting: equipment comes in the form of clothing, which comes in different brands. Different brands are more popular in different sections of the city and the more popular a brand is, the more bonuses you get.

The wireless features are also interesting. You can use wireless to level your pins. You can also visit other players’ shops so you can pick up pins or items you’re missing. But the most interesting features is multiplayer Tin Pin Slammer, a minigame that puts your pins to use in an entirely different context. Tin Pin Slammer might seem retarded when you encounter it in the single player game, but it is hilariously fun with three other people.

Finally, the story is excellent. TWEWY’s story takes up about 12 hours. Compared to a Final Fantasy, it’s really short. But, it’s also really tight and it’s not long before you’re learning about what’s going on. The twists come and don’t really let up throughout the entire game. Even after you finish the game, going to collect secret reports gives you more detail into the world that the writers have created and delivers a few more twists.

If you don’t have a DS but enjoy JRPGs, you should consider picking this up along with a DS. Besides TWEWY, there are some really good JRPGs on the system. If you do have a DS and you don’t abhor JRPGs, there should be no reason at all for you not to pick this up. Basically, if you don’t like TWEWY, you are a bad person and why in the hell am I still talking to you?