The World Ends With You
Set in Shibuya, one of Tokyo's top fashion shopping districts, The World Ends With You tells the story of Neku Sakuraba, a gloomy 16-year-old who detests humans company so much he wishes for the world to leave him alone. Things get surreal when Neku finds himself in the middle of a crowded scramble crossing, without knowing how he got there or why mutant frogs are suddenly materialising out of thin air and attacking them. He calls out to the crowd for help but is simply ignored (after all, he did wish to be left alone). Finally, a girl named Shiki Misaki responds. The two form a pact which results in the unlocking of latent psychic abilities that enable them to battle the cursed creatures. Neku later learns from Shiki that they were both enrolled into the Reaper's Game, a seven-day contest resembling Survivor, where participants, in teams of two, are to tackle a specified mission every day. Fail, and your right to exist is revoked. The cheesy premise may sound typically Japanese, but press forth and you shall be treated to one of the most intriguing storylines ever told in a handheld role-playing game (RPG). Each passing day in the game reveals a startling truth about Neku's bizarre circumstances, such as how he lost his memory of what prizes await victory. Then there are the numerous plot twists, executed so brilliantly they would make even M. Night Shyamalan, director of movies such as Signs and The Village blush. Complementing the story are creative gameplay elements. Puzzles are solved by scanning strangers' minds and implanting thoughts and food can be consumed and burned off to earn statistical boosts. Then there is the cornerstone: A frenetic combat system that has you commanding Shiki on the top screen with the directional pad while simultaneously tapping, slashing or rubbing away on the lower screen to activate Neku's psychic powers. There are over a hundred different powers you can equip Neku with. Yet despite the great variety of powers, few make sense, which makes battles feel more repetitive than they should be. But it's not the end of the world. This small flaw barely makes a dent in an incredibly refreshing RPG that is also the most fashion-forward one this season.

Fantastic!
I'm extremely satisfied with this game. The art style, design, storyline are all incredible. Epic Win in a cartridge right here.

I wasn't going to buy it for a while, but I caved in and am seriously enjoying it.

Hands down the best RPG for the DS
One of the things that made this one of my favorite games (and by far the best that I own for the DS) is how well the modern styles and themes have been preserved and translated.

I bought this when it came out in Japan (Subarashiki Kono Sekai) and I can tell you that every location and every character name, including the NPCs, have been translated perfectly (even most items and badges/pins have had their named directly translated).

The dialogue in this game was a very pleasant surprise. Kudos to the writing staff, because more than once have I genuinely burst out laughing while going through the text.

As a fan of the original voices, the English voices are much to be desired (as expected) but they aren't terrible. The music has all been translated into English, and they sound great! Surprisingly, I actually prefer some of the songs this way.

I absolutely love Tetsuya Nomura's art style and it works perfectly with this game. Also, most cutscenes are rendered in 2-D, but the objects are placed so that there's still a sense of depth perception. Additionally, almost all interaction between characters are done with text and speech bubbles (my dad thought that I was reading a graphic novel rather than playing a game). It's very different but I think it's rather fitting.

As far as gameplay, it is impossible to play this without a stylus. The battle system is ridiculously fun. Also, if you can't control both screens at the same time as fast as you would like to (like me), the auto mode for the top screen (the bottom screen is completely manual) allows you to input your own controls and have the AI take over after a certain amount of seconds, so you can override the AI when it matters most during battles.

After you finish the game (I did it in 3 days), there is an alternate storyline that you can play, as well as missions and secret reports to complete during a second play through of the main story (think Kingdom Hearts II), so this game has a pretty high replay value (besides the fact that it's just fun to play).

If you have a DS then there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't check this game out. =)

A new touch
I really like how the characters in this game speak the way we would in urban life. Aside from that, SquareEnix has a way of getting the people who play their games into the characters that they're playing. I also like the top screen/bottom screen battles, and the music as well. Awsome game!

Best xRPG on DS, best ARPG ever
This's the best xRPG on DS and the best Action RPG on any system in term of gameplay.

The leveling can never be so much fun like this game. It takes full advantage of the DS functions (touch/microphone) in the way that you'll never get bored. It has Easy/Normal/Hard/Ultimate Mode so everyone can enjoy. The soundtrack is superb.

The best thing is this game is very deep so it worths your money. There're so many items and abilities to collect. There's New Game+ mode, and you can start in any chapter you want after you finished the game, with all items and stats you already have, you can even switch between chapters anytime you want.