The Reaper's Game begins anew and you are dragged into it once more. Will you survive and save Shibuya or go down with the city you so much love alongside everyone else?
Finally after 14 years the sequel we got teased and we all wanted is now here! NEO: The World Ends with You is a straight up follow up sequel to its original title, The World Ends with You (TWEWY) on the DS. But as the title says itself, its something new, something fresh that someone without an original experience of the previous game can enjoy!
So join the cast of new and returning characters, Reapers and Players, to an old but new Shibuya! Join me and a special guest who will be showing up further in this review of this amazingly executed game!
PLOT AND DEVELOPMENT:
Okayyyy so... To get the cat out of the bag, I personally LOVED the game! Was it a perfect game? No, no game is 'perfect', it will always have something that someone won't like. But NEO does what it wants to do and well to top it off! It has some ups and downs, but the story it provides is solid and truly focuses on the values the original TWEWY did without getting repetitive!
Something that I personally noticed is that, even though we had returning characters the focus remained on the new faces we had on screen, the spotlight mainly was shone on what was new. It gave the player the feeling that 'Its okay to play this and then revisit the original!'. It differentiates itself just enough for NEO to make a name for itself and not just as the successor of the first TWEWY.
The characters, the story, everything gets its own pacing, sometimes too slow sometimes too fast, sometimes less impactful than others, but it comes down to the end and the end of NEO is a wonderful experience that someone might long from an RPG. Of course NEO IS a sequel after all, so the question lingers on if someone should play the original or not, and for that I gave the question to my wonderful special guest to answer, Rindo himself, Paul Castro Jr! "If you’re new to TWEWY give the Anime a watch. I think it will enrich the NEO experience all that much more if you can’t commit to playing the original game" and honestly I cannot agree more, if someone doesn't have the opportunity or time to play the original go ahead and watch the series, it is fulfilling for you to start your NEO journey. Furthermore when I asked Paul his opinion on 'Is TWEWY a must play RPG game?' his answer matched with my thoughts since he was pretty clear that "TWEWY is for sure one of my favorite stories in my gaming history and I would be a fool to say it’s not a must play since I’m a part of the franchise!" and a part of the franchise he sure is.
I want to touch the part of the franchise that Paul is especially enriched in, Rindo himself. I would usually go in depth of every major character, but I believe NEO TWEWY deserves a little secrecy when it comes to characters, for you to find out their little quirks! But the main character is something I was dying to point out, he is simply amazing. He gives that air of familiarity but also individuality and it really lets people connect and relate to him a lot. When I asked Paul what he loved about Rindo, his answer was just right; "I love that Rindo is a go with the flow guy, kinda like I am", which is something you clearly see even from the start of NEO! The many but not so many differences Rindo and Neku have truly bind the MCs of the sequel and the prequel together!
ARTSTYLE AND GRAPHICS:
Once again, I am blown away by how unique and gorgeous the artstyle of TWEWY is! The characters follow the classic hard black outlined style they had from the previous game, but the colors are more vibrant, the designs are more 'cleaned up' and refined if I am making any sense! One big difference NEO has from the original TWEWY is its graphics!
Originally TWEWY was played as a 2d scrolling game in a way, since you moved Neku around by simply dragging his sprite around the bottom screen. But now the game has done a whole 180 and became 3d! Everything from the common folk walking around the 'Buya, to the background building... Honestly everything looks such a mix of cartoon-y and realistic that confuses my brain in many pleasant ways. The 3d aesthetic combined with the bold outlines and art choices of TWEWY make a beautifully designed world, ready for you to jump in... and hopefully not die? Ehe...
SOUNDTRACK AND VOICE ACTING:
As always TWEWY blows me away with its music! There is something in there for every taste, from smooth jazz grooves to dynamic borderline metal tracks! It is almost impossible to find a track that won't match your tastes, plus they fit like a glove with every single scene, have that be cutscenes, battle or simply... The menu screen. Yes, the menu screen, I stayed there for 30 minutes just to hear the welcoming song towards this amazing sequel! Surprisingly enough, it is staying true to the original while utilizing more modernized music, which is something incredible on its own.
In addition to the breathtaking soundtrack, NEO brought us voice acting! The original TWEWY had voice lines during certain scenes and battle quotes, but NEO brings in full on voice acting in all the major scenes! They bring every single moment into life with the cast giving it all they've got! Every single voice actor did an incredible job, Square Enix truly brought talents on for this trip, and like Paul Castro said "To sum up the recording experience, it was magical. The entire team behind the scenes is the reason this game is what it is", even adding that "A fun moment was the fact that I’d have to say character names dozens of times because that’s my kryptonite, always forgetting the pronunciations".
GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS:
I cannot gush enough on how good the gameplay of NEO is! Both the little extra aspects (like Blue Noise) as well as the returning gimmicks (Pig Noise and Chain Battles) are perfectly executed! The combat has a learning curve though, since the game translates the touch screen/motion controlled pins to button inputs. That makes the combat more complex since you can have your party with different inputs and really the need to manage your rebooting times. The camera movement during fights is following your own steps and attacks, making it locked but at the same causing a pleasant and not bothersome camera panning during combat.
From my personal experience, the attacks are flashy, the combat is smooth and I noticed minimal frame drops only during big attacks. Speaking of big attacks, the sync moves have changed into the what I will call 'Groove Moves' which are not THAT impactful but can really spice up your fights and help you out of a dire situation in case of need. What will impact the way you play though is the connections you make through the game. No quite literally, depending on your friend points (FP) you will earn various abilities that will help you throughout the game!
In an extra addition, the abilities Rindo, Fret and Nagi have and quite something too! Rewind, Remind and Dive are such fun things to implement in a game to introduce new mechanics but old ones too, such as erasing someone possessed by noise with Nagi's Dive ability instead of simply scanning! Some aspects of them do get tiring, don't get me wrong, it is not a perfectly applied formula but it works once you get the hang of it!
TIME TO PRICE VALUE:
The game has LENGTH! Let me tell you, the 10 hours you would spend to finish Week 1 and move on to Week 2 in the original game are merely the 4 to 5 Days of Week 1 in NEO! Also this game has SIDE QUESTS, yes yes I know, groundbreaking for a JRPG to have them! Not really but even if they are small and some are fairly short, they give you insights on different NPCs, making you truly understand that this game isn't just about the main characters and your antagonists, but the people around you in the world too! The main quests, side quests and generally the base game might take you around to 40-60 hours of gameplay more or less, while if you add the after game content, and believe me there IS after game content, it will add another 10 spicy hours. On another hand for 100% I don't know, I cannot tell ya, I am on the path to 100% this game myself! TLDR: Yes, even on full price the game is worth your wallet crying over it!
FINAL VERDICT:
Well after a long, deep, inside take of NEO TWEWY, let us recap in a short PROS-CONS list!
PROS:
-Storyline and Characters (There is not much to say here, both new and returning characters get the spotlight they deserve and the story is so well served. As expected TWEWY knocks it out of the park when it comes to its writing!)
-Art and Graphics (Much like the original the art design stays incredible and unique throughout the genre. But something changed. The game evolved in the graphics department making it even more stunning than what it was already.)
-Music Soundtrack (Staying true to the original while putting its own flare, NEO has everything someone might want from a music soundtrack in a game. Chill themes, groovy ones, dynamic ones, there is something for everyone in its repertoire.)
-Voice Acting (Something that I adored in NEO The World Ends with You is the addition of voice acting during the dialogues! It brought so many scenes a new fresh air and the characters got so much extra depth because of it! Plus both casts are incredible so go ahead and play the game in both languages, I encourage you to because believe me, the work is excellent!)
-Performance (Usually I wouldn't touch performance on a game, but for this one I have to. I feel like I do. Both the NSW and the PS4 versions of the game run incredibly well, no lag spikes, no frame drops, no nothing. Making the performance of such a busy graphically game a worth-mentioned PRO.)
-Price to Time Value (The game is on for a full priced game, but it is worth every single penny. It goes around to 40-60 hours of gameplay and fills your cravings of a good RPG!)
CONS:
-Learning Curve (The combat is quite the learning curve, it might need you to adjust your difficulty and/or repeat fights. But honestly, which game doesn't have a learning curve? If I had to point out a CON about the game... This is the only thing.)
WOULD I RECOMMEND?:
The ancient old question of 'Would you recommend' shall be answered! And the answer is... YES! 100%! I cannot stretch out enough how beautiful the game looks, how good it plays, how pleasing the characters are! The voice acting truly brings life to all of those relatable characters and makes the game all the more heartfelt to the player. It is an honestly incredible experience and I bet you will all find something you will like in NEO The World Ends with You! Personally I adore the character interactions and developments but some of you might be like Paul, who is the wonderful voice behind Rindo, who said to me that "I really love the music, it’s got a very contemporary take on it capturing the magic of the original game's soundtrack and using music that is popular today. It’s all stuff I would listen to regardless if it was in the game or not" really putting out there that TWEWY has something for everyone to love!
LASTLY! A BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU TO PAUL CASTRO JR!The fact that he was so kind to join me with his own inputs in this review was beyond amazing! I would also 100% recommend checking him out (and getting NEO duh!) in all the links bellow!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulcastrojrFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulCastroJr
Comments
Post a Comment