I spent a lot of time when I was younger playing games on my Nintendo DS. I am a big fan of Role-Playing Games, and the handheld console was a haven for a variety of new entries into the genre. One action-RPG stood out among the rest The World Ends With You. The game released back in 2007 and featured some stunning artwork by Tetsuya Nomura, who many might recognize as the mind behind Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII. It was a unique entry that played out like an urban fantasy, where a bunch of kids had to survive a dangerous game in the shopping district of Tokyo. Now, after almost 13 years, we got the announcement to a sequel titled NEO: The World Ends with You.
NEO: The World Ends with You is the follow-up to the hit action role-playing game The World Ends with You.
NEO: The World Ends with You transports players to the streets of the Shibuya, where they will take part in the “Reapers’ Game,” a life-or-death battle for survival. Players will take on the role of Rindo as they explore the heart of Tokyo to uncover the mysteries behind the sinister Game in which they have been forced to take part.
NEO: The World Ends with You brings a re-creation of modern Shibuya to life in a unique and comic-inspired style. Players can explore and enjoy the sights, sounds, and culture of this bustling city, fight monsters alongside their ally companions in fast-paced action battles, and complete missions as they seek to change the fate they’ve been handed.
The Reaper’s Game returns with a brand new group of teenagers having to survive Shibuya. The biggest surprise is that the game retains its original art style, but most of the gameplay has moved from 2D to the third dimension. It seems like they managed to translate the visuals from the original, but it will be interesting to see how they implemented the gameplay. In the original, you moved and fought using your stylus pen. The timing of this announcement is also to build up hype for next year’s anime adaptation of the original game. It is great to see this iconic franchise make a return, as the only reference we got was the appearance of Neku and the gang in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. It’ll be interesting to see how this game will work in a new dimension for a new generation.
