Neo: The World Ends with You Review – Well Worth The Wait

Anyone who has listened to me on the Nintendo Entertainment Podcast I hope knows that there are certain games and franchises that I love with all my heart. Fire Emblem, Pokemon, Ace Attorney, and a little gem of a title called The World Ends With You. I found out about this game on the show X-Play and they gave it a 5-star review, and I was shocked. If they loved it, surely I would, right? Very much so. And I waited patiently for well over a decade for its sequel (not including Final Remix’s epilogue) to arrive. So after so long, I can proudly say that NEO: The World Ends with You is an amazing title that lives up to the hype. Oh, and right now? It’s my Game of the Year.

Game Name: NEO: The World Ends with You
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PS4
Publisher(s): Square Enix
Developer(s): Square Enix
Release Date: July 27th, 2021
Price: $59.99

For the record, I’m REALLY going to drop major spoilers here because it’s an important thing given the deep story here, so if you haven’t beaten the game yet…you really should just skip to my score and then just get the game, you’ve been warned!

So, to start, the game has you playing as a new character via Rindo. He and his best friend “Fret” find themselves in the mix of a deadly game, the Reaper’s Game. They have no idea how they got into it, but they have to survive in order to get back to the real world or the “RG” as it’s called. But doing that will be anything but easy.

To “replay” a little bit here, you don’t need to have played The World Ends With You to understand this game. It helps, but it’s not needed. But if you did play it, you’ll know that you’re SUPPOSED to go and die before entering the Reaper’s Game, but for Rindo, Fret, and certain others…that’s not the case.

Furthermore, both storywise and gameplay-wise, NEO: The World Ends with You plays and acts differently than its predecessor in various ways. For example, this go around, you’re not doing a “duo set” of characters to control. Rather, you’re working in a team, one that grows as you go throughout the game. You’ll start with two, then three, and by the end, you’ll be up to a 6-person squad with some surprising characters that I WILL TOTALLY SPOIL SOON! Just wanted to warn you again.

What’s more, much of the story is intertwined with certain “abilities” that each of your main characters has. Fret for example can go and help people recall things in order to get them to remember things and help clear up certain items of business. Rindo can rewind time, allowing you to literally “Change Your Fate”. 

These change-ups in the gameplay might feel a bit overwhelming at first, but you’ll get the hang of it as time goes on.

In terms of combat, the game mixes what came before with a new feel. In the original, Neku Sakuraba would use special pins called “Psyches” to do attacks while his partners (Shiki, Joshua, and Beat) would have unique actions based on who they were.

With NEO: The World Ends with You, your 6-person team will each have access to a singular pin that you can use. And it’s up to you to not just get stronger pins, but work out a strategy that’ll allow you to deliver all sorts of attacks and stop the Noise, Reapers, and more. It’ll take some time for you to get used to, and you’ll find it hard at times to turn away from a strategy that you know works, but if you play it right, you’ll find yourself with a powerful team (and a lot of hand-cramping! More on that later).

Visually, the game is both stylistic, bombastic, and incredible in so many ways. They really spiced things up with the 3D visuals while not sacrificing the style and feel of the original game (that helped set it apart in many ways). From going around Shibuya to the looks of the main characters (both good and bad) to the Noise, the cutscenes that are played out before you, and more, everything is top-notch here.

In fact, the only “drawback” is that the beautiful 3D cutscenes are only left to certain key moments. But given how much effort no doubt went into them, it’s not surprising that they wanted to leave them for the key moments in the story.

And what a story it is.

Make no mistake, one of the best parts about the original title on the DS and its ports was that TWEWY had a deep story focusing on life, death, what means the most to us, and more. NEO: The World Ends with You cranks that up to another level (much like the game itself) and dares to ask how far we’ll go to save someone, whether we trust our friends with our lives, and what it means to truly love the city you’re from.

Each character in NEO from the new kids on the block to the old guard has a spice, flair, and substance to them that can’t be ignored. Rindo isn’t your typical protagonist (neither was Neku in his own way) and you’ll watch him grow throughout the game from the kid who’s just trying to understand everything to the guy who’s willing on his friends in the final battle to save Shibuya.

Fret is your best pal and someone you want to hang out with all the time, but he’s hiding things within him and even his “eternal smile” has cracks that show. He was honestly the focal point of the best chapter of the game in my opinion where he was crushing on another team leader named Kanon, and he wanted desperately to show her that he was “genuine” with her, and when she dies…and he’s there to spill it out…it’s moving.

Nagi is also great. She’s a fangirl of a certain game and the way she talks smack at Fret and others is A-level epic. She has a heart of gold though and arguably knows everyone better than you think she does.

The Reapers and team leaders also weave this into a masterful story. Shoka is the Reaper you’ll be seeing a lot of as she goes from your teasing onlooker to your ally…to your friend. 

And that says nothing of some of the old guard that comes in to save your butt when the timing is right. The game heavily teases that a certain “hooded individual” is Neku from the original game, but it’s actually Beat! And having him on the team is a joy…because he hasn’t changed a bit. We missed you, Beat! Oh, and then there’s…

Yep! Neku’s back! Though to be clear, the game isn’t about him. But he comes in to play a big part, and gets a BIG reunion with a certain lady that fans have been asking for since the end of the first game!!!! I’m not crying, you’re crying!

Seriously though, the narrative of this game is intense at times. If you’re thinking it’s going to play like Neku’s run, you’re wrong. There’s a different scale and scope to things here and unlike in the original, you’re going to FEEL the losses as they come one after another. I’ve already mentioned the loss of Kanon (herself a great character) but there are others that nearly break the team. And yet, they endure, because they need to, everything is counting on them.

Even the villains are great. Shiba, Koba, and more shine as they bring both depth and villainy to the mix…and many of them aren’t what you expect. And there’s even a “surprise villain” in the midst during the middle of the game that was a perfectly handled twist.

By the time I got to the “final chapters”, I was literally glued to my Nintendo Switch because I NEEDED to know how this was going to end, and what an end it was. Everyone got the payoff they deserved, and more. Oh, and they MIGHT have teased another game in the series…

Ok…I know you’ve waited so…here are the bad parts of the game…

While NEO: The World Ends with You absolutely shines with its characters and stories, at times with the gameplay it goes too far.

For example, as mentioned earlier, you WILL get hand cramps by the time you’re up to the 5 and 6 person teams. Are they welcome members of the crew? Yes. But, when you’re fighting Noise and Reapers and you’re trying to enact strategies and get your “Groove Meter” up to 100% and beyond so you can win…? It wears on your hands.

Furthermore, certain gameplay mechanics could’ve been better handled. Fret’s “Remind” mini-game was a pain to play every single time. Period. And speaking of the Groove Meter, they give you bonuses if you make it up to 200% or 300% Groove, but it’s REALLY hard to get to that number, and it’s not worth risking it when the Noise are relentless at times.

The Noise are a dual-edged sword here. On one hand, they’re enhanced from the previous game and by that token are able to truly be something special. BUT, by the end parts of the game, some of them are a true hassle to fight on the Normal difficulty and you’ll be going to “Easy” (barring the best strategies) just to get through them. A particular Elephant Noise will forever have my ire due to that. I could beat full-on Reapers but I couldn’t beat that dang elephant without a long fight.

Even with all of that though, NEO: The World Ends with You was everything I could’ve wanted from this game and more. I’m smiling just thinking about the final cutscenes with Rindo, Shoka, Neku, Beat, and many other familiar faces. I know it’ll be a while because I have other things to play, but I’m already pumped for my return to this game because I’m sure it’ll be just as beautiful the second time around.