I am a Square-Enix fan and I’m not afraid to say it. Like half the world who grew up and played the Final Fantasy series, I fell in love with Kingdom Hearts the minute the PS2 game was released. Similarly with The World Ends With You, this DS game reminds me of those good old Squaresoft gaming days. Released on April 2008, this game is not like its Square-Enix game counterparts. Far from it. There are not sorcery, sorcery and Chocobos but there is the usual damsel in distress element to it. The uniqueness of The World Ends With You lies in the fact that the ever innovative Square-Enix took the charming elements from the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series, mixed them thoroughly and brought them to modern day Shibuya, Tokyo.

I love the team-based game combat system because of its innovative game play that allows me to take on enemies using both screens on my DS Lite. I am also amazed that Square-Enix took the trouble to transport some real life Shibuya landmarks like Shibuya Crossing and the train station into this game.

For those who want to view the total time they invested in playing this game, players can hit L + R once you bring up the save data menu screen. I especially love the “A New Day Chapter” secret, where you can actually replay the game on Ultimate Difficulty. Getting it is easy; you just need to head on to the Shiba-Q HQ and purchase the quest item on the third floor. However, I find that completing is a tad harder than I thought. After all, it’s not called Ultimate Difficulty for nothing!