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Gaming to Go: The World Ends with You
Ah, TWEWY. That's The World Ends with You for the lot of you, though any Japanese readers might know by it a seemingly happier name. But no matter what you call it, doesn't that acronym just rock your pretty pink socks? Seriously, stop reading and say it aloud. Do it right now. Let the letters roll off your tongue and perhaps you'll get a tantalizing taste of the title we've been raving about for the last few months. You also might sound a little silly. My bad.But what's that? You've already played The World Ends with You? Good for you! I might be treading well-worn ground with this week's edition of Gaming to Go, but Square Enix's latest epic deserves mention for one simple reason: it makes fighting fresh, fast, and -- most importantly -- fashionable. Tired of tedious turn-based battling? Tired of donning drab, colorless garments whenever you step into the war zone? TWEWY might be just what you need!What other game actively rewards you for playing in short bursts? That feature alone makes The World Ends with You an easy recommendation for a gamer on the go. Hit the jump if you need further convincing, you fashionista, you!%Gallery-11943%
The Sale Ends with You [update 2]
E3 news is still trickling in, but we wouldn't be the DS Fanboy you know and love if we neglected to tell you how to buy cheap games.The latest hot sale is something we've seen before -- The World Ends with You at Amazon for $29.99. Yet, that offer quickly went out of stock way back when, and many of you poor, unfortunate souls didn't get a chance to nab it at the time. In fact, from what we understand, the game is still hard to find at certain locations.You can still get the title minus the "Square Enix tax," though, thanks to Amazon's revisiting of its previous sale price. This is a game that's actually worth all $40, too, so $30 is definitely a bargain.[Update: Well that lasted a good ... half hour. Those of you who are set on the sale, it might be worth it to keep checking in at Amazon throughout the day. As of this moment, though, it seems that the price has gone back to $39.99.][Update 2: Well, what do you know, the price has gone back down to $29.99 again. That's one small step for man, and one giant "woot" from mankind. Once again tipped by supa_s -- we think he must have the magic touch.] Gallery: The World Ends With You [Thanks, supa_s!]
The shortage ends with new copies of The World Ends With You
Thanks to our overlords at Joystiq, we may now report that those shortages of Square Enix RPG, The World Ends With You, have come to an end. If you've been sitting back and relaxing, waiting for the game to come back into stock, now is your time to pounce. For those of you who enjoy purchasing your games online, both Amazon and Gamestop are showing the game as in stock and ready to ship. If you're more for actually leaving your house and going into a store, physical copies of the game should be gracing store shelves near you soon.%Gallery-11943%
Square Enix might be squashing creativity
Gamers like innovation when it's implemented well and creatively. Take a look, for example, at the positive critical reception (from gamers, bloggers, and journalists alike) for Square Enix's The World Ends With You. Such a refreshing break from Square's usual sequels and remakes might be a thing of the past, though, after the company's profits for fiscal year 2007 dropped 21% from the previous year's earnings.According to Kotaku rumor, Square Enix higher ups were lashing out at developers in a meeting last month, claiming that the company's games are falling away from the mainstream crowd. Employees who continue to steer the company in this direction are apparently in danger of being fired.As this is a rumor based on hearsay, don't take it as fact just yet. Still, if it's true, then we can't help but worry that this might scare developers from coming up with original ideas like TWEWY and Sigma Harmonics. After all, we like seeing things other than sequels and remakes from the company.
The World Ends at $29.99
The early birds may catch the worms, but the late adapters catch the sales. So, those of you who haven't yet succumbed to Square Enix's high-and-mighty game tax but still want a copy of The World Ends With You are in luck.Until Sunday (we assume, so don't quote us on that), you can grab the game at both Amazon and Circuit City (dot com or brick and mortar) for the low reasonable price of $29.99. Should you not want to leave the comfort of your own home (or, like this blogger, you just don't live near a Circuit City), then each online deal has its pros and cons. Both sites offer free shipping, but Circuit City adds tax to the order. Amazon, on the other hand, doesn't add tax but the game isn't in stock at the moment. Therefore, it will take two to four weeks (according to the website) for Amazon orders to ship.Either way, if you have your eye on this game, we recommend biting on one of these deals because Squeenix's $40 DS game standard hurts.Note: Amazon is trying to fool you into buying the copies that are in stock for $39.79 (via Hubbagames), so don't fall for it. If the link directs you to the wrong place, you should see this on the right side of your screen. Just click "Add to Cart" on the choice that says $29.99, and voilà. Gallery: The World Ends With You [Via CAG]Read: TWEWY at Circuit CityRead: TWEWY at Amazon
DS Fanboy Review: The World Ends With You
2008 is shaping up to be an incredible year for the DS, and not because of old franchises. Zelda, we love you. Final Fantasy, we think you're great, and you'll probably dominate a good portion of our summers. But the first half of the year belongs to the new guys. After playing Professor Layton and the Curious Village, we thought we'd seen one of the most wonderful DS games to date, and that's true. But when it comes to sheer innovation, The World Ends With You blows it right out of the water. Anyone looking to create an ARPG or anything with stylus-based action controls should study The World Ends With You, because -- no exaggeration -- nearly everything here is done right. Of course, almost nothing's perfect, and that includes this game. Most of the few flaws here are visible right from the beginning; that, combined with the unusual look and the fact that it's a new IP, may turn some gamers off. Don't be one of them, because this one is worth playing.%Gallery-11943%
Friday Video: I'm diggin' it
We should have seen it coming, but we didn't. Square Enix always dedicates themselves to a high-end audiovisual experience in their games, and that always means they record new English voice for games that feature voice acting. But, for some reason, we didn't think they would for The World Ends with You. Maybe it's because the aesthetic and the setting are so totally Japanese.We'll reserve judgment of the results of the English voices, mostly because we don't want to join the chorus of anime fans who summarily declare the Japanese voice acting in anything superior. Even if you're, uh, not into evaluating voice acting, these new videos give us a nice look at WEWY's bizarre, split-personality "Stride Cross" battling. Two more follow after the break!%Gallery-11943%
Release schedule announced for Ring of Fates, The World Ends With You
Square Enix unveiled its release strategy for early 2008 today, keeping its games on our minds and reminding us to plan our spring budgets accordingly. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, the four-player co-op ARPG, ships out to North American stores on March 11, 2008, almost seven months since its debut in Japan. With that long of a delay, we're hoping for some added content with the US release (e.g. online features with more depth than moogle-trading).As for The World Ends With You (a.k.a. It's a Wonderful World, Subarashiki Kono Sekai), Square Enix plans to bring the stylized romp through Tokyo's Shibuya district stateside around "spring 2008." You can check out screenshots and artwork for both games in the galleries we've dropped below. Still missing from Square Enix's schedule: Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, Dragon Quest IV, and Dragon Quest IX.%Gallery-3462%%Gallery-11943%[Via Press Release]
It's a Wonderful World (outside of Japan)
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/nintendo/It_s_a_Wonderful_World_outside_of_Japan'; The game we've had our eye on for quite some time, Square Enix's It's a Wonderful World, is going to be releasing outside of Japan. Titled The World Ends with You, the game will supposedly be released in the spring of 2008 to North America and Europe. As you already know, it was developed by the team behind the Kingdom Hearts series of games.In case you missed our previous coverage of the game in action, it's pretty busy regarding gameplay, but in a good way. We wonder if Square will decide to release any special edition DS Lite with the game like they did in Japan?
It's a nice-looking soundtrack CD
Amazon.jp is taking preorders (in Japan, obviously) for the CD soundtrack to It's a Wonderful World, due out the 22nd. We remember liking the music from the E3 sampler, and we are totally drooling over the package for this thing. Well, not so much drooling as appreciating. 2100 yen ($18) is not that bad for a Japanese CD, either, even if it is steep for music we haven't heard from a game we haven't played.You know, it's quite possible that the Square Enix online store will carry stuff like this. We'd love to see the availability of game soundtracks in the US increase, and Square Enix fans have very strong feelings about game music.
A Wonderful World of complicated gameplay
There is a lot going on in this world, and throwing down with multiple characters at the same time is pretty much our exact idea of "wonderful." Certainly we like the art style, but it's the seeming challenge of controlling two characters with two distinct control schemes that has us peeking around for more word on a localization timeframe, because we're not ready to attempt that language barrier, despite how intrigued we are. It's a Wonderful World is currently out in Japan, and hovering near the top of weekly sales charts.
It's a Wonderful World of advertisements
The fine folks over at JeuxFrance apparently got to visit Japan, recently. In taking their time to extract every bit of delicate and precious piece of Japanese culture they could before having to leave the gaming mecca, they managed to compile quite a gallery regarding the advertisement of Square Enix's It's a Wonderful World. They've got plenty of stuff from the Shibuya district, where the majority of the advertisements were shown.
Booze Training boxart (along with plenty of others) revealed
The NeoGAF forums have been flooded with a variety of boxarts for upcoming Japanese DS titles. Such titles include Chibi Robo Park Patrol, It's a Wonderful World and the above, EA's Bartender DS. Personally, we could use Bartender DS, as our mixed drinks are anything but, well ... drinkable. So, if boxart is your thing, be sure to hit up the NeoGAF thread.[Via Go Nintendo]
It's a Wonderful World of fresh screens and concept art
When we finally are able to pry loose the cartridge for It's a Wonderful World from its plastic case, we imagine the world will be wonderful. Birds will sing, the skies will part and the sun will shine down onto us exclusively. We'll laugh as we walk down the street and a band will trail behind us, just a few steps, playing that famous song. It will surely be a great day.But, until then, guess we'll just have to settle for a few screens and some concept art.
And I think to myself, what a wonderful preorder bonus
Fans anticipating the release of It's a Wonderful World won't have just a limited edition DS Lite bundle to look forward to; Square Enix announced today that preordering the Shibuya-district RPG in advance of its July 27th release will also net gamers a miniature kitten to hitch onto your handheld.The feline charm mimics Pochi, a stuffed cat that plays into Shiki Misaki's (IAWW's female lead) special attacks, and also doubles as a wipe to keep your DS screens free of dust and kitty litter. Pounce past the post break for some in-game screenshots of Pochi. See also: Just about the oddest/cutest/scariest thing you will ever see More from the DS cat
It's a Wonderful DS Lite
Square Enix's Wonderful World edition DS Lite marks the first of what we're sure will be many Gloss Silver bundles to grace Japan, but will never -- absolutely never -- see an official release in the states. Set for release along with the game this June 27th, the limited edition handheld shows of the "It's a Wonderful World" logo and Tetsuya Nomura's skull badge design. Pricing for the set hasn't been announced yet, but expect to pay a king's ransom if you plan on importing.
It's a Wonderful Music Sampler
Not only did people who went to the Square Enix Party get to try a bunch of new games-- and, well, a bunch of new releases of old games-- but they also got a bounty of free promotional stuff, including the set of CDs seen above. It contains songs from the soundtracks of two Final Fantasy spinoffs for the PSP, and from It's a Wonderful World, which is more in line with our interests.The CD's have been ripped, and we've got the Wonderful World sampler available for download. It's J-poppy and synthy! Is it ever synthy.1. Twister 2. Give me all your love[Thanks, Jamal!]
It's a Wonderful World of wonderful bundles
Famitsu has revealed that a special bundle is in the works for the upcoming It's a Wonderful World, with a special edition DS Lite to boot. Set to release alongside the game on July 27th in Japan and where the game will sell for 5980 Yen (or $49.76 US), the price for the bundle has yet to be determined. Regardless of when it releases, we just hope they put some thought into the design of the special edition DS Lite and don't slap it together like some other special edition DS Lites we've seen.
A new look at a Wonderful World
It's a Wonderful World just keeps getting more wonderful, and, um, worldly. Now in addition to the graphic style, we're hyped about the gameplay! Jeux-France has posted some scans of the game in action, highlighting the touch-screen weapons system, which uses badges to assign different attacks. The attacks shown include Patrol Shot, Piercing Shot, Black Hole, Burst Shot, and Velocity Crash. All of these attacks are done with stylus gestures. The scans also state that part of the game takes place in Shibuya, making the game even more Jet Set Radio-like than we thought. We don't know how wise it is to anticipate a Square action game, but we can't help it. This looks so awesome. See for yourself after the post break.
New It's a Wonderful World screens
Some new screenshots of Square Enix's bizarre action-RPG It's a Wonderful World (Subarashiki Kono Sekai) have surfaced, and they are ... interesting! We think that this game is the best use of Tetsuya Nomura's distinctive style yet. We're actually getting something of a Jet Set Radio vibe from the near-future Tokyo/kids in baggy clothes theme, and we love getting Jet Set Radio vibes.The control scheme is pretty clearly on display here, we think-- the arrows represent commands given to the character on the top screen, while the bottom screen is stylus-driven.We're excited! Much more than we ever were about Kingdom Hearts, and not just because that's a mainly-PS2 franchise. Wonderful screens are posted after the break to test your Action-RPG Excitement Potential.
