Overview

The World Ends With You, or すばらしきこのせかい (lit. It's A Wonderful World) is a Square Enix Action RPG originally for the Nintendo DS. It was released on July 27, 2007 in Japan, April 18, 2008 in Europe, April 22, 2008 in North America, and April 24, 2008 in Australia. An iOS and Android port with the subtitle Solo Remix was released in 2012, and the definitive version, adding an extra postgame chapter and subtitled Final Remix, was released for Nintendo Switch in 2018. While an anime adaption was released in 2021, this wiki does not acknowledge it as canon due to substantial storytelling differences from any port of the game, and as such will focus on the game.

Premise

15-year old Neku Sakuraba (JP: 桜庭音操) wakes up in the Shibuya district of Tokyo with no memories. Before he can properly gain his bearings, he receives a strange text on his phone from "The Reapers", giving him a task he has to complete or face erasure. Neku has been thrown into the Reaper's Game, a competition of sorts where all the players must form a partnership with one other in order to survive the week while competing to complete the day's missions. Will Neku survive the Game? How will his experiences change him, if they do at all? Find out for yourself if you'd like, and remember: The world ends with you.

Gameplay

The World Ends With You is an action RPG where you equip Neku with various pins that give him abilities (called Psychs) to fight the enemies in-game, called Noise. Battles work differently between versions, but across all versions you control Neku using the touchscreen and use different touchscreen inputs to let him use his psychs. In the DS version, you control Neku's partner on the top screen using the d-pad or buttons as input, whereas on the iOS and Switch ports you also control them through the touchscreen. Regardless, you'll want to fight battles with both Neku and his partner and alternate attacks in order to activate a Fusion Attack, a particularly strong attack that Neku and his partner can only use together.

Experience The World Ends With You

Interested? Luckily for you, the game's pretty accessible if you know where to look due to all the different versions.

  • You could look into grabbing the Nintendo DS version (though be aware it is a touchscreen heavy game.)
  • Both the Android and iOS versions are available to this day
  • If you're looking for a home console experience, Final Remix is available digitally and physically on the Nintendo Switch
  • Or if you'd rather experience just the story, there's always a letsplay for you. I'm a fan of this readable one and this no commentary video one.