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!
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.]
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
Posted Dec 17th 2007 6:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
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).
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fans anticipating the release of 
