Released on the Nintendo DS back in July, "Subarashiki Kono Sekai" saw the team behind Kingdom Hearts take a break from all that adorable fantasy nonsense to explore an entirely different... well, no. Setting the game in Shibuya, Tokyo ("the coolest district in Tokyo," it says here) pretty much guarantees a heavy presence of adorable fantasy nonsense. It's a good thing some of us are partial to that sort of thing, or Square Enix wouldn't have bothered to localize the game (otherwise known as "It's a Wondeful World") for the PAL market.
Set for release in Spring 2008, the newly redubbed "The World Ends With You" starts in a rather sinister fashion, reminiscent of other popular Japanese import, The Ring. It seems the lead chap, Neku, encounters a phone message ominously informing him that after seven days have passed, he'll cease to exist. Don't be too concerned, as he'll get out of the predicament thanks to "the coolest fashions, friends and fighting skills" Tokyo has to offer. And hey, if those friends and fighting skills don't work out, at least the guy will be fashionably late. Geddit?
We've asked Square Enix whether or not a US release is on the cards, though it's easy enough to import and play DS games from Europe should the answer be "no, and for the last time, stop sending us those chain letters."
Update: Square Enix has no announcements regarding a US release.
Reader Comments (37)
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 6:04PM (Unverified) said
Hottie 2nd from the right.
A must buy for that alone.
Reply
A must buy for that alone.
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 6:17PM (Unverified) said
Hint 1: She's a cartoon
Hint 2: In game graphics are never as hot as the cover art, so just fap to this jpeg.
Reply
Hint 2: In game graphics are never as hot as the cover art, so just fap to this jpeg.
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 6:35PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said
Why is it anytime someone says a fictional character is attractive, someone always has to chime in "she's a cartoon lololol"
NO, REALLY. I THOUGHT SHE WAS REAL. THANK YOU FOR INFORMING US OTHERWISE.
Even if the character is fake, the design was still meant to be attractive.
Whether you're into anime girls, 3D girls (a la DOA or whatever), or famous stars, you have the same chance of scoring with them: nil. Nada. Zilch.
Is it a crime looking at fictional characters and finding them attractive? Last I checked, no it wasn't.
Reply
NO, REALLY. I THOUGHT SHE WAS REAL. THANK YOU FOR INFORMING US OTHERWISE.
Even if the character is fake, the design was still meant to be attractive.
Whether you're into anime girls, 3D girls (a la DOA or whatever), or famous stars, you have the same chance of scoring with them: nil. Nada. Zilch.
Is it a crime looking at fictional characters and finding them attractive? Last I checked, no it wasn't.
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 6:40PM (Unverified) said
Damn it, let's try that again:
BPM hearts Family Guy hentai four E.
Reply
BPM hearts Family Guy hentai four E.
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 7:00PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said
No, I heart delivering a FAAALCOOOON PUUUUUUUNCH to your jerk face, Jerk Face.
Reply
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 7:22PM (Unverified) said
No there is nothing wrong with cartoon ladies, just wanted to use point 1 to make point 2 funnier.
Reply
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 10:30PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said
If you do that, then I'll FALCON KICK you.
Reply
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 6:09PM (Unverified) said
Really, the DS is an amazing system. It have a lot, a lot of software, from every genre. So much diversity of games coming every week, and speacilly a lot of quality titles, quality RPG's, platformers, everything.
Hopelly the Wii follow the same steps.
Reply
Hopelly the Wii follow the same steps.
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 7:22PM (Unverified) said
At least someone is, I don't see Nintendo making an effort.
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Posted: Dec 5th 2007 6:36PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said
I have to say, the change in title makes the game seem a whole lot darker.
Reply
Posted: Dec 5th 2007 6:52PM (Unverified) said
Is it sad that I actually thought this was Kingdom Hearts before I saw the title of the article? The similarities are just so incredibly similar.
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Posted: Dec 5th 2007 8:37PM (Unverified) said
Does anyone actually care about the main hook for this game? You control two action-oriented battles (one on each screen) at the same time. One is controlled with the stylus while the other is controlled with the d-pad.
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Posted: Dec 5th 2007 10:03PM SoCoolCurt said
not really too sure about this but if it turns out to be anything like Kingdom Hearts (i see the art is similar) then i might just have to import it to hold me over until we get the actual Kingdom Hearts games (that cant come fast enough). i think ill buy all of the new Kingdom Hearts games except the mobile one and maybe this too depending on reviews and prices.
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Posted: Dec 6th 2007 2:36AM kenofthedead said
I'm quite glad to see this game finally be set for English. It's a great game in Japanese and the world should be able to play it.
Yes it has similarities to Mother 2/Earthbound, but it is far different from it in actual story, characters, and world.
Not to mention it's rather fun and interesting gameplay as opposed to standard RPG battles.
Hopefully it does well, as SquareEnix needs to make more great RPGs like this, as opposed to just more and more Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.
Reply
Yes it has similarities to Mother 2/Earthbound, but it is far different from it in actual story, characters, and world.
Not to mention it's rather fun and interesting gameplay as opposed to standard RPG battles.
Hopefully it does well, as SquareEnix needs to make more great RPGs like this, as opposed to just more and more Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.
Posted: Dec 6th 2007 6:16AM SSUK said
This game is pretty cool. Majorly depressing at points, however the gameplay is solid, the story is somewhat questionable, but you really appreciate it once you've finished the game.
The name change wasn't a surprise to me, there are apparently copyright issues with "It's A Wonderful World" in the states, and "The World Ends With You" wasn't likely a EU name choice... Meaning Square's probably pretty busy localising the game for NA release around the same time, before or... Dare I say it AFTER EU release.
The dubbing... I'm not too worried about, there's very little voice acting in the game, some grunts, some occasional cutscenes and the end of battle lines... With any luck they'll get some decent VAs in, although after recent Square Enix productions, I'm not holding my breath. I just hope that amazing Japanese soundtrack has been left unscaved.
Reply
The name change wasn't a surprise to me, there are apparently copyright issues with "It's A Wonderful World" in the states, and "The World Ends With You" wasn't likely a EU name choice... Meaning Square's probably pretty busy localising the game for NA release around the same time, before or... Dare I say it AFTER EU release.
The dubbing... I'm not too worried about, there's very little voice acting in the game, some grunts, some occasional cutscenes and the end of battle lines... With any luck they'll get some decent VAs in, although after recent Square Enix productions, I'm not holding my breath. I just hope that amazing Japanese soundtrack has been left unscaved.
Posted: Dec 6th 2007 10:17AM darkinchworm said
Hey now, pedophilia is when you're attracted to pre-pubescent girls.
Trust me, I would know.
Reply
Trust me, I would know.
Posted: Dec 6th 2007 10:18AM hvnlysoldr said
What part of same creators as FFVIII and KHII do you not understand?
Reply
Posted: Dec 6th 2007 11:29AM captcarl said
@hvnlysoldr:
Why the snide remark?If instead of being a troll and coming up with an attempt at a witty retort, why not scroll up and look at the artwork. I know it's Nomura's character designs, that's a given if you're familiar with his art style. That specific character is wearing an identical outfit to the one Seifer wore in Kingdom Hearts 2. Wouldn't you not agree?
Next time think a little bit before you attack someone over a harmless observation, kthx.
Reply
Why the snide remark?If instead of being a troll and coming up with an attempt at a witty retort, why not scroll up and look at the artwork. I know it's Nomura's character designs, that's a given if you're familiar with his art style. That specific character is wearing an identical outfit to the one Seifer wore in Kingdom Hearts 2. Wouldn't you not agree?
Next time think a little bit before you attack someone over a harmless observation, kthx.
Posted: Dec 7th 2007 10:53AM Supermanisdead said
Let's just hope Neku is not fashionably late saving the world
Reply
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