the-world-ends-with-you posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Looking for a ludological stocking stuffer for the RPG fan in your life? Amazon's Deal of the Day has you covered -- three of Square Enix's portable titles (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for PSP and The World Ends With You and Final Fantasy IV on DS) have had their prices rolled back to just $9.78 for today only. At those prices, you've got no reason not to buy one of these for your dearest friends and family. Especially family who writes for the same gaming news site as you, who let you borrow their copy of The World Ends With You in March, which you beat and then traded in, you thoughtless bastard.

[Via CheapAssGamer]

Square Enix has been all over the DS, with remakes, franchise continuations, spin-offs, and more. Perhaps even more amazingly, however, is that the DS isn't just getting the same ol' series, but new games, too. Some are totally new, while others are newish, yet have connection to some of the company's other properties. If you're a fan of their work, you've probably played a lot of DS in the past few years. But what's been more exciting to you: the newer things, like The World Ends With You and the recently-announced Blood of Bahamut, or the oldest of the old, like the remakes (Final Fantasy IV, Chrono Trigger, more)?

In last week's edition of Show and Tell, we saw a little Zelda cosplay, and you know what? We see Zelda cosplay all the time. Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy -- while these series make for some great cosplay opportunities, frankly, they get old. The DS has a library rife with interesting characters who also happen to be from great games, and we want to see people dressing up like them. To that end, we scoured the 'net to find a few cosplay pics inspired by some of the best handheld games we've ever played. Drop in here to take the guided tour, or jump right into the gallery below.

Another benefit to being one of the lucky few to attend the Square Enix DKΣ3713 event, besides getting to play new games and see trailers and be surrounded by journalists (what do you mean that's no benefit?) is that awesome exclusive merchandise is available for purchase.

Seen above: two strangely fashion-backward shirts for the very fashionable The World Ends with You. They feature the date of the event and the TWEWY skull logo on the back, and an assertion that "I PARTICIPATE IN THIS GAME" on the front. We must admit that we're charmed by the boldness of the shirt. Sometimes you want to wear art, and sometimes you just want to be a huge nerd.

[Via GoNintendo]

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, supa_s!]

You're looking at the gift. See, XSEED's CEO is Jun Iwasaki, who used to run Square Enix before he left to found his current company. The head honcho over at Square Enix now, Tetsuya Nomura, decided to hook him up with the custom It's a Wonderful World (The World Ends With You) handheld in what we can only hope is an example to others in the future. We have to break down these barriers!

We want to see a Coca Cola truck driver letting a Pepsi truck driver merge during heavy traffic. We want to see DS and PSP enthusiasts swapping consoles, sharing great experiences with each other. It's ... it's just such a feel good moment.

If there's any publisher that can demand gamers invest more than money and their time into a game, it's Square Enix. Their fans are among the most devoted in gaming.

Now, after many of you hunted down a copy of The World Ends With You, played through the lengthy title. Square Enix wants more from you. They've put up a quiz to test your knowledge on the game. For those of you who have played through, test your knowledge here. Let us know how you score in the comments!


[Via Go Nintendo]

Toys R Us is holding its annual "buy two, get one free" DS promotion again starting on Sunday the 22nd, according to the latest weekly ad (as transcribed by CAG denizens). It's a great time for it, too: people getting Guitar Hero On Tour should be able to defray some of the cost by bundling it with two other games. Of course, even if you don't care about On Tour, you can get a great deal on some DS games. We just focused on that because it's new and it's so expensive that any other DS game comes in at an "equal or lesser value."

Guitar Hero is expensive enough that, under the right conditions (purchasing two Square Enix games along with it), you could get a free Square Enix game! Final Fantasy Tactics A2 comes out next week, for example -- $90 for Guitar Hero, FFTA2, and The World Ends with You is a relatively non-terrible deal.

[Via CAG]

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.

Last week we reported on the apparent nationwide sell-out of Square Enix's quirky – but obviously more popular than anticipated – DS action RPG, The World Ends With You. A very helpful tipster sent us a "heads up!" email this morning to confirm that exactly what the game's publisher said would happen is happening: it's back in stock at many retailers.

A quick jaunt to some of the larger online stores confirmed it. Both Amazon and GameStop's e-store have the game ready to ship. GameStop's physical locations have also begun receiving re-stocks, but it's not on shelves in all areas just yet. For now, if you want in on the game's oh-so-hip (and seriously confusing to some) RPG action, hitting up one of the bigger shops on the net is your best bet.

[Thanks, Joel!]

Searching, searching ... dang it all! Where's the Japanese cyberpunk Shibuya-themed trendy pop culture action-RPG when you need it? Gamers have been trying to find The World Ends With You on store shelves, but a meager shipment + critical acclaim = no game for you.

Square Enix has admitted this oversight, and released a statement to Joystiq explaining the lack of units. They felt the unique style of TWEWY was released in just the right place at just the right time. They were right -- but that still doesn't result in John Q DS getting the game! Square has confirmed that the next round of units will be arriving mid-June, so you'll have to twiddle your thumbs for a little longer. Relax - it's not the end of the world.

A handful of readers have told us they're having a difficult time locating The World Ends With You, the Square Enix RPG for DS. We finally got a hold of Square Enix, who acknowledged that "the first shipment did sell more quickly than expected." A statement given to Joystiq also confirmed that the next shipment is on schedule for mid-June. We've posted the full statement after the break.

Zero Punctuation discovers The World Ends With You this week. This sudden realization has caused him to send his vast internet army to your house and kill you. Really! Run!

Actually, The World Ends With You is a JRPG that's been getting some strongly supportive reviews from several outlets that do that reviewing sort of thing. As any disciple of Yahtzee knows at this point, he hates JRPGs and Nintendo -- the jury is still out though on which one he hates more. TWEWY gets off easy in this review by confusing Yahtzee to the point where he can't form an opinion and leaves it up to the audience.

Find this week's NSFW ZP review of another Japanese game with kids who have gravity defying hair after the break.

With such a vast catalog of high-profile, big-budget console games under his reviewing belt, Yahtzee risks life and limb this week to review The World Ends with You on the DS. It may be known around these parts as a stellar action-RPG with outrageous originality and style, but we're well aware that no amount of praise can stop that affable British chap from offering a hefty serving of hate.

It's certainly a unique genre to tackle, and we know everyone is totally ready to accept his criticism in the most professional manner possible. Well, maybe not, but it makes for a funny video all the same! Hit the break for the full review.

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.