It's finally time for my very first thread and I couldn't be happier to dedicate it to one of the games that I love the most. Over the past few years since its release it began to dawn on me that this might not only be one of the best DS games or RPGs that I played, but also probably in my Top 10 of all time favorites games a feeling only further cemented by me replaying this game. Whether you like it or not I don't think you can argue that it's one of the most unique games out there and it definitely hit a nerve with me that I'll try to describe:
I think the game came out just at the right time for me. While offering a very interesting take on a 'Hunger Games'-like setting - long before the book's or movie's hype - with its thrilling and truly surprising twists in regard of how you progressed through the different stages of the game's structure, it also offered me quite some philosophical insights as well. It was just the time when we were reading Sartres 'No Exit' in school a book about three people trapped in some sort of afterlife each in his personal hell, observing the living world around them from a passive and helpless perspective. The book ultimately comes to the conclusion that hell is other people and it was the perfect accompanying piece to the game that also sets you up as this misanthropic character Neku who hovers in a plain between life and death.
Sure, it might not be the most creative take on a teenage angst story that ultimately comes to the conclusion how each of us is living in his own bubble and eventually has to open up, but it's being told in a beautiful and touching way, since Neku's character transition is incredibly effective due to how close we are to his very thoughts, how ambivalently he is being portrayed at the beginning and how long it actually takes him to show some growth as a character. He reminded me a lot of Cloud from Final Fantasy VII. It's such a tragic and bittersweet conclusion that we as people are only starting to truly introspect oneselves when it's already (almost) too late.
What I also love about this game's setting though is how you really develop a feeling for all these overcrowded places in Tokyo. Not only does it make me wanna visit Japan as soon as possible and inspect all those places in real life it also has this melancholic feel to it it's a fragmentic reality being portrayed as this place in which anything seems possible and yet so unreachable. It almost feels like a (obviously super stylish) Wong Kar-Wai movie like Chungking Express to me that speaks of the troubles of finding true human connections in the midst of these crowds.
I'm not even gonna start about all the supernatural implications and consumer-critical aspects of the story.
All is being formed by a truly unique style maybe some of you might think of these characters as too much of a hipster group, but personally I'm grateful for every single RPG set in our modern times and overall I think the characters are actually clothed in a pretty memorable way. The urban style is also being portrayed in the soundtrack, which might be one of the strongest aspects of the game overall. My urge to replay this game has actually come from listening to some of the tracks again. Whether it's the drifting pulse of the beating urban heart in a song like Calling, the smooth, yet energetic melancholia of the Underground or the funky J-Pop beats in its battle themes, it's a great mix and I'm surprised how great the quality of the song actually is coming out of the DS sound chip.
I haven't even touched on the gameplay yet, but obviously the game's uniqueness is carried on to the gameplay core as well. The mission design of the game has a very clear structure with quite some unique tasks contributing the world's setting and story progression, but it's the fighting mechanics that will probably stun you the most. Not only does the game offer a ton of real time moves for Neku in the form of different pins that vary in the way you use the touchscreen or even the microphone, but it also demands of you to keep the eye on your secondary character your partner as well, who is fighting on the top screen. To switch your focus between the screens can be somewhat frustrating at the very beginning, but it offers great and challenging potential to master various amounts of strategies and it's probably one of the games that takes full advantage of the DS's abilities and implements them all in a way that makes the game stand out in regard to its gameplay mechanics.
The last thing I want to get into is a simple one: options! Sure, there is the usual amount of fighting moves, items etc. just as in any other RPG, but not only does the game manage to implement gameplay ideas in a way that it actually fits the setting (for example all your clothes are produced by different brands and specific brands being 'hot' in an area will give you nice boosts and other bonuses in fights) it has also tons of options that make you as a player decide how you want to design your playthrough. For example at a certain point you can artificially decrease your experience level and also set the game to a different difficulty setting or chain fights with enemies together so that you will have better chances for good drops etc. And don't even get me starting on how many hours you can sink into this game to get certain outfit or fighting pin sets.
I think that's basically it. My love for this truly unique game is endless and if I could convince anyone to pop it into your console again (I think it's also available on the iPad?), to check out some gameplay scenes or to simply enjoy the soundtrack again, it would make me incredibly happy!
Don't forget, The World Begins with You!
