 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The World Ends With You
- Nintendo DS
- Price: $29.99
- Genre: Role Playing
Common Sense Media says
Fascinating, dark but compelling action RPG game.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the game that this is one of the most creative games ever made for the Nintendo DS. Yet the game's protagonist is outside of society, angry, and a little depressed. Occasionally, he uses mild cuss words. There is some fantasy violence used to kill monsters that includes lightning or fire. The characters, story, and gameplay are so unique that kids may want to play the game over and over again. Kids can use Nintendo Wi-Fi to trade items, including songs and play a minigame.
What's it about?
In THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU, you wake up as Neku, a punky 15-year-old, who is disoriented in one of the busiest sections of Tokyo. Somehow, you're able to hear what everyone's thinking. You have a strange looking, tattooed Pin embedded in your hand, and you get a message on your cell phone from a group called The Reapers. The first message: You have seven days to do their bidding or you'll be erased. (That's a code word for being killed.) Within minutes, you meet an affable 15-year-old girl character named Shiki, who takes your flack and balances your pessimism with her optimism. This dialog-fueled story, presented somewhat like a graphic novel in the top screen, is both chilling and mysterious.
Just as the story is packed with enticing drama, so is the gameplay packed with compelling ways to move forward and stay alive as each day ticks away. You'll collect various Pins with a variety of powers to help you combat Noise, annoying monsters which prevent you from reaching your goals. By using the Pins and tapping and slashing on your touching screen, you'll unleash powerful forces that will vanquish your foes. You just can't keep fighting without thought, however. That would be too easy. When your energy is depleted, you'll have to wait a few moments as a circle fills to boost your health. During this time, you'll use the touch screen to move your character around and avoid being hurt by the Noise.
Is it any good?
As one of the most unique games ever created for the Nintendo DS, The World Ends with You is filled with tasty, creative features. For instance, you can shop and collect CDs, which are full length pop songs that you can listen to at your leisure. In addition to controlling combat on the lower screen, you can also control it on the top screen using the control pad. However, it's difficult to alternate between both fighting modes. So if you simply want to use the touch screen only, the game is programmed to help you play along the top screen automatically. Essentially, there's so much here it almost feels like a console game. In other words, unique story + smart gameplay = a great DS game.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about what they would do if they, like the characters in the main story, had seven days to solve a problem or perish. How does the use of a deadline compare to other media using such melodramatic deadlines, like the TV show, 24? What role did the unique graphic-novel-like art within the game have on your appreciation for the game? Did you think the story was scary? What if you could read other people's minds?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
Absolutely amazing game, though realistic language
While I did say it was appropriate for my age (16), I wouldn't go much younger than that. 13 is the lowest i would go (so I actually AGREE with the ESRB, for the first time in my life...) The language would be the biggest factor in not letting your kid get it. It goes up to a-hole and d, while not gratuitous, is very realistic. It combines with an amazing (while very hackneyed) story.
The writing is very brilliant, these characters come to life when bad things happen to them. There is absolutely no other game like it, definitly five stars. I wouldn't let your 12 year old get it like commonsense reccomends, but not just because of language. They just wouldn't appreciate it enough. I would say 14 is the age you would start to completely appreciate this game.
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AGE
Good game!
This game is very fun. I would not recommend it for under 10, though. It uses mind reading to solve stuff. It is good. Really, no kidding.
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AGE
Put an emo kid and a freakishly hyper girl in a near death situation and you get this! One of the best RPGs ever!
The World Ends With You is a delightfully refreshing RPG! Square Enix actually made a winner with this. Take time off from your pure fantasy games and enter the world of Shibuya, Japan, which is an actual place! The dark plot is thrilling and actually keeps you guessing. And -gasp- the gameplay is actually fun! It reminds me a little of a mixture between fight style games and Dance Dance Revolution. While it has a dark story, the only reason it's rated T is for language, which appears frequently. It does contain d***, a**, and even b**** at points. But teenagers should be able to handle this. :3 Overall, I'd recommend this game to every teenager, especially those that love Japanese things.
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AGE
The best story ever
This game is simply a must play. I don't mean because of gameplay, but because of story. This game has the best story out of any game I've ever played (which is saying a lot). This game is pure proof that video games are fully capable of telling stories as well as books. Language however, is definitely an issue. There is a lot of swearing and rude dialogue in this game, but as much as I hate to say it, it really needs to be there because it helps make the characters seem real. It would be kind of odd if characters like "Beat" didn't swear. As long as you let your child know somehow that swearing is wrong, let them, actually make them play this. There are a lot of lessons that could be learned from the story of this game. Buying your child this game even though it has swearing is the equivalent of a teacher giving their young students a book with strong language.
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AGE
The World
The World Ends With You has some of the best music soundtracks for a video game that I've ever. I wouldn't recommend this to younger players though because of suggestive language throughout the game.
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AGE
Amazing game, IF you're patient & have 0 anger issues.
Okay, I have to say this is an amazing game. It's 100% original, very brilliant, very unique...it's just amazing! BUUUUUT, it has some issues. For starters, it is EXTREMELY difficult. As you can set your own difficulty level at any time in the game, & change it at your will, this shouldn't be a tremendous problem, but it is. Here's why: though you can set the game to easy-peasy, you really will get no benefits for doing this. Item collection is essential throughout this game, & your chances of getting items from defeated enemies drops as the difficulty level does. Therefore, to get the best items you really should play it on the harder difficulty levels, but this makes the game darn near impossible, especially on the bosses. It is also extremely long, & if you're a gamer like me, & you want to complete every aspect of a game, this will take FOREVER. As for appropriateness, this is a pretty iffy game. The language is pretty brash, tons of uses of A**, h*ll, d*mn, & a couple uses of b*tch & godd***. The suggestive themes are very noticeable, which is unusual for a hand-held game; almost every girl in the game has mass cleavage. As far as violence goes though, it's pretty standard fantasy violence (e.g. heavy violence, but no blood). Overall I'd probably say 13+ like the ESRB said.
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AGE
Must Have for all Gamers
The World Ends with you is a must have for any gamer. It's made by Square Enix, the same people who made Kingdom Hearts and is basically Kingdom Hearts for teens. It's an amazing game with lots of plot, character development, and choices. The only issue might be the occasional cuss word (but none too bad)
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AGE
One of the best stories you'll find on the DS- with exceptional gameplay as well!
The title says it all- this game is the only piece of literature that I could ever predict, but the gameplay will be confusing to people who can't multi-task.
All in all, this is one game that all teens should play. The story is as dark and deep as the pacific ocean, which may make younger kids scared.
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AGE
I loved this game so much I could cry. I don't see anything that would keep anyone from playing, it's not a trashy game. Only a few swear words are thrown though.
11+
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AGE
An EXELLENT game. Very good storyline, engaging characters and (for once, out of the games that claim it) a unique control system-you control two sepoate characters, one on each screen. It is fairly dark, at points, but if you think the kid can handle, there's no problem. In any case, it may be okay for young-ish kids, but you can see someone enjoying it as old as 20.
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| Platforms: | Nintendo DS |
| Available online? | Available online |
| Genre: | Role Playing |
| Developer: | Square Enix |
| Release date: | April 22, 2008 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | T for Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, and Mild Suggestive Themes |
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