18 years of peak (a love letter to twewy)

twewy (the world ends with you or as it's known in japan, subarashiki kono sekai/it's a wonderful world) is an action rpg that released a 18 years and a day ago from today back in 2007. while i didn't pick it up all the way back then i do still have a long history with this game. (a very long ramble about how much i love twewy below...)

it had to have been closer to 2013/14 when i got my hands on a copy. twewy was the first T rated game i ever purchased haha...it might not seem very ground breaking but for me, who grew up extremely sheltered and wasn't allowed to play many games or watch much tv it was monumental. from the music to the art style and design i immediately fell in love. i had actually known about the game a little bit before getting a copy. a friend of mine on deviantart had been telling me about it and since i was a huge kingdom hearts fan, it only made sense for me to jump that gap over to twewy. i think i'd already had my copy of dream drop distance by the time i bought twewy. but unlike dream drop distance i actually beat twewy (LOL)

the fact i beat the game was extremely important to me because i struggle to beat games, especially jrpgs. especially around that time of my life when my experience with video games was extremely minimal. before playing twewy i think i'd only ever beaten games like...idk kingdom hearts 2? 358/2 days? i think i played birth by sleep around this time too. basically what i'm saying is all i'd ever played was kingdom hearts. i remember where i was when i beat twewy. i was on a boat. my family was taking a small trip to victoria, canada! i was so unbelievably impressed after beating the game too. it was such a little victory for me cause twewy was so hard. 

of course, playing the game now it's not nearly as hard as i remember. but i still struggle trying to control my partner on the top screen haha. 

so let's see...looking back on twewy: how does it hold up?

i've been playing it again recently! dusted off my ds for the sole purpose of playing.

the music? 10/10
the graphics? 10/10
the story? 10/10
i could glaze the hell outta this game. but seriously, it's just as fun as i remember. even if the humor is a bit campy now it doesn't really bother me. it's a really nice time capsule of the time it was made and it just feels nice. and the graphics (though a little washed cause i'm playing on my 3ds rather than a dslite) still look amazing. i've always loved the style of twewy. i think the art direction is so unique.

now i'll be brutally honest. when neo:twewy came out, i was so hyped it was unbelievable. but by the time it did come out, i was unfortunately in a phase of not really playing games much at all. so i've yet to beat it. which sucks! cause the style and vibe of the original game is very much alive and well. but i can't really rate the story since i haven't finished it yet. but even so, the music and style is still 10/10. i really like the new characters designs and i appreciate how they updated the old characters!!

on the same note, the remake of twewy for the switch is fine...i mean, for me a lot of the draw of the original ds version is how unique the gameplay was. whether or not you actively control your partner (who is on the top screen of the ds system) it's still incredibly fun to watch them fight alongside you. it just can't be replicated on the switch the same way. but for people who want to play twewy and cannot play on the ds systems (either cause you dont have a ds or cause the game is hard to come by) i think playing on the switch is perfectly acceptable! my personal preference is that the switch ver loses some of the charm since the art is smoothed out and "refined" if you will...but the core idea and the story and music is still great (if i remember correctly...you can toggle between the "original" soundtrack and the remixed soundtrack).

my final thoughts.

the world ends with you is an absolute masterpiece of a game that has always stayed as more of an underground, cult classic. it's no where near as popular as kingdom hearts or the final fantasy series. but to me twewy has so much life and energy put into it that, unlike some older kh or ff games, i can always go back and replay it without the controls feeling clunky or miserable to deal with. honestly...looking at some reviews of the game frustrate me. the story is extremely important to the game. calling the game a visual novel blended in with a jrpg wouldn't be wrong. but i also think calling the game "bad" because of that is harsh. 

the game has a charm unlike most any other game i've played, or rather, it stuck with me more than other games have (because who am i to belittle other games, this is only my opinion after all). is twewy the greatest game in the whole world? idk. maybe not. that kind of label is subjective and i don't think there can be a definite "perfect, best ever game". however, to me, twewy is MY favorite game ever. and if you ask me what i think the best game in the world is? i'll tell you it's twewy. if you ever want a unique, fun experience on your ds/dsi/3ds get yourself a copy of twewy and give it a try. at the very least, play the switch port. or if you have absolutely no other option...listen to the soundtrack! it's amazing. (i'd say watch the anime, but i can't vouch for how good it is. i didn't watch it yet...at the very least the animation, from what i've seen, isn't terrible.)

in the words of sanae hanekoma, "the world ends with you. if you want to enjoy life, expand your world. you gotta push your horizons out as far as they'll go."

thanks for reading! i have a lot of love for this game lol. i want to play neo twewy soon so maybe i'll write a better review of it once i do. i've played through the first major arc of the game (beginning to when rindo and fret get in a fight over something lol) and it's been really fun so far. i just keep losing track of time and when i go back to play i think..."ah man, it's been so long, maybe i should just restart." then i don't. >_<

do you like twewy? have any fond memories of this game? please tell me about it! who's your favorite character? rhyme has always been my favorite!! followed closely by minamimoto. but honestly...i love the whole cast (players, reapers and otherwise)!!