Having played and enjoyed the original The World Ends With You on the DS, I was a bit skeptical of how the sequel, NEO, would live up to the original, especially after the demo got off to a slow start. I later gave the game a chance, and found that while NEO isn't quite as original as TWEWY, it's still a good sequel and an enjoyable game in its own right.
The story takes place in another Reaper's Game three years after TWEWY, in which players are competing for a chance to return to life- this time in teams rather than pairs. Without spoiling too much, not everything is as it seems. The plot involves a fair amount of characters with competing schemes and surprising plot twists, but overall isn't as compelling as TWEWY.
One thing that NEO does better than TWEWY story-wise is its missions. While most of TWEWY's missions involved getting from Point A to Point B or erasing a Noise, TWEWY has more variety in its objectives. There are also some sidequests you can do, which grant you Friendship Points that allow you to unlock abilities.
NEO's characters aren't quite as interesting as TWEWY's, in part because the cast is much larger and there's less time to develop each one. New protagonist Rindo has a decent character arc, but it isn't as well-done as Neku, who's a good example of a protagonist who starts off unlikeable but becomes more sympathetic over time. That said, it's nice to see the other player teams play more of a role in the plot than in TWEWY, in which most of the time, Neku and his partner were the only ones doing anything.
Unlike TWEWY, in which you control Neku with the stylus and his partner with the buttons, each party member uses a separate pin(i.e. weapon), which is tied to its unique buttons. Instead of alternating between Neku and his partner to pass the light puck, you time attacks to unleash Beat Drops, which build up your Groove and allow you to unleash special attacks. This means that none of NEO's party members have unique playstyles(but they have non-combat abilities) but it still provides fast-paced and fluid combat.
NEO has some gameplay improvements that make things a bit more intuitive, such as with food(the way you increase stats). The game tells you whether a character likes a dish before you order, you get the stat gains immediately and while you still have to digest the food by fighting battles, there's no limit to the amount you can eat in real-time day. As for your threads(i.e. armor), your Style stat is no longer required to equip items, but to unlock the special ability, which helps in the early game.
The graphics are fairly good, but the game really shines in its art style and character designs. The music is as good as ever, featuring remixes of old favorites and many new songs.
All in all, NEO isn't quite as original as TWEWY and unfavorably compares to the original in a few regards. Despite this, it still makes some improvements over TWEWY and is enjoyable in its own right, so it's worth your time if you liked TWEWY.
Not quite as good as the original, but still worth your time and money
Having played and enjoyed the original The World Ends With You on the DS, I was a bit skeptical of how the sequel, NEO, would live up to the original, especially after the demo got off to a slow start. I later gave the game a chance, and found that while NEO isn't quite as original as TWEWY, it's still a good sequel and an enjoyable game in its own right.
The story takes place in another Reaper's Game three years after TWEWY, in which players are competing for a chance to return to life- this time in teams rather than pairs. Without spoiling too much, not everything is as it seems. The plot involves a fair amount of characters with competing schemes and surprising plot twists, but overall isn't as compelling as TWEWY.
One thing that NEO does better than TWEWY story-wise is its missions. While most of TWEWY's missions involved getting from Point A to Point B or erasing a Noise, TWEWY has more variety in its objectives. There are also some sidequests you can do, which grant you Friendship Points that allow you to unlock abilities.
NEO's characters aren't quite as interesting as TWEWY's, in part because the cast is much larger and there's less time to develop each one. New protagonist Rindo has a decent character arc, but it isn't as well-done as Neku, who's a good example of a protagonist who starts off unlikeable but becomes more sympathetic over time. That said, it's nice to see the other player teams play more of a role in the plot than in TWEWY, in which most of the time, Neku and his partner were the only ones doing anything.
Unlike TWEWY, in which you control Neku with the stylus and his partner with the buttons, each party member uses a separate pin(i.e. weapon), which is tied to its unique buttons. Instead of alternating between Neku and his partner to pass the light puck, you time attacks to unleash Beat Drops, which build up your Groove and allow you to unleash special attacks. This means that none of NEO's party members have unique playstyles(but they have non-combat abilities) but it still provides fast-paced and fluid combat.
NEO has some gameplay improvements that make things a bit more intuitive, such as with food(the way you increase stats). The game tells you whether a character likes a dish before you order, you get the stat gains immediately and while you still have to digest the food by fighting battles, there's no limit to the amount you can eat in real-time day. As for your threads(i.e. armor), your Style stat is no longer required to equip items, but to unlock the special ability, which helps in the early game.
The graphics are fairly good, but the game really shines in its art style and character designs. The music is as good as ever, featuring remixes of old favorites and many new songs.
All in all, NEO isn't quite as original as TWEWY and unfavorably compares to the original in a few regards. Despite this, it still makes some improvements over TWEWY and is enjoyable in its own right, so it's worth your time if you liked TWEWY.