The Nintendo DS cult classic The World Ends With You finally returns with NEO: The World Ends With You (NTWEWY). After thirteen long years of wait, a brand-new game will arrive both for old fans and new players.

New faces, same places

NEO: The World Ends With You is once again set in Shibuya, the popular shopping district in Tokyo, Japan. Landmarks from the original TWEWY returns in NEO, most of which are based on real-life locations.

While the setting that the game takes place in is the same, NTWEWY will feature a new cast of characters. Players will take the role of Rindo, a brand-new character, in a heavily-stylized take on Tokyo's Shibuya shopping district. The game's announcement trailer also introduced three other new characters: Fret, Nagi, and Minamoto. All of them are likely playing in the “Reaper's Game”, a competition between the recently-departed where the losers can literally be erased from existence.

Brand-new gameplay

The original The World Ends With You arrived over a decade ago on the Nintendo DS (NDS), a handheld console that has since been discontinued by Square Enix. It originally made use of the console's touchscreen functionality, giving players a unique gameplay experience. However, Neo: The World Ends With You is coming to the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4. While we can see gameplay footage in the announcement trailer, it's not yet clear how the controls will be like.

TWEWY's unique gameplay has one weakness: it's hard to adapt it to other consoles. TWEWY's mobile port and its HD Remaster version on the Nintendo Switch had very different controls from the original, giving them a different feel. Being on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 will surely give NTWEWY a different feel as well from the original.

Getting in the know

If this game piqued your interest but you're not familiar with the game, don't worry. Ahead of NTWEWY's release, an anime series based on the original TWEWY will air, giving you a chance to learn more about the series before diving into the game. TWEWY character designer Tetsuya Nomura revealed that NTWEWY will be a continuation of the animation, which effectively makes it a sequel to the show.

If you're more interested in experiencing the story yourself, you have a couple of options. If you have an old NDS, you can buy TWEWY and experience it the way it's meant to be. The more accessible option is by playing the iOS, android, or Nintendo Switch versions of the game, though, as mentioned, you will miss out a lot in terms of gameplay.

NEO: The World Ends With You is coming in Summer 2021 for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.