However, I was completely, utterly wrong. The World Ends With You is hands down the best portable title I've played all year, and quite possibly the best game I've played this year period. While I was typing out this review, I seriously had a hard time even finding something to gripe about, which is rare regardless of the game, but trust me when I say that TWEWY is really that damn good.

At first glance it would appear that the game is indeed grounded in the typical Kingdom Hearts aesthetic, a comparison that would be easy to make considering that both titles share the same creative director. However, the visuals mark the only easy comparison between the two titles. Everything from combat to soundtrack are incredibly different.

You take on the role of Neku, a slightly introverted kid who gets caught up in what amounts to a giant game, with the end prize being his life. You'll partner up with a young girl named Shiki in the beginning, and along the way you'll encounter a few more friends/allies to partner up with. Everything is set in what could be called "current time", the majority of which takes place in Shibuya, Japan (a entertainment/shopping district in the real world). You won't encounter much in the way of typical RPG dressings, such as swords, shields, armor, etc. Instead, most of your equipment is based on the premise of fashion and designer labels, and paying attention to which brand is popular for the area you're currently in will often give you the best results.

TWEWY's story isn't the deepest I've come across in an RPG, but it's definitely passable. There's a bit of voice acting that goes along with certain scenes, but not enough that you can get much of an impression on the talent involved. Instead, the biggest draw that The World Ends With You has going for it is the innovative combat system.

All of your attacks are created thru the use of player "pins", small buttons that you'll equip to perform a variety of attacks. Early pins allow you to trace the stylus across the screen, which creates a line of fire for attacking enemies, or swiping the stylus across objects on a battleground that will hurl them towards foes. There's a lot of different attacks that open up as you advance thru the game, and each one comes equipped with it's own specialty. You can customize Neku with a number of pins at a time, allowing a huge amount of flexibility to the player in how you might want to tackle the game. Each pin has a set number of uses before it needs to recharge, so you'll want to have a variety of them equipped to make sure you never run out of attack options.

Enemy encounters can be carried out by scanning the environment, which also becomes a tool for figuring out some of the puzzles in the game. You'll simply click on a button at the bottom right corner of the screen, which will reveal the locations of enemies called "The Noise". You can then click on any of their icons, which will thrust you right into battle.

The two DS screens divide the battlefield. Your current teammate will be located on the top, while Neku is on the bottom. You'll share an HP bar, and regardless of who is hit last you'll both die when it's depleted. Combat is definitely tricky, and takes some getting used to. All of Neku's actions can be carried out by stylus controls, but you can also opt to control the upper screen character thru the D-Pad.

Simple combonations will unlock the upper screen character's attacks, so eventually you'll find yourself being able to memorize the move set pretty well. Once you're able to do that it's just a matter of attacking in the right direction. If this sounds a bit too daunting, the computer will automatically take control of the upper screen character for you, but don't expect the same results that you'll be able to get once you master the system yourself.

The World Ends With You also has a pretty remarkable soundtrack, put together by the man behind the great tunes featured in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. Takeharu Ishimoto has put together a soundtrack comprised of electronica and Japanese style hip hop, using actual artists and vocals to create a unique and memorable experience thru the entire game. There wasn't a single track that I didn't like, and I definitely plan on picking up the soundtrack when it becomes available stateside. Easily one of my favorite soundtracks in quite a while, and it's actually worth checking out the game for the music alone.

TWEWY is definitely the current reason to own a DS right now, and you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you choose to not check it out. There's a lot of micromanagement involved with the inventory system, which can be daunting to some users, but the sheer amount of options you have in character customization is absolutely rewarding if you want to dig deep enough. Combined with an incredible soundtrack, and some of the best 2D visuals on the system to date, Square Enix has managed to trump even their long-standing franchises with The World Ends With You.