The Ranting Panda is back.
WITH PINS. <3
So, yeah. I can easily say that The World Ends With You is my favorite game of all time. Well, aside from FF7, and MGS2.
Seriously, favorite game on the DS by far. Here we go.

Story

The story is probably the most intriguing part of this game. I'll try to explain in as much detail as possible without spoiling anything for those who haven't played the game.
The protagonist is Neku Sakuraba. You wake up in the streets of Scramble Crossing, a huge district of fashion and shopping. You're dazed and confused about what happens, and then you feel a sudden pain on your hand. You look at it, and you see a timer. You then later team up with 3 others people in the course of the game as you unravel the secrets of "The Game". The Game is made by the Composer, and is ran by a GM and several "Reapers" who's job is to send "Noise" to kill players. Noise are basically the baddies/monsters of the game. The variety of noise is HUGE. As you progress through the game, you learn more about Neku, and those around him.

Graphics

So, knowing that it's a DS game, you can't expect too much out of a game right? Wrong. The artwork, detail, and overall look of everything in the game is great. It's those little details in the streets, battle, and menu that make it all so compelling(Aside from the core gameplay that is). There's not much to be said about the graphics besides that they're great for a DS Title.

Gameplay

So, this is where TWEWY truly shines. The main focus of this game is collecting pins(Bare with me), and using them in battle. Different pins give different attacks, like one pin could launch a fucking lightning bolt, and another pin could summon a meteor to attack your enemy.
The fighting aspect of the game, is that you can take 6 pins into battle, and each has a different function. There are over 300 pins to collect, and they're all VERY creative. To use the pins, it usually requires a different action on the touch screen. It could be scratching the screen wildly, it could be blowing into the mic, it could slashing the screen. Whatever you do, it's VERY fun. That's not it though. You can level up your pins, and they'll get stronger. Some even level up to the point where they EVOLVE. That's right, EVOLVE. It's like fricking pokemon, but without the God damn annoyance of buying potions and shit. The pins can also be used to play Tin Pin, which is basically using your pins to knock other pins off a board, it's entertaining. Also, during battle, you control a second person with the buttons on the side (D-Pad, ABXY). You can make combos and pass a "light puck" around which multiplies your damage depending on however fast you pass it around. Then, if you suffice the conditions of a combo counter at the top of the top screen, and you get enough points, you can then use a fucking SPECIAL ATTACK that attacks more than normally AND heals you and your partner. Then, outside of battle, you can set your Level/Difficulty. If you play at a high level, and easy difficulty, you won't get good shit at the end of the battle. IF you play on a low level at a hard level, you'll get REALLY good shit.
I'm not finished. There's also a fashion element(Bare with me again). The clothes you wear give you added stats, but that's not it. If you're wearing clothes that are popular in that area, your shit gets a bonus! Every clothing has a brand, and so do pins, so you'll have coordinate accordingly... or not. =D The more you battle in that area or wear clothing of the same brand, the more popular it'll get. All clothes have an added effect that will aid you in battle as well! You just have to find the right store owner to tell you what that ability is.

Overall Score

There's just no amount of words to say how good this game is. Go buy it. If you don't have a DS, go borrow a friends or buy one! THIS GAME IS AWESOME! Words cannot express how good this game is.
Story - 10
Graphics - 9
Gameplay - 10
Overall Score: 10, just for the hell of it.