Plot Summary:
Fifteen year old Neku Sakuraba one day wakes up in the middle of an intersection of Shibuya Japan with a black skull pin and the knowledge that no one can see him. He later finds out with the pin, he can read people's thoughts and see odd monsters called "noise". It is later revealed that Neku is actually dead, and that he is in a contest that will determine if he is brought back to life or loses his right to exist. But he has to find a partner first...

Overall Plot/Storyline:
I was totally enthralled by the plot and there are a TON of twists, believe me. Nothing is ever what you expect it to be. Sadly, there are still a few unanswered questions at the end of the game, and not all of them are answered, even with the extra reports (similar to the Ansem Reports of Kingdom Hearts) that you can get by completing extra tasks.
The Characters aren't at all what I was expecting- I was expecting Neku to be an emo idiot for the whole game! But as he interacts with other Players in the game, he matures and actually goes through character development, which was nice to see.

Gameplay:
The gameplay is rather unique, and utilizes both screens of the DS to the fullest. With the touch screen, you control Neku, slashing, rapidly touching, or shouting/blowing to activate attacks. The top screen controls your partner, and can be used with the d-pad or A,B,X,and Y buttons to attack, use combos, and activate your team's special. It might sound complicated, but there is an auto option for the top screen, so you don't need to worry about it if you don't want to.
The black pin I mentioned earlier is known as the "player pin" and is used to read thoughts of Shibuya's crowds and see noise symbols, so you can activate them and fight for EXP and items and such.
There are a few features that really make this game unique. One is the food system, eating increases stats-sync rate, HP, attack, defence, bravery (which lets you war better clothes), etc. You also have to fight a certain amount of battles before the food takes effect and you can only eat are certain amount of food in one day. And the fashion system-in every area, different fashions are popular, and wearing a certain brand's stuff can double your attack or halve it. This goes for both clothing and pins (the tools that activate Neku's attacks and there's a LOT of them) so there's plenty of room for customization.
Multiplayer mode is rather lacking-you can play a minigame called Tin Pin Slammer, in which you move the pin on the touch screen and try to push the other player's pin off the stage. It's fun, but I wish they'd included something more.

Graphics/Art:
The graphics for normal walking are quite good, the backgrounds are rendered wonderfully, and help make Shibuya come alive. The animated cutscenes are excellent-I replay the first chapter just to see the opening ^^;
The characters are drawn anime style, and they look quite stylish-what else would you expect from the guy who made Kingdom Hearts?

Music:
The soundtrack is excellent- one of the best I've heard for a DS game. Nearly all the tracks have vocals in Japanese, English or Engrish, and they're all awesome. Some of them are still stuck in my head and I finished the game almost a month ago. ^^

Overall:
This. Is. A. Great. Game. Although there are some parts of the plot not fully expanded upon, this game should not be missed by any RPG fan or anyone who loves the work of Square Enix.

SCORE: 9.5/10

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I really want this game. ;~;

I saw a review for this on television last week, they said the same thing.

So, it looks pretty good overall.

Great review, I'm really keen to get this game. Rarely does Square-Enix let me down and it's nice to see that they're trying something new for a change.

I heard the gameplay for this was unique, but the rest of it was a bit "bleh." Anyhow Square Enix has a dealio with throwing together shiz like this and it usually is "9.5/10" simply because their name is so popular =/. I'm a fanboy of Square so its obvious I'd want to give them a chance but lol I'll have to actually play before I go and say that it's great.

Some reviews I've read say it's a bit overrated (but still unique and rather decent for an action Rpg). Anyhow that's my two cents =P!

Nice review. I've got to say, there are some games where after you beat them, it just sits with some others collecting dust. This game, from what I've seen from others and heard from, as well as myself, isn't one of those games. Even after beating it, I can't stop playing it, even if it is for just a few moments. It's just really fun. The battling is unique, and when I was playing it the story line was juicy. It just kept me going, and I loved the soundtrack so much that I put it on my iPod. 8D It's just a really great game, that people should check out. But then again, I've seen reviews where they say, it's a love it or hate it game. Well I guess that just depends on you. But yeah, for me I gave this game a perfect. >: BUT... yeah, it's still on others opinions, but it's a game that you should defiantly check out at least if you can. Square Enix has out-done themselves again.

I looked EVERYWHERE that sells video games for this game. No luck.

Quoted^(ref) RahX (on 9 June, 2008, 04:16 PM PDT) —

I looked EVERYWHERE that sells video games for this game. No luck.

That's probably because of the fact that it's really popular right now. o.o I got it a week after it came out almost and the people at my GameStop said I was lucky and very fortunate to come in and ask for the last copy.

Quoted^(ref) Kon (on 14 June, 2008, 08:17 AM PDT) —

Quoted^(ref) RahX (on 9 June, 2008, 04:16 PM PDT) —

I looked EVERYWHERE that sells video games for this game. No luck.

That's probably because of the fact that it's really popular right now. o.o I got it a week after it came out almost and the people at my GameStop said I was lucky and very fortunate to come in and ask for the last copy.

I could order it from the best buy website, but I think I can wait now that I have a new 360 game to obsess over (Gears of War) I think I'll wait until somebody who bought a copy around here takes it back and it lands on the used section so I can save a few bucks. Don't see any reason to rush out and buy it ASAP now that I have a different way to pass my time. Portable wise, at work mainly is when I use my DS and I still have the FF game to finish up.

I was bored the other day and wandered into GameStop. I picked up a few cheap games that I sort of had my eye on, seeing as I just got a DS and just wanted some things to play. Then the guy asked me if I found everything alright, and for once I actually thought about the answer and said "not everything". I didn't see a single copy of this game on the shelf.

For the split second I wasn't looking at him he pulled out the game. I looked at the price and cringed. But I told him to add it anyway. He told me it was the second to last copy. I'd regret the price later, but figured the game probably would make up for it. He assured me it would.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm waiting for, but I haven't started it yet. I get obsessive about games. It's really bad if I get stuck, then all other games suck for a while and I just want to get past the snag in the game. So I'm trying to finish up some games I'm in the middle of before starting. I'm sure once I do it'll be a while before I do anything else.