FLIGHT

I decided to go on an adventure down to the lakeshore while the transit people were on strike and on my way there I picked up a copy of TWEWY [ orTweewee as some 1337ers may call it]. Seriously, this game flat out rules. It's like Square Enix took their look at how they most all of their games and said "You know...let's make a game and approach it from a different angle..." and man does it blow my mind.

The gameplay mechanics are hectic and far from any "button mashing" strategy. The gameplay takes serious skills and practice, which fortunately the game provides much of. Once you feel like you're ready to take on a level challenge, you approach it, finish it, and let the phenomenal storyline progress. The other great thing about the combat is that you can approach it from whatever angle you're comfortable with. Set handicaps for yourself, switch difficulty on the world map, avoid random encounters all together, chain random encounters together. If you want to tweak something in the way that you fight, by all means do it, it pays off in the end!

The graphics are pretty sleek, but nothing that we haven't already seen the DS do, but it's DS graphics at it's highest. The graphics aren't really noticeable though in the game because the design of the levels and settings are what stand out and the musical score is actually...I could dare to say the best that Square Enix has ever produced. It's fresh, fitting for the scenario, and great to just flip on and groove to [though it is a little repetitive like most VG music].

As for the storyline, I don't want to spoil anything but I want to just point out that if a game can take plot twists that someone sees coming a mile away, and still make you emotionally react or sympathize with the characters even though you knew it was coming, deserves some merit for dialog. Be prepared to have a tissue on standby if you're the emotional type. Despite the main character's initial FF7/FF8 annoying "I have no emotion!" character-likeness, he eventually opens up rather quickly and is very relatable to a normal player being placed in his similar situation [especially when he reacts to moments of player/character frustration]. You know the dialog is fantastic when a character can actually be quoted as saying that something "is fail".

Oh, also, the game isn't as short as it makes itself out to be. It's a very lengthy and enjoyable adventure, with some unique connectivity bits that I'm sure work great in Japan where population density is huge, but unfortunatly is kinda bland unless you're at an anime convention or another spot where people have a mass collection of DS's playing at once.

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I'm my own breed of eccentric.

I'm really loving pretty much everything about the game - I'm on Day 6 right now, and even if I'd picked up GTA 4 this week, I don't think I would have been able to stop playing TWEWY to check it out.

The level slider is genius. For those who don't know, you can adjust your characters' levels at any time, from 1 to your current max. The more you weaken yourself, the higher your drop multiplier is and the more loot you get from battles. You can also adjust the difficulty level on the fly to improve the quality of drops or to make things a little easier. It's flexible enough that anyone can find their comfort zone, and it's a great risk-reward system that more games should use.

The localization is also top-shelf, and there are some really funny lines, including a funny little jab at Tetsuya Nomura's love of zippers. The combat is kind of complicated, but once you get the feel for it you'll be erasing the Noise without any trouble. Easily one of the best DS games of the year if not ever, and well worth your money if you like action RPGs.