Even though the Switch version of TWEWY came out very recently, I chose to play the original version as I wanted to experience the dual screen combat which was absent in the subsequent versions.

So in battle, you use the stylus to control the main character Neku, and the buttons to control your partner. The results can vary from very fun to very annoying. The touch screen input is fine for the most part, but can sometimes be imprecise depending on the pins. The ones where you need to select the enemies or Neku can be frustrating as the activation box is quite small for most enemies. I also couldn’t activate the scratching moves at first, it turns out you needed to move the stylus across the length of the touch screen.

For the top screen, you’ll be using the directional buttons or the face buttons (depending on your dominant hand). Honestly, I was just spamming left/right for 95% of the game, and it worked fine. The only fights where I had to learn to block (!) were when Kariya and Uzuki ganged up on you… talk about a difficulty spike, wow. You can lower your player level throughout the game to obtain better loot, and I usually have it set to half of my actual level. This was about the only battle where I didn’t do that. This combat system is definitely unique, but in terms of enjoyment, your mileage may vary.

Exploring the different areas of Shibuya is very cool, especially if you’ve been there in real life. I like that there are no random encounters, and reading NPCs’ thoughts can be amusing. It’s also interesting to see all the different styles of fashion and food being worked into the game as a way to improve your stats.

The main characters were likable enough, besides Neku being emo in the beginning. It’s hilarious that this was referenced in the bonus chapter after the game though, kudos to the writers.

The story was ok, and there were some nice plot twists and shocking moments, but it was a bit frustrating to be kept in the dark for the majority of the game. I still didn’t have an inkling of why everything was happening just before I was about to face the final boss! I wish the secret reports were unlocked automatically after beating the game, rather than having to complete more quests for every single chapter. Considering the reports reveal A LOT of backstory, it kind of sucks that it requires you to essentially play through the game again. Oh well, they’re available to read on the web anyway. My gripes with the storytelling aside, there were some really good themes about dealing with loss, interacting with others, and finding your place in the world.

The overall presentation of TWEWY is just outstanding, as the best parts of the game are the visual design and the music in my opinion. You have the graffiti every time you enter a new area, the different shops and store assistants, each with their own personality, the unorthodox menu design, and the great cutscenes (as few as there were). Things are just stylish, colourful and never dull for your eyes.

Some of my favourite tracks include:

…screw it, here’s the the whole soundtrack.

And here’s the lovely end credits song:

The game took me just over 20 hours to beat, but you can easily double or even triple that if you want to do everything there is to offer post-game. (Pro tip: press the L and R shoulder buttons on the save screen to see your playing time)