TWEWY ... is a game that means a lot to me. i was its Exact target audience: 14, fresh out of my first year of high school, and misanthropic as hell. i'd been bullied quite terribly, and held a lot of disdain for my peers at least in part due to the bullying. and when i first played it, i saw a lot of myself in Neku (derogatory). he was an asshole! i was an asshole! but seeing the impact his behaviour had on others, and the way he was capable of change throughout the course of the game gave me the motivation that if he could change, then i could change too. and i did. and it wasn't easy, and it took a hell of a lot longer than three weeks, but i slowly learned how to be a friendlier, more compassionate, more open person. i learnt what it felt like to have friends for the first time in my life. it is no understatement to say that i would not be the person i am today if i had not played TWEWY all those years ago.

TWEWY is one of, if not the coolest games of the DS era. taking place in modern-day Shibuya, it follows the story of 15-year-old Neku, who wakes up with no memories and is told he's playing the Reapers Game -- and the prize is his life. though he hates people, and the world, he's forced to learn to cooperate with others if he's ever going to survive. the game is absolutely oozing with style, and the combat system is unique in that it takes place over both screens of the DS -- you control Neku via the touch screen, while simultaneously controlling his partner on the top screen via button controls. it's frenetic and fast-paced and definitely has a learning curve, but it's an absolute joy once it finally clicks.

though rare and niche during its initial run, popularity and accessibility of TWEWY skyrocketed in 2018 with the release of Final Remix, the Switch port. unfortunately, porting a dual-screen combat system to a single-screen console is uhhhh Difficult, and the Switch port loses a lot of its challenge (in gameplay) and impact (thematically) because of it. while i'd wholeheartedly recommend the OG DS version over the Switch port, TWEWY is worthwhile playing in whatever format is available to you. check it out -- you won't regret it.