One of the most alluring aspects of NEO: The World Ends With You. Tokyo's subway system slowly sprawls and unfurls, but there are four areas where players can freely roam the streets: Shinjuku, Kichijouji, Yongen-Jaya (which is a fictional location), and Shibuya. Shibuya in particular is rendered with astonishing detail, complete with its labyrinthine train station. But NEO: The World Ends With You's depiction of Shibuya may rival Persona 5's.
NEO: The World Ends With You is a long-awaited semi-sequel to The World Ends With You, a JPRG released by Square Enix in 2007. The game shares its team with Kingdom Hearts, but it has still retained its own following, and there's even a new The World Ends With You anime series that debuted earlier this year. Where Persona 5 allows players to explore the entirety of Tokyo, including even a stand-in for Tokyo Disneyland called "Destinyland," The World Ends With You games take place entirely within Shibuya.
Both NEO: The World Ends With You and Persona 5 show Shibuya so much attention because it's one of Tokyo's biggest commercial centers, and arguably its most iconic. The Shibuya's Scramble Crossing, a gigantic crosswalk, is one of the most recognizable sights of Tokyo and has been featured in films like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Shibuya's cultural importance and real-life sprawling nature makes it a perfect playground for a video game.
How NEO: The World Ends With You Lets Players Dive Into Shibuya
Because Persona 5 deals with Tokyo as a whole, its version of Shibuya is limited to the train station, its underground mail, the square outside the station, and Central Street. "Central Street" is based on NEO: The World Ends With You's combat can even take place in the middle of the famous Shibuya Crossing.
Both Persona 5 and NEO: The World Ends With You celebrate Tokyo's culture: the fashion, the food, and the shops. But NEO: The World Ends With You digs more specifically into Shibuya's subcultures and into the unravelling nature of Shibuya itself. If Persona 5 gives an explorable, open vibe to Tokyo, NEO: The World Ends With You brings that vibe to Shibuya specifically. For players who enjoyed exploring modern-day Tokyo in Persona 5, this too is likely something they won't want to miss.
NEO: The World Ends With You will release on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on July 27, 2021, with a PC release on EGS later.
