It’s nearly impossible to conjure up a reference point for “The World Ends With You,” as it’s simply unlike anything released before. But “The World” isn’t just innovative, it also proves to be one of the best-playing games on the Nintendo DS.

Although categorized as an RPG, this is not your average sword-swinging, turn-taking, world-saving template that has made the genre grow stale. Developed by Square Enix, and more specifically the “Kingdom Hearts” team and Jupiter, the game avoids fantasy worlds and sets their latest in the modern-day Shibuya ward of Tokyo, known for its shopping districts and youth pop-culture.

However, this location is not ordinary Shibuya but rather an alternate dimension called “Underground Shibuya” that the stoic main character Neku randomly wakes up in one day. It’s gradually revealed that he’s stuck playing something called the “Reaper Game,” in which he must survive seven days of missions or “face erasure.” As Neku and his partner Shiku struggle to make it through each day, they slowly find out more about the morbid game they’re stuck in and how to return to the real Shibuya.

“The World Ends With You” largely plays on this idea of youth culture, borrowing Shibuya street fashion for the character designs masterfully crafted by the industry legend Tetsuya Nomura (“Kingdom Hearts 2”). Furthermore, clothes give attributes instead of equipment and weapons, so you’ll be busy shopping at the various stores to keep up with the game’s changing fashion trends, as they affect your stats.

Also evocative of Shibuya is the game’s visual styling, which is almost entirely 2D sprites and flat backdrops, interspersed with manga-like dialogue and cinematic sequences spanning both screens. Although it pushes the DS to its 2D limits — and looks nice doing so — it’s a reminder of the system’s graphical limitations. The hip-hop, techno-infused soundtrack also lends to the hip, modern style of the game that, when mixed with the crazy fashions and superflat design, feels kind of like a “Jet Grind Radio” RPG.

The element that ultimately makes this game so out-there is the battle system, dubbed “Stride Cross Battle System,” and it’s something that could only be born from the DS. Using various pins, Neku will unleash attacks on the touch screen via corresponding movements of the stylus, while the player simultaneous controls Shiku on the top screen by entering a sequence of D-pad commands with his or her other hand. It’s as difficult and daunting as it sounds with a steep learning curb, but once you get the hang of it, the complexity is gratifying and very fun. Also lending satisfying depth is the unusual ability to toggle the difficulty throughout the game by raising or lowering your level to change the item-drop rate of enemies.

Perhaps the worst thing about the game is that because it’s so hard to put down, your wrist will tire from the frantic stylus scribbling during battles. Also somewhat annoying is the incredibly linear nature of the game, as it doesn’t allow for much adventuring or hidden back-stories of characters typically seen in a Square Enix game. Due to this, “The World Ends With You” sometimes plays how it looks — like manga. And despite the DS’s memory limitations, would a bit more voice acting have been too much to ask?

Nevertheless “The World Ends With You” is a rare, acutely achieved blend of style and gameplay, with a much-needed splash of innovation to a static genre. It likely won’t be the best RPG you ever play, but good luck finding a more bizarre one.

?

4 1/2 stars out of 5