Death is an interesting concept in The World Ends With You. It can be seen as an ending, but also as a new beginning, and the chance to begin again. Dead people have the choice to become Players in the otherworldly plane of the Underground (or UG), fighting for the chance to either return to life or enter the ranks of those working in the afterlife. Players are judged harshly and beset by hostile Noise at every turn, and those who fail are erased, never to be seen again. This cutthroat system is known as the Reapers' Game and is at TWEWY's core.
In The World Ends With You, the antisocial Neku dies under mysterious circumstances and is forced to learn how to work with other people as he fights to regain his memories. In NEO: The World Ends With You, the shy Rindo and the outgoing Fret are pulled into the Reapers' Game and have to build up a squad of capable fighters to find their way out. Even though both Games take place in Shibuya, NEO: TWEWY uses Shinjuku rules due to its Reaper refugee situation, and both games contain a lot of rule differences. Because of how important the Reapers' Game is to both titles, and how both games try to obfuscate how the Game really works, some SPOILERS FOR THE TWEWY FRANCHISE will have to be brought up.
How TWEWY's Reapers' Game Works
While the two TWEWY's Reapers' Games have lots of differences, they also share a lot of baseline rules and setup procedures. The most prominent one is the Reaper hierarchy running the Games. Top to bottom, Reapers' Games are staffed by Reapers, with an Angel from the Higher Plane watching over things as a non-intrusive Producer. The Game for a given region is ultimately created and managed by a Composer, an extremely powerful being that determines all the rules which allow the Underground to exist and function. The Conductor works underneath the Composer, ensuring that the Game's course follows the rules. That Conductor is, in turn, advised and served by high-ranking Reaper officers.
The Players, meanwhile, receive a pin marking them as such, which also allows them to scan the minds of people in the Realground (the plane of the living). Players are also provided with pins that allow them to use psychs, offensive capabilities that can be used depending on the Imagination the player has. After that, they set out to take on challenges set up by various lower-ranking Reapers, often involving fighting Noise summoned by said Reapers. The Reapers' Games typically take place a few weeks apart, but in special circumstances, like those present in both The World Ends With You games, these seven-day events can run two or even three times in a row with most of the same Players. A lot of the specifics come down to the Reapers running the Game.
How The Game Works In TWEWY's Shibuya
The main focal point of the original TWEWY's Reapers' Games was the entry fee every Player had to pay upon entering the game. This fee could be anything, whether it be a person, an object, a memory, or a dream. This is meant to make the Players question their values through losing what they value most. Much of the main characters' motivations revolve around their fees, and what they'll gain if they win the Game. Another vital aspect is Pacts between Players. Upon entering a Game, Players have seven minutes to find a partner to forge a Pact with. If their partner is erased, they have another seven minutes to form a new Pact, or they will be erased as well. It's a high-stakes game of life or death, but those that win have a chance of being changed for the better and can bring that change back to the Realground.
Of course, that's not through a lack of opposition. Shibuya's veritable army of Reapers are authorized to do most things in their power to slow down or stop the Players in their tracks. At the top of the active operations is the Game Master, a high-ranking Reaper chosen for each new week. The Game Master's duty is to both set mission parameters and ensure that as many Players as possible are erased to cull the population. Harrier Reapers work under the GM to erase Players by summoning Noise, while Support Reapers set up obstacles and provide resources for the Game. Harriers may not attack players directly or assign official missions unless assigned to attack a certain target by a high-ranking Reaper. Most Players do not need to complete missions at all as long as at least one Player does, but if no one can, then everyone is erased.
On the seventh day, the mission is always to defeat the Game Master. Players had better put their best foot forward, however, because, at the end of the week, the Composer decides based on their performance if they've truly made it out alive.
Shinjuku's Way of Running things in NEO: TWEWY
After a large amount of Shibuya Reapers were erased during TWEWY and Shinjuku was Inverted shortly afterward, the Shinjuku Reapers came to Shibuya. Their leader, Shiba, climbed to Game Master within a year and began changing the rules of Shibuya's Game. Instead of a Player Pin, Players hold a Reaper Pin. This not only lets them Scan, but also develop unique psychic powers. Rather than working in pairs, Players can make teams of two or more people, seemingly with no upper limit. There also doesn't appear to be an entry fee in this version of the Reapers' Game, although several protagonists joined the game under suspect conditions. Player teams are able to fight, but not erase each other.
The way Reapers function is also different under Shinjuku rules. There is only one Game Master, and they do not fight players. The Conductor also does not participate in the Game. A mission is set every day, which usually takes the form of a race to defeat a particular Noise or obtain something. Teams get points based on their success. At the end of a week, Players have the option of challenging the leading team in an all-or-nothing bout to land in first or last place. The last-place team, or teams, gets erased at the end of the last day, while the first-place team can choose a prize from the Game Master. Finally, the average field Reaper is a lot less obstructive and dangerous than they would be under Shibuya's rules, and some Harriers, like Shoka, are assigned to supervise teams.
Generally speaking, Shinjuku's rules are focused on amping up the team vs. team drama, rather than being a simple trial by fire. There are plenty of oddities and bent rules afoot, however, and it's up to NEO: TWEWY's players to find discrepancies and make things right.
NEO: The World Ends With You is available now for PS4 and Switch. A PC version is currently in development.