While many undoubtedly remember Square Enix's The World Ends With You for its striking art style, fun characters, and unique action RPG gameplay, many will argue that the game's most memorable asset was its fun J-pop inspired soundtrack. The game's soundtrack was so memorable in fact, that the entire soundtrack was remixed for the Nintendo Switch remaster The World Ends With You: Final Remix. Fans will be happy to hear that Takeharu Ishimoto, composer of the original game, has confirmed that he will be returning to compose the soundtrack for the upcoming sequel Neo: The World Ends With You.
Square Enix announced the sequel to The World Ends With You earlier this week via a countdown on the game's website, revealing the upcoming action RPG is slated for release on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in summer 2021. The announcement of the sequel comes 13 years after the release of the original game and after the announcement of an upcoming anime adaptation, slated to air April 2021. It also comes after years of the game's producer and character designer, Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura, publicly rallying fans to request a sequel from Square Enix.
The original game's composer, Takeharu Ishimoto, who has also composed for other titles such as Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy Type-0, confirmed via Twitter that he will be returning to compose new tracks for the sequel. The original game's soundtrack has been praised by fans and critics as one of the game's most stylistically defining traits, drawing comparisons to the likes of Jet Set Radio and Persona. Ishimoto will also be returning to compose the soundtrack for The World Ends With You's anime.
The World Ends With You was originally released for the Nintendo DS in 2007, with a western release following in 2008. The game is an action RPG set in Shibuya, Tokyo, and follows a group of characters who are trapped in a week-long Reapers' Game. Characters from The World Ends With You were later featured in the 2012 Nintendo 3DS title Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
The game was ported to iOS and Android in 2012 and 2014, respectively, as The World Ends With You: Solo Remix, and later to Nintendo Switch in 2018 as The World Ends With You: Final Remix. While each new version updated the controls and remastered the game's visuals, the Nintendo Switch version featured a new storyline set after the events of the main game, similar to Persona 5 Royal.
Neo: The World Ends With You releases for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in summer 2021.