The battle system uses many of the unique features of the Nintendo DS, including combat that takes place on both screens, and attacks performed by certain motions on the touchscreen or by shouting into the microphone.

[3] Shibuya is divided into several districts, some of which may be inaccessible on certain days or blocked by a wall that can only be removed by satisfying the request of a nearby Reaper, such as erasing Noise symbols, wearing a certain brand of clothing, or bringing an item.

Neku can scan the area by activating a special pin, which reveals the thoughts of the non-player characters in the Realground and memes, hints which may help to progress the plot.

[4] The player can enter shops to buy new pins, clothes, and food items that are consumed during battles to improve the characters' basic attributes.

"Secret Reports", written segments that reveal background elements of the story, can be unlocked through this mode by completing specific missions during each day.

[4] The partner can perform a basic attack after the player navigates through a pathway of arrows to select one of several shown cards using the directional pad or face buttons.

The Fusion attack is launched by tapping the partner pin on the screen; the player then has a limited period of time to complete card-based minigames to build up a damage multiplier.

The Switch version offers a local cooperative mode, where a second player using a second Joy-Con has control over the partner character and a limited set of pin attacks during battle.

While everyday life goes on in the Realground (RG), the chosen dead are brought to an alternate plane of existence called the Underground (UG), which serves as the venue for the Reapers' Game.

[8] By offering their most treasured possession to enter the Game, the dead gain the chance to contest for the prize: to be brought back to life or transcend to a higher form of spiritual existence.

[11] Players receive assignments via text messages sent to their cell phones, and their right hands are imprinted with a countdown indicating the time left in the mission.

Neku's final partner is Daisukenojo Bito (尾藤 大輔之丞, Bitō Daisukenojō), originally a player and ex-Reaper who calls himself "Beat" (ビイト, Biito).

[16] While participating in the Games to earn promotions for their performance, the Reapers' goal is to ascend to the highest form of spiritual existence, the Angels.

However, Shiki has become what Neku values most, and she is used as his new entry fee for the second week; in addition, Beat defects to the Reapers in hopes of finding a way to resurrect Rhyme after she sacrifices herself to save him.

During the second week, Neku recalls small details of his death; he eventually realizes that Sho Minamimoto, one of the Reapers he faced during the Game, shot him.

His entry fee this time is all of the other players, meaning he cannot form any pacts and stands no chance against the Noise; however, Beat defects from the Reapers and rejoins Neku.

As they progress, Neku has visions of a city being destroyed and a strange girl with Shiki's stuffed animal, as well as what are seemingly distorted flashbacks of his death and Rhyme's sacrifice.

[30] They developed an initial draft of the game's plot and gave it to scriptwriter Sachie Hirano and scenario event planner Yukari Ishida to expand on.

[30] However, there were still difficulties in filling out the story, only achieving some smooth development about halfway through the process, and even then, there were still changes made just before creating the master image for the game.

[29] The Square Enix localization team preserved many Japanese elements while translating most of the dialogue and interface items into English and other European languages to avoid losing the culture of the game.

Vocal artists featured in the game include Sawa Kato, Makiko Noda, Leah, Ayuko Tanaka, Mai Matsuda, Wakako, Hanaeryca, Cameron Strother, Andy Kinlay, Nulie Nurly, and Londell "Taz" Hicks.

[46] A special "Wonderful World" edition of the "Gloss Silver" Nintendo DS Lite was created and sold as a bundle with the game as part of its Japanese release.

[47] The game's early plot was adapted into a two-chapter one-shot manga by Shiro Amano, published over two issues of Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan on August 11 and September 12, 2007.

[38][51][52] Neku, Shiki, Joshua, Beat, and Rhyme appear in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance as non-playable characters challenged to a task similar to the Reapers' Game.

[63] In addition to combat changes, Solo Remix includes redrawn high-definition sprites and is optimized for the Retina display of iOS devices.

In addition to my intention of making this my last time working with the original game, I think this is the final chance for creating a path to the next step, which I've had ideas about since the first launch 11 years ago.

[4][3][92] Reviews also commented that initially, the character designs were too similar to previous Square Enix titles and may be off-putting to some,[5][92] though in the Shibuya setting they were "absolutely in their element".

[5][113][114] 1UP.com's review summarized that the game is much more than the sum of its parts: "By all rights, The World Ends With You should be an annoying disaster, a bundle of tired gimmicks and trite clichés.

[121] The World Ends with You: Solo Remix received a score of 9.5 and an Editor's Choice from IGN, who praised the port and its additions, although criticized its price point and lack of universal compatibility (the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad versions of the game must be purchased separately).

[93] Kotaku also criticized the high price and lack of universal compatibility as 'indefensible', though it praised the port for its controls, saying "in many ways, it feels more suited to (the iPad) than it ever did on the DS".