Shibuya, headphones on, seven days to earn your way back into existence.

On pure gut instinct, no criterion attached, The World Ends with You lands right around the middle. But dig into the detail and it takes off. Art style ahead of 97% of games. Soundtrack ahead of 95%. And above all, on rediscovery, ahead of 98% of titles: wishing you could play it blind again might be the most honest compliment it can get. It also holds up strongly as a desert island pick and on attachment. Where it stumbles is fun and controller feel, both sitting in the lower half. Few votes on gameplay, so that one is still to confirm, but the idea fits: a battle system split across two screens, half of it on a stylus, doesn't translate in a head-to-head. You live it once and it stays with you.

Against the JRPGs of its era, it never plays the grand epic card. It plays identity, style, urban urgency. Few 2007 games have aged this well on looks and music.

So, who's it for? For you if you want an RPG that looks like a fashion magazine and sounds like a mixtape. Much less so if you want comfortable controls you can pick up without thinking.