Feb 04 2009
Analyzing Strategy Guides: The World Ends with You
Wordiest. Guide. EVER. When I want a walkthrough, I’d like a “go here and do this” and the end. Not a “go here and do this and then this and this and this and this will happen,” including quoting actual dialogue. You don’t even need to play the game to follow the story. Just pick up the guide and read. It will tell you everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING you want to know. You won’t miss a thing.
Despite how much it tells you about the story, it forgets to mention a few things in the walkthrough, such as picking up all of the Extra Slot stickers, where/when to pick up the Tin Pin Versus sticker, and a vital tip about defeating the final boss. I’m not saying the guide never tells you where to find these stickers. The guide has very detailed appendices regarding Noise, pins, stickers, swag, food, and other items, so you can easily find out where and when to pick them up. However, since these items only open up during certain parts of the story, shouldn’t the walkthrough mention these either in the wordy paragraphs or in the objectives list in the beginning of each chapter?
Oh and that lack of advice for the final boss… GRRRR! I was so angry while playing, and then I got even madder when I couldn’t find the answers in the guide I paid for and had to look up my answers on the free internet. All I will say is if you’re fighting the final boss and you need some tips, don’t look to the guide. It fails to mention one thing that will replenish the boss’s HP bar. I think that’s a pretty important piece of advice. It’s not fun to keep trying new pins you’re unfamiliar with on a boss and trying new strategies over and over again just to watch the dragon’s health bar refill itself and you have NO idea what is causing it. My DS almost had a horrific death that night.
It’s not the worst guide I’ve ever had. It helped me with the Reaper Review (because I’m lazy) and gave good tips on finding pins. The advice on other bosses seemed pretty sound; they just dropped the ball on the final boss (which is kind of a big ball, personally).
