Everything you need to know about NEO: The World Ends with You

We live in a wonderful world. More than a decade later, The World Ends with You is getting a sequel, more than a decade after the first game's release. NEO: The World Ends with You will bring the series up to speed with the times, and potentially tie into the next Kingdom Hearts game.

Here’s everything we know about NEO: The World Ends with You.

When is the NEO: The World Ends with You release date?

NEO: The World Ends with You will launch for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on July 27, 2021. The PC version will be available on the Epic Games Store, seemingly continuing the exclusivity deal that began with Kingdom Hearts.

Is there a trailer for NEO: The World Ends with You?

Yes! There is a trailer for NEO: The World Ends with You. It's available for your eyeballs below.

One stand-out change evident from the trailer is the gameplay. The presentation has changed from 2D to 3D. Players seem to have the ability to freely roam Shibuya in a manner similar to Persona 5. Classic locations like the 104 building and Tower Records will return.

There are a few technological advances on display here too. For example, characters are seen using smartphones and an equivalent to the Japanese messaging service, Line. We can also see characters from the first game like Sho Minamimoto, Koki Kariya, and the enigmatic girl with blonde hair who was featured in both the game's Switch port. Her name is revealed as Tsugumi Matsunae. She’s on the Ruinbringers, who seem like the top team in the new Reaper’s Game.

Coco, the bratty child Reaper who manned a few shops in the first game has been aged up for the sequel. She seems to be a teen now.

In addition to old reliables, there are new characters like Rindo, Fret, and Nagi. This trio seems to be the new group of players in the Reaper's Game that they're playing to survive. Minamimoto also appears to be a player this time around, unlike the first game, where he was part of the antagonist faction, the Reapers.

Rindo, Fret, Nagi, and Minamimoto are the main team we follow in this game. They’re all in a group called Wicked Twister.

We also look at the new reapers. The blonde man named Shiba is the current Game’s Master, so perhaps he’ll be the final boss in the new game.

The trailer provides a better look at gameplay, which seems to draw from recent Square Enix projects by placing combat in a 3D arena. You can fight other players and new noise types.

It seems there will also be some degree of time travel involved with the new game.

The trailer concludes with a hooded figure fighting Tsugumi. Though his face is obstructed, Rindo calls him Neku. Perhaps Neku has survived as an undetected figure in the world who is neither Reaper nor Player?

Is NEO: The World Ends with You a sequel?

Yes and no! NEO: The World Ends with You isn't a sequel to the World Ends With You video game, but one to the anime, which airs in April 2021. This was confirmed by Tetsuya Nomura via The World Ends with You anime Twitter account.

"The game that will be the sequel to the anime that will be aired in April next year will be next summer," Nomura says in the tweet. The game takes place three years after the events of the anime.

Basing it off the anime canon rather than the game makes sense. The anime also features smartphones and other technological advances that have occurred in the time since the original game. Due to it being a sequel to the anime, this brings into question what exactly the game will carry over? How much of the secret ending featured in The World Ends with You: Final Remix, A New Day, be present? Will other things be changed for the adaptation? Or is it a simple modernization?

What's the story in NEO: The World Ends with You?

"NEO: The World Ends with You transports players to the streets of the Shibuya, where they will take part in the Reapers’ Game, a life-or-death battle for survival," Square Enix's official press release reads. "Players will take on the role of Rindo as they explore the heart of Tokyo to uncover the mysteries behind the sinister Game in which they have been forced to take part."

We don't know anything past this just yet. If it links to the secret ending from Final Remix, NEO could setup the revival of Neku, the original protagonist, and act as a testing ground for his new partner.

Will there be an English dub for NEO: The World Ends with You?

Yes! This will have a full English dub. Here’s the cast so far:

• Rindo will be portrayed by Paul Castro Jr
• Fret will be portrayed by Griffin Burns
• Nagi will be portrayed by Miranda Parkin
• Minamimoto will be portrayed by Andy Hirsch
• Susukichi will be portrayed by Max Udell
• Tsugumi will be portrayed by Ciara Riley Wilson
• Fuya will be portrayed by Adam Gold
• Kanon will be portrayed by Xanthe Huynh
• Motoi will be portrayed by Nick Thurston
• Kariya will be portrayed by Andrew Kishino
• Uzuki will be portrayed by Kate Higgins
• Coco will be portrayed by Kitana Turnbull
• Shiba will be portrayed by Shaun Conde
• Kubo will be portrayed by Xander Mobus

Will the upcoming The World Ends with You anime adapt this game?

No, this will not be adapted in the anime. Nomura has said this is a sequel to the anime, meaning it exists separately from the show.

NEO: The World Ends with You will be released in summer 2021.