Neo: The World Ends With You launches in July for PS4 and Nintendo Switch
Fans think the sequel could be teasing a crossover with Kingdom Hearts
Neo: The World Ends With You is set to launch on July 27.
Thankfully, that's a global release date for the sequel to the cult hit The World Ends With You, which is coming to both PS4 and Nintendo Switch on July 27 and will arrive on PC through the Epic Games Store later on in Summer 2021. You can check out the announcement trailer for the release date just below.
In this trailer above, we can see many of the newcomers that we'll be venturing around Shibuya with in July, including their voice actors. Over on the PlayStation Blog, the characters are broken down in greater detail, including new protagonist Rindo, who's new leading up a faction called the Wicked Twisters in the new Reaper's game.
Joining Rindo in the Wicked Twisters are the happy-go-lucky Fret, who apparently can get along with just about anyone, and Nagi, a college student who is highly perceptive of others and their emotions. Rounding out the troupe is Minamimoto, who joins Rindo and the others after using his impressive psychic to help them out early on in the Reaper's game.
However, there's a fan theory going around that Neo: The World Ends With You could be connected to the Kingdom Hearts universe. This all revolves around the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts 3, which has Sora landing in the middle of Shibuya, and Riku and Yozara ending up near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Fans are theorizing that the two games could be crossing over in the near future, especially when you consider game director Tetsuya Nomura's vital role in both franchises.
SORA IS IN SHIBUYA, RIKU IS IN SHINJUKU. NEO:TWEWY HAS SHIBUYA AND SHINJUKU REAPERS. I SWEAR TO GOD THIS MIGHT BE CONNECTED... #NEOTWEWY pic.twitter.com/kOmXfWOiiDApril 9, 2021
For The World Ends With You in 2007, Nomura was a creative producer, as well as the chief character designer. In 2021, Nomura is returning as a creative producer for Neo: The World Ends With You, and while he's also one of the key creatives involved in Kingdom Hearts, working as a director or producer on every entry in the series
Fans are theorizing that Nomura is bringing two of his key franchises together with Kingdom Hearts 3's secret ending and Neo: The World Ends With You. After all, Nomura basically did just that with Final Fantasy 7 Remake in 2020, the ending of which *Spoiler Alert* opens the door for characters of spin-off games like Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus to enter future installments of the remake saga.
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Right now though, this is little more than a fan theory. We'll have to wait until July 27, when Neo: The World Ends With You arrives on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, to see if there's any evidence of Sora and company in Shibuya.
For a complete list of all the other games launching over the remainder of the year, head over to our new games 2021 guide for more.
Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.