Now here's something I wasn't expecting... Just picked it up for kicks since I happened to be in DenDen town at launch day (Super Potato had the most awesome display ever, with the original III, VI and VII on seperate tv's).

I'm amazed to find myself addicted to this game; of course there's all the obligatory fan service (the intro takes a good 5 minutes) and a plethora of unlockable sweetness (rivaling Smash Brothers) but in the end, it's just great fun to play!

By selecting a story you're pinned to a character, battling across 5ish "game boards" while getting some background info on its reason to join the fight in the form of cut-scenes and dialogues. In the end you'll face of your arch-enemy and the game moves on to the next story. All this takes a surprising amount of time, I spent about 2 hours on a story, so just clearing all 10 stories would mean an hour or 20 (although I'm sure there's more to it).

The game board themselves contain enemies, treasures and items. While very archaic, it keeps the concentration on the battles. Battles are always one-on-one, can get hectic but are very rewarding to win.

As far as I've heard (completed two stories), the soundtrack consists of both new and old tracks. The old are pretty well arranged, and the new are kind of a mixed bag (there's a piano track played during the tutorial that I find myself liking).

So, yay! An enjoyable SE title for everyone to look forward to

Nice.  Yeah, Dissidia's been getting some pretty positive reviews.  I'll likely wait for the domestic release later next year. 

Looking forward to hearing the music score.  I'd imagine the bulk of it is battle-centric themes?

Based on the rip, the bulk of it is battle themes period, either poorly arranged or directly taken from the later games (FF7 onward). I'm actually going to listen to it again right now, because I was kind of struck dumb by it the first time around.

Well, I mean...Ishimoto IS involved. That's actually pretty bad that they'd completely re-use themes, especially considering how long the game has been in development.

I remember a time when Square had music staff I liked other than just Shimomura.

I feel old. 

It's humbling to know that I'm one of the few here who loves Ishimoto's work.  Crisis Core was awesome.

The guy ended up in the hole with me primarily because The World Ends With You is simply the worst videogame soundtrack I've ever heard. That's the farthest I've ever gotten into something while still thinking I was on candid camera while listening. The only real comment I have on Crisis Core's music is the loud, stale alt-rock style on that one is a far cry from anything I remotely like about FF's music (and if that seems an unfair comparison...well, my whole opinion is they shouldn't be touching anything FFVII without Sakaguchi or Uematsu's involvement anyway and are just out to make a quick buck).