NEO: The World Ends with You is an intriguing game with an unusual plot and a wide array of eccentric characters. One of its gameplay elements is the Social Network, which you might assume is a relationship-building mechanic along the lines of other JRPGs. This isn’t the case, so we’ll cover all of the main questions below.
Here’s everything you need to know about NEO: TWEWY romance, and its Social Network system.
Does NEO TWEWY have romance?
Like most JRPGs, there is some romance to be found within the plot of NEO: TWEWY. It isn’t as overt as other games, but there are several budding relationships that get their fair share of screen time.
These are expanded on throughout the story and hit home pretty well by the end.
Are there romance options in NEO: TWEWY?
Whilst there are romantic moments in the story, NEO: TWEWY does not have romance and relationship options along the lines of many other modern JRPGs.
NEO: TWEWY does contain a system called the Social Network. However, if you’re looking for something akin to Persona’s social links, or Trails of Cold Steel’s bond events, then this probably won’t do it for you.
Luckily, we’ve got an article below containing many other RPGs fitting this criteria.
How does the Social Network system work?
Fairly early in NEO: TWEWY, Rindo unlocks the Social Network, which is a grid of various people he has met during the Reaper’s Game. Each person represents a node that can be activated to unlock various benefits.
Throughout the game, Rindo can earn Friendship Points by clearing sidequests and conquering certain battle gauntlets (Mind Dives) within time targets. Once Friendship Points are won, they can be spent on nodes of your choice, provided you have unlocked them first and established a connection.
As such, the Social Network effectively works as a skill tree, where the Friendship Points are spent to earn new abilities in and out of battle. In other cases, you’ll receive items or add different options in the shops and restaurants around Tokyo.
Spending the points on a person’s node doesn’t actually convey anything resembling a relationship arc. However, the more significant characters tend to represent the best abilities.
5 tips for completing the Social Network
There are a few things to bear in mind when trying to activate each character’s node and complete the Social Network. You should definitely aim to do this as it’s required to unlock the NEO: TWEWY Secret Ending. Here are some of our top tips to achieve a completed Social Network.
Always maximise your level for Mind Dives
The ability to reduce levels in return for an increased drop rate is an excellent feature that should be used regularly, especially when you feel overleveled for a certain area.
This is with the exception of Dives, which are often instigated during the story as well as side quests. Your performance within these Dives is scored depending on your clear time, and a higher rank will reward you with additional Friendship Points.
NEO: TWEWY only has a set number of Friendship Points on offer, so if you fail to score a gold ranking you will later have to repeat the day to get the necessary points to complete the Social Network, which is a pain.
The best way to avoid this inconvenience is to overcome them at the first time of asking – set your level to the highest possible and equip your best pins to give you the best opportunity.
Complete every quest as soon as possible
This may seem an obvious one, but sidequests can easily be missed during the day itself. If you progress too far in the story, the areas where the quests are available can be sealed off.
They are not truly missed forever – you can always return to previous days – but you’ll start it from scratch, sometimes resulting in long periods of dialogue and backtracking before you get a chance to access the quests again.
Make sure you access Rindo’s Thoughts as soon as you start a new day and clock the locations where any quests are available. These won’t always be accessible immediately, but you should complete them as soon as you can visit the relevant locations. Always prioritise quests over the story, as staying on top of these quests will be key in filling up your Social Network.
Buy plenty of Threads
Reaching sufficient VIP levels in Shibuya’s various stores will unlock Social Network contacts, which can reward some great equipment if you spend the necessary Friendship Points.
It’s arduous to keep scrolling through the menu to find the best Threads for each character, but important to give yourself the best chance during tough encounters and boss fights.
Buying unique Threads is almost never a waste. Even if you never equip them, it’ll nudge you closer to the next VIP level and help you open up the Social Network further. It’s a good idea to keep visiting the clothing shops on every new day to top up your equipment.
Bear in mind that the Threads aren’t going anywhere, so you don’t necessarily have to splash out if you’re short on cash.
Keep checking the empty nodes
If you haven’t unlocked a node in the Social Network, NEO: TWEWY is sometimes kind enough to tell you specifically what needs to be done.
Many simply cannot be unlocked until you reach a certain point of the story, but you’ll find plenty available if you hit the right conditions. This is particularly true of the restaurant and shopping-based rewards, where you’ll be directed to spend your yen in specific establishments to open up new contacts.
Every time you complete a new batch of quests or reach a new day, it’s definitely a good idea to check out any new opportunities in the Social Network.
Eat as many different meals as possible
There are plenty of benefits to eating at restaurants, which is important for increasing your general stats and Style. A further plus comes within the Social Network, which often requires you to eat a set number of meals within the restaurant to unlock the node of its owner.
These nodes generally award a new special item on the restaurant’s menu, which is always far superior to anything else in there. Whilst it may not seem like a great use of Friendship Points at first glance, these meals are actually the route to considerable boosts that dramatically increase your stats.
Side note: Whilst eating, try not to reach exactly 100% fullness, as you’ll need to return all the way to 0% before you can eat again (well, you should do it once to unlock a trophy). Instead, try and hit the high-90s so you can fit in another meal after a few more battles.
There you have it. Everything you need to know about NEO: TWEWY romance, the Social Network and how this affects the game.
For more tips and guides as well as our spoiler-free review, check out the articles below:
