Writing is really difficult. It's something that I spend a lot of my time trying to perfect, something I'm constantly honing and re-iterating and reflecting on. So it's no surprise that more often than not, I find video game scripts to be... less than great.

Even my favorite game, Final Fantasy VI, has a script that I'm not particularly fond of. I think it's serviceable. It has a few pretty great moments that I like a lot - Kefka's iconic nihilistic speech he preaches to The Returners comes to mind - but overall, I'm not a fan of it. It's easy-to-read and not too obtrusive, though, so I don't think it's worth making a lot of guff about.

The World Ends With You suffers from some incredibly obnoxious writing, though. It's hard to enjoy any aspect of the game, such as the legitimately fun and inventive combat, when absolutely every single character talks in the most annoying way possible. I'm not engaged with any of them but the game regularly asks me to give them my time despite them all being insufferable. The protagonist treats everyone like shit, and I understand that he's supposed to learn and grow from this, but he has literally no redeeming qualities so I'm not endeared to him in the slightest. Everyone else just orbits around him until he decides to stop being an asshole for five seconds and do something. The dialogue mainly consists of characters just yelling at each other in a way that reminds me of Kingdom Hearts (derogatory).

It's a fine enough game, with a slick and distinct style that defines it amongst its peers even if I'm not partial to it and a gameplay system that's incredibly unique. I just can't get into it because the characters are so utterly grating and the dialogue is so annoying in the most bland way possible. The protagonist is insufferable, and the people who surround him are as well, all in their own distinct ways.

I can't say I understand the praise.

Reviewed on Aug 09, 2022


Comments