Recently finished: The World Ends With You and Ar Tonelico

Surely but slowly I'm slogging through my backlog of games. Ar Tonelico honestly got a bit bothersome toward the end, since all the maps looked the same, combat eventually becomes too easy to become interesting, and the story seems a bit stretched out. Not to say that it is a bad game, but rather more like an interesting experiment that ran out of script before its 30 to 40 hours were realized.

The World Ends With You, however, compels me to do something that I normally do not: be a completionist. It's funny, because I remember as a child always having a reasonable selection of games, but still playing a favorite over and over again to the point of mastery. In the days of the Atari 2600 or even the NES, there were no extras to be had, no bonuses to be found after completing a game. So the only incentive to be had in playing a game again was in the experience of the game itself, and that was fine because games were short.

Nowadays a game without some form of extras, whether it's as simple as achievements or trophies, or as complex as a "new game plus" system won't warrant another play from me. There are simply too many games available that I would rather opt for a brand new experience than revisit an old one.

It's not just games either. I can't recall the last time I reread a book instead of choosing to read something yet untouched. Oh sure, I keep telling myself that I ought to reread the Tao of Physics, but, well, I guess in that case I'd need to dig it out of the basement first. Again, as a child, I recall certain favorites that found their way into my hands repeatedly. Dear Mr. Henshaw always springs to mind.

But I digress. Games that I've enjoyed that offer additional storyline for finishing extras definitely warrant an additional playthrough, and The World Ends With You offers exactly that, with the convenience of a chapter select feature. I suppose one could argue such a feature as a gimmick to present new information while not using any more levels, but I'll return to that line of thought later this week. To be continued.