Words Worth (ワーズ･ワース) is a Japanese adult role-playing video game originally released for NEC PC-98 computer systems, and remade for Microsoft Windows. The game's story is linear, with only one story decision near the end, leading to one of five different endings. A five-part animated erotic direct-to-video series was adapted from the game's story. It also has a side story series, Words Worth Gaiden (ワーズ・ワース外伝) (known as Words Worth Outer Stories in the English release). The anime has the same general story, but the anime cuts out several characters and changes the plot mostly to create more sex scenes. The English dub is notable for featuring real life porn actresses Jenna Jameson and Nikki Dial. The rest of the English cast remained uncredited.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Words Worth is similar to other fantasy games of the era such as The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall but with a tongue and cheek sexual undertone. It is a remake of the 1993 game of the same name and while the plot is near identical, the graphics, gameplay, and visuals have been greatly improved. Words Worth is primarily a first-person dungeon crawler. Even though there are a few "friendly" areas, such as the hero Astro's bedroom and a town where the hero can rest and buy supplies, most of the game is spent in dungeon-like, maze-like areas (with an auto-map feature). There is no party in the game: Astro has to face the enemies alone. The enemies appear randomly. The 1999 remake has the players to click on the enemies to slash them and the combat is turn-based. The game has scenes with nudity and sexual situations. Like most fantasy role playing games Words Worth has lots of focus on story and narrative plot points but unlike many contemporaries in the fantasy genre Words Worth is entirely voice acted. As the players play as a young hero trying to prove himself worthy while surrounded by vixens, the game falls into the style of many Japanese anime plots where a young awkward protagonist is surrounded by sexpot girls.

Plot

The skill of sword-fighting is known to two tribes, the Tribes of Light (which consists of humans living on the world's surface) and Shadow (largely part-human-part-animal creatures and monsters living in an underground city, who enjoy a lifespan five times as long as the Tribe of Light and age one-fifth as quickly). The two tribes lived in peace and harmony, their domains separated by the "Words Worth" tablet—a huge monolith slab erected by an almighty creator. Although the tablet has writing on it, neither Tribe can read the text. One day, Words Worth was mysteriously destroyed by an unknown entity; its fragments were scattered among the domain of the Tribes of Shadow. The two Tribes blamed each other for the tablet's destruction, and started a war that has continued for 150 years (100 in the anime). Astral, prince of the Tribe of Shadow, desires to become a Swordsman of Shadow, but his father, King Wortoshika, forbids him to do so. He is engaged to Sharon, a beautiful swordswoman and Astral's childhood friend, who has feelings for Astral but wishes he were stronger.

Characters

Tribe of Shadow

Tribe of Light

Spin-offs

Words Worth no Hitobito

Words Worth no Hitobito (ワーズ・ワースの人々) is a cross-over between Words Worth and The Mystery of Nonomura Hospital. In the first half of the game, Umihara, the main protagonist of The Mystery of Nonomura Hospital, enters the world of Words Worth as summoned by Wortoshika. The game takes place in the intervening 20 years between Astral's disappearance and reappearance. In the second half, Sharon from Words Worth comes into the world of Nonomura Hospital and has a sexual affair with Umihara.

Release history

The original video game was made by ELF Corporation in 1993. The game was remade for Windows 95 in 1999, with some changed character designs, full-voice added to the supporting characters, 3D polygon graphics, and an opening animation sequence. That same year, the anime adaptation was also released. The series was originally released in English by NuTech Digital in 1999, but the license was lost due to NuTech being sued for failure to pay royalties. According to AnimeNation, that license was awarded in 2007 to Media Blasters, which released the series under Kitty Media. The Canada Border Services Agency ruled in 2007 that Words Worth is obscene under subsection 163(8) of the Criminal Code and is prohibited from being brought into the country. In 2003, Words Worth was released in German by Trimax as Am Ende des Lichtes (At the End of the Light). Trimax also released Words Worth Gaiden in 2009 as Die Kriegerinnen des Lichts (The She-Warriors of Light).

Anime episode list (1999–2000)

Special episodes (2002–2009)

The series spawned two additional Gaiden OVA episodes and one comedic Omake episode. The Gaiden episodes take place in the final third of the episode "Pantheon of Play", the Omake following the conclusion of the original series.