RPG scripts have come a long way since the days of "You spoony bard!" and "Son of a Submariner!" and at this point we except a much higher quality. This year we had just that, lots of games featuring a top quality original script or localization. The key factor with each of these releases is humor. Each offered it in spades.

Best Script Dragon Age: Origins

Whether you're listening to Alistair and Morrigan exchange insults or Sten and Leliana flirt with/threaten each other, you can't deny the quality of the writing in Dragon Age: Origins. But it's more than just zippy one-liners and thinly-veiled innuendo. Dragon Age: Origins takes new strides in conversational gameplay, with each character reacting and conversing entirely naturally with the player.

Thanks to a terrific host of dialogue options, there's almost always going to be an appropriate response for whatever reaction you want your character to give, and that will in turn take the conversation in new directions. The script is meticulously crafted to ensure that every situation possible in the game, with few exceptions, flows as naturally as a conversation in the real world, and this is no ordinary feat. BioWare truly outdid themselves with the Dragon Age: Origins script, and it will be difficult for them to live up to this performance in their future endeavors.

The Mario & Luigi games have always been gifted with fabulous scripts from Nintendo's hardworking translators, and Bowser's Inside Story upholds that tradition in excellent form. Consistently amusing and never dull, Bowser's blockheaded personality was the perfect inspiration for situations that outdo the earlier games in the series, which is no small accomplishment.

There are not too many RPGs that have made us laugh out loud. XSEED is constantly proving to gamers that they know how to do a solid, if absolutely hilarious localization. There is so much to be said about the strength and fearlessness when it comes to the localization, from the types of jokes, to even the simplest conversations. For a game that boasts thirty second quests, add some snappy dialog in with really fun characters and you too will find yourself laughing along with the Goddess of Time as she steals your money to buy who knows what. I wonder what "stuff" she's purchasing exactly. Nefarious! And don't get us started on the princess's language when she's holding a crossbow.

by Adriaan den Ouden, Michael Cunningham, Mike Moehnke, Sam Marchello