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Katawa ShoujuFollow

#1 Apr 09 2012 at 10:12 PM Rating: Excellent
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http://katawa-shoujo.com/

It's a free Japanese dating sim style game.(bishoujo-style visual novel) It's more of an interactive novel than a game, there are no mini-games or the like just plot choices. I haven't played a game like this since college (for me 10 years ago) so it was kind of nostalgic. Brought me back to my more otaku days. I was looking for something new to do and saw a review of the game while I was looking for F2P MMO's of all things.

It was created over 4 years by a international team for free after the idea caught fire at 4chan. The idea came from a sketch and developed a life of it's own from there. I was a bit leery of a free game from such sources but after reading many positive reviews I decided to give it a spin.

Just a heads up it does have some eroge. (Naughty bits)(NSFW) They are handled fairly well even if sometimes awkwardly but that's pretty true to how things sometimes go. You can turn off the adult content if that's not your thing and the stories are still pretty good.

And yes the subject matter seems controversial at first. A dating sim about a school for disabled students. (Physical not mental) But it's not a hentai or fetish thing. The stories treat the characters with dignity and are well thought out.

Just curious if anyone has played it and what their thoughts might be.





Edited, Apr 9th 2012 9:24pm by Shojindo
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#2 Apr 09 2012 at 10:21 PM Rating: Good
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Emi is best girl.

It really gave me a perspective on how you should act to girls with disabilities that are hot.

Edited, Apr 10th 2012 12:22am by Deadgye
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#3 Apr 09 2012 at 10:29 PM Rating: Good
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Deadgye wrote:
Emi is best girl.

It really gave me a perspective on how you should act to girls with disabilities that are hot.

Edited, Apr 10th 2012 12:22am by Deadgye


See I am torn... I did really like Emi and that was the first path I took. But they all had such interesting stories and even though Rin and Shizune were both a pain they both grew on me as well. Although in the Shizune story I felt more for Misha.I wanted an ending were Misha and I both broke free of Shizune's dominance and that taught her a lesson about how to treat her freinds.

Both Hanako and Lily were cool too though I must say Lilly ftw.




Edited, Apr 9th 2012 9:30pm by Shojindo
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#4 Apr 09 2012 at 10:41 PM Rating: Good
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Getting past that age verification was tricky.

Oh, and Shizune is clearly the superior choice. Can't nag, and basically an automatic twofer with built in Shiina.

Edited, Apr 10th 2012 12:45am by lolgaxe
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#5 Apr 10 2012 at 2:24 AM Rating: Good
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I kind of wish there were more routes. I know the incredible amount of writing involved makes more characters harder to do, but even so there should have at least been a Misha route. Nothing says they had to stick so closely to the original sketch. (which only had the 5 main girls)
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#6 Apr 10 2012 at 2:17 PM Rating: Decent
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I actually haven't even finished Emi's route, and she's my first route. :3 It's just the twintails, the petite body, and the track.. and a few other things. Speaking of track.. I need to start running again.
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#7 Apr 10 2012 at 3:21 PM Rating: Good
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I was seriously inspired to start running again after Emi's story as well. Haven't started yet... Smiley: blush but I thought about it!
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#8 Apr 10 2012 at 4:51 PM Rating: Excellent
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Huh, some of the reviews for this are hilarious! Almost all of them universally praise the game. My initial hesitancy at playing an eroge game made by 4-chan posters that involves dating disabled girls is... slowly fading. I'm intrigued.
#9 Apr 10 2012 at 7:47 PM Rating: Good
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LockeColeMA wrote:
Huh, some of the reviews for this are hilarious! Almost all of them universally praise the game. My initial hesitancy at playing an eroge game made by 4-chan posters that involves dating disabled girls is... slowly fading. I'm intrigued.


That's kind of the same thought process I went through. Smiley: tongue

Quick tip: You can use skip mode from the options to go through parts of the dialogue that are shared between different paths. Especially Act 1 after you have been through it a couple times. It will stop from skip mode when you get to a decision point or new content. I skipped a lot of the Kenji and Yuuko stuff because much of that is shared between all routes after reading it the first time.

It's also good to save a decision points in case you got a bad ending and want to start back from their to try and get the good ending. I got 97% complete at the end because I think I missed a couple bad path routes but I can live with that.
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An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

~ Matsuo Basho
#10 Apr 10 2012 at 11:26 PM Rating: Good
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Try Sengoku Rance, It's sorta like a dating sim.
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#11 Apr 13 2012 at 2:58 AM Rating: Good
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I liked Hanako and Lily's routes best. Emi's was kinda bland after the initial bit.

Rin's was kinda depressing, but it kept me hooked. I hated how I basically had to guess which choices seemed best, as the results weren't entirely predictable.

Also, the OST isn't too bad. Particularly the Main theme.

Edited, Apr 13th 2012 2:59am by Kirby
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#12 Apr 13 2012 at 9:50 AM Rating: Good
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Kirby the Eccentric wrote:
I liked Hanako and Lily's routes best. Emi's was kinda bland after the initial bit.

Rin's was kinda depressing, but it kept me hooked. I hated how I basically had to guess which choices seemed best, as the results weren't entirely predictable.

Also, the OST isn't too bad. Particularly the Main theme.

Edited, Apr 13th 2012 2:59am by Kirby


I think Lily's path was probably the best as well.

I know what you mean about Rin's being depressing. I think it's intentionally the sad loner art kids story. The main character seems to take on some of the personality of whatever path you are taking. The hard part about Rin was trying to figure out wtf she was talking about half the time. "I like jelly skies when their is baseball." O.o

I think what makes Lily's story a stand out is the fact that the main character's condition is kept in the forefront of the story. He is sicker and more messed up than his friends which lends some empathy and weight to it. In some of the other stories he almost comes off as hardly sick. Plus who does not love a "running for your girl at the airport" scene? Cliche or not that was good emo.

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An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

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#13 Apr 14 2012 at 9:24 AM Rating: Excellent
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I'm on act 4 with Emi right now Sex, lolanal, and now teenage angst. I'm actually finding the VN really... well, good. Emi's story has been super inspiring; and I find myself acting a lot like the protagonist IRL (especially the festival scene with him trying to sneak fried food, hahaha).

If I had one main concern, it's that I have NO idea how I picked Emi. I think it was when you first start running with her if you choose to speed up that leads to her path? Not positive. I didn't even realize I had chosen her until Act 3, as Rin was always hanging around with us and the other girls kept making appearances. So that was a little unclear.

And OMG, Kenji. That guy is hilariously nuts.

Edit: Finished Emi's route. Awwww. I liked it Smiley: grin

I decided that the next girl I wanted to get with was Hanako. Buuuuuut, I have no idea how to do so. Do some of the seemingly pointless choices (being polite or dismissive to the nurse, choosing to get on the attack or defensive while playing Risk) effect which path you unlock? I thought I ruined it with Lily when I tried to maintain my innocence instead of taking her side against Shizune, but then we ended up walking to town together, which hadn't happened in prior games. We met Rin and walked back. But fast-forward to the day of the festival... I had the choice to join the art club... but I have no interest in Rin. So I decline... and I FREAKING DIE AT THE END OF THE FESTIVAL! I had declined hoping another girl's path would open, specifically Lily because things had been going so well. Instead I get the bad ending.

Hmmm... this will require more testing. Guess I need to finish up Rin's path first, as now I'm on it.

Edit2: A quick glance on gamefaqs seems to imply that Risk DOES have an effect, as do the questions you ask during the first lunch (which I figured; library leads to Hanako, deafness leads to Shizune). Also it seems like unless you want to go for Rin or Shizune, maintaining your innocence is always a worse idea than siding with Lily. Oops Smiley: lol

Edited, Apr 15th 2012 10:13pm by LockeColeMA
#14 Apr 15 2012 at 11:16 PM Rating: Excellent
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Yup, every choice counts. Some are more obvious than others. You can use a FAQ if you want to be sure to open the good route with a particular story but I thought it was more fun to try and figure out what might lead me one way or another on my own. (I did look at some FAQ's when I got a bad ending once to see where I screwed up to see how far back I needed to go though)

So much feels were had. Smiley: cry MANLY TEARS I SWEAR!
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An old silent pond...
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splash! Silence again.

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#15 Apr 15 2012 at 11:32 PM Rating: Good
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Master Shojindo wrote:
So much feels were had. Smiley: cry MANLY TEARS I SWEAR!
During this Hanako scene, yeps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWFaykfCRlU
Youtube Comment wrote:
Watching her fall apart

Not sure what to do

WHY DO I CARE SO MUCH
Pretty much sums Katawa Shoujo up.
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#16 Apr 16 2012 at 12:30 AM Rating: Good
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I can never, ever play a visual novel game. I'm pretty sure I understand colorblind gamers now.
#17 Apr 16 2012 at 12:46 AM Rating: Good
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Downloading this. I'm a sucker for good writing.
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#18 Apr 17 2012 at 5:01 AM Rating: Good
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Allegory wrote:
I can never, ever play a visual novel game. I'm pretty sure I understand colorblind gamers now.


For what reason?
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#19 Apr 17 2012 at 2:07 PM Rating: Good
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It's a game full of choices where I cannot understand the consequences to any decision.
#20 Apr 17 2012 at 2:17 PM Rating: Good
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Just like real life!
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#21 Apr 17 2012 at 2:34 PM Rating: Good
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I hate Kenji. I don't know why, but he bugs the sh*t out of me.

Edit: Crap. I think I ended up going Emi's route, when I was trying to go Hanako's.

Edited, Apr 17th 2012 4:43pm by IDrownFish
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#22 Apr 22 2012 at 2:15 PM Rating: Excellent
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IDrownFish of the Seven Seas wrote:
I hate Kenji. I don't know why, but he bugs the sh*t out of me.
I see a lot of myself as a high school student in Kenji. His strangeness reminds me of how I used to act, though he's thankfully worse than I ever was.

Also, apparently I'm no Keima. After a couple early deaths, I was forced to use a guide to figure out how to even get on Lilly's route. Smiley: bah
#23 Apr 25 2012 at 7:21 PM Rating: Excellent
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Without help, I've gotten to Rin's and Shizune's routes (though Poldaran linked me one for Lily, which I might get to eventually). While I do like Shizune's so far... I feel a bit annoyed at one part. Namely, when you start learning sign language, and Shizune's conversations start appearing before Misha signs them, they're not in the same manner as someone would sign them. It's kinda hard to explain. I have a couple hearing-impaired friends (not fully deaf, but mostly), and their comments are like this:

Normal: I'm watching a movie called "127 hours" with James Franco. It's such an awesome and true story about his life!!!!
ASL-style: I am watch a movie called for "James Franco 127 HOURS" it is so awesome and true story for his life!!!!

I mean, it's a minor complaint. But knowing multiple (vocal) languages, it's obvious there are some differences in grammar and sentence structure. I don't know if it takes away from the conversation by pretending it's the same... I suppose I just feel it would give a more accurate portrayal of how sign language works if you would have Shizune say it in the proper sign form, and then Misha translate it correctly into English. I might just be a little condescending though; the story is still great and makes me want to learn ASL (American sign language, if you didn't gather that already Smiley: tongue)

Edit; Shizune just said "Stay classy." Man, I love the pop culture references in this game! Smiley: laugh

Edit2: Misha is wearing a "Bush/Cheney '04" shirt. I hope she's, like, secretly in love with Shizune. 'Cuz I'm totally stealing her away. Booyah.

Edited, Apr 25th 2012 10:23pm by LockeColeMA
#24 Apr 25 2012 at 7:58 PM Rating: Good
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Nice I hadn't thought about that regarding those two, although I did find myself confused as to who was talking sometimes.

And I knew all along Pold was a Lily man. (probably the sig?)
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An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

~ Matsuo Basho
#25 Apr 26 2012 at 12:01 AM Rating: Good
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LockeColeMA wrote:
Without help, I've gotten to Rin's and Shizune's routes (though Poldaran linked me one for Lily, which I might get to eventually).
Actually, the vid I linked apparently has the choices for all the good ends. Lilly's just happened to be first.

Master Shojindo wrote:
And I knew all along Pold was a Lily man. (probably the sig?)
Smiley: laugh Honestly, I was just most into her personality compared to the others as I started playing through.

Edit: I feel really bad for laughing at this. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo
Quote:
Black Comedy:
Unintentionally, if the sex scene after Hanako shows you her scars gets censored by fried shrimp on the barbecue.


Edit2:
LockeColeMA wrote:
Without help, I've gotten to Rin's and Shizune's routes (though Poldaran linked me one for Lily, which I might get to eventually). While I do like Shizune's so far... I feel a bit annoyed at one part. Namely, when you start learning sign language, and Shizune's conversations start appearing before Misha signs them, they're not in the same manner as someone would sign them. It's kinda hard to explain. I have a couple hearing-impaired friends (not fully deaf, but mostly), and their comments are like this:

Normal: I'm watching a movie called "127 hours" with James Franco. It's such an awesome and true story about his life!!!!
ASL-style: I am watch a movie called for "James Franco 127 HOURS" it is so awesome and true story for his life!!!!

I mean, it's a minor complaint. But knowing multiple (vocal) languages, it's obvious there are some differences in grammar and sentence structure. I don't know if it takes away from the conversation by pretending it's the same... I suppose I just feel it would give a more accurate portrayal of how sign language works if you would have Shizune say it in the proper sign form, and then Misha translate it correctly into English. I might just be a little condescending though; the story is still great and makes me want to learn ASL (American sign language, if you didn't gather that already Smiley: tongue)
I'm not sure if this has any impact, but the TV Tropes page offers what might be taken as a possible explanation.
Quote:
The sign language taught at Yamaku and used by Shizune and Misha would presumably be Japanese Sign Language, which naturally has signs corresponding to Japanese kana. Despite this, when Misha tutors Hisao, she begins with the Latin alphabet as if it were a Western sign language like ASL. It's possible that this is just a Translation Convention, but it's still a little jarring.

Either they don't know it well enough, or maybe they were attempting for JSL and it's simple translation convention.

Edited, Apr 26th 2012 1:36am by Poldaran
#26 Apr 27 2012 at 5:10 PM Rating: Excellent
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Didn't end up liking Shizune's arc for two reasons:
1. I didn't like her personality. After playing her arc, I very much understand her, and why she acts that way she does. She's fiercely competitive because of the way she was raised. It also sounds like she had almost no love at home with Jigoro as her dad. The guy never learned to talk to her, ignores her when she's around... heck, he apparently didn't even recognize that she was mute and tried to hire tutors for her anyway. Plus, she must be incredibly frustrated with not being able to communicate with anybody before Misha shows up.

...

but the result is that she practically has ASPD. I mean, she's not a psychopath. But, as is directly said in the course of the game, she just turns people into roles or boxes, and interaction is separate events and competitions. Lily is "enemy." Misha is "translator" "Student Council" and "friend." Hisao is "boyfriend" or "Student Council." But they're never one at the same time. She seems utterly incapable of understanding why Misha would be upset when, the day after confessing her love and being rejected, Shizune treats her the exact same and acts like nothing happens. In the same way, she can't understand why Misha still feels heartbroken and carried a torch for her a year later. She treats Hisao pretty poorly... and who wants to be in a relationship where EVERY interaction is a battle? Well, Shizune does, but I could never feel that way. Ugh. Even the first sex scene is pretty messed up; she ties Hisao to a chair and mounts him. Random question: had they even kissed!? And after that point they have, what, one date? Any other interaction, even without Misha, is either "Student Council is srs bzns" or "Get Misha happy again!" No romance.

2. By the end of the story, I actually cared a hell of a lot more for Misha than for Shizune. And of course - Misha can't be dated... although I hear the "bad ending" allows an erotic scene with her... which I didn't take because I'm not a d-bag. But Misha is Shizune's foil, and for every negative, Shizune has a positive (and vice-versa). Misha is loud, outgoing, friendly to everyone, emotional, loyal, and self-sacrificing. Shizune is (obviously) quiet, abrasive to the point of isolating, practically robotic most of the time, loyal but unable to empathize, and while self-sacrificing, she still can't understand how most people emotionally react. In a way, I almost feel bad for Shizune... except I feel like Misha's in an even sorrier state. The only part of Misha I didn't like, outside of the terrible tee-shirt, was that she tries to sleep with Hisao. But even then I didn't see it as manipulation or undermining her friend; she was literally in tears. After fighting with Shizune and realizing her love was ultimately unrequited, she turned to the person she liked most in the world besides Shizune (Hisao).

While some people online opine that she's actually trying to get Shizune and Hisao to break up and actually manipulative, I didn't sense that at all. I also think she's bisexual; or if she's solely into girls, her brief flirtation with Hisao is simply because she loves him as a person anyway.


Anyway, I really enjoyed the beginning of the arc, but it went VERY long and as said, Shizune would never be a person I would date IRL because I can't stand her personality. Still well worth playing though; I think Shizune is one of those "love her or hate her" characters. It's pretty interesting to note that she also seems to be the least popular character from a poll on the KS website (in terms of least-to-most popular, Shizune--Emi--Misha--Rin--Hanako--Lily). So now that I've gone out with the least popular three, only clear skies ahead, right?

I think I'll save Rin for last, as she still doesn't interest me. Going to try for Lily next, as her story interacted a lot more with Shizune's than Emi's did.

PS: I love this VN; thanks for introducing me to it, Shojindo!
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