The "thank you 4LS" thread.

[TenFootPirate]

Thank you, you people are amazing. Thank you so much for the impact you have made in my life. and NO ITS NOT JUST A GAME !!

[JellyWeasel]

Thank you! I spent my evening playing through one of the story-lines. What a great accomplishment seeing this project to completion. This was my first visual novel, and it was definitely a great introduction to the genre.

Same here. Katawa Shoujo (Act 1) was the first VN I ever played (unless Phoenix Wright counts), and the finished product may be the best. It's inspired me as a game design major to dabble in this genre in the near future. In fact, after playing this again it has refreshed my interest in Visual Novels, and I've started to think about starting one again.
I must also say, that everything about KS, especially the writing, really moved me. I've never been a big fan of romance stories, but after completing Emi's route and relating to it, I think that my attitude on my relationships with others has changed for the better.

Oh yeah, well done on completing this!

[techk8]

Confession time.

I was not 18 when I read the sticked thread on /a/; far from it. Now I'm in college and seeing this out...well...I got that feeling of seeing something start from the beginning to the finished product. Same feeling for Minecraft (I was one of the first people to buy the game), but the feeling doesn't get old. That feel. Heh.

Thank you KS Devs for making this happen, to let me experience, yet again, that feel. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

[Raui]

Thanks for all the hard work you guys put into making this. It couldn't have been easy. I played the demo before and playing the full version now I can confidently say it was worth the wait.

[Priest]

Thank you developers

Its really apperant how much work and thought you have put in this game.
personally i think you should really open 4lf studios and make games because you are amazing at it.
but reality can be quite cruel.
well atleast youve left us one hell of a legacy
so i would like to offer you my best regards and the best of luck to where ever life may lead you

[ultrarare]

I also wanted to thank and congratulate the devs and anyone else that was involved with this project. The story, animations, music, and art were all phenomenal; there is nothing I can say bad about Katawa Shoujo. (The animated cut scenes threw me completely off guard, they were incredible!) Be proud of your accomplishments here! The fact that this was made free was even more respectable. If you allowed donations, I would be gladly throwing money at you guys!


However, I can't help but feel a little bit sad now that it is all over... All these years of waiting. Here it is, better than expected. Yet I feel so sad to see it end. T_T

[Guest]

I can not even begin to describe how exited I was when I made my once every 3 or so month visit to the site and saw a release date for the game , It has been a long wait and at time's I thought it would never happen but now it has and I couldn't be happier with the game. I don't know about the rest of you but I would have payed for this game, I'm sad to think that this could be one and only game by 4LS , The people who worked to make this game a reality are not only good at this but good enough to start a company and make a real impact in the bland visual novel world. I have watched and lurked for years and now I just have come out to say thank you to every one who worked on this game you all showed that with effort anything can be accomplished even if it starts on 4chan lol. I'll miss the updates

[vaen]

midway in act 4 of Lilly's route.
it's all I hoped it would be! thanks devs! (especially Suriko, you're awesome!)

think I might go for Hanako next, if only because I have a save from the choice that decides Lilly/Hanako.
(shizune is definitely last lol)

[SeraphicSolicitor]

...Katawa Shoujo is probably one of the singular most important events that has happened to my life. However indirectly, the raw power of a story of simple, yet confusing emotions and unrealistic realism would lead to all of my present day hopes and dreams for the future. KS introduced me to a world of stories, stories which, I was amazed to find, I could empathize with and immerse myself in. Stories which had emotion I could believe, no matter how unrealistic the actions or characters. And now, KS itself has finally become one of those stories. I played it. I loved it. And I will continue to love it. Before KS, I was a lonely, awkward individual with a history of psychiatric problems and no idea of what life was about except hopelessness. Then, KS showed me an entire world of stories, of authors' hearts and souls, of sadness and pain, mirth and satisfaction. I am now class president. I now work towards creating a world of people, all with their own emotions of joy and sorrow. Thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who helped develop KS, both for the arduous journey of its creation, and for the final, beautiful story entrusted to us today. Thank you.

[Sonju]

I played the game when I was barely out of high school and I was going through things. It honestly cheered me up. Every end in the Ch.1 was heart wrenching or amazingly happy. And now that I'm playing it, no matter what I'm playing through... I'm teared up and happy. And this is coming from a more hardened up Navy man. I thank you so much, if my friends ask me about a VN they should try it was always Act 1 and now I can say. It will ALWAYS be KS. You all worked so hard and made something revolutionary. Something to keep other companies who charge for their games look to the side and say. Wow we can't even make products that good. I thank you 4chan, /a/, and all the 4ls devs a giant hug and salute from the armed services. Because I know for a fact I'm not the only one playing this game right now.

[Saerain]

I find myself wishing I'd read it in high school. Shizune's path in particular uncannily mimics my experience in high school as a cynical kid with an arrhythmia in love with a hypercompetitive future dictator (civil engineer, really), and it would have helped me to see it wrapped in such a warm spirit.

Instead, at least it has helped me to look back on it all in a warmer light. As awkward as it seems to say so of a VN, thanks for that. But moreover, thanks for demonstrating one hell of a triumph of collaborative development.

[chicunsu]

It all started 4 years ago... i don't even remember how i got to the site to be honest, but i started to get interested because i liked the setting, instead of the normal perfect girls, this time you have girls that have much more personality and story.
Later i got to try the demo....... I FELL IN LOVE O.O
I've lost count of how many times i've played through the demo xD
and in the course of 4 years, i've played LOTS of games of all kinds and lost interest in most as i tend to do, but Katawa Shoujo always remained in the back of my head, and i've always come to remember it, and now.... after 4 years of waiting *on the brink of falling apart from crying*..... IT'S HERE.... And i so DAMN LOVE IT.... this is a erotic novel.... but i've been so absorbed in the story that whenever it was a sex scene..... i took it as a normal scene, everything is so great >.<

[yuastnav]

All good this have to come to an end. Or rather - all things will come to an end.
The actual waiting for something is sometimes better than the actual event; not because you may be disappointed with it but because you cannot look forward to that anymore. With the end of the waiting inevitably other things end, too, especially in this case concerning 4ls. This may be rather saddening to some of us.
I have only known about this since the beginning of 2010 but it is still melancholic to see the release of such a project and its inevitable consequences.

I thank you all for the time you have devoted and I hope you were able to grow in a sense or another; and hopefully this growth is reflected in this project so that we may grow as well.

[Ace_Marine]

Dear devastating,

Thanks so much for finishing this masterpiece of a visual novel. You actually helped me more than you think. You see i'm in a super long distance relationship. I live in California and my girlfriend lives in Yokohama. Recently we were having some communications issues (if you've ever been in a long distance relationship you know that communication is everything). The thing is after playing one play through (Emi's path) I saw what Hisao did for Emi and it gave me some perspective. I need to "be there" for her and help with her burdens. She often gets homesick (she's Russian) and she lives by herself with not many friends. So I called her after playing through Emi's path and told her that she can tell me anything and that I will always be there for her. You know what happened? She started crying and released all her stress on me. She was so happy just to hear my voice and tell her that everything is going to be fine. I made her promise to never keep those feelings inside again and just call anytime she ever feels stressed about work or family again. What made this so important is that I probably wouldn't have done that had I not played your game. So really thanks to your game you guys indirectly saved my relationship and made us closer in the process. I know that's not what you guys had in mind when you ventured out to make a game about "cripple porn," but I'd like to let you know it happened all the same.

Thanks so much 4leaf

[Yuno]

4LS, you guys are legends. While you're closing, it makes me so sad. Having waited 3 years for this game, I didn't think I'd ever get so emotional about it, but just listening to the music the first time made me realize something - this project is a legend. A true first. I am so impressed and shocked. I almost didn't want this to come out, to be honest, because I was worried this would happen. I got all choked up thinking about how much work you've put into it... Even if the game isn't perfect, you guys tried so hard over so much time. I'm so impressed.
Sometimes I considered fast-forwarding through dialogue, but I stopped myself every time. It wouldn't be fair if I did that to something that somebody worked so hard on.

This makes me value the world of game and novel writing so much. Thank you guys.