General feedback

[thesaver118]

I must be a big nerd but i finished all paths on the 4th when i came out. i am now 100% done with game. i absolutely loved it. it was awesome how each girl had 3 different acts. thanks again and i cant wait for the next game you guys make ;D

[Anonymouse]

Allright,
first thanks for doing this games.
I enjoyed it but here's my feedback.

The sex scenes were pretty out of context in every route.
The game would've been better without them.
The quality of writing drops steadily with each chapter while the endings are kinda weak.
The game lacks interaction with characters after act 1 as well as content.
The characters are a bit too one-dimensional and inconsistent.

I'm not disappointed though, since I pretty much expected this.

Still the characters were likable most of the time, except for Kenji which I found to be very annoying.

In my opinion KS is a lower mid-tier VN judging from the ones I've played so far.
Probabaly good for a first attempt though.

[Subverted Heart]

Due to a reddit thread about it's release, I spent a couple hours in a span of 3 days, immersed in the story from each path.
A very good job to the devs, it has been years since I've gotten this engrossed in a story.
(Be it a video game, book or movie/soaps.)
Even making me shed a few tears, excellent writing.

My general feedback is a grammar related one.
My apologies if it contains spoilers, only the underlined portion is important.

Taken from the Shizune Path: Off by One

[Kazhal]

I agree about the sex scenes feeling tossed-in. I enjoyed it for the most part otherwise, but the contexts around the sex scenes I have seen were fairly disappointing and felt out-of-place. The writing in the scenes themselves is fine, they just don't seem to belong.

[Esa94]

So he basically had had had

[Hanako Seishin]

I hpoe this is a right place to post my opinion on Katawa Shoujo.

First, I'm not a person hwo completes 100% just for the fact of it, so I completed only Hanako's route, and may be will try Lilly's one some day.

It was really good until the sex scene appeared out of nowhere. And after the sex scene it baceme somewhat absurd... Like Hisao thinking something like "We were friends, but now the sex happaned"... sex is not an accident, it doesn't 'happen', it's you who do it. Or the subsequent dialog, which was a lot like:
- WTF happened last night?
- You fucked me, idiot.
- O RLY? I thought we were friends.
And that final kiss with the words "let me give you my first present"... O RLY? Didn't you let him fuck you just last night? Or sex nowadays really does not mean anything, while kiss however does?

I have to agree with Anonymouse:

The sex scenes were pretty out of context in every route.
The game would've been better without them.

The end where Hisao doesn't agree with Lilly and stays just friends with Hanako looks much more natural. There is also no point to claim that the fact they are friends makes impossible romantic relationship after this end. Because the 'true' end is exactly growing romantic relationship out of friendship. So, I'll just consider this 'just friends' end for a true end, and the 'true' end for 'oh, we should somehow insert a sex scene here... doesn't fit?.. it doesn't matter, it just have to be threre...'

[Mirage_GSM]

I suggest you reread the dialogue in the scene "Adulthood."
Maybe it will help you to better understand both Hanako's and Hisao's reasons for doing what they did. It also explains why the H-scene happened when it did.

[belleberstinge]

Okay here's a punctuation mistake.

In Act 1 Scene Smalltalk, he thinks a line:

"I thought I would go to the library and pick up some books."

Though the line is not spoken out loud, it is enclosed in quotes.

edit: I previously thought that this line only appears if Hisao has previously asked the Student Council duo to show him the way to the library. Apparently that is false.

[vexx]

I suggest you reread the dialogue in the scene "Adulthood."
Maybe it will help you to better understand both Hanako's and Hisao's reasons for doing what they did. It also explains why the H-scene happened when it did.

Agreed... the sex scenes in the Hanako route make perfect sense once one understands that both were operating under horribly mistaken assumptions. And in Japan culture... a kiss almost *is* a bigger deal than sex.

Frankly, the only scene that seemed "hey, what?" to me was the first experience with Shizune... but the whole route seemed a bit stilted to me. All the routes seemed very smooth in comparison.

But a big thanks for the gift of the game... still can't believe ya'll didn't charge 10 or 20 bucks for it, at least.

[russianspy1234]

And that final kiss with the words "let me give you my first present"... O RLY? Didn't you let him fuck you just last night? Or sex nowadays really does not mean anything, while kiss however does?

'

she doesnt have sex with you so much as she lets you have sex with her. thats why there is a discussion afterwards, hisao realizing just why she did what she did and explaing to her she didnt need to. the kiss is important for that very reason, because while for the sex scene, she passively lets you have her, here, it is HER action kissing you because SHE WANTS TO. for that reason, it IS more important

[Saucium]

Needs...Yuuko...route...

I like my women a tad more advanced in years. :p

[cobaltblue]

I am too lazy to create another feedback thread so I am just gonna toss it here.

Overall, it is well-made. I know in real life I don't get along with people who resemble Misha and Shizune (dominating-and-aggressive-aura) and I am afraid I'd be biased - so I'll only give feedback for other four girls (- or three; since Emi, Rin, and Hanako are the only paths I've finished completely).

First, probably it has been mentioned several times, that Hanako's path is quite lacking of depth. Considering her behaviour around stranger, I assumed she must have had some quite traumatic experiences. She is definitely far beyond 'shy'. She is aloof and often withdraw from crowd on purpose. There are people who simply like being alone but there are also those who do not like crowd hence they go alone. I think Hanako is the latter. To be noted, my opinion is likely influenced by how sexual intercourse is viewed in my society - but honestly, I think the sexual intercourse is out of the place. What implies in that scene is "Hanako trusts Hisao that much so she lets Hisao know her deepest secret" - but, wait a minute. Considering her insecurities around strangers, it is unlikely sex will happen.

Alright, just what has Hisao done to her? He basically tried to be friendly and understand her issues - but that is all. We (Hisao) don't even know the history of Hanako' accident. Such accident must be one of experiences that influences your life much. If it is that traumatic, if that memory makes us want to hate ourselves, we will try to forget it, repress it to such extent that no one will ever know but us. When we decide to be open about it to someone, it is really a big decision. Even Lily doesn't know anything about Hanako's past. Hisao, if it implies that he makes quite significance for Hanako, I can't see it. To say the truth, Hanako's bad ending makes more sense and I like that more than its good ending.

However I don't know how it would be put into Japanese culture context since Katawa Shoujo was taken place in Japan. If sexual intercourse does not have that much of meaning, that it's more likely Hanako will give in to Hisao.


Second, about Ami's path. I am not sure but after I play the complete KS, I just like her less. Out of Hanako and Rin, her sex-scenes occured more frequent. But, yeah, unlike Hanako, I can put her case more plausible. She covered up her insecurity by being defensive and independent hence also encourage her to be more pushy and blunt. She is not afraid to express herself in the same time being carefree. I don't see any problem with it - but I actually hope for more stories about her father.


Lastly, Rin's path. Again, it is probably biased - but since her personality is the one I can relate the most, I am sure that her path is very well-written. It is described perfectly, how Rin seems ignorant about her outer world while she is actually always insecure about herself. We can see the moments she is troubled about her relationship with others; Hisao and Emi for instance. She is not sure about 'the others' - people who live outside of her world. For her, it seems so distant. I like how Hisao eventually connects to her world. Trying to understand Rin can be frustrating - but it is worth the effort.

I'd like to thank the writers of this path. I really enjoy Rin's story - and to say the truth, there were so many occasions when I feel like shedding some tears. No, it is not because I feel sad; she is not one of tear-jerking tragedies, but simply understanding her insecurities and how she struggles to figure them out; her case seems familiar for me. Complexly simple.

And - good job at ripping off the wall-of-text parts. The demo version could be unbearable sometimes. It felt like you read a novel instead of *visual* novel. Thanks for creating this project. I enjoy it.

[Saucium]

I understand that different writers handled different scenarios. This is one of KS' greatest strengths; it's also one of the visual novel's greatest weaknesses.

On one hand, we get treated to a variety of writing styles that bring out the best in each character. Comedy, drama, and romance make for good variety across routes. These make for excellent replay value. I also personally feel that the writers did their very best with what they've been given. Backstories were fleshed out very well, for the most part. Characters are also very believable and memorable--even the ones I don't particularly care for.

On the other hand, the unevenness and inconsistency of the writing becomes clearer the more routes one finishes. It may be partly due to the nature of the heroines that dominate each route, but some scenarios flow more smoothly than others. Some end rather abruptly (Hanako), while others do not seem to have a clearly-defined major conflict like the others do (Shizune). Some routes lend themselves to more subtlety (Rin) while others are classic scenarios given a new spin (Lilly, Emi). I also felt that certain scenarios should have been included, yet were simply left out or incorporated into one of the major heroine's routes (Yuuko and Misha, for instance).

The flaws are minor, though. The developers did a superb job with this one. It's a worthy finished product after several years' investment of blood, sweat and tears.

[kungasi]

downloaded it last night, been playing for about 2 hours so far, as of this posting i have just started act 2, going for Hanako
the amount of work that was put into it, all from one omake page at that, is astounding, the fact that it was made by a bunch of people on the internet instead of an actual company is even more amazing and i love that you guys released it for free

thoughts so far based on progress to act 2:
positive:
love the characters, love how Misha tries to convey the same emotion Shizune has when signing, really just like how each pair compliments each other
artwork is great, lol'd when i saw that Mike Inel did some of the promo art since im mostly familiar with his NSFW art
love the soundtrack, thx for getting a download set up for it
always laugh whenever i hear a BANG! and see Misha pop up on screen
love how all the main female characters have positive outlooks despite their disabilities

negative:
Hisano's arrhythmia, not that big a deal though, find it a little weird how he'd have to go to a school for students with disabilities just for that, however given his age when it hit, i can kinda understand why they'd do that, again, very small and only gripe i have

wtf:
Kenji, aside from being blind, i also think he's paranoid and/or a bit schizophrenic (possibly both, if thats true dont tell me plz, would like to find out on my own if its stated later in game), although i love the interactions with him the most since they're so crazy you can't help but laugh

also, does disabling adult content affect the story at all or will i just not see any NSFW pics? dont really wanna ruin the image of the girls by seeing them nude, as weird as that may sound...

love the game so far awesome work guys

[Mirage_GSM]

You will still see nudity, even if you disable adult content. Only explicit scenes will be disabled.
The amount of story you miss by disabling the scenes varies from path to path. On Shizune's path you won't miss much of importance, while on Hanako's path the scene is integral to the plot. Other paths somewhere in between that. (That's only my opinion, though.)