Katawa Shoujo Act 1 Preview feedback thread

[ai-honey]

Been enjoying everything so far!

Played through once and got Emi's ending. Just played back and did Hanako then skipped back a little and did Lilly.

.. I'm not so bothered on the other girls but I'll do it anyway I expect.

[Xzone]

I have to say, I wasn't a fan of VN's up until now at all. I played Yume Miru Kusuri, and it didn't manage to sell me on the genre. I might not have been in the right mindset, I don't know. After playing that game, it was clear to me, that VN's are just not for me. Oh boy, I was wrong!

Katawa Shoujo simply blew me away! Excellent character design, great directing and clever, witty dialogue were the first things I noticed. Later, I had to realize, that the game had completely sucked me in! I find myself caring about the characters, events and emotions on screen. I haven't been this excited about... anything really for a long time.

I heard about KS like a year ago, thought it was just a sick joke/parody/sophisticated trolling. That's exactly what I expected when I downloaded the trial version.
The masterful piece of art I got instead has to be one of the most pleasant surprises I've experienced in my life!

Keep up the good work!

[E-AK-M]

I'd like to congratulate the staff for an excellent job so far. I checked out the Act 1 preview last night and ended up staying awake until 5:15 AM to play the whole thing to 100% with all endings. At least I didn't have to work today. I think that everything has been well-executed so far, and I enjoyed each character's individual ending as well. I think it may be difficult to pick one girl on my first playthrough of the forthcoming finished product.

The only minor issues like typos I noticed during the playthrough have already been pointed out. I'm looking forward to the continuation.

Godspeed!

[FSX]

I followed the link from MT - the story was better than I expected, having not played one of these games before.

I made all my own natural choices, not going after any particular character. So I was pleased to get Rin's ending on my first and likely only playthrough, it was nicely paced and the lack of busy dialogue suited her character. Reading the character info section before downloading the game made me think I'd find her character interesting, so it's good that my natural choices lead to her.

BIG POINT - Please can you allow the full game to continue from the point that the demo leaves off from? I'd really rather not replay 4 hours of the game again.

Good work guys. Top stuff.

[FSX]

Sorry - by that I mean importing the save game from the demo into the full version, so we carry on with the same story arc, same character, etc.

It would really help if we had the option.

[IndyElsdragon]

Ok, I must first say that I am giving feedback in hopes that this game will be finished one day.

Originally I went into this game/story with little to no knowledge about it; it was simply something I heard mentioned on some forum or the like.

From my first impression I assumed it was a dating game however the story was absolutely spectacular. I’ve played three or so Japanese dating games in the past however most of them seemed a bit rash and provocative; needless to say they got tiresome rather quickly . However after two hours I realized this was not really a dating game per say and more so a story with visuals . The lack of options made this quite clear and irritating ; yet I proceeded and was blessed with everything this "demo" has to offer!

Here’s where the review part comes in: Visuals were great; everything seemed very skillfully crafted and the motions of characters and backgrounds seemed flawless! The music caught me off guard as I had my speakers off for the first hour; the first time I heard the music I was so happy, it's absolutely perfect for the feel of the game! I must mention the overall feel of the game, it's PERFECT! I didn’t find myself thinking about how out of place the personal narrations felt or anything of the like. The scripting was also excellent and felt like something an author could be proud of. All the characters had depth and uniqueness. The use of comedy and other plot devices was perfect. So far the romance doesn’t seem so far fetched either, none of those "That could never happen to me" events. The nurse gives off the aura I would expect for this, so don't alter his role/character please. The boarders, screens, background, music, and overall style is perfect please don't alter it. Overall I just absaluetly love this game and it's cute innocent love story feel.

Now it's time to list so improvements, not that they are really necessary . There were many places early on that seemed like a perfect to place more options, however I’m not so sure this is necessary . Also early in the game some of the hallways I would have expected to see atleast a small crowd of faceless figures. And least of all, sometimes well playing the game I get a slight feeling that all the males are portrayed as idiots; this is not an immediate issue (note that I have taken the Lilly story approach if it makes a difference) as it is not a solid issue and may mostly be attributed to Kenji .

Ok I just can't bring myself to think of anymore bad things about this game however there was one thing I wanted to note that means a lot to me. This story, being how it is, is on the track to being something really great. I understand that the team has full intentions of including henti/sex options later on, I just want to say that I hope you keep them at just that: options. This story means a lot to me as it is, beyond it's general dating game value. I hope you are truly able to continue as is and possibly have alternative options to disable sex related routes. So I may choose to play the game in the form of innocent high school true love story or the provocative love sim game story. It would mean more than you would ever know to me and I'm sure I’m not alone on this. However ultimately the choices are up to you, no pressure LOL, however I do feel this story can have a lot of value in it. You should consider spending a significant amount of effort in promoting it across the web when finished . You may be surprised but this may actually have implications on real individuals lives.

Anyhow I’m done babbling and crying and really want to thank you so much for what you have done so far. Normally I'm not the type to post replies to any type of web-things but this really hit where it counts. It would be the biggest shame I could imagine if you were to join the millions of other unfinished web projects and so my best wishes are with all of you.

Thank you so much and the best of luck!

[Cazzah]

Overall an excellent game and a truly professional work

-Eri path was too easy to end up going for - I wanted to stay fit and healthy so I chose the options that came naturally - didn't really want to end up down the Eri path *shrugs*
-Panty shot in the tension scene is out of place - not really needed.
-Kenji in the bathroom - the leaf feels stupid - either give him a towel, theres fog down there or whatever.
-I never picked up that everytime Shizune said something there was a "..." from her. Playing through it again knowing that it totally changes the tone. Perhaps some way to make this really obvious to the players (maybe "..." *sign language* the first few times, no idea)
- The Misha Shizune path needs work - I didn't find it funny or realistic- all it was was endless "come join the club" etc Don't really see the romance potential in there - Misha was just annoying and Shizune came across as more of a bitch than a strong minded personality
- The Eri path needs some work too - she needs a hook and more of a unique personality / background to get something out of that.
-When you replay the endings with the library the moment it gets to the credits it suddenly cuts out - feels a bit too abrupt.

Particular favourites was the Rin path - you went for a really unique path with a unique character and it worked well. And thanks for a Linux release :3

All in all these are minor quibbles and I look forward to the full release

[Scyth]

-I never picked up that everytime Shizune said something there was a "..." from her. Playing through it again knowing that it totally changes the tone. Perhaps some way to make this really obvious to the players (maybe "..." *sign language* the first few times, no idea)
e

I think that's to show when it's really Shizune talking instead of Misha. Shizune tends to always talk after her "...", while otherwise it's really Misha talking.

[Tommy Atkins]

I can't say that I'm a fan of visual novels, but I'm really impressed with the demo. One question, though - does Lilly no longer play the violin? That was honestly one of my favourite things about her.

[silverleaftree]

I know I'm just repeating others, but I have to say: great job!

I think Misha and Kenji were the most interesting characters of all: please continue what you're doing with them! I can't really imagine Shizune without Misha around: they act as great foils to each other. Whenever Kenji was left alone with Shizune, things just didn't seem to flow well. The one-sided dialogue, as well as the constant reminder "But she can't understand what I'm saying" probably caused this.

The way Misha talks is awesome: I hope Hisao never learns sign language so I get to hear Misha throughout Shizuna's whole path. The whole idea of not knowing where Shizune's thoughts end and where Misha's begins is done very well. I can't help but feel the writer playing a game with my head whenever I read Misha's dialogue. (This is great!)

Kenji was really interesting, but maybe you could have him interact more with the rest of the cast. I know he's a hikki, but there's so much potential in some of the scenes when he runs into some of the girls, such as the painting scene.

I also especially liked the writing style: the little puns seemed to fit right in. I always miss these whenever I'm reading a translation.

Keep up the good work, I'll wait patiently for the full release.

[TandemStryfe]

During Rin's ending.

"Rin, sitting next to me, the lound bangs of the fireworks..."

[Plattes]

I was quite surprised. The concept seemed destined for a shock-porn freak show, but it ended up as an amazingly well-told and touching story. The art and music both felt quite professional. The art was certainly better than a number of commercial VNs, *cough*Higurashi*cough* and the music felt quite nostalgic, kinda like it was hearkening back to the town music from a 16-bit RPG.

A few criticisms:
-The "class over" chimes can mix pretty badly with some of the music. If there's a way to fade out the music while you're playing a sound effect, that might help things a bit.
-Muto's face seems odd given the rest of the art.
-When Lilly's expression changes while her eyes are closed, the overlap in the shift in her eyelids makes it look like she's opening her eyes to reveal pure white. I don't know if there's a good way to change this, but it looks weird.
-Some spots, like the fireworks, seemed to cause the program to choke a bit.
-One of the tracks seemed to warp the sound a bit right before it loops, but I'm not sure if that's intentional or not, and I can't remember which it was.

Good luck with the rest of your efforts. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the completed game.

[Kilvoctu]

I am amazingly impressed with the quality of this demo. I'm glad I randomly stumbled upon it, and so soon after this release. I could go on and on about it but it's late, and I need to sleep for school in a few hours (see what the game did to me!). I'm hoping the full release will keep this standard.

On a side note, I really love Hanako! Make sure to keep her story (and her in general) really sweet and adorable ...

Something I noticed (may or may not have been stated as I'm pressed for time and can't read the whole thread):
- Music tracks' volume levels seem uneven. I found myself repeatedly adjusting the volume to keep the decibel levels consistent.. Maybe it's just me?


I'm really glad I was just browsing around anime news stuff today because I found this gem. I will be certainly keeping tabs on this release and offering my support.

[Kisho]

Just thought of some feedback I can give that isn't just mindless fanboyishness!

Sometimes, it seems like the girls could use a couple more animations. For example, when Rin shakes her head according to the story, she's animated as turning her entire body left and right rapidly. It looks a little silly, in all honesty. If there was an animation where only her head turned, it'd look a lot better! There are a couple other examples of where the characters could use more animations (especially someone like Shizune, who relies on the movements of her body to communicate), as well.

[Dop]

Well, I've never played anything like this before, but I read about this game and when I saw there was a Mac version I downloaded Act 1 more out of curiosity than anything else.

I liked it. First time through I got the Emi ending, then I somehow managed to get the Kenji ending twice(!) before getting the Shizune ending. I thought the artwork in some of cafe scenes was particularly nice!

The game did crash on me twice, when I was using 'Skip' to bypass parts I'd been through before.

Looking forward to the finished article.