Katawa Shoujo Forums

My two cents, beyond all the other points the others have mentioned.

I don't know how to put it more elegantly, but it's probably the fact that it can circumvent my emotional defenses. I've built up a pretty significant resistance to reacting to any kind of emotionally evocative material over the years. I finished my first couple of routes and realised that for the first time in about a decade, I was shedding manly tears over media.

This is a bishoujo game set at a school for the disabled, made by people from 4chan based on a sketch they found in the back of a Miyazaki hentai doujinshi: quite possibly one of the most impressive recipes for disaster in Internet history. And yet, it turned out to be this. That's something worth standing in awe of all by itself.

Other than that, while I love the writing and music, this game taught me the importance of the director: the one who takes the game's various elements and brings them together for maximum effect. I have played games with better writing than KS (though not many), and I have played one or two games with better music than KS, but I can honestly say that I haven't played anything with this degree of directorial skill. It's a pity that having worked on this game is probably blackmail material, because it should be launching someone's career.

Damn, yes. It's far greater than the sum of its parts would suggest. Bastion comes to mind as another example.

What I like most are the charecters, especially the Five Main Girls. Each of them had their stories and I loved expernieing all of them and getting to know and understand them better. I felt as though understanding each of them and where they came from was the biggest reward I got from KS. Which is why I feel alot fo the Ship to Ship combat and charecter hating that is going on is kinda stupd and petty. I'd be more specific but I might get into trouble.

What I like about KS? Damn, that's a tall order.

I love how many of the feelings in this game I can relate to. I don't have a condition of any kind, but I could really relate to Hisao's fish out of water experience when transferring to Yamaku - I was a city boy most of my life, and moved out into a rural area right before starting High School. I was moving from an environment full of things to do, places to go, cars and traffic and people and what have you, into an area with a whopping total of three occupied houses on my block and woods as far as the eye can see. And being someone that was never a real social butterfly, having known only a few people well in the city, I had to try and find a way to fit in somewhere and make new friends. That's just one of them, there's countless other moments, bits of dialogue, things that reminds me of good times - that I couldn't list them all if I tried (and wouldn't just for the sake of having some sense of brevity).

On that note, the writing in this game is absolutely top notch. I was really, really apprehensive about playing this after a few of my friends talked about it, since I'm not into anime (that may be the wrong term, but I feel it's close enough for a layman like myself) at all. But against my usual taste, I dived into it because, well, I wanted to see why they were glowing about it. At first, I found it to be really slow, but as I started making choices, and seeing a path develop, I gradually grew more and more sucked into it, and before I knew it, I found myself grinning ear to ear when I managed to arrive at Emi's good ending. The game was able to take me out of my comfort zone and give me an amazing, thought-provoking experience on the strength of it's writing alone, and opened me up a bit more to something that wasn't really my thing.

All in all, the game is really great. I'm glad I took the chance on it, because I can't get these characters out of my head, and I got a great experience out of the deal. Kudos, Four Leaf Studios.

I think this can actually be reduced to one point: KS respects its characters. Something which is not exactly common enough in fiction.

Synthus wrote:Bastion comes to mind as another example.

This. Holy balls was that the best 10 bucks I ever spent.

Everything except for the fact that there's no Misha route.

Mysterious Stranger wrote:Everything except for the fact that there's no Misha route.

I'd kinda like a Miki Miura route as well. She's HOT!!!


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I think the things I like are what I put in the "What does Katawa Shoujo mean to you?" thread. But I shall say again.

I loved the story lines behind each character. The character development, the conversations, the art. I really loved most of what Katawa Shoujo has.

I liked that I was able to relate to it, and it made me feel. It was a story that hooked me in and kept me wanting more.

I liked the lessons that it taught.

I guess I was just sad there wasn't an epilogue for Hanako, but I still liked it more than anything I can remember in recent history.