Katawa Shoujo Forums

Actualy it's not a game at all, just something I noticed while playing and think is pretty interesting.
I didn't know KS before it's release, I heared the name before since I occasionaly visite 4chan and I remember someone mentioning and reccomending it.

When I started the game for the first time and looked through the readme, the priorities in my head in which order I wanted to play the stories pretty much formed to:
1.Hanako
2.Shizune
3.Emi
4.Rin
5.Lilly

Throughout act 1 however, this soon changed to:
1.Rin
2.Hanako
3.Emi
4.Shizune
5.Lilly

Since I took every path as it came and only reloaded from an earlier state after finishing a storyline I ended up with:
1.Emi
2.Lilly
3.Hanako
4.Rin
5.Shizune

Now, after having played though the whole thing, my priority list would be:
1.Hanako
2.Emi
3.Lilly
4.Rin
5.Shizune


I could go into deeper reasoning and all but I want to keep this simple, there are enough story discussion threads around.
How was it for you guys?

1. Hanako
2. Shizune
3. Lilly
4. Rin
5. Emi

its a tough list to stand by really, becuase they all had redeeming qaulities; but on instinct and after insight into each of them, that would be my list.

1.) Hanako
2.) Rin
3.) Lilly
4.) Emi/Shizune
5.) Shizune/ Emi

This is just my own opinion after 100% completion, but really its hard to list them as again they all had redeeming features that appeal to different people.

I started out with:

1. Shizune
2. Hanako
3. Emi
4. Rin
5. Lilly

End of Act 1 (first playthrough):

1. Emi
2. Hanako
3. Shizune
4. Rin/Lilly

After playing four of the five routes:

1. Lilly
...
...
...
2. Hanako
...
...
3. Emi/Shizune
4. Shizune/Emi
...
5. Rin

With Rin's route being the only one I haven't completed yet.

The order I went through the game is in my signature, but I think the best order to go through them is

1. Shizune
2. Emi
3. Hanako/Lilly
4. Lilly/Hanako (whoever you didn't pick)
5. Rin

The order I'm doing them (which is the order I planned) is:

1 - Hanako
2 - Rin
3 - Shizune
4 - Emi
5 - Lilly

But, unless Lilly's route gives me the same emotional impact as Emi's, or better, my priority order would be

1 - Rin
2 - Hanako
3 - Shizune
4 - Lilly
5 - Emi

I like going best-for-last

I started the game without having read anything, so I was just meeting the girls in real time and figuring out which were romanceable, which is pretty much everyone except Misha and Yuuko (which I hoped were possible to get).

My order came to be:

1. Shizune/Misha (was kinda disappointed by her route, actually, and was hoping to end up with Misha instead - busted)
2. Lilly
3. Rin
4. Hanako
5. Emi

After a bitter taste (imo) from Shizune, I created the "happiest route" topic and my order changed to:

1. Shizune (already done)
2. Hanako
3. Emi
4. Lilly
5. Rin

When I started I really wanted to do:
1. Hanako - she was easily the cutest of all of them.
2. Rin - I love strange girls
3. Emi - A loli! Yay!
4. Shizune - Meh, kind of plain.
5. Lilly - High-class type? Not my type. (Would come to regret this)

But how it ended was:
1. Emi - accidentally got onto her route when I promised to exercise more. I really like lolis, so it worked out.
2. Rin - stumbled upon her route while experimenting on what would happen if I rejected everyone else. Had a really hard time with her.
3. Shizune - really obvious choices, so I figured what the hell. Her story was full of events, and yet was pretty boring.
4. Lilly - seriously regretted not doing her immediately. Loved her story, it was the most formulaic of them all. Surprising how the TV series convention is the VN rarity.
5. Hanako - had a very hard time just getting onto her route, and I saved her specifically for last after finishing Emi. Was so worthwhile

I think it's best to play in this order, alternating and contrasting the stories.
1. Shizune - get the easiest route out first.
2. Emi - relatable story, cast of characters contrasts with Shizune's route, slight emotional tension.
3. Lilly or Hanako - their storylines are pretty intertwined, and both of them, in my opinion, are emotional rollercoasters. Don't take them one after the other, so it won't feel redundant.
4. Rin - a nice breather from the last story, as well as a good challenge after what have been pretty much cakewalks. Pretty deep story, as well, tying with Emi's as the most human of the stories.
5. Hanako or Lilly - the other emotional rollercoaster. Perfect for ending the game on a high note, with a smile and a warmed heart, guaranteed from either of them

geno93n0 wrote:When I started I really wanted to do:
1. Hanako - she was easily the cutest of all of them.
2. Rin - I love strange girls
3. Emi - A loli! Yay!
4. Shizune - Meh, kind of plain.
5. Lilly - High-class type? Not my type. (Would come to regret this)

But how it ended was:
1. Emi - accidentally got onto her route when I promised to exercise more. I really like lolis, so it worked out.
2. Rin - stumbled upon her route while experimenting on what would happen if I rejected everyone else. Had a really hard time with her.
3. Shizune - really obvious choices, so I figured what the hell. Her story was full of events, and yet was pretty boring.
4. Lilly - seriously regretted not doing her immediately. Loved her story, it was the most formulaic of them all. Surprising how the TV series convention is the VN rarity.
5. Hanako - had a very hard time just getting onto her route, and I saved her specifically for last after finishing Emi. Was so worthwhile

I think it's best to play in this order, alternating and contrasting the stories.
1. Shizune - get the easiest route out first.
2. Emi - relatable story, cast of characters contrasts with Shizune's route, slight emotional tension.
3. Lilly or Hanako - their storylines are pretty intertwined, and both of them, in my opinion, are emotional rollercoasters. Don't take them one after the other, so it won't feel redundant.
4. Rin - a nice breather from the last story, as well as a good challenge after what have been pretty much cakewalks. Pretty deep story, as well, tying with Emi's as the most human of the stories.
5. Hanako or Lilly - the other emotional rollercoaster. Perfect for ending the game on a high note, with a smile and a warmed heart, guaranteed from either of them

I played:

1. Shizune
2. Emi
3. Hanako
4. Rin
5. Lilly

and can say it was really great for me to play it in that order and end the game in a high note with the prologue.

My order was:

1. Rin
2. Hanako
3. Emi
4. Lilly
5. Shizune

My favorites:

1. Rin - 10/10
2. Hanako 9.8/10
3. Lilly 8.8/10
4. Emi 7.5/10
5. Shizune 3/10

What I intended:
1. Hanako: Mysterious, and quite cute. Someone I would probably go for in reality. (Shy girls <3)
2. Rin: Very interesting girl, the oddball ones are usually one of my favorites
3. Lilly: She seemed like someone I could get along with.
4.Emi: Jock girl = eh.
5. Shizune: Odd, since I usually have a bit of a fetish for meganekko.

What happened:

1. Emi: Oops, I accidentally agreed to exercise. A great route, though. She's adorable.
2. Hanako: Wanted to get back on track asap. An awesome route; Hanako is definitely my favorite.
3. Kenji: In a failed attempt to get onto Rin's path, I pretty much ignored every girl other than her. Turns out I didn't get many choices with her, so ended up here. Nice palate cleanser after the heart-wrenchiness of the last two.
4. Lilly: I loved this route, the twist at the end is so cruel yet so effective. Lilly and Hanako are my favorite pair in the game.
5. Shizune: Quite boring, though I ended up liking Shizune a lot more than I did before. Her dad's an asshole though. This is where I got my first bad ending for the Misha H-Scene. Made me feel like a jackass though. Also, Kenji's a bishounen. :O
6. Rin: Oh my god. This was a great path. The writing was so good that the ending left me in a contemplative state that I can't quite seem to shake out of.

If you're going to play every story, I recommend them in this order:

1: Hanako
2: Emi
3: Rin
4: Shizune
5: Lilly

I feel like the really emotionally heavy ones (Hanako, Rin) should be spaced out with less impacting stories (Emi, Shizune)

I think people are taking this thread in different ways and I'm not exactly sure what the OP intended.

I had played the demo ages ago and I don't really remember the order I did the girls in. I did it by what came naturally to me, not by what I wanted first per se... I think it was this but I'm not 100% sure:
1) Emi
(Kenji)
2) Rin
3) Hanako
4) Lilly
5) Shizune

(Afterwards I was really glad I saved the "bitchy" character for last because Shizune ended up as my favorite. Funny how that happens!)

When I downloaded the game, I was originally going to play in this order to balance how much I saw each character (and to balance my favorite/"least favorite" girls):
1) Shizune
2) Lilly
3) Emi
4) Hanako
5) Rin

But then after seeing a lot of Lilly in Shizune's route, I switched Lilly and Hanako, and I think that was a wise choice for me in particular. I got pretty upset after Hanako's ending and Emi's story was a little reprieve for me, and my favorite of all the routes, whereas I think that if I had finished Hanako's route and gone on to Rin's, I would have been too drained to finish playing. Anyway, ending with Rin was good for me because I think the writing was the best in her route and, even though she and Emi swapped places on my list, I still really liked her character development and the story. A high note, intellectually.

Lemme see...

Before any playing:
Hanako,
Shizune,
Rin,
Emi,
Lilly.

After Act I:
Shizune and Rin,
Hanako,
Lilly,
Emi.

So far in my playthrough:
Shizune,
Lilly,
Hanako,
Rin.

I haven't completed Emi's route yet, and Rin's is so melancholy that I couldn't bring myself to play the game for a few days. It was an absolutely beautiful experience, but it was just so... sad. I'm starting with the best and ending with the best. I still feel awful for Rin during her route and was pretty much screaming (in my quiet voice) for Hisao to help her, despite knowing I couldn't do any better myself.

Interesting, I guess I'll share my experience

When started the game:
1. Hanako
2. Emi
3. Lilly
4. Shizune
5. Rin

I kept things natural playing, so this is the order I bumped into why playing, I don't choose something based on which girl it could affect, so this the order I ended up with:
1. Emi - It felt... strange.
2. Rin - Got bad ending first, better than bad ending second, good end last => Total facepalm for me. T_T
3. Hanako - For the bad end, I had to think a bit, strange... since it's the good end that you should be thinking about the choices XD
4. Lilly - To my surprise, no real bad end.
5. Shizune - When I go back for the bad ending, I was really surprised... and sad, too.

You said there's enough discussion around, so I just put in some of the (how I get the) bad endings facts XP
I almost feel really sad since I got all the good endings (except for Rin's story) on first time around and had to go back just to see the other endings >_>