Katawa Shoujo Forums

I've been stuck at 1 arc to completion for a very long time now. The arc I am left with is Shizune's arc. I went Hanako>Emi>Rin>Lilly. It is really frustrating because I have almost completely no drive to play Shizune's arc. Shizune doesn't appeal to me at all because she is hardly my type and more than ever I feel held back by all the previous girls. But I yearn for 100% completion just for the sake of finishing the game once and for all, and to be able to post my complete review/surveys. Whenever I start the game on my desktop and the music plays and I am reminded of all that heart-wrenching pain in the previous arcs. I don't even feel attracted to Shizune at all. Every arc I've played through she's been a pain in the ass(sorry Shizune fans) and that's why I am pretty damn stuck between a rock and a hard place. I don't know if anyone will reply anything constructive It's not that I don't think you guys on the forum are nice but it's just that maybe I shouldn't even be posting this thing here it's so retarded and people will think that it's pretty much the same as every other "oh-i-finished-x-arc-and-i-can't-start-on-the-next" thread I'm not even sure I'm doing the right thing here but I don't care anymore it's been too long just so sick and tired of trying not to spoil myself about a girl I'm not even genuinely interested in yet not being able to say "I completed Katawa Shoujo" making my judgement incomplete then I feel inferior and uninformed during discussions.


Sorry.

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Oh it's not easy. But if you think of it as a kind of 'Groundhog Day' that you play over and over again till you get it right it become easier.
Then from the 'extras' menu you can replay your favourite scenes over and over.

I started Shizune last and finished her second to last. I had overall similar feelings to you, maybe milder.

WARNING : Spoilers concerning the end of Shizune's path and how to get it.

If you really dislike her, well, do what I did. Go purposely for the bad ending once.

First of all, for private reasons, the option to cheat was just so goddamn tempting, and since I didn't feel emotionally connected to Shizune (while her route is OK, and her character is quite well-done and belieavable, I simply dislike people like her).

In fact, Shizune's route is done in a very interesting way. I guess it help sometimes that
you don't have as many "feels".

But the decision you need to make to obtain the bad ending literally seems to have no outcome whatsoever except for getting the bad end itself. In the end, the breakup seems to be Shizune's fault and thus, you are left... with less guilt.

Let me correct myself that I absolutely
do not promote cheating and wouldn't do it IRL - I'd sooner break off the relationship, first. I still felt quite bad for doing it especially since there seemed to be no increased connection to the character that offered the option...

Last arc hardest to finish?

I went through Lilly's last (and IMO I find it rather overly...soap opera-ish with the ending and all that), and by god do I lost that drive to finish it. Why is it so hard? It's not because I went through the routes of other girls, or because I like Shizune's route the most (for its subtlety). But because you just DON'T WANT IT TO END!

Is that it? THAT'S IT??? We're not gonna' see anymore Shizune, Misha, Hanako, Lilly, Rin, and Emi!?? I CAN'T ACCEPT THAT!! I CAAAAAAAAAAANNNN'TTTT!!

I would recommend approaching Shizune's arc like it's a book your friend told you to read or something. You don't have to get emotionally invested and you hardly have to decide anything at all; just detach yourself from the story and I've found it to be a lot more enjoyable.

As for getting to her arc, if you don't want specific instructions, as a general guideline make decisions early on that show you are confident and in control, just like Shizune is[/spoler]. The rest of the 100% completion depends on whether or not you go for Emi at the same time you are going for Shizune. Hopefully that's vague enough to still let you figure it out for yourself.

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As a giant Shizune fan, I need to admit that her route is one of the hardest to read and really enjoy compared to the others. I can't really recommend choosing it as your last arc to read: it's better suited to being one of the early or middle ones.

I also agree with others that its much better on a second or third read-through. Even going back through the library (doing "research" for Weekend at Hisao's) made me appreciate all those little nuances that I never noticed the first time through: mostly what Misha was REALLY doing the whole time.

Rivan wrote:But the decision you need to make to obtain the bad ending literally seems to have no outcome whatsoever except for getting the bad end itself. In the end, the breakup seems to be Shizune's fault and thus, you are left... with less guilt.

LOL what?? Shizune wasn't the one who cheated on her boyfriend with his best (and only) friend, shattering his self-esteem and said relationship with best friend! She might have been the one to say it was over, but it was definitely Hisao's fault.

Also, I wholeheartedly agree that you shouldn't read Shizune's arc to get a huge emotional response, especially the first time. It's probably the most subtle in the way it's written, so just read it and go along with what's happening, like reading a book. I personally really liked her arc, (and did have a lot of feelings the first time I played her route) but... I'm a Shizune fangirl. I didn't feel much at all during Lilly's so don't be ashamed if you don't! It's okay to not like characters or the storyline in their respective routes.

DrSkulk wrote:It certainly is different when you play Shizune's route and then play someone else's, compared to just playing their route without Shizune's influence. It's like missing a whole character (with a little exaggeration). Hearing her through Misha cannot compare to actively conversing with her.

QFT. I'm pretty glad I played Shizune's route first because it made me understand her intentions in the other routes better.

One other thing? If you sincerely don't want to do Shizune's route, don't do it. There are plenty of people on the forums who only do one or two routes, don't be ashamed that you didn't complete the game.

One other thing? If you sincerely don't want to do Shizune's route, don't do it. There are plenty of people on the forums who only do one or two routes, don't be ashamed that you didn't complete the game.

Completing the game just makes you feel depressed for a moment after you realized there won't be 'KS2', a sequel, etc. and that it's over. Time to head to the mishimie or the fic section...

...devs if you're reading this, pleasepleasepleaseplease churn out an expansion pack or something along that line. I think I'm addicted to the feels, the hhhhhhnngggs, and the [...] and I need my fix now...

Megumeru wrote:...devs if you're reading this, pleasepleasepleaseplease churn out an expansion pack or something along that line. I think I'm addicted to the feels, the hhhhhhnngggs, and the [...] and I need my fix now...

There, there. That's what fan fiction is for. The story of KS has been told, and there's nothing more to tell. It would just ruin it.

Megumeru wrote:Why is it so hard? It's not because I went through the routes of other girls, or because I like Shizune's route the most (for its subtlety). But because you just DON'T WANT IT TO END!

Is that it? THAT'S IT??? We're not gonna' see anymore Shizune, Misha, Hanako, Lilly, Rin, and Emi!?? I CAN'T ACCEPT THAT!! I CAAAAAAAAAAANNNN'TTTT!!

This so much.

In fact, this is what I thought the topic was gonna be about before I opened it. I've only gone through 3 arcs so far, although two of them were, in my mind, exceptional. And I've heard that Hanako's route is one of the best as well, and Rin's is arguably the best written. But I'm pacing myself, because I don't want to blast through them in a day (which I could easily do) and then find that I've got no more new KS I can play (which I cannot do =P).

I'm someone who has no problem seeing/reading things repeatedly, I don't mind spoilers as much as other people do, but there's something about playing a story out for the first time which is missing in subsequent times, and as much as I love the stories and will read most if not all of them again, it won't be quite teh same as reading them the first time around.

Also... lulwhut to the side-topic about Shizune's bad ending being her fault. I can't understand how you could draw that conclusion

quellsnarg wrote:

Rivan wrote:But the decision you need to make to obtain the bad ending literally seems to have no outcome whatsoever except for getting the bad end itself. In the end, the breakup seems to be Shizune's fault and thus, you are left... with less guilt.

LOL what?? Shizune wasn't the one who cheated on her boyfriend with his best (and only) friend, shattering his self-esteem and said relationship with best friend! She might have been the one to say it was over, but it was definitely Hisao's fault.

Also, I wholeheartedly agree that you shouldn't read Shizune's arc to get a huge emotional response, especially the first time. It's probably the most subtle in the way it's written, so just read it and go along with what's happening, like reading a book. I personally really liked her arc, (and did have a lot of feelings the first time I played her route) but... I'm a Shizune fangirl. I didn't feel much at all during Lilly's so don't be ashamed if you don't! It's okay to not like characters or the storyline in their respective routes.

It's not that Shizune is to blame for Hisao's actions. It's that Hisao's actions aren't at the core if their breakup. For most of act IV hardly any single line in the game changes after Hisao sleeps with Misha. Even said character herself seems to not acknowledge the fact that they have lead to Shizune being cheated on. Shizune never mentions said action and possibly never learns of it.

Basically, Misha and Hisao get each other off on the side,, Shizune and Hisao proceed with the great "restore pink haired and blue haired girls' relationship", they seem to be doing fine and suddenly Hisao feels isolated for a few short scenes and then Shizune comes to the conclusion that the love triangle is totally screwed up so she will break off all contact with the 2 of them. NEVER is Hisao's and Misha's action in any way tied to Shizune's reaction. Basically, she doesn't know about the whole thing altogether and decides on her own it's just better to run away. I felt a lot less guilty after getting that ending.

Shizune spoilers: Hisao and Misha's affair is actually at the heart of the reason why their friendship/relationship falls apart. Misha fells guilty about what she did and pulls away from Shizune, and Hisao starts getting paranoid that Shizune knows or might find out and starts avoiding her. Shizune realizes this is happening, but doesn't understand why (which is why I think she doesn't know about the affair), and thinks it's her fault and winds up pulling away from her closest friends.