Katawa Shoujo

[Koyasha]

Tried this out, really cute story (the one I wound up with at least) and I liked it, but more than once I felt annoyed and frustrated at the lack of choice points.  Two or three times I realized I'd been clicking through dialogue for two or three (or sometimes more, I think) in-game days without making a single decision, when most of these types of games (that I have played before, at least) have me making numerous decisions each day.  Doesn't really take away from the story, but it was an annoyance once or twice to come to that realization.

[rk47]

From the official forum: You Saved My ex-girlfriend from Committing Suicide

[Simond]

[I played Nanaca Crash, and this is indeed better.

There's lots of fun little achievements, and special characters, most of them with immense amounts of humor attached to them.

Some of the special characters/specials/achievements:

what

E: Ahahahaha! Just saw that one.

[Samwise]

Gotta say, liked this thing much more than I thought I would.  I've gone through each storyline except Lilly's now, since I've been getting that one vicariously via radicalthon.

I think Rin is my favorite, for her hug if nothing else.  I might have teared up a little at that scene.

[rk47]

Sorry if I'm slow :( But the story gets kinda draggy. I'll post more updates tonight.
Oh yeah, did you know 7th February is Lilly's birthday?  Let's buy her a cake or something. 

[Ceryse]

Also playing this based on the stuff here. Actually liking it. Wishing there was more 'game' to it, but the story/dialogue is surprisingly good and worth the time.

[Koyasha]

Yeah, despite my initial annoyance at the lack of choices, I really got hooked into wanting to see more of the stories, and have not been disappointed in doing so.  To my great surprise, I think I like Hanako best so far, despite the fact that the 'extremely shy girl' is a character type I generally do not care for much.

[Tarami]

Yeah, that storyline gets points for having me feel like a cunt.

[rk47]

This seems to belong more in Best thread ever, but here goes:
 
Katawa Shoujo to be part of Conference Papers
By Prof. Coyote
 

My username doesn't lie: I am indeed a college professor at a small college in the southern U.S. I initially heard about KS through KnowYourMeme.com, which had a very popular submission about the game shortly after the full version was released. Out of curiosity, I downloaded and played.
 
I'm a writing professor, so what first drew me in about the experience was how well the game was written and plotted; every possibility accounted for, very much like some of the best traditional print novelists.

So, after playing the whole game, I've come to the conclusion ... and development team, feel free to feel flattered ... that this game deserves academic study, not only for the way it's written but also for the reactions it's triggered in its players. I've never seen a game, visual novel, or any sort of computer entertainment media which had the effect of making its players want to be better people.

So here's what I'm doing: I'm preparing to write a conference paper, to keep on file in case a preferable conference comes up to present it (most likely a conference about popular culture, Internet subculture, or modern psychology). I'm thinking of approaching the paper from a psychological view, that the game can be used to teach elements of empathy to people who may be lacking in it.

Katawa Shoujou: Cure for Aspies

 

[Furiously]

After reading the radicalathon and being burned out on Star Wars I figured why not....

After three and a half hours I looked up and realized it was late.

They really did a great job making the people... people. The main character is probably the weakest.

And OMG! the track-field scene in the storage shed. AWESOME 

[tgr]

I certainly wasn't expecting the track-field curveball. I think that storyline would've been better than lilly's in the radicalthon.

[rk47]

I certainly wasn't expecting the track-field curveball. I think that storyline would've been better than lilly's in the radicalthon.

i fucking hate myself for buying that fruitcake.

[Kitsune]

But we love you for it.

[rk47]

But Lilly doesn't.  She loves that aspie protagonist with heart problem. WHYYYYYYYYYYY CANT I RENAME MYSELFFF WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

I wouldn't feel so bad if he's named Gabe Newell.

[Paelos]

But Lilly doesn't.  She loves that aspie protagonist with heart problem. WHYYYYYYYYYYY CANT I RENAME MYSELFFF WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

I wouldn't feel so bad if he's named Gabe Newell.

To be fair, she doesn't really love him. She just took a wild left turn because for some reason the game demanded it.

I'm still pissed that it made no sense.

[Furiously]

 The approach to safe sex on the various characters is.. Odd.

[Kitsune]

They're teenagers, it's not much of a surprise that they're a little retarded about that.  Emi at least makes a fair effort for protection.

As far as Lily goes, I think it made perfect sense.  We're just friends, we're just friends, HOLYSHITHE'SDYINGNOWAITILOVEYOU.  Putting someone under a sudden threat of something being taken away from them tends to make them cling to it.  Especially because teenagers are insane hormone-bags.  Is it real love?  I wouldn't say so, no; that's the sort of 'love' that can wear off pretty fast once things settle down.  But it could still open the door for something more lasting to grow.

[Furiously]

Hanako story uses protection as well.

[Paelos]

She's blind. You can just tell her you put one on.

[Yegolev]

I don't know where else I would ever find a use for this:

[rk47]

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/590343

[Kitsune]

Playing through this now on the Hanako route; I'm about halfway through and I must say, this is pretty painful. Not like, offensive just really depressing.

I just played through Hanako's story, and I think it's my second favorite after Emi.  It gets fairly unrepentantly grim in spots, but the payoff is excellent.  Shizune's story gets some bonus points for being the only one that made me laugh in spots, but the actual relationshippy aspect seemed weak.

[Furiously]

I'd agree with your ranking...

[rk47]

I don't have the energy to go through a second playthrough and just slogging through Lilly's now. Awful as fuck.

[tgr]

Lilly's was pretty damn surprising, I have to say, but playing through and doing Hanako's storyline was actually a bit more surprising, given the difference in how Hanako behaved/developed in those two storylines, and Emi was nothing like the other two.

I'm curious as to what the other storylines play out like, now.

[Samwise]

Rin is utterly fucked in the head.  I think she's my favorite character, but her storyline is depressing as hell.

[Kitsune]

Rin's just sorta confusing.  Most of the people in the game have a straightforward 'bad thing X happened, so person has some issues they're dealing with'.  And it makes a great deal of sense.  But Rin's issues don't seem to involve her arms in the slightest, rather they involve her being completely batshitzania for apparently totally unrelated reasons.

One of the things that really struck me about the writing of this game is that Hisao turns out completely different in the different storylines.  Some of the girls lead him to be healthier, some lead him to be smarter, they start him on different hobbies and give him different perspectives on things.  I'm used to games where the protagonist changes others, but not where the protagonist is changed as well.  Aside from lightside/darkside 'ooh your character's wearing black and edgy now' things that only really change appearances.

Having started with Emi's story with her health and exercise bent made it stand out a lot for me in other playthroughs where Hisao's getting winded just walking around a while.  And that was neat.

[Severian]

The problem with Rin & Hisao as a couple doesn't lie with Rin.

[taolurker]

[I played Nanaca Crash, and this is indeed better.

There's lots of fun little achievements, and special characters, most of them with immense amounts of humor attached to them.

Some of the special characters/specials/achievements:

what

E: Ahahahaha! Just saw that one.

I chuckle nearly every time it happens in game. It's a nostalgia comedy moment.

Finally got a decent screen cap
Gabe Newell and Obama also causes me to smile. Lots of humor, and great when watching patchers for MMOs.

New high score!!