Disabled Girl Dating Sim Katawa Shoujo Finally Available

[darthotaku]

damn. it sounds like a decent game, but the website's still down. so I'll comment in the hopes that I won't lose the page and can find it later when its up again.

 

[Knight Templar]

It's not bad, in fact aside from being a little verbose at times it seems very good..

Odd, I expected something poorly done, but it's not only well made but seems well intentioned.

EDIT: Anybody attacking this without playing it is really just making themselves look stupid, if you don't have the time, fine. But don't act as if you understand and have a basis to attack it if you know nothing by your own will.

 

[Soak]

Seldom i have as drastically mixed feelings as i have about this one.
I have a friend who is disabled by having mobility impairment and bodily disproportion by birth and as weird as it may sound to some people, it's really fun to talk with him about love and sex and why shouldn't it be, he's just as human as i am. Looking from another perspective this should be the premier thing to be mentioned, that we're both individual substitutes of humanity, instead of pointing out his disability.

And that's kind of the point i have mixed feelings about. I think it's positive to portrait disabled just as capable of romance as everyone else, as it should count for pretty much everyone and in some way it's even more realistic than the "large-breasted, blonde cliches". But on the other hand, why they appear to be strictly separated from the "non-disabled", putting them in a "special school", rather than giving them the choice if they want "special treatment" or "to be integrated" To turn it around, why can't the burn victim, or the "thalidomide girl" go for any subject outside their school?

Are people under the impression that handicapped people are a different species than those who aren't?

While nobody would suggest that disabled people are a different species, to even begin to compare the difficulties faced by disabled people, both physically and socially, to an otherwise non-disabled person, is a huge mistake.
It's akin to pretending that men and women are the same.

That aside, the idea that people have to be in similar situations or share similar interests in order for a relationship to work, is a very western one. So in a rather ironic twist, it's possible that the only reason why dating disabled people isn't a choice, is that this Japanese styled game was created by non-Japanese people.

A more likely possibility is that the authors expected people to sympathize with a protagonist that has become an outcast, but gets over it by befriending other outcasts, but what would I know.

I just want to respond to that, exspecialy the sentence "It's akin to pretending that men and women are the same.", which i surely can not negate, why should i, but to turn it around, it is just as pretentious to say "we're men_women, we're more equal than the other sexes" and that pretty much counts for everything. All humans are somewhat different, by nature, by culture, by perspective and so on, the one thing we have in common is that we're living, human beings. My question behind this is, why always point out the "little differences" and not look at the "big resemblance", why is there something like "outcasting" after all? I don't even want to fight over individialism and collectivism or call it however you want to, i don't see the reason why we shouldn't have both (eat the cake and have it ;P ), define ourselfs as individuals, but also notice we're all alike at some point at the same time (but however, that's the general problem).

Well, as far as i'm concerned, it appears to be a first step towards handling the issue at all and i guess we have to start somewhere.
And this is actually my favorite sentence from the article:

If nothing else, it should inspire discussion about the very real trials and tribulations the physically disabled face when it comes to romantic interaction.

I'm not into dating sim games (and cause it was pointed out, not that much into romantic novels either), but since it's free and appears to have a beautiful visual novel-style, maybe i'll give it a try.

 

[Drunkbot]

Having downloaded and tried this after reading the article, I have to admit they did an excellent job making a very human protagonist who I've had no problems empathizing with after an hour of gameplay.

I wonder if some of the people who helped make this had disabilities? Maybe they thought it would be cool to see "someone like me" in a game genre they enjoyed playing?

 

[FortyPercent]

And that's kind of the point i have mixed feelings about. I think it's positive to portrait disabled just as capable of romance as everyone else, as it should count for pretty much everyone and in some way it's even more realistic than the "large-breasted, blonde cliches". But on the other hand, why they appear to be strictly separated from the "non-disabled", putting them in a "special school", rather than giving them the choice if they want "special treatment" or "to be integrated" To turn it around, why can't the burn victim, or the "thalidomide girl" go for any subject outside their school?

This is a point that's mentioned and explained quite well.

Each of them have their own reasons to go there - some out of necessity in case of emergency, such as Hisao due to his heart condition, and some out of convenience. Would you not agree that going to a school that has specific workbooks and classes catered to, for example, the blind would be a good reason for a blind person to go there? They could have just as well gone to another school, but the school in question offers services that more conveniently help them.

Hisao, the main character, actually struggles with this at the beginning, and feels he's being sent to a 'special school', but a big part of his character development early on is him realising that all the students there are just students, like any others and he shouldn't pity them, or feel like they pity him.

I wonder if some of the people who helped make this had disabilities? Maybe they thought it would be cool to see "someone like me" in a game genre they enjoyed playing?

I don't know if any of the dev team were disabled, but I do know that they did have medical consultants to ask questions to when writing.

 

[bopoink]

So i have actually played the game, and in fact the demo over a year ago. I will admit that i was attracted to the game with the same morbid curiosity most people probably were, but that soon changed after i actually began playing it. This isn't even really a game, it is a visual novel with a few choices sprinkled in and doesn't have much porn in it. Surprisingly, i'm not complaining about that last fact, it is a beautifully written story that makes all of the characters insanely deep and interesting. never comes across as something that is just trying to get a rise out of people, and is one of the most emotionally intense things i have ever read. Also, this game is freaking long, i have only completed one of the paths and it took around 8 hours.

 

[DE619]

So i have actually played the game, and in fact the demo over a year ago. I will admit that i was attracted to the game with the same morbid curiosity most people probably were, but that soon changed after i actually began playing it. This isn't even really a game, it is a visual novel with a few choices sprinkled in and doesn't have much porn in it. Surprisingly, i'm not complaining about that last fact, it is a beautifully written story that makes all of the characters insanely deep and interesting. never comes across as something that is just trying to get a rise out of people, and is one of the most emotionally intense things i have ever read. Also, this game is freaking long, i have only completed one of the paths and it took around 8 hours.

I'm happy I found someone like me who tried this out of curiosity and found the story, characters, and the emotions to be extremely fleshed out.

 

[Pandabearparade]

The physically disabled deserve love, too. I don't see the problem here.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Played it, loved it. Didn't expect to love it, I just thought it was going to be another desperate attempt to relieve some stigma between disabled people and non-disabled people, and to fill some sort of warped niché in the market. I haven't completed it yet, but there is an option to disable 'adult content' in the options menu... I'm braced for an incredibly awkward paraplegic sex scene. Or at least some ecchi moments.

But it is Japanese, so the story is excellent and very touching, if a little clichéd. I actually ended up literally caring for each of the girls, Hanoko to a greater extent. The game forces you to not date a girl just because that is the aim of the game, it forced me into wanting to date the girl. It was an extremely surreal experience. I haven't played many dating sims, but this one was a real thumbs up from me. I can sort of see why they are so popular in Japan, there are a lot of story elements, and a lot of emotional development. Something I don't think western audiences are keen on as a whole.

Art was superb, I have played other visual novels in the past, with varying levels of artwork, but this was a very good piece by contrast. Music is nice, if a bit basic, but why would it need to be extravagant I suppose? Not as many routes as I'd hoped there'd be, but I knew that when I saw the file size. And the story is rather un-fantastic, so players that don't really care much about the subject matter will probably find it a bit boring.

Other than that, very good Visual Novel.

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

I see were people may take offense, but It doesn't really bother me. I'll play it to see then I will state my verdict.

 

[StBishop]

I just finished one of the five routes. For those wondering: It's all very tastefully done. None of the characters let themselves be defined by their disabilities. She's not the deaf girl; she's the competitive student council president. She's not the "thalidomide girl"; she's the eccentric artist. Obviously, I'm trying to be concise here. This is not a character study. I hope you get the idea.

You know, it's almost like disabled people are human and have their own personalities like everyone else. Shocking, right? /obvioussarcasm

And yes, there is sex. Though at least in the one route I've played so far it was very sweet and tastefully done. It's also barely existent, in terms of plot-to-porn ratio (not that I would call it porn).

So if anyone here is even slightly interested, I'd urge them to at least give it a try. Act 1 isn't very long. Hell, a complete route takes only a couple of hours.

The fact that it is eroge is not what bothers me. What bothers me is that I can get, like, no privacy in my house for extended periods of time.

It's possible to disable "adult content" in the options, if that changes anything.

I might just get it if that's the case.

I don't play dating sims at all as I've never had an interest in them, and to be honest it's got an associated stigma in my mind. But if I can disable adult content and it's got a decent story and characterisation I might give it a look.

 

[Alterego-X]

My problem with the phrase "dating sim", is that it sounds almost like calling an FPS a "murder simulator". Maybe it's technically accurate, since there really is murder/dating going on, and it's not real so it is simulated, but otherwise it gives an incredibly misleading impression about WHY anyone would want to play/read them. Namely, that they are whole fictional works, with plot, and atmosphere, and characters, etc, but the phrase "simuator" makes it sound like they are just some pragmatic tool, soullessly crafted together to fulfill a certain goal, to imitate something.

I also dislike phrases like "in this story, you are dating disabled girls". That makes almost as much sense as "In The Catcher in the Rye, you are a rebellious teenager" or "In Harry Potter, you are fighting Lord Voldemort". No. Hisao Nakai is the one who is, among other things, dating disabled girls. He is a point-of-view protagonist, but just as much like the above two. The few interactive options are not to control his character, but to choose alternate plots to read through.

Probably these things should be advertised to literature communities, rather than gamers. It's just working on an entirely different paradigm.

 

[SpaceBat]

Well, as long as it's all handled maturely (which seems to be the case), I'm all right with it. Disabled people are not inhuman beings incapable of human emotions, so I don't see why this novel should strike a controversy. Of course, someone out there is going to use this for their fetish, but that is probably the case with everything that was ever created, so that fact holds no value.

 

[Ariyura]

Thank you for posting this. I'm going to try it. I usually stick to Otome games but this looks interesting.

Oh hey, off-topic, but would you have any recommendations on that front? I haven't had much exposure to otome genre, and to be honest, the only game I can name off the top of my head is Yo-Jin-Bo...

The responses to this thread make me sad.

To be honest, I was expecting much worse. I certainly wasn't expecting such a flatly obvious delineation of opinions...let alone everyone who actually played it having such overwhelmingly positive things to say about it, and at least a small portion of people intrigued enough to be neutral.

Are you looking mainly for translated Otome games? There's not very many of those I'm afraid. I'm currently wrapped up in Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side on the ds.I love the skinship system but they usually get mad if you poke them too much. Duel Love also on the DS isn't as much of a Otome game but it has the elements and it's fun to help them train. Angelique is nicely done. Hakou will be released on psp in English later this year, I haven't played the Japanese counterpart just yet. Uta no Prince-sama is also a psp game and it will be my next one I import. If they brought all these games over in English they would make so much money from me. There are english Otome games out there, done by Americans in the anime style. There are a lot of them on the Ipod surprisingly but some of them are a hit and miss. I've only played one I really liked on there and that was Pinkystreet I think the name was.

 

[Draken Steel]

Finally started playing, still early on but im very impressed so far Good interactions/characters and the art is impressive.

 

[Wolfram23]

*doesn't read all 4 pages of comments*

So, what you're saying is, 4chan helped spawn a game about dating disabled people? The surprise there is that none of them have penises.

 

[Cheeseman Muncher]

So there IS adult content in the game?

Let me ask you this question: is it "tasteful" or is it just some good hentai?

Hmmm.... I see an interesting forum topic...

"Can sex in games be used for artistic expression rather than a pornographic ad technique?"

Hmmm... very interesting discussion...

It entirely depends on your view of tasteful, but personally I felt it was fine. The sex aspect really takes a background role. I've just finished a playthrough with Rin (the girl with the thalidomide stunted arms) and was genuinely absorbed in it. Like I mentioned previously, it's more about Hisao coming to terms with his condition rather than him attempting to shag everything in sight.