Hm. I may have read it a bit quickly. I thought I read that Hisao said something along the lines of "... an asylum?", then goes on about tears, how she went someplace to get better, kept in touch with the doctor, doctor dumping her, then she was alone for a while.
Erm... Did we read the same thing? I thought the epilogue follows the good ending so she doesn't need a therapist anymore; she got over her issues due to dating Hisao or something.
the first one I choose Hanako. it took a little over 4 hours
to complete. I did not cry at all. there were a some moments were I felt a significant amount of emotion and came close to crying a couple of times but no cigar. but i did actually care about a few characters to some an extent. seen all 3 endings
Blasphemy! I say lies! No man can feel no feels when they embark on the Hanako route! No man is left un-scarred by Daemon mode Hanako!
/silliness
Really? You made it through all three of her endings without feeling any small amount of emotion? Harsh dude. Though I find it hard that you were left unaffected by angry Hanako and did not feel that Hisao is a dumbass.
the second i choose rin and it took almost 5 hour to finish. during that I never once came close to crying and I had a lot less of an emotional reaction to her story then did my first time read this novel. it could be because she is too weird to relate to or maybe It was because she was the second character I chooses or both reasons. seen only 1(the good one) of the 3 endings
You were also unaffected by Rin? I feel even more tricky here! Though you should try her bad ending. She is rather scathing in that.
I am considering to try one more character. I am done with Katawa Shoujo after that if I don't see give at least a one significant emotional response on this one.
i will do Lilly's story next. doing that story will involve dealing with Hanako and that should guarantee at least some level of minor emotions. but will it be enough if lilly does not invoke a significant emotion? if i get one then i will another story afterwords at some point.
I actually suggest you try Emi's route. There is a reason why everyone enjoys her route and tends to stumble upon her first.
Loop Stricken said:
I find this difficult to believe.
You're honestly expecting us right-minded folk to believe that you, or indeed anyone, CHOSE Hanako, and actually managed to avoid Emi's route?
Pure balderdash!
Indeed! And then when the VN gives you Emis, you make lemonade!
Though... It is possible to get on one of the other route's even if you do choose to run with Emi.
Captcha: Born to run.
Did... did you guys see that? CAPTCHA IS WATCHING AGAIN!
Downloaded the game after the first article on the Escapist stating that it had been released. Since so many people were saying it was really well done, I decided to give it a try. Did not realize how hooked I would get on it. Done several routes more than once and have 96% of the game completed. Only things left to do are Rin's and Hanako's bad routes and I am slightly terrified of doing them, just because of what I have heard of how depressing Hanako's bad ending is.
It really is amazing how close to home some of the stories hit. Knew a girl from high school that I was pretty close with that was shockingly like Rin. And Emi really annoyed me until I got to the end of her route and realized how much I was like her. My father died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, I just completely shut people away and stopped connecting. Was a wake-up call of sorts.
Rin's route was an emotional rollercoaster that overshadowed every other route for me. I find her path to easily be the best written route of all, with Hanako/Lilly a somewhat close second.
Smolderin said:
Rin was just so mentally out there I couldn't relate.
Trust me, there's a reason why Rin puts you into such a mindset, a reason why so many people love Rin's path and a reason why this path was left to the main writer to write. Doing what they did in that path took a lot of talent to execute successfully and if it clicks with you, you're going to absolutely love it.
Then we are simply very different people because most of the character of Rin was pure nonsense in my opinion. You and others can love it and call it the best written of the routes, I'll just sit here with my mild opinion of "Rin was selling nonsense and nonsense accessories". Still like it better than Shizune's route haha.
Once again, the words are out of my mouth before I can filter them. Her body answers before her words can deny it.
My heart sinks. What the fuck do I know about abandonment? How could I compare my piddling ?love lost? scenario with Hanako?s entire life?
She was so afraid of losing another loved one that her mind just couldn?t take it anymore.
This is where I found the "asylum" part.
Then I read this:
?I-I don?t blame you. There was a therapist? at the hospital. He was nice to me, and he helped me like you used to. So when I was allowed to go home I kept in contact with him.?
I wonder? was he her ?jogging?? Could she only survive if she had someone else with her?
That should have been me.
I see her shoulders slump, as if the weight of the world was pressing down upon her. I want to get up, to hold her, to tell her it?s going to be alright? but I can?t. I?m paralysed by my own tumulus existence.
?He and I? just weren?t meant to be. So I made myself strong, got a job? and then became my own person.?
?Just like that? he let you go??
She shakes her head, her unkempt, knotted hair bouncing around as if to reflect her sorry.
?I? I left him and never looked back. I?m sure it hurt him, but I just couldn?t pretend anymore. I needed to be free, to be Hanako.?
I must have read the last part very quickly and not remembered. I had assumed the Doctor left her, not the other way around.
Still, I found it to be very depressing. As we see in Lilly's Route
(please note: I have not finished it yet), Hanako is becoming more open than previous, by the end she has found other people and become more social (at least so I believe). In Hanako's Route, you only see the beginning of this as it takes place in a shorter period of time compared to Lilly's route. She opens up more, especially near the end. At least so I believe.
Holy shit there's a part two?! Can you link it to me please?
And yeah, she was so much better off in Lily's route than her own... In Hanako's good ending she pretty much says that the reason she's still messed up is because Lily and Hisao treated her like a kid and worried too much.
Just go to the website you posted, it is on the left below part 1.
I would argue that she is the same in both. In Lilly's Path they just show more. In the end of her own path, Hanako is the same, you just see her go through more intimate moments of breaking down. In the end, Hisao and Hanako both figure out that they were both in the wrong and instead "start over", sort of.
Either way, Hanako opens up more and becomes a better person in both, equally so. Some people were annoyed with how Hanako's ending just sorta... ended. However, they established their relationship, opened up to each other more, and both became better people because of it. Continuing it on and "forcing" issues that didn't need to happen just to continue the story would have been pointless. Personally, I am glad it ended off where it ended. Playing through Lilly's path now, I can see how Hanako would act after her ending with the outside world.
So far, to get the full idea of Hanako, you kind of HAVE to play Lilly's story (haven't finished, mind, no spoilers!).
Link to Part 2: http://cplcrud.wordpress.com/4ls-era-fanworks-and-scraps/a-runners-afternoon-part-2/
Yeah I really liked that they didn't draw out Hanako's route
I just read part 2... Damn that was heavy.
I've only played Hanako's path but I'll probably do Lily's in March or something (I don't think I'll be able to emotionally cope with doing another path anytime soon)
Holy shit there's a part two?! Can you link it to me please?
And yeah, she was so much better off in Lily's route than her own... In Hanako's good ending she pretty much says that the reason she's still messed up is because Lily and Hisao treated her like a kid and worried too much.
It's an important message though. I bet a good half or more of the people who chose Hanako's route did want to protect her and saw the relationships as a one way street. I did. Heck that used to be one of the things I thought in real life, wouldn't it be nice to meet a lovely shy girl and be able to help take her out of her shell. And now I know why thats messed up and I don't think like that anymore. Because I played a videogame. Written by 4Chan (ish). I think we could have run my life 100x over and I would never have guessed that that was going to happen
Confession time: I was immensely disturbed by the very idea of Katawa Shoujo when I first heard of it. The fact that it was a "dating sim" about girls with disabilities, and that it was made by 4chan just really made me think that there couldn't possibly be anything to this game other than having creepy sex with girls with disabilities.
Then, Jesse Cox of youtube fame did a video about it. While he didn't get further than about 40-50 minutes into the game, the music and the writing actually did pique my interest. Then I watched the J-Dub review linked in this thread, where he pointed out how tasteful the writing actually was, and that there was pretty much no focus on the sex what so ever. Now, being a sucker for good writing and characters, I decided to give this game a try.
Wow.
I did Hanako's path first, and went for the good ending (And yes, I did cheat and follow a walkthrough. I was more interested in Hanako than the other girls, and since this is a visual novel, I kind of don't think of getting the path I want to really be cheating... Some of you might though )
While I didn't actually cry, I was damned close to tearing up during several moments, so much that I can't listen to Hanakos theme without feeling a bit down. I really felt for the characters in a way I haven't since I read the His Dark Materials-trilogy.
With Hanako being a fan favourite, and how hard her story hit me, I kinda figured that I'd be safe with the other paths. But then I did Rin because she really caught my attention during the short interactions I had with her in the first act. I thought that since she seemed like bit of a cloud cuckoolander, that her arc would be more lighthearted. Ho boy was I wrong.
After everything went sideways with the art gallery exhibition, and the conversations you can have about how Hisao is irritated with how she doesn't ever say anything straight out, the whole deal about her just not being able to form her thoughts into coherency in order to express them in any other way than painting... I really can't explain why, but that was just to much for me. I did actually cry. I'm a wordy person, and I love to talk and express myself through words. I guess that could have something to do with it. Afterwards I browsed around a bit to get some info on the bad endings to see wether I should go for it or not. After finding out that Rin actually commits suicide if you go for the bad ending I just decided that nope, I can't do it. And I doubt I ever will. But at least I can still listen to Rins theme since that is really upbeat
After Rin I've done Shizuke and Emi, in that order. While the writing was also really good in those, they didn't bring me close tears. I suppose I should be glad for that. They both got me emotional, but not to any degree near Hanako or Rin. I'm currently working on Lilly and only paused in order write this message.
So yeah, consider me a convert. Katawa Shoujo really gave me an experience in a game that I haven't felt for a long time. And I'd like to thank the creator of this thread and other posters for being a part of what got me to dare to look past my prejudice and actually try it. So, thank you Escapist Community, and sorry for the long post
OK this is long I will use spoiler to make my reply to Nile McMorrow take less space unless it is clicked on
Nile McMorrow said:
Reincarnatedwolfgod said:
character i gone though so far(no spoilers)
the first one I choose Hanako. it took a little over 4 hours
to complete. I did not cry at all. there were a some moments were I felt a significant amount of emotion and came close to crying a couple of times but no cigar. but i did actually care about a few characters to some an extent. seen all 3 endings
1.
Blasphemy! I say lies! No man can feel no feels when they embark on the Hanako route! No man is left un-scarred by Daemon mode Hanako!
/silliness
Really? You made it through all three of her endings without feeling any small amount of emotion? Harsh dude. Though I find it hard that you were left unaffected by angry Hanako and did not feel that Hisao is a dumbass.
the second i choose rin and it took almost 5 hour to finish. during that I never once came close to crying and I had a lot less of an emotional reaction to her story then did my first time read this novel. it could be because she is too weird to relate to or maybe It was because she was the second character I chooses or both reasons. seen only 1(the good one) of the 3 endings
2.
You were also unaffected by Rin? I feel even more tricky here! Though you should try her bad ending. She is rather scathing in that.
I am considering to try one more character. I am done with Katawa Shoujo after that if I don't see give at least a one significant emotional response on this one.
i will do Lilly's story next. doing that story will involve dealing with Hanako and that should guarantee at least some level of emotions. but will it be enough if lilly does not invoke a significant emotion? if i get one then i will another story afterwords at some point.
3.
I actually suggest you try Emi's route. There is a reason why everyone enjoys her route and tends to stumble upon her first.
4.
Indeed! And then when the VN gives you Emis, you make lemonade!
Though... It is possible to get on one of the other route's even if you do choose to run with Emi.
well it looks like you put some time into making this post so I will reply it
1.
"Really? You made it through all three of her endings without feeling any small amount of emotion?"
you misunderstood what I typed there were some moments were I felt happy when Hanako was happy. and other moments when I felt sad and worried about Hanako as well.
as for my reaction to the endings it was
first: the bad ending- "oh shit I got a bad ending. what did I do wrong?"
second:the good ending- I a came close crying during this one. but other 2 endings gave me very little emotion. unlike the other endings it is much harder to describe what thought during them so i am not going to
third purely out of curiosity: neutral- "so he essentially destroyed all Chances of have relationship... well that was a weak ending"
there is one scene i am missing in the library for here so may go though Hanako path again.
there was a game(okami) i beat many times over a year ago that failed to make me cry. i replayed some time this year and 2 scene made me cry even thought i knew exactly what would happen. it was the first and only time a video game ever made me cry.
since that could happen; maybe i actually could feel more emotion the second time around and even cry.
2.
yep i was mostly uneffcted and the same thing i said about the game okami could apply here too.
i will see what her other 2 endings before trying another story
but i believe read on tvtropes(yes i am what tvtropes calls a spoiler hound)
MAJOR STORY SPOILERS for rin's story
that it is Implied that she commits suicide in the bad ending. if that does not get a reaction i don't know what will.
3.
maybe I will try Emi's route instead.
4.
I can easily explain why I never saw her route first
when asked the do you want push your self on the track I looked at from a purely logical prospective.
do you be a complete moron and risk a heart attack or be smart. I never really thought about it that fact it would make it impossible to Emi's story.
It's an important message though. I bet a good half or more of the people who chose Hanako's route did want to protect her and saw the relationships as a one way street. I did. Heck that used to be one of the things I thought in real life, wouldn't it be nice to meet a lovely shy girl and be able to help take her out of her shell. And now I know why thats messed up and I don't think like that anymore. Because I played a videogame. Written by 4Chan (ish). I think we could have run my life 100x over and I would never have guessed that that was going to happen
Yup, I was just like that as well. I'm still recovering from how much it affected me. Funny how something like a videogame can completeley change your outlook on life.
The writer for Hanako's route intentionally deconstructed the white knight tendencies of people like us just to show us that we shouldn't do shit like that
it's simple
go here(the main forum page).
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/
i assume you know how to go there with out this link
click on the category of the tread you want to make
for example let say you want to make a thread about related to games
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/index/9-Gaming-Discussion
on the top of the page there is the name of the sections in big letters. just under it is bar. all the way to the left there are the words "New topic". you click that to make a thread
Saviordd1 said:
Ehhhhhh
I always feel that media that use cripples, the mentally retarded or annoying and useless children in their story heavily come off as phoning it in and just being lazy when trying to make us care.
(See Mass Effect or the Walking Dead tv show for examples)
I understand why you are looking at that way.
while a subject like disability is a real life thing and perfectly valid thing to include in media... unfortunately it is most often it's handled poorly and in a lazy way.
but I would say Katawa Shoujo is not an example of that. yes the disability are an element. the setting that is school were all the students have a disability; so subject is unavoidable. but it handled in such a way that the disabilities fade into the background. it manged to make me kinda care about a few characters and the fact they had disabilities felt irrelevant.
obviously the concept and it's origin makes it sound like a bad idea on paper. but i advise you to be open minded and give it a fair chance. It just may surprise you and if you don't like it at least it's free.
Man, I loved Katawa Shoujo. It was just... an experience. It's really inspiring; Emi's and Hanako's routes really made me realize that I had issues with trusting other people.
My favourite route, though, is probably Lilly's. I think she's the most well-adjusted out of all of the girls, and her route is rather low-intensity in comparison to the others and relaxing. I would most like to interact with a girl like her. Plus, her theme, Concord, is my favourite out of all of them.
Now, that's not to discount the other routes; I mentioned above that Emi's and Hanako's routes made me discover a little bit about myself, and they're tied for a close second place. I couldn't connect with Rin as well as the other girls, though; I tend to have a very easy time articulating my thoughts, and I tend to have a difficult time with people who have issues with it. In addition, her style of painting is... not really my thing, y'know? However, I did sympathize with her late-story plight and near suicidal drive for inspiration. My least favourite route was Shizune's. Not because it was badly written, but she was the most difficult to like as a character. I dislike competitive people, no matter their motivation for being such. She's bossy and she takes charge way too often for my liking. Her route is also the most difficult to digest, as well, because there is a lot of subtext and subtleties that one can miss on the first time through.
Regardless, this game changed me a bit. I started going out for walks to enjoy the beauty of the world around me, I gained a good deal of courage to open up to other people and I gained a new appreciation for other people and the similarities between them and me, a young man that has always been... different. I encourage everyone who can to go and play it.
OP, if you really only go through 3 of the routes, you'd be missing out, man.
I too ended with Hanako the first time around (my first playthroughs being how I would answer in the situation, not just "well I think this will put me on that route". makes it feel a little more powerful that way). Took awhile for me to manage to get her bad ending. I actually got her neutral ending by mistake trying to get to her bad ending. XD (If that is considered spoilery, I will take it down when asked. or at least put it in a tag anyway)
And well, Rin's route is rather...odd. If you can't get into her character (bad wording, but not sure what else to say), then her route won't open up to you that well. If you can, it is probably one of the best routes. If you are looking at my opinion of the routes, they go as follows:
Hanako > Lily >= Emi > Rin > Shizune
(Lily and Emi's are close, but I would have to say I got more from Lily's story overall) And don't let the "scoring" mislead you, I truly enjoyed all the routes, but lets put it this way. If you put five top-performing competetors in a competition, someone will perform the best, and someone will perform the worst, even if the worst is incredible, they just weren't incredible enough to win the race.
So, this thread is super old, but I just found this game and need to write something about it. Katawa Shoujo was brought to my attention by Rooster Teeth's Game Club program. The fact that 4chan took 5 years and made a game was so odd to me, I had to try it. I've never really played VN's before. I cannot recommend this game any higher.
The game sort of steers you into Emi's path, and that is the story I played out over the past few days. I enjoyed how she's willing to help the player as soon as you meet her and how it shapes the rest of the story. The end of the third act through the end of the game nearly brought me to tears several times. I was not expecting it in the least. There are feels here, serious feels.
Some thoughts on the game design. The story is fantastic, but the writing needs just a little more polish here and there. The same stands for the art. The style is perfect, and the rare full motion animation is a real treat. Jew Wario in his You Can Play This review was right in saying that it is a perfectly acceptable trade-off. For a community to do this work for effectively nothing is a stunning feat. One of Emi's sex scenes was awkward and ...forced...but otherwise they actually fit pretty well in to the story. It would be unfair to turn ones head at this because it still has small remnants of its original dating sim origins. There is sooooooo much more to this than that, and I've only played Emi's story.
I will go through Shizune's next to get it out of the way next. I don't expect that it will be bad. I just don't really dig her. Misha is more interesting to me, but I know she's not an option. I need to take a break, though. As I said, the feels were pretty real.
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