Katawa Shoujo

[big bad birtha]

Hanako route is finished! I'm glad my judgment was right on these paths. I thought Hanako's route was the best. I found how Hanako so easily opened up to the main character during the common route was a bit hard to believe and probably forced. Also, what was up with the incomplete stumpy? She came off like she'd end up being a villain of the path, but they never gave her a direction. However, those happens to be my only real complaint. Even if the entire path is lead-up for the moment of truth (I guess you call it?) in act 4, and what happened was easy to see from a mile away, it was still a pretty powerful scene. Hell, after spending so much time with her, I couldn't help but get attached to her (which I couldn't bring myself to do in the other paths.) Like in every other path, I like the lesson given in this path, and the character's mindset was well fleshed out.

With me finishing Katawa Shoujo comes with an overall review, I guess. Well, I'm only sitting at 94%, and haven't done the non-Kenji bad endings. Overall, I did enjoy KS, however, most of it was a tad on the dull side. I mean, compared to other harem VNs, not that much really happened. The "problems" in the paths are often solved pretty easily or anticlimactic. Obviously there was exceptions. I'd say overall, I'd give Katawa Shoujo a 7.5. It was a bit on the dull side, but had good lessons, and fleshed out everyone's mind sets really well.

[UNowenwasme?]

I've heard so much about this and with all of these positive reviews it makes me want to play it really badly. Which after reading about some of it I probably will.

[Doppleganger]

Originally Posted by UNowenwasme?

I've heard so much about this and with all of these positive reviews it makes me want to play it really badly. Which after reading about some of it I probably will.

I'm curious, but how did you hear about it?

[Doppleganger]

Did somebody say thoroughbred retard?

[lilboocorsola]

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Did somebody say thoroughbred retard?

Hey, don't abuse "retard" as an insult! ....It's a form of disability too.

Anyway, fake. Try going to the main page of the site you linked.

(One of my friends had a wolf shirt like that...)

[Talon87]

I may try and finish this VN off in one go (a personal first) rather than put it down and resume it at a later date. We'll see. It's never too late to quit! But with that stated, I went ahead and started my fourth playthrough last night.

I decided to go for Shizune this time. This is because:

• bbb and some random fellows I talked to on Pokemon-Online, each of whom has played the Shizune route through to completion, indicated that they didn't think it was an especially strong route
• the fan hubbub for Lilly's route, in general terms (have been avoiding spoilers and spoiler-threads), seems to be pretty large
• I'd like to end on a bang, not a whimper.

I'm hoping that my fears will be delightfully dismantled as I play the path and that I will discover an awesome story that the naysayers just couldn't appreciate. But I have my doubts that this'll happen, and so that of course is why I'm opting to do Shizune fourth and Lilly fifth in my playthrough of Katawa Shoujo.

Shizune Path - Initial Thoughts:
Well, I'm not quite on it yet. I actually went ahead and re-played Act 1 at a real-live pace (the third time I've done this in as many weeks ^^; ) and so, two hours into the game, I still haven't reached the f______l yet. It's coming up fairly shortly, though, and it's pretty clear that I've docked (or at least pre-docked) onto Shizune's path this time. I've seen more Shizune and Misha scenes than I ever thought could have possibly existed in Act 1 and, while I have met all five girls and have done activities with them (like jog with Emi or paint with Rin), this Act 1 experience is surreally the Shizune & Misha Show.

I really like both Shizune and Misha. Shizune is very cute (inside, though also out) and Misha's a riot (not to mention outwardly very cute). I don't know what it is that ends up sinking this route for so many players, but I guess I'll find out in due time.

[UNowenwasme?]

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

I'm curious, but how did you hear about it?

Well actually two of my friends started it and a youtuber mentioned that it was good.

[Talon87]

I've been making slow but steady progress with Shizune's Path. I'm nearing the end of Act 2, I believe -- it's the evening of the special day the exploration of which appears to be unique to this path -- and I've been enjoying it. I would say that, so far, the Shizune path compares well with the Emi path. I enjoyed the Emi path well enough -- it was about the same level of overall goodness for me as was the Hanako path, which in turn I liked more than the Rin path by quite a fair margin -- so if the Shizune path can keep this momentum up, then I don't see what all the disappointment and fuss is about. But I've still got two acts to go, so anything could happen in the meantime to dampen my enthusiasm.

Spoiler: show

Shizune and Misha are quite the characters. Hard to describe them without writing an essay, so I guess I'd just say "Go and play the game" to get a better appreciation for what they're like. Shizune is wonderfully realistic in her complexity -- she isn't absurdly unfathomable like Rin but nor is she a (seemingly) open-and-shut case like Emi or Hanako -- and just ... I dunno, she feels like one of the most real characters we've met. Misha may lack the realism of her partner but she makes me think of Minori from ToraDora with her incessant exuberance. Loud-mouthed, laughs from the gut (and constantly!), just a generally very intriguing character. Might be annoying to suffer her peculiarities IRL, but as a fictional character in a story I'm reading, she's an absolute treat.

I think it's fairly evident, now that I play the path, why Misha did not get her own route. (In before "SURPRISE, TALON! SUPER SPECIAL SECRET AWESOME MISHA PATH ONCE YOU CLEAR THE OTHER FIVE!" ) Much of the fan interest in Misha dating back to 2008, 2009, 2010 was superficial. People like myself, who abstained from playing Act 1 before the rest of the game was out, had only the superficial to work with. Fanart, the Misha wallpaper, that sort of stuff. But even people who played Act 1 and got a taste for Misha's antics couldn't necessarily have foreseen just to what extent Misha only really exists as an attachment to Shizune. It's kind of sad for Misha -- and I'm sure it'll be explored as I delve further into the path -- but the poor thing really is only defined by superficial features. Her hair color, her hair style, her chubbiness, her ample breasts, her exuberance, the fact that she's Shizune's translator ... these are all things which don't really get at the underlying girl. What are her hopes and dreams? What are her likes and dislikes? We don't really know. Hanako had chess, Lilly had tea, Emi had running, Rin had painting, and even Shizune, in addition to her student council activities, had things like her competitive nature and all the games she likes to play as a result. Misha ... doesn't really have any of that. Does Misha like to sing? Does Misha like to draw? What are Misha's academic interests? (We know she's poor at science, but to be quite honest, given how much class she skips it wouldn't surprise me to learn that she's struggling in all of her classes. ) When you consider that each of the routes were written independently of one another, with cross-references (like Hanako's love of chess showing up in Shizune's path or Lilly's and Hanako's paths and Emi's and Rin's paths having a lot of bleed-over) only taking place probably after the first drafts were written and the editors encouraged the path writers "Do this," it's not too surprising that they decided against a Misha route. Why?

• Because, at least as in Shizune's path, Misha doesn't give the impression of being a deep, explorable character.
• Because, in Shizune's path, Misha's backstory will probably (I'm assuming) be more or less fleshed out anyway, nullifying the need for a separate Misha path.

If Rin's story had been fully fleshed out in Emi's, there wouldn't have been the need for a Rin path. If Hanako and Lilly weren't both so incredibly fascinating, there wouldn't have been a need for both of them to get their own paths: the Hanako (or Lilly) pathwriter could have covered both girls just as the Shizune pathwriter appears to be doing for Shizune and Misha. The fact of the matter is, Misha seems to lack the character depth necessary to warrant her own path. Could this change as I continue to play? Of course it could. These are just my early impression as I approach the end of Act 2. I mean, it's worth considering this argument: if there's a story to tell, then there's a path to write. I could easily imagine a world in which there was no Rin path and in which Rin was just "Emi's oddball friend" seen in the Emi path. The fact that Rin got her own path and was an equal with the other four heroines of Katawa Shoujo is because somebody (Aura) had a story that they wanted to tell and it fit Rin. So you could easily dismiss my entire argument by way of saying, "Misha may seem minor in Shizune's path, but so did Rin in Emi's. Wait till you see the Misha path. Then you'll see." Or something. *shrug* But I dunno. It just ... doesn't feel quite the same. And I'll say this: given how much Misha's story seems to be being co-explored alongside Shizune's story in Shizune's path, I would be very surprised indeed if there were a sixth, Misha path waiting for me. Because it certainly feels like I'm getting Misha's story right now.

"I'LL DEVOUR YOU! >.<"

So what about the other half of the dynamic duo? Shizune, as I've said many times before, is an absolute treat. She feels very, very real to me. She's not really tsundere ... but like the tsundere, she's dishonest about her emotions. At times calm and mature, at other times riled up and immature. At times the model of student propriety, at other times the worst possible role model for students at Yamaku. Shizune's a bit of an enigma in this sense, and I can see how this might have upset people (if this is, in fact, one of the reasons people were dissatisfied with her path). But unlike Rin, who is just plain frustrating and not easy to understand, Shizune is quite easy to understand. The superficial contradictions about her aren't really contradictions at all when you look more deeply at the girl who exists underneath. I dunno. I still don't know all of her backstory yet, but I look forward to learning more. At the very least, Shizune is a pleasant return to interesting characters (Emi and Hanako were also interesting to me) and she's a fun return to the somewhat more spunky or sassy personality I last saw with Emi.

Shizune's backstory with the Student Council -- about how the old Student Council was pretty powerless, didn't really do much, was more or less just a for-fun club that people hung out in, and how she wanted more than that -- really resonated with me. I resented the student council concept in my own high school because all it was was a popularity contest. The people who won were typically poor leaders aside from the president himself or herself, and even the president wasn't the most qualified person for the job. Not only that, but the extent of their powers was embarrassingly limited (as well it should be! What self-respecting school district is going to let a bunch of teenagers handle important affairs!?). The problem is that when the students don't respect the student council, the student council is just worthless. So ... I like that Shizune wanted to change that. I like that she pleaded with the Yamaku higher-ups to let the Student Council take on more responsibility. I like how this caused friction within the group and how some students (including Lilly?) didn't care for Shizune killing their carefree days and replacing them with serious work. Shizune's always seemed to be on the wrong side of the fight to me as I've played the Emi, Hanako, and Rin paths, but now that I see her side of the story, I'm definitely on her side as far as "did Shizune kill the Student Council? Y/N". It'll be interesting to see Lilly's side of the story in her path.

Why all these bitches gotta be up in Kenji's business?

After a lessened presence in Hanako's path and a borderline absence from Rin's, it's great to see Kenji in full swing again. I haven't seen him this often -- or seen him be this funny -- since Emi's path, and to be quite honest, I think he may take the cake for ridiculousness in the Shizune path. The whole "pick up my mail for me thing" was incredible, but his rants in this path are just to die for. "If we lose, all our supple Japanese women will be raped and enslaved by a bunch of sociopathic lesbian supremacists. Meanwhile, the handful of men that didn't die in the war will be castrated and forced to repair toilets and build massive monuments commemorating the feminist victory." And as if that wasn't awesome enough, he's then got the Braveheart bit ... and later on he's got that hysterical bit where he just casually tells Hisao how he's been having constant diarrhea. ^^; "Even if you have diarrhea, you keep going, for the dream of a better tomorrow." Love it.

I first saw this picture of Kenji without his glasses on quite by accident. On the official forums, someone posted it thoughtlessly in a thread, with no regard for spoiling others, and once I'd seen it, I'd seen it. I tried to put it out of my mind but my thoughts ran wild. "Could this be one of the final CGs? Could this be from a secret sixth path? Could the man in the picture actually be Hisao? " I was surprised but relieved to find this picture in Shizune's path. But ...

... I've gotta say. I've gotten this impression from all the other paths, and this scene in particular just really cements my theory that ... what if Kenji is actually right? I know that would be crazy, and it would kind of make KS end up being a farce of a game, but ... what if Kenji used to be a normal guy and then something happened to him? Whether it was Yuuko who did it to him or whether it was somebody else and Yuuko generally cared for Kenji, what if he was ... turned into this nervous wreck that he is today? I dunno. It seems almost too crazy to believe, especially given how mature and rational all the paths have been so far, but ... I can't help but to wonder. Then again, the Day of Despair path seems to answer this question for us already:

Spoiler: show

It seems that Kenji began to mistrust women when he lost his virginity [presumably to Yuuko] and felt physically drained rather than physically energized after ejaculating. So ... if this was his catalyst for transformation, then there is no poison in his tea, there is no clobbering upside the head with a cell phone, there is no drug-laced honeymuffin, there's just ... Kenji being crazy all on his own.

I've got some logical inconsistencies with Shizune's path -- inconsistencies which I suspect may be one part of why people are disappointed with the path -- but since this post is already much too long, I'll save that discussion for next time.

[big bad birtha]

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Talon87]

Is the path writer making a statement about Misha's intelligence?

I'm on the cusp between Acts 3 and 4, I think, having seen quite a large number of events in Act 3 and having just witnessed what is one of the biggest "HOLY COW " decision moments in the game thus far. I saved at that decision point and will discuss it briefly in the spoiler box below but will probably discuss it in much greater detail next time. Suffice to say, this spoiler box will be safe for you to click on if you've seen a little bit past the point where Misha orders a particularly large dessert at the Shanghai.

Spoiler: show

Last time, I left off with the eve of Tanabata. So that's where we'll pick up from here. Tanabata was kinda interesting. It's unique to the Shizune path (or at least, it isn't in the other three paths I've played). To be honest, the Shizune path has felt the most Japanese culture-y out of any of the paths with references to Japanese holidays, customs, and geography not mentioned in any of the other paths. So I'm not too surprised to see Tanabata have worked its way in here. But it does have the negative effect of making the Shizune path feel like it was worked on in complete isolation from the four other path writers. (Maybe because it was?) The way the evening ended was yet another demonstration, following on the heels of how Act 1 ended, that Hisao's relationship in this path evolves a hell of a lot faster than any of his other relationships evolve in the other paths! It's only just the end of Act 2 and already you're formally boyfriend and girlfriend now?

Next came summer vacation. This is the farthest we'd ever gotten in any of the paths. The Emi path ends shortly after the term exams (but before summer break), the Hanako path ends before the term exams (and is the shortest of the five paths, chronologically, as a result), and even the Rin path, which until now had been the longest (chronologically) of the paths I'd explored, doesn't go too deep into summer vacation, only barely breaking the surface of it and taking us, at most, 5 days into it before calling it a wrap. But the Shizune path knows no bounds and intends to take us into the summer and beyond!

And we start things off with a surprising development: the Satous are in Shizune's living room. What the hell. When I first saw this, I had absolutely NO IDEA what was going on. Seriously. Maybe it was obvious to the rest of the planet, but me? I was totally in the dark until Hideaki, Shizune's brother, explained: "Our fathers are brothers, and do not like each other." Totally blew me away. So Lilly and Shizune are cousins! Huh! How about that? I had no idea. What a well-kept secret. (This is never even hinted at in the Emi, Hanako, or Rin paths.) That certainly makes the girls' rivalry at school a little less ... I dunno, scary? ^^; At least now we know that they're family. Takes some of the edge off of their cat fights.

Then Akira and Shizune suggest we go fishing. This seemed a little ... sudden? ^^; I mean, we only just got home, and after a long train ride to boot. Now you want us to get back in a car, drive 1-2 hours out into the wilderness, and go fishing? ^^; "Yep! ^-^" So, we do. This was a fun scene. Not terribly fun, but mildly fun. Good CG art, in any event.

After spending two days in this man's house, Shizune's dad finally introduces himself to me. (More on this later.) Jigoro is ... quite the character? I actually didn't like him. Yes, he's funny in how absurdly rude he is, but ... at the same time, he's not even believable. He's too rude. Constantly. It would have worked better if he vacillated between rude and polite, like some etiquette-pertaining variant of bipolar disorder. But instead he was polite for all of two minutes when we first met him and then from then on he was just insanely rude. That stated, some of his lines are pretty hysterical , so let's share some of them, shall we?

" 'What?' You are so disrespectful. Amazing. Are all delinquent types like this? Even the way you dress shows flippant disregard for authority. Sweater vest. Disgraceful..."

"Perhaps you should read [my autobiography] when it is published later this year. I can put you on the waiting list. Maybe it will give you the moral compass you seem to lack in your life, and inspire you to stop sucking."

"Why do you make that noise? Are you mad? Well, obviously. Good. Your sweater is terrible, and I want you to feel bad about it. The burn tells me it's working."

"I'm sure you like huffing glue, too. That doesn't make it right."

"Look at yourself. An amoral, directionless delinquent glue-huffer, with a complete lack of etiquette and absolutely no fashion sense. You are tomorrow's Japan. Disgraceful. Is this the future of this once-great country?"

"[I'm working on] the draft to my autobiography. It is the story of a man who wakes up to find an uninvited guest in his living room, sitting in his chair and reading shallow literary dreck."

, I mean, dayum. Talk about the father-in-law from Hell!

Before we head back to school, though, Misha does something wild: she gets a haircut. Sporting a shorter, childish hairstyle that simultaneously does and doesn't seem to suit her perfectly, she asks Hisao what he thinks. The poor guy answers pretty honestly -- "I liked the drills better" -- leaving Misha pretty bummed out. At the time, I didn't get what was really going on. Neither did clueless Hisao. But oh boy, was this a sign of things to come.

We head back to school after spending about a week on vacation in Saitama, and not too long after, school starts back up. At this point, the Shizune path is officially the longest of the four I've done since even the Rin path, as I mentioned before, only just barely managed to penetrate into summer vacation but didn't outlast it. The Shizune Path sees us buckling down for the fall term with a new mini-obstacle for our heroes to overcome: the future of the Student Council. After all, all three of them are seniors who will be graduating come next spring, meaning they have to find a successor if they want the Student Council to stay alive.

Kenji of course makes several appearances (see above), each of which is pretty hysterical. I think I'm now willing to say that the Shizune Path is officially the best path for Kenji hysterics. (Sorry, Emi Path! ^^; You're now in 2nd!) Yuuko also shows up once or twice. There's a pretty hysterical scene in the library involving grape juice. There's another cute scene (pictured two above) where Misha invites Hisao to the Shanghai with her and he treats her to the largest dessert item on the menu, a colossal parfait that is Misha's favorite. But ...

... the real focus of this part of the story is surprise tension between Shizune and Misha. Unbeknownst to Hisao and us (but at least suspected by us!) is that both girls like Hisao and it's finally coming to a head. Up until this point, Misha has more or less let Shizune "have" Hisao. She let Shizune have the doll at the festival. She ducked out of Tanabata early, making up some bullshit excuse about being tired, so that the two of them could have some time alone together. On the fishing trip, she let Shizune partner up with Hisao on the dock while she sat with Hideaki far from the action. And then -- now obvious in hindsight -- she went and got a haircut like Shizune's so that maybe Hicchan would like her better. And when he told her, "Aww, I liked your drills better," that kind of gave her a mixed emotional result: on the one hand, "Aww shoot, I messed up, " but on the other hand, "So ... he liked my hair more? ^-^ So he's not a short hair kind of guy?"

And that pretty much brings us to where I am right now: the scene in Hisao's bedroom where Misha surprises him with a peck on the lips and asks if he likes her. And Hisao has to choose: refuse her advances or comfort her. (If only "comfort her" meant "tell her I like her but I'm dating Shizune right now" and not "fuck her brains out like a jackrabbit," it'd be the obvious choice, no brainer! )

Now, there were a lot of details I skipped over in that spoiler box and said I would address later. That time is now. And that's because I decided to organize these thoughts together (rather than doing them chronologically like the above). What am I talking about? I'm talking about a list of reasons why I suspect people may not like the Shizune path as much as the other paths. This was true of bbb. This was true of those guys on P-O. And this seems to be true of the folks on the official KS webforum. I don't know the details (having avoided all spoilers, of course), but I get the impression that a lot of people felt that the Shizune path just didn't live up to the standards set by the four other paths. So, here's a list of some of the grievances I've had with the path myself and which I think may be why people are saying that the Shizune path is a stinker.

(you can click on this if you could click on the above spoiler box too)

Spoiler: show

I'm just going to list these in the order I came across them.

1. Real-life deaf-mutes can read lips. I don't buy the whole "???" deer-in-headlights approach the author takes with Shizune every time somebody speaks to her. Maybe she'd struggle to understand them, sure, but she'd still be able to try and figure out what theyr'e saying just by reading their lips.

2. Hisao's relationship seems to go at the speed of light in this path. This is just more of a preference thing. I thought it was kinda quick that, by the end of Act 1, Hisao was already falling in love with Shizune. In most of the other paths, he doesn't really notice that he's fallen in love with the girl until around the end of Act 2 or even early to middle Act 3. In those paths, he almost never asks the girl out until Act 3. Here, he asks Shizune out by the end of Act 2. It just felt very fast.

3. Shizune's family doesn't know sign language? Are you kidding me? No way is this probable in real life. You're telling me that we're supposed to believe that her father, mother, and brother all communicated with her exclusively through the use of a stenopad? No way, Jose. This silly idea is proven even sillier once we meet Hideaki, Shizune's little brother. He's 15 years old and doesn't know sign language. Hisao is Shizune's boyfriend of less than a month -- and her friend of less than three months, as Hisao did not transfer into Yamaku any more than 3 months ago -- and already we're expected to believe that he speaks sign language so fluently that he can actually sign and understand words like "ostentacious." (Not pulling that one out of my ass, either: that's a sample from one of his sign language conversations with Shizune.) If the boyfriend of 1-to-3 months can learn it that quickly, why the fuck didn't you, brother of 15 years? Ditto for her dad, ditto for her mom. It's just completely ridiculous.

4. The path seems disconnected from the others. I mentioned this earlier with Tanabata, but it isn't even just that. The summer vacation thing is unique to this path (unless I'm going to see it again in Lilly's. Maybe I will). So too is the going back to school in the fall. We spend a lot of time in the Student Council clubroom (somewhere you never visit in any of the other four paths, for obvious reasons). We hardly ever saw Mutou. We also hardly ever see the nurse. There are a lot of unique characters introduced in this path who don't cross over into the others. So on and so forth. Now granted, the other paths have unique people too. (Like the antique shop owner in Hanako's path. Or like Emi's mom in Emi's path.) But the thing is, most of those people still show up in at least one other person's path. (Like, you meet Emi's mom in Rin's path, too.) Another thing I'll say, though, in defense of the Shizune Path's uniqueness is that it isn't the only path which felt like this. So did the Rin path. But the Rin path felt like it didn't belong to the KS project, I think, for a lot of other reasons. Would take a whole essay to discuss those, so not right now.

5. Misha's summer shirt. I tease, I tease. But I wonder if this genuinely upset people?

6. Shizune's dad. He let the kids borrow his car ... without even welcoming his daughter home? Without even introducing himself to her guests? They kinda (vaguely) indicated later that he may have been away on business for those first two days, but even if that's the case, we still have the problem of Shizune's dad's personality. Yes, he's funny. But like I mentioned before, he's unrealistic. A real-live jerk wouldn't be on constant Jerk Mode the way that this guy is. He almost feels like a 4chan troll who stumbled out of the computer screen and into the real world. The whole "look at me carry a sword around with me wherever I go" schtick doesn't help either. Very unbelievable.

7. Abrupt scene endings. Too many times, the author establishes an adventure or a plan of attack for Hisao only to then not show it carried out. For example, the time they ducked out of the house to go to the amusement park? It wasn't shown! The scene just abruptly ended while they were cutting through the (grass and trees) park. The path author does this an awful lot, and this is actually probably my personal biggest complaint with the Shizune path. None of the other paths do this quite this often, thankfully. Only the Shizune path.

8. Internal inconsistencies. For example, the path writer claims in Act 3 that Shizune (and I quote) "has been Student Council President for three years." Uhh, this isn't even possible. There are only three grade levels in Yamaku (1, 2, 3), just like in most Japanese high schools, and our heroes are all in Year 3. Shizune would have had to have joined Yamaku in the spring as an entering freshman ... run for Student Council in the fall of her freshman year ... won ... and then fast forward us two years to today, where it's the fall of her third year, and she'd have been the President for only two years. Now, before you say "Talon, don't get your panties in a bunch," it gets worse: because you have to remember, Shizune wasn't the president in her first year anyway. We know that she wasn't because we know that she was dissatisfied with the old Student Council leadership. That that was why she then assumed the leadership herself, made changes, and scared everybody off. In other words, Shizune's more than likely only been the Student Council president for about one year. How do you confuse one year for three years? In the path writer's defense, though, I will say this: this is the sort of thing which should have been caught during the editing process. So really, this problem is just as much the KS editor's (or editors') fault as it is the Shizune path writer's.

9. There aren't any choices! While I've noticed all the other things on my own, this complaint was first brought to my attention by somebody on the official KS webforum. He posted an image macro which teased the Shizune path for being so linear. The macro depicts the Shizune path as being this singular straight line which, at the very VERY end, forks off into two possible ends. It then depicts the Rin path as this elaborate network of curves and line segments which fork off and loop back into each other constantly. But after I saw this macro, I realized ... he's right! I don't think I've made a single choice since either early Act 2 or maybe even Act 1! There have been a lot of opportunities, too, where choices could have been made but where the Shizune path writer had Hisao decide for us. For example ...

• Should we go fishing? Y/N Hisao decided for us.
• Should we tell Misha we like her new hair? Y/N Hisao decided for us.
• How should we react to Jigoro? Hisao decided for us.
• What do we want to do today? The girls decided for us. (Amusement park.)

So on and so forth. There've been quite a few opportunities for choices, some more obvious than others, ... authentic choices which Hisao actually grappled with in-game! But which weren't then translated into choices for us the players to choose between! This doesn't bother me too badly to be quite honest, but I can see how it might bother those for whom half of the appeal of a visual novel is its Choose-Your-Own-Adventure character.

Now, I realize that this list seems pretty long, but let me just say two quick things about it:

First off, I'm still enjoying the Shizune Path okay. Is it my favorite? No. Is it my least favorite? No. I'm enjoying it more than I enjoyed the Rin path, and even the Rin path was okay. I'm not trying to rag on the Shizune path or its writer here. What I am trying to do is keep my eyes peeled and figure out, as I play through the path myself, what could have been the possible reasons people seemed to dislike it.

Second, I want to say that I don't think any of the above reasons are why people hated it. I suspect the real reason people hated it will turn out to be something I have yet to see. Could be wrong about that, but that's my feeling right now.

In any event, I have a big choice to make. And then ... it's probably either a Bad End or else it's onward to Act 4!

[Kindrindra]

So. Xander recommended this game to me.


This is my first ever VA, so... I'll try to refrain from the 'OMG WHY IS THIS SO EPIC AND AMAZING AND OMGWOW' I want to say. Don't want to annoy any hardcore fans! ^_^ ;_;

[deoxys]

Alright, I'm downloading it. We'll give it a go.

Impressions (continuously updated for the night):

I started freaking out about my mortality IRL right away, oh gosh, I don't want to have a heart attack....

Gah, I feel my mortality slipping through my fingers just playing this. I don't like it

I quite enjoy this music. Very relaxing and calming. My favorite so far is the classroom, at least when you first walk in.

[Kindrindra]

Eek, I know what you mean. That opening scene really threw me for a loop. Luckily, I didn't start worrying about my mortality, as I spent most of either grade eight or nine doing that.

May as well say something about my progress. When I started playing the game, I decided to listen to 'my heart's voice' for my first play-through, as clique as that sounds. Then, when my inner voice was freaking screaming to play offensively in the risk game... I laughed it off. "I play defensive at everything! There's no way I can lose at stall!"

...Yeah. Kin, Semistall=/=Stall. :/


Currently visiting Emi's place. That will have meaning to those who should know what it means. XD

[Talon87]

@Kind: Wait, when you say "visiting Emi's place," what do you mean? I'll eat my proverbial hat if you're as far in the game as I think you are.

@Deoxys: You don't like the game as a result of it making you think about your own mortality? ^_^; Or you just don't like thinking about your own mortality? Well, in any event, the game is less about thinking about the inevitability of death and is more about thinking about the opportunity of life.

@Both: Would be interested to see who each of you docked onto for your first playthroughs. From the sound of things, Kind may have docked onto Emi's path. She seems to be the path the largest minority of players docks onto. I think there's a poll somewhere on the KS forums that backs this theory up. Just from rough memory with conversations with people and reading forum posts and such, I feel like ~30-40% of all players start off with Emi first, with as few as 60% total starting off with any of the other possibilities.

I'll throw out there that if either of you managed to dock onto Rin's path, it's a very unique path that reads more like an avant-garde novella and less like a traditional VN path. Not an easy read imo, but apparently very rewarding for those with whom Rin really resonates.

[deoxys]

Originally Posted by Talon87

@Deoxys: You don't like the game as a result of it making you think about your own mortality? ^_^; Or you just don't like thinking about your own mortality? Well, in any event, the game is less about thinking about the inevitability of death and is more about thinking about the opportunity of life.

No, I don't like thinking about my own mortality, at least in the way that it just did. Stuff with the heart always freaks me out especially, I don't know why, but that really got to me.

I'm kind of picking up that vibe, by the way, that this is more about a 'new beginning' than anything.

@Both: Would be interested to see who each of you docked onto for your first playthroughs. From the sound of things, Kind may have docked onto Emi's path. She seems to be the path the largest minority of players docks onto. I think there's a poll somewhere on the KS forums that backs this theory up. Just from rough memory with conversations with people and reading forum posts and such, I feel like ~30-40% of all players start off with Emi first, with as few as 60% total starting off with any of the other possibilities.

I'll throw out there that if either of you managed to dock onto Rin's path, it's a very unique path that reads more like an avant-garde novella and less like a traditional VN path. Not an easy read imo, but apparently very rewarding for those with whom Rin really resonates.

I'm sorry, I'm completely new to this whole VN thing still (I doubt PW counts), but what does 'docked' mean? As I type this I'm talking to Misha and Shizune for the first time (I'm a slow reader, I take my time for the fullest experience when reading anything)

[Talon87]

"Docking" refers to landing on one of several possible branching paths and usually, in these sorts of games, refers more specifically to landing on a character-specific path, hence "which girl['s path] have you docked onto?"

There are five main girls in Katawa Shoujo -- Emi, Hanako, Lilly, Rin, and Shizune -- and five different paths for you to explore. All the paths share in common the early events of Act 1. However, as you play through Act 1, you will craft your own story by making choices and will eventually wind up opening doors to some girls' paths while closing doors to others'. By the end of Act 1, it should become clear which girl's path you have docked onto. From that point forward (Acts 2 thru 4), you will be on that girl's path or route (hence phrases like "the Emi route" or "the Hanako path").

It'll become clearer, I think, once you actually play through the game for a second time. It may even become clearer before then.

[Talon87]

Wow. Thought I had replied to this ages ago. Guess not. Just found this reply sitting in one of my many open browser tabs. ^_^; It's a bit late, but here goes ...

Originally Posted by Kindrindra

This is my first ever VA, so... I'll try to refrain from the 'OMG WHY IS THIS SO EPIC AND AMAZING AND OMGWOW' I want to say. Don't want to annoy any hardcore fans! ^_^ ;_;

You won't be. We might patronizingly think "Aww, he's so cute " and stuff like that, but no worries. Any love for KS is good in my book. There are also a surprising number of teenagers who are playing this game. See: this thread-poll on the official forums. Apparently 40% of all people polled identified as being between the ages of 15 and 20. That's a lot for a game that was ostensibly for adults only.

~end late reply~

So ... while I'm double-posting, I may as well add these words of wisdom:

1. Just play your natural path. Whether you get Emi, Rin, Hanako, whomever, run with it and have fun.

2. If any of you should happen to get the Day of Despair ... don't freak out, and search this thread for posts containing those words. (There should be a search thread feature somewhere. If not, just search the forum for the phrase "Day of Despair" in quotes and tell it to show results as posts.) You'll find your explanation of what just happened to you waiting there.

3. You'll know for an absolute fact that you've docked onto a girl's path when you see ... well, you'll know it when you see it. It comes directly before the start of Act 2 for each girl.

[Kindrindra]

I finished Emi's path!
I think?
Um. That's what the credits rolling means, right?



And I only just realized the irony of 'listening to my heart' in a game where the main character has heart issues. >_>


Would say more, but I gotta get up in the morning. XD

[deoxys]

Wait, is one character path really only 5 hours?

[Talon87]

On average, I've taken eight hours. Kind is either just a really fast reader or else he mad-quickly clicked through text. I was kinda alarmed surprised myself to learn that he'd finished a path the very same day he started it. But there are people like that. ^_^; There were people who "played" the entire game within 24 hours of its release, and there were many who completed the whole thing in just one week. Kind would seem poised to do the latter if he so chooses. Me, I tended to take ~a week for each path I played, @8, 9, 8, and (ongoing) 11 hours, respectively, of actual play. So I would say to you ...

... Go at your own pace. It's not a race.

[Kindrindra]

It was actually six hours- I played a little bit last night. ;^_^
Err. Though, that includes the time I simply left my computer sitting without doing anything. 0_o

Didn't even think about how quickly I did it 'till I finished. ;_;

[Talon87]

I take it you enjoyed it though. In which case ...

(1) Go back through this thread and look for all the posts that have to do with the Emi path. You might have fun reading others' thoughts.

(2) Share your own thoughts! (Be sure to put in a spoiler box anything that occurs past Act 1. Even some Act 1 stuff, if you like.)

[lilboocorsola]

Played through Act 1 last night. I decided to throw all planning to the wind and just play as I normally would. ...Which ended me up on the loli's path. Lol. Guess it was to be expected though, given the established explanation of how one often docks onto her route first. After all, who can resist such a challenge?

Spoiler: show

That being said, I hesitated for much longer during the game of Risk with Shizune. Not only was I weighing my normal response vs. what Shizune would likely want, but IRL I'd probably vacillate a lot if my opponent were to throw that kind of taunt at me. My first instinct if I'm unfamiliar with the game is to trust the mentor is giving me sage advice, so I almost immediately took the opening to attack. Then I paused to reassess the situation when I saw the first option included the conjecture that "IT'S A TRAP!" Given how competitive Shizune is, I wondered if she really may be trying to psych me out. But perhaps that line of thinking in itself was a trap? And so the process went, which is probably how I'd react IRL and usually causes my opponent to grow wearily impatient with me, ha.

I had a feeling that even if aggressiveness led to defeat, such a maneuver was meant to impress a leadership figure anyway. However, I was more concerned about squandering pride than gaining her respect at that point. I couldn't bear the notion of losing my cool by falling for such a cheap jeer; I had wanted to come across as cool, calm, and collected when it comes to strategy by playing safe and smart, even if it means suffering some losses. Better than betting big and losing it all IMO. In hindsight, the name of the game should have been a dead giveaway as to how it should be won, but oh well.

By contrast, physical activity is an area that seemingly doesn't require much brains to excel at. You either can do it or you can't. IRL I'm rather weak and have asthma so I'm not a good runner either. I've always had a bit of a complex about proving my nonexistent strength, though sometimes I used to feign satisfaction and accept my limits, i.e. gave up. Lately I've grown to recognize that as an excuse and now always try to push myself further, though like Hisao I'm probably ignorantly overcompensating via the wrong approach. Either way, I figure it doesn't hurt to at least try to catch up. If you're behind, the opponent can't see how hard you're exerting yourself anyway, so you can even poorly attempt to save face at the end by claiming you weren't giving it your all. Like Talon, I underestimated Hisao, though I'd refer more to the direness of his condition than the actual weight he placed on the race.

As soon as the racetrack crisis occurred and the nurse scene with Emi took place, I figured that sealed the deal. Though I still held out faint hope that I could try for Shizune (or some other girl). However, by the time the catfight occurred, I had grown acutely aware my natural passiveness would not win any points with such a domineering personality. Especially since I chose to weakly defend Lilly and myself. Normally I'd try to pacify both parties, but the problem I've found with a lot of the choices is that the dialogue often comes off as more forceful than my regular speech, even if I'd try to suggest something along those lines. Hisao clearly isn't a particularly shy or reticent boy, so it's tough trying to project my own character onto him.

For similar reasons, the Hanako path was probably sealed for me right off the bat. In fact, my playing style ensured she was never even within my reach. As soon as I got the "introduce or apologize" choice I had flashbacks to my mistake in dealing with tsuntsun Tsugumi. As much as I'd personally like to try and connect with another loner, no way am I proactive enough to initiate conversation. I forced myself not to attempt to approach her in the classroom either. So there went that option. To be honest, I'm not that interested in her (yet) though. The one I'm most intrigued by is...

Rin.

I don't understand how you can dislike these kinds of characters. People who can come up with snappy and witty retorts on the spot always impress me. Plus I find such abstract thinking absolutely fascinating. I hang onto her every word, burning to hear what comes next. Very much looking forward to having more long conversations with her during her path.

Talon, I bet you wouldn't like Kei from Muv-Luv. She's very similar to Rin, and she was also my favorite character from the game. ^^;

Current Rankings in Order of Interest:
Rin >> Shizune > Hanako = Lilly >> Emi

Reasons for liking Rin explained above. I still find Shizune the cutest, especially her subtle or uncertain gestures. Though her commander qualities turned out to be a bit much for me to handle. Hanako and Lilly I'm equally curious about at this point. I wasn't particularly for or against Emi, nor did I mind her loli-ness too much... Until the last quarter of her OP movie sequence. That really turned me off, so I'm not exactly gearing to progress with her path anytime soon. Will probably set the game aside for a few days while I work on FB Updates or something (which was my original plan anyway).

Oh, and Kenji is indeed a very, very odd boy.

Spoiler: show

Damnit, he's onto us. *readies knife* >.>; <.<;

(He's wrong about HQ not being on Earth though. But I'm not going to tell you it's actually underground. Fu fu fu.)

In somewhat seriousness, I actually wish I could meet crazy characters like that at my school. Would make the education environment much more interesting. *nod nod* I think I'd learn more about the world from him than in a classroom anyway. XP

[Sakamoto]

I really liked Hanako's route, it was moving. Shizune felt like a time wasted, at least Misha turned out to be interesting, despite certain annoyance factor hanging around her. Rin was better but now looking back I can't say I've enjoyed her very much. Not because I had to actually pay attention to what she's saying but because it somehow seemed pointless most of the time. Ending was unsatisfying too. Emi and Lilly are both nice but I'd be willing to trade them for Akira anyday. Almost makes me want to say "too bad she was wasn't broken somehow"

[lilboocorsola]

Finished Emi's path. Not much to say about it really. Pretty predictable, as I came to the exact same conclusions as Talon while playing, even factoring in the science-y aspect.

Spoiler: show

I wonder what would've occurred if Hisao hadn't paused to talk to Mutou then. Does that lead to a Bad End?

And is it just me, or did it feel like the writer was just forcing the trend of trying to tie in esoteric trivia to VNs? XP

Also called that the letter would come back. Wonder if Hisao meets Iwanako again in any of the other routes?

As they kept building up to the big reveal, I started almost wondering/hoping that...

Spoiler: show

Emi's dad wasn't dead, but in a coma or something.

Something more surprising and not glaringly obvious. Although I guess like Talon pointed out, the aim of the game is to be realistic, not shocking blow-your-head-out-of-the-water.

Although one theory of yours I'm not sure where you got it from is the idea that...

Spoiler: show

Yuuko likes Kenji? What? XD They'd make an interesting couple, to be sure, but I don't think she was pursuing him other than as the "Yamaku Cat Burglar", if she even knew his identity at that point.

I did accidentally click on a small spoiler left by BBB though regarding a revelation from Shizune's route:

Spoiler: show

Kenji actually has a girlfriend? o.o; Yet somehow... I am not that surprised. XD

Originally Posted by Talon87

Emi Path Good End: Get!

Spoiler: show

Sentimental moments are had.

But they then go back to Yamaku ... and decide to make love. Lol, what!? On the anniversary of your dad's death ... you decide to celebrate letting people back into your life by fucking with your boyfriend? I realize this is meant to be a very deep and symbolic thing for Emi, but I just couldn't shake how absurd it all felt to me. Bad enough to do it on the anniversary of his death, but you gotta do it right as soon as Mom drops you back off at school? That Emi is one horny bunny.

Spoiler: show

To be honest, the final sex scene didn't feel as awkward and out of place as the rest, probably because at that point nothing surprised me any more. XP I thought all the previous encounters were pretty ridiculous and rushed. Literally guffawed the first time loli boobs started staring me in the face all of a sudden, not to mention the hilarious expressions.

Lol indeed at Rin's arrival upon the scene though.

(As for the little "experiment" in the storage shed, not even going to go there... ^^; )

I felt like this scene wasn't near as inappropriate as what happened at the end of Chizuru's route in Muv-Luv though. >>;

Spoiler: show

The two kids didn't even wait until they got home before doing it in the classroom... Right after the administration lectured them about their misconduct and even threatened to withdraw Chizuru's college recommendation, which Takeru had just fought tooth and nail to convince them was a detrimental decision. Seriously, WTF. There's cheeky "thumbing off at authority" and crossing the line into total disrespect.