[CommanderDJ]

I noticed this was mentioned briefly in WHIYL, and having never heard of it before, I decided to check the game out. I'll be honest and admit I went in expecting a ****fest, given the reputation this style of thing has on the internet. What I got was a genuinely moving, emotionally charged story that kept me absolutely hooked from beginning to end. Now, I'm normally a very immersive player. It isn't hard for me to get emotionally involved in whatever game I'm playing, and I find it very easy to start caring about characters, but seriously, I haven't been so moved by a game in years. Or a book for that matter. It's simply amazing. The topic of disability is handled very tastefully, and the characters are all established so that you want to go find out more and play each path.

(Emi spoilers within the tags.)

Spoiler:

I've only played through once and ended up with Emi, and I was heartbroken when it didn't work out between her and Hisao, especially since due to his running habit he starts to gain the upper hand over his condition. Having started playing Lilly's path, the pervasiveness of Hisao's arrythmia is much more obvious, and it's clear how much running with Emi helped him. I'm going to go back and see what the other ending is for Emi, and hopefully it's better than the one I got.

Anyway, I know a few of you have played this, so discuss! Please use spoiler tags liberally, and maybe name which path the spoilers contain, so as to avoid ruining the experience for others.

[LHN91]

Plan to give it a play through, with mixed expectations. I do play Visual Novels, and not so much the ****fest ones so much as the ones that are entirely PG like Clannad. Which will probably be the benchmark in terms of a moving, emotionally charged story, as being a hopeless sap I really loved that game.

Reviews from me to start trickling in in a couple days, I have a pretty much open weekend to work on it. 

[Dark Hunter]

Successfully got Emi's Good End myself. Not sure how I ended up on her route... I was actually going for Hanako. I think I needed to distance myself from Shizune more for that work though.

Currently playing through Rin's route... which is confusing, to say the least. Much like Rin herself. She's just so unreadable that it's hard to judge what choices to make. I can definitely feel Hisao's frustration in that department.

At least she keeps it entertaining with her rambling. It's rare that written dialogue actually makes me laugh out loud, but she's managed it a few times.


LHN91, there is an option to disable the sex scenes in Katawa Shoujo if you wish.
And having played through most of Clannad myself, I'll say that KS does pretty well. Not quite up to Clannad's standards but... honestly, Clannad sets the bar really damn high.

[LHN91]

Successfully got Emi's Good End myself. Not sure how I ended up on her route... I was actually going for Hanako. I think I needed to distance myself from Shizune more for that work though.

Currently playing through Rin's route... which is confusing, to say the least. Much like Rin herself. She's just so unreadable that it's hard to judge what choices to make. I can definitely feel Hisao's frustration in that department.

At least she keeps it entertaining with her rambling. It's rare that written dialogue actually makes me laugh out loud, but she's managed it a few times.


LHN91, there is an option to disable the sex scenes in Katawa Shoujo if you wish.
And having played through most of Clannad myself, I'll say that KS does pretty well. Not quite up to Clannad's standards but... honestly, Clannad sets the bar really damn high.

When I say "not so much" I more meant "not exclusively". XD

EDIT: And yes, Clannad sets the bar awfully high. I don't expect it to match, but it's kind of a mark of a pretty damn good story/game/etc. for it to come close.

[Ravenholme]

Although KS wins points for keeping it's tragedies entirely grounded in reality. Doesn't have to rely on certain supernatural aspects to help build it's tragedies.

And, I've just finished getting the good ends of every girl.

Lilly is definitely my favourite, but after that... I don't know who to pick for 2nd spot etc.

I found it to be frankly phenomenal, a lot to relate to in there.


http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDEA007FAB5D8F479 < Link to the entire soundtrack on youtube, too

[Dark Hunter]

Well, cleared Rin's route (I think... I think that was the Good Ending), and FINALLY managed to get on Hanako's route. Was not disappointed. HNNNG ensued.

Next, I think Shizune, and then Lilly.

I'm used to VN's being a bit more complex and having more overlap in the routes than this one... or maybe Clannad has just spoiled me in that regard.

Rin Spoilers:

Spoiler:

Holy crap was Rin's story depressing. I kept not knowing what the hell I was doing, and Rin was just so inscrutable through it all. I think I still managed a Good End, given that she and Hisao ended up together and happy, but... yeesh.

[LHN91]

So, lack of time and all that. Played through my first route, in the way I generally do with this kind of game: first run is played as more or less myself, until I get a bad end/end up on a character's route; at which point I go for the good ending. Ended up on the Emi route (mildly ironic side note - several personality aspects overlap with my actual girlfriend) and got the Good end.

So, review so far:
Art style is good, but (and does this ever show how much anime I've watched/how many VNs I've played ) I got occasional bits of uncanny valley, believe it or not . Some elements were just enough different from what I expected from the art style to be noticeable.

Music: well, so far I've played mostly with the sound down, so no real comment there.

Characters: Subdued somewhat, in a very good way. They weren't very over the top, or unrealistically stereotypical. You can care about them, and not just on a stereotypical level. They feel substantial and decently fleshed out, with real worries and cares that pull on your heartstrings. All in all, very happy here.

Plot: Well, I kind of say most of the Emi route was kind of predictable, but more than anything in that they stayed faithful to the character design they started with. No real "just go with it" jumps that make you lose track of their character. Pleased for the most part

Writing: The route seemed kind of short. Bear in mind, I'm a fast reader who turns the speed to instant in the options of most VNs. However, it seemed to be a solidly written piece, maybe not in terms of technical writing ability, but in consistency and in fleshing out and sticking with the characters' personalities, and with conveying emotion to the reader.


As a bit of a side note: I'm the kind of person who focuses heavily on the characters in a given story. I many ways, I view plot, music, and writing as all ways to enhance the characters, and without at least reasonably well-done characters, a story falls apart for me; I can't really get into it. Take that how you will, as a bit of a disclaimer.

[Spoon]

I'll be honest and admit I went in expecting a ****fest, given the reputation this style of thing has on the internet.

I'm interested in this 'reputation' this game has 'on the internet'.

I'm only 45 minutes into the game myself though.

[LHN91]

So. Only have the last bit of Lilly and the Rin routes left. For the most part, my previous review stands for the rest, except that IMO Emi is one of the weaker arcs - some of the others are better (i.e. Hanako); and the music, which I've had time to listen to a bit more, is excellent.

[Dark Hunter]

I'm interested in this 'reputation' this game has 'on the internet'.

Well, I think most of the game's "reputation" comes from the fact that the project got started on 4chan, of all places. That site hasn't been actively involved in the game's production for years, though.

[LHN91]

I'm interested in this 'reputation' this game has 'on the internet'.

Well, I think most of the game's "reputation" comes from the fact that the project got started on 4chan, of all places. That site hasn't been actively involved in the game's production for years, though.

I think he was implying less about this game in particular's reputation than the reputation of the VN genre (and in particular those with H-scenes) as being one of mindlessly pandering to fetishistic fantasies. Which, admittedly, is a pretty accurate description of a sizable subgenre of them, but is certainly not the case with the entire genre, and as it turns out, not with this game.

[Dark Hunter]

Welp, finished all routes. Got the good end on all of them.

My thoughts (and I promise, no spoilers):
Hanako > Emi > Shizune > Lilly > Rin

Yeah. Hanako and Emi just had personalities I like. As for Shizune, I liked the interaction between her, Misha, and Hisao a lot. Shizune herself would be difficult for me to get along with IRL, but enjoyable enough in the game. Lilly... meh. I think she qualifies as "not my type". She's too polite, too easygoing... though I will say her route had by far the most dramatic ending. Wow.

And Rin... okay, I like Rin. I think she's hilarious. But I liked her much more as Hisao's friend than as his lover. I think part of it was I went into her route expecting some humor, and got holycrap dramabomb instead.

Overall, an excellent game. Loved the story, music, drama, etc. I think it's incredibly obvious the different routes were written by different people on the staff. The writing style differed, as did the amount of path-branching. I also found it kind of interesting the subtle differences in Hisao's personality between the routes, though I guess that makes some sense. I also love that all the characters have hidden facets to them... none of them are exactly as they seem at first glance, which was a cool bit of writing.

The completionist in me is trying to urge me to go back and take other choices so that I see everything... but since I got all the good ends, that means I'd only have neutral and bad ends to look forward to. That is not an encouraging thought.