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[Dresden]

Katawa Shoujo is free visual novel from Four Leaf Studios about a boy with a heart defect who, upon arrival at a boarding school for the disabled, meets a bevy of variously disabled young female friends.

It's been said to have a length equaling that of commercial visual novels along with production values rivaling those ventures (although that's not difficult considering how fucking awful the art is for most of these games).

But is it any good? No idea, not having played it yet myself, but the reactions have been positive and more importantly, it's free to play--give it a shot and if the premise disgusts you, you don't dig the 'gameplay' or just something about the overall package doesn't raise any interest, delete without a care.

(Also has 'adult content' apparently, so please be over 18).

Download the game here.

Website:

http://katawa-shoujo.com/

Wiki:

http://katawashoujo.wikia.com/wiki/Katawa_Shoujo_Wiki

The English Translated VN thread:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=421986

 

[Jintor]

Finished one route. It's very good. The writing is pretty amazing.

 

[Reversed]

The music in this game is superb.

 

[darkside31337]

Neat to see this get a thread. Looking forward to play it this weekend. Glad to hear positive things about it.

 

[Forkball]

So a disability fetish game...

 

[cj_iwakura]

Wow, long dev cycle. Will try.

 

[Zane]

I've basically been posting around on various forums I go to that, as someone who was diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension at birth and have been on assisted breathing since seven years old, this is one of the more offensive things I've seen in my life.

So very nice to see it spread even further by GAF.

 

[Vic]

There's a Linux version?! Will try.

 

[fudgey_lumpkins]

I've basically been posting around on various forums I go to that, as someone who was diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension at birth and have been on assisted breathing since seven years old, this is one of the more offensive things I've seen in my life.

So very nice to see it spread even further by GAF.

Care to elaborate?

 

[LiK]

dunno what this is but i'll give it a shot.

 

[Trojita]

 

[PataHikari]

So a disability fetish game...

No it's not.

 

[JeTmAn81]

I've basically been posting around on various forums I go to that, as someone who was diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension at birth and have been on assisted breathing since seven years old, this is one of the more offensive things I've seen in my life.

So very nice to see it spread even further by GAF.

Do you care to elaborate on why you find the game so offensive?

 

[hamchan]

Can't complain about the price! Been looking forward to this for a while. The development time and work put in makes this something to check out.

 

[Lafiel]

The only thing that would be convince me to play this.... is one of the girls autistic?

 

[Hot Coldman]

Sure, why not. I'll play. Wonder if it'll out-crazy Hatoful. Doubt it.

 

[PataHikari]

I've basically been posting around on various forums I go to that, as someone who was diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension at birth and have been on assisted breathing since seven years old, this is one of the more offensive things I've seen in my life.

So very nice to see it spread even further by GAF.

So you've read it. Please tell me what was offensive about it.

 

[Dresden]

The only thing that would be convince me to play this.... is one of the girls autistic?

No idea.

 

[survivor]

None of the girls in the OP look waifu material but I will give it a try. Maybe their tragedy will make me like one of them

 

[Fou-Lu]

I've basically been posting around on various forums I go to that, as someone who was diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension at birth and have been on assisted breathing since seven years old, this is one of the more offensive things I've seen in my life.

So very nice to see it spread even further by GAF.

You're easily offended.

Good job.

 

[cj_iwakura]

None of the girls in the OP look waifu material but I will give it a try. Maybe their tragedy will make me like one of them

Brunette, glasses.

I'm easy to please.

 

[Trojita]

The only thing that would be convince me to play this.... is one of the girls autistic?

Not that I know of.

From left to right of the girls in the banner

Deaf, Burn Victim, Missing Arms, Missing Legs, Blind Girl's Helper, Blind Girl.

 

[Dresden]

Not that I know of.

From left to right of the girls in the banner

Deaf, Burn Victim, Missing Arms, Missing Legs, Blind Girl's Helper, Blind Girl.

Waitaminute . . . she doesn't sound disabled. FALSE ADVERTISING.

 

[Zane]

Care to elaborate?

I'll copy paste what I said to a friend:

It's a hentai game. Someone out there is jacking off to it. The game serves as an outlet and fuel for these people.

Presumably the game is about realizing that disabled people are just like everyone else. Well that's nice. But I sort of thought that was a given. And also by the time you've gotten to that end goal (if you ever do, I mean, it's on you), you've already slogged through hours of disability fetishizing. And making a game like this kind of just harms your goal. If your goal is to make people see handicapped people as ordinary, that is.

But the girls are portrayed as desirable despite their disabilities, you might say! Actually they are targets of desire purely because of their disabilities. They are portrayed as unordinary. But they are ordinary. A game doesn't have to be made about them. It's not a big deal. Why is attention being drawn to their handicaps! That disability apparently happens to be such a selling point is what's disgusting.

all this game says to me is "you're different. you're always going to be different. nothing you can do about it, so stop wasting the effort to be like everyone else."

tl;dr: the selling point for the game is that the girls are disabled. remove that and it's every other VN ever. the idea that disability is a "unique" feature for your game is disgusting.

 

[Thoraxes]

Katawa Shoujo |OT| Hugging doesn't always require working arms

Waitaminute . . . she doesn't sound disabled. FALSE ADVERTISING.

Her disability is that she can't control the volume of her voice... Ok, so that's not really one at all.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Blind Girl's Helper and Blind Girl... are they a 2-for-1 deal? :3

 

[Lafiel]

Not that I know of.

From left to right of the girls in the banner

Deaf, Burn Victim, Missing Arms, Missing Legs, Blind Girl's Helper, Blind Girl.

Damn so it is only physically-disabled girls? they need to make a game like this about mentally disabled girls instead.

 

[PataHikari]

I'll copy paste what I said to a friend:

So you never ever want stories told or art made portraying disabled people.

Also, why exactly is it a bad thing for somebody to find a disabled person sexually desirable?

 

[Trojita]

Blind Girl's Helper and Blind Girl... are they a 2-for-1 deal? :3

.... Yes

 

[Cwarrior]

Damn so it is only physically-disabled girls? they need to make a game like this about mentally disabled girls instead.

they already do it's those key games.

to be fair most anime girls are mentally disabled.

 

[Fou-Lu]

Damn so it is only physically-disabled girls? they need to make a game like this about mentally disabled girls instead.

You mean like every other VN in existence?

 

[PataHikari]

they already do it's those key games

Oooooooo iceburn

 

[Trojita]

Here's a poster

Screencaptures

 

[notworksafe]

Damn so it is only physically-disabled girls? they need to make a game like this about mentally disabled girls instead.

The fuck?

 

[we.are.the.armada]

Just beat this today - tried for Hanako but failed. My friends and I are having a conversation about Rin and how it'd be to live without arms. This game is very interesting.

 

[RurouniZel]

Huh. Will check out.

 

[Thoraxes]

they already do it's those key games

Yeah. Fuko is as close to it as you can get if you want to single it to Clannad only, though, there's still plenty of them to be found in their other games too.

 

[Trojita]

they already do it's those key games

uguu~

 

[survivor]

Wait isn't one of them missing legs? They all got legs in that picture Trojita posted

edit: nvm I see the metals thingy now

 

[duckroll]

The scenario seems pretty implausible and kinda dumb. Why is it a boarding school specifically for the disabled? What qualifies as being disabled? What is the purpose of such a school, and why does the main character who only has a heart defect need to attend it? Why is a burn victim considered a "disability" in this scenario? Are these questions answered in the game? Or is it just bad writing?

 

[Zane]

So you never ever want stories told or art made portraying disabled people.

Also, why exactly is it a bad thing for somebody to find a disabled person sexually desirable?

Not if it's going to be done this way, no.

It isn't. It is bad, however, to find someone sexually desirable simply because they are disabled. Like fuck, is that my only redeeming feature?

 

[Dresden]

Wait isn't one of them missing legs? They all got legs in that picture Trojita posted

Well now that I look at it the girl in the bloomers (wearing them for some inexplicable reason) has prosthetic legs.

 

[GrizzNKev]

I'll copy paste what I said to a friend:



tl;dr: the selling point for the game is that the girls are disabled. remove that and it's every other VN ever. the idea that disability is a "unique" feature for your game is disgusting.

The sexual parts are not required to complete the game. Have you played it?

 

[LiK]

The scenario seems pretty implausible and kinda dumb. Why is it a boarding school specifically for the disabled? What qualifies as being disabled? What is the purpose of such a school, and why does the main character who only has a heart defect need to attend it? Why is a burn victim considered a "disability" in this scenario? Are these questions answered in the game? Or is it just bad writing?

as plausible as any other dating sims where you end up as the only boy in an all-girls school.

 

[Hot Coldman]

The fuck?

It's OK. They'd be robots, with faulty programming!

Spoiler

Date the one who's actually a mentally-disabled human for True Ending

 

[Jintor]

I've basically been posting around on various forums I go to that, as someone who was diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension at birth and have been on assisted breathing since seven years old, this is one of the more offensive things I've seen in my life.

So very nice to see it spread even further by GAF.

Maybe you'd like to play it before you make a judgment, yes?

 

[duckroll]

as plausible as other dating sims where you end up as the only boy in an all-girls school.

Those are generally badly written though. The foundation of a good ADV is having a grounded general setting that is believable and can be related to, even if the scenario itself contains fantastical elements or silly stuff. If the premise is contrived for the sake of the cast-assembled-for-fetish to begin with, that's a bad start.

 

[Zane]

The sexual parts are not required to complete the game. Have you played it?

God damn this is a bad excuse. It doesn't change the fact that the game uses disabled girls as a selling point. The sad thing is that it's working, as evidenced by this thread. And that really only proves my point.

And I really don't need to play it to be saying the things I'm saying. I am disabled and this is the way the game's concept makes me feel. That is enough.

 

[jman2050]

The scenario seems pretty implausible and kinda dumb. Why is it a boarding school specifically for the disabled?

You do realize those actually exist, right?

What qualifies as being disabled? What is the purpose of such a school, and why does the main character who only has a heart defect need to attend it?

It seems to be for those who require constant direct medical attention or who require specific special needs. Basically stuff that you would never expect a regular school to be able to deal with.

Why is a burn victim considered a "disability" in this scenario?

I'm not that far in yet, but

Spoiler

it seems to be more severe PTSD related than anything having to do with the burn itself

 

[PataHikari]

It is bad, however, to find someone sexually desirable simply because they are disabled. Like fuck, is that my only redeeming feature?

Well good thing the story doesn't do this.

(You see, unlike you, I've read a significant portion of it)

The scenario seems pretty implausible and kinda dumb. Why is it a boarding school specifically for the disabled?

It's just there for the setting, basically to make the idea of meeting 5 people with different disabilities at once slightly more plausible.

What qualifies as being disabled?What is the purpose of such a school, and why does the main character who only has a heart defect need to attend it?

Basically it seems like anything that would require constant medical staff near by. That's why Hisao went, otherwise his heart might explode and nobody be near by to treat it.

Why is a burn victim considered a "disability" in this scenario?

This has actually been brought up before and the writers did say there's a reason.

(The out of story reason is that the sketches that inspired them included her)

Are these questions answered in the game?

Yeah, pretty much.

Or is it just bad writing?

Nah the writings pretty good.

And I really don't need to play it to be saying the things I'm saying. I am disabled and this is the way the game's concept makes me feel. That is enough.

The problem is that the way it makes you feel is a knee-jerk reaction that doesn't really fit the game.