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Katawa Shoujo |OT| (VN, Free, Waifus, etc)

I'm atleast glad a got a good self control over playing this game now. Man I was seriously Vamping since the only time I could play this was around nighttime because of work. Ohh, welcome to the party billy.
 

Jintor

Member
I'm gonna play through Digital: A Love Story since I hear it's fairly short, then I might just punch myself in the stomach with a Lilly route to see if it retains feels on a second playthrough.
 

OMG Aero

Member
Due to urging from others I've begun to play this "game". I'm not really sure which girl I want to pursue yet, so the choices are scaring me because I don't want to screw myself over later. I like some aspects of Rin, but she's a bit too... "out there".
I think the best way for your first playthrough is to not think about aiming for any particular person and just pick the choices that seem right to you or that you would say, then see where it goes.
 

Jintor

Member
tumblr_lyjcnnonnW1rnx5rh


AWWW YEAH ERRYBODY IN DA HOUSE LET'S HOLLAH

MC SATOU, KICKIN' IT LIVE AT YAMAKU HIGH WITH THE FIREBRAND, ERRYBODY GET DOWN, GET DOWN
 

vall03

Member
I'm gonna play through Digital: A Love Story since I hear it's fairly short, then I might just punch myself in the stomach with a Lilly route to see if it retains feels on a second playthrough.

Im planning on doing this as well, and when I saw my installers, I have Narcissu 1 & 2 and also dont take me personally. Im now thinking, why the hell didn't I install these games last year?!
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
Also, just wanted to add 'cause I forgot to mention yesterday. Hanako's casual outfit.... HHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGG!!

Especially at
the jazz bar when they play pool. I HHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNGED quite audibly. XD
 
Also, just wanted to add 'cause I forgot to mention yesterday. Hanako's casual outfit.... HHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGG!!

Especially at
the jazz bar when they play pool. I HHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNGED quite audibly. XD
Casual outfit ranking is Hanako > Shizune > Misha > Emi > Lilly. If you take Rin's outfit as being the one in the OP image, she'd be just below Shizune.
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to

Very nice! ^^

Anyhoo I've now finished every route (and I'm not doing the Kenji bit, I'm fine with 98%). Sooooo I have to say

Hanako>Lilly>Shizune>Emi>Rin

is my personal order. I've always been a sucker for shy girls, so Hanako has that to her advantage on top of being just insanely cute. Her ending CG was all sorts of HNNNNNNG! Actually overall Hanako had the best CGs in terms of execution and composition, though Lilly's CGs had the best use of color (Emi had one CG that was just laughable. You know which one!). I think Lilly's route had the best writing from a technical perspective (though Hanako's was close). Shizune's route gets several bonus points though for providing the most interesting end-decision. Emi's route didn't connect with me emotionally like the others, but her character gets points for being well realized. And sadly, I just didn't connect with Rin's story. However to be fair, that might be because I went to an art school and knew probably 100 people like her for years (and still keep in contact with a few).

Overall though, for a game made by a group of amateurs (I don't mean this in an insulting way, just that they're not pros that I'm aware of), this was an amazingly solid effort that really kept my interest throughout its entirety, and that in itself deserves recognition. I'm very glad to have experienced the fruits of their labor, and hope that someday in the future we may see something new from them.
 

derwalde

Member
wow i dont know what to say. i just finished my first playthrough (hanako good ending) and it was an great experience, except for the
fuckin weird hentai shit going on.

why would u do that. it makes perfect sense to me, that she shows me her back and even her tits, but everything beyond that feels just "staged".

apart from that, its great. the character design is adorable, the writing is touching and the music is wondeful!

starting my rin playthrough tomorrow. im excited what will happen. she seems to be... interesting (lol).
 
wow i dont know what to say. i just finished my first playthrough (hanako good ending) and it was an great experience, except for the
fuckin weird hentai shit going on.

why would u do that. it makes perfect sense to me, that she shows me her back and even her tits, but everything beyond that feels just "staged".

apart from that, its great. the character design is adorable, the writing is touching and the music is wondeful!

starting my rin playthrough tomorrow. im excited what will happen. she seems to be... interesting (lol).

She allows Hisao to have his way with her so that he doesn't view her as a child who's dependent upon others. She even explains that to you in her breakdown in the park
 

McNum

Member
Huh, Rin's story was... Very Rin.

I don't think I get it. Apart from my usual "Hey, where did the heart condition go?" remark, it kind of feels like... not much happens. Rin does stuff, Hisao is confused. Repeat until Rin has a breakdown, and get ending depending on how you react to it. Okay, the moment where she finally is able to cry at the end is powerful, but Rin was just overall... weird. Not bad, no, but kind of difficult to comprehend. Which, all things considered, is Rin at her Rinnest.

Also, I get to answer my own question from earlier: Is the Time Passes song used in any story scene? Yes. Yes it is. Rin's good ending has it.

Anyway, that's all of them. 93% done. It's going to be tricky to get the last 7%, I think. Or maybe a little heart-wrenching. I don't really think I want to see Emi's and Hanako's bad endings...
 
Huh, Rin's story was... Very Rin.

I don't think I get it. Apart from my usual "Hey, where did the heart condition go?" remark, it kind of feels like... not much happens. Rin does stuff, Hisao is confused. Repeat until Rin has a breakdown, and get ending depending on how you react to it. Okay, the moment where she finally is able to cry at the end is powerful, but Rin was just overall... weird. Not bad, no, but kind of difficult to comprehend. Which, all things considered, is Rin at her Rinnest.

Also, I get to answer my own question from earlier: Is the Time Passes song used in any story scene? Yes. Yes it is. Rin's good ending has it.

Anyway, that's all of them. 93% done. It's going to be tricky to get the last 7%, I think. Or maybe a little heart-wrenching. I don't really think I want to see Emi's and Hanako's bad endings...

Hmmm... I'm beginning to think that some of you guys who didn't enjoy Rin's story simply had troubles interpreting what it all means. We had some discussion about it all, as well as some things that many players may have glossed over several pages back, so feel free to peruse those prior posts to enlighten yourself as to why those of us who consider her route to be the best written feel the way we do. (I'd gather some select posts or type up some answers myself but I'm on my phone)
 
Man I'm at 93% and I'm not even touching any of the bad endings.

I'm a weak little man-baby :(

I feel ya there, I'd like to go get all of 'em just to see what happens... but I also kind of don't want to know :( I did go back for Emi's bad end, and it was pretty rough already since I'd just finished her path, and it was the first I completed. Hell, some of the GOOD paths are heart-wrenching enough for me
(looking at you, Rin and Lilly)

Hmmm... I'm beginning to think that some of you guys who didn't enjoy Rin's story simply had troubles interpreting what it all means. We had some discussion about it all, as well as some things that many players may have glossed over several pages back, so feel free to peruse those prior posts to enlighten yourself as to why those of us who consider her route to be the best written feel the way we do.

I'm not sure if I consider Rin's path to be the actual best (or any path for that matter, liked them for varying reasons), but her story was definitely the most affecting to me. My heart strings, they were tugged.
 
Biggest problem I'm having with this game so far is no consistent art. Those H scene art kill it for me...

And for now... I'm with Team Emi. That pout T_T.

And it might just be me, but I would not want to do it in a shed that was 'used' by 2 men >.>"

Which route should I go next?
 
Hmmm... I'm beginning to think that some of you guys who didn't enjoy Rin's story simply had troubles interpreting what it all means. We had some discussion about it all, as well as some things that many players may have glossed over several pages back, so feel free to peruse those prior posts to enlighten yourself as to why those of us who consider her route to be the best written feel the way we do. (I'd gather some select posts or type up some answers myself but I'm on my phone)

I think a lot of it might just be lack of interest in Rin herself. If I didn't become intrigued by, and attached to her character, there's no way in hell I would have been able to put up with all the bullshit dick-hammering that goes down in her route. I mean, it was aggravating as fuck for me and I liked Rin.
 

Soma

Member
Alright I've had some time to reflect on her arc after finishing it last night.

While she's not my personal favorite character among some of the other girls (p much Lilly), I can definitely say Rin is one of the most interesting characters I've seen in a long time. The overall writing for her arc was very well done and it honestly needed to be for someone like her. The complexity of her character and feeling the frustration of Hisao trying to deal with someone on a completely different wavelength than him was something that crept up on me with how well it was done. I didn't like the route at first but from the second half to the end, it was all just so emotionally exhausting like i mentioned above. I didn't know what to expect and I kept feeling like I fucked up somewhere.

Her ending is far and away the most poignant. She's solid as my #2 favourite character now.
 

dimb

Bjergsen is the greatest midlane in the world
I stepped away from this game for a few weeks because I wasn't feeling Shizune's route in Act One, so I didn't want to burn myself out on it. Glad I took the break, because it was refreshing to come back to the game, even though Shizune's route wasn't really that great. My biggest issue with it is that it just doesn't really have enough Shizune to really build her as a strong character. There's lots of Misha, lots of Kenji, and a bunch of side characters who never really step into the picture enough to effect things. Really seems to hurt the route a lot, and it never really seems to come together the way it should or resolve things in a manner where Hisao feels at all integral to the story.

But I powered through Rin right after, and it kind of washed any bad taste out of my mouth. It is probably the most well executed route I've played so far, even if it slips here and there. It hones in on the relationship between Hisao and Rin, and feels like it knows where it's going at all times. There are points where it can be frustrating because of the difficulty in communication, but that's exactly the sort of thing needed to emphasize the mental roadblocks Rin and Hisao have, and the story is stronger and richer in its ambiguity because of it. This route also feels like its the most active in terms of choices presented, and its endings are all very strong. The bad endings here felt more like things gone awry, rather than obvious slaps on the wrist for messing up, and the good ending was just really powerful and wrapped things up nicely without ever rushing ahead of itself.

So yeah, really pleased with the Rin route. It offers something different than the rest of the game and really succeeds with what it tries to do. I still have to go do the Lily route, and I'm glad I saved it for last, because it seems like I'll go out with some of the stronger stuff in the game after being disappointed in the Shizune and Hanako arcs.
 
We all know the best girl in the game is Emi's mom anyhow, so... yeah lol

This man knows whats up haha.
Anyway,Speaking of Shizune's route, after going through it in one run I was ready to throw in the towel and not bother doing Rin's route to finish all the girls good end.But after playing some of Rin's route and getting to Act 2, I'm getting back into story and might start vamping a little just to get through it quickly.
 

OMG Aero

Member
Man I'm at 93% and I'm not even touching any of the bad endings.

I'm a weak little man-baby :(

You know you could just keep clicking to skip through the text right?
Then you could get 100% while still pretending the bad endings don't exist.

Although you should totally watch the bad ending in act 1 because it's hilarious.
 

Soma

Member
You know you could just keep clicking to skip through the text right?
Then you could get 100% while still pretending the bad endings don't exist.

Although you should totally watch the bad ending in act 1 because it's hilarious.

I'm actually not that bothered by not getting 100% on this. I think I've gotten my satisfaction for now and I'll most likely play some of the routes over again eventually. Maybe by then I'll have the fortitude to go through the bad endings. :)

And yes I'm aware of the MANLY PICNIC.
 

McNum

Member
Hmmm... I'm beginning to think that some of you guys who didn't enjoy Rin's story simply had troubles interpreting what it all means. We had some discussion about it all, as well as some things that many players may have glossed over several pages back, so feel free to peruse those prior posts to enlighten yourself as to why those of us who consider her route to be the best written feel the way we do. (I'd gather some select posts or type up some answers myself but I'm on my phone)
I didn't say I didn't enjoy it, it was a pretty interesting story. Props to the writer of that arc, it must be difficult to write a character like Rin. That is
so alien to the main character, yet somehow still make sense
. As for understanding it, I think I came to the same conclusion as Hisao.
I don't need to. Some times experiencing is enough, not everything is meant to be understood. Like Rin, for instance.
There is one thing that does bug me a bit, though... and it's the same as bugged me with Hanako's arc.
Wasn't Hisao actually a bad influence on her? Would she not have been better off without him, perhaps? Likewise, Rin is a bad influence on Hisao. It takes him so much longer to come to terms with himself in Rin's arc than the rest. Plus he turns into a total slacker, whereas in the other arcs he improves a little to a lot. With Rin he becomes self-destructive, like her.

Having played all the arcs, I think I prefer either Lilly's for its awesome ending that wraps the whole story up nicely, or Emi's for how it whips from funny to serious to sweet and all over the place. Plus, I think those are the arcs that
involve the heart condition the most and has more personal growth for Hisao.
 

Venfayth

Member
I didn't say I didn't enjoy it, it was a pretty interesting story. Props to the writer of that arc, it must be difficult to write a character like Rin. That is
so alien to the main character, yet somehow still make sense
. As for understanding it, I think I came to the same conclusion as Hisao.
I don't need to. Some times experiencing is enough, not everything is meant to be understood. Like Rin, for instance.
There is one thing that does bug me a bit, though... and it's the same as bugged me with Hanako's arc.
Wasn't Hisao actually a bad influence on her? Would she not have been better off without him, perhaps? Likewise, Rin is a bad influence on Hisao. It takes him so much longer to come to terms with himself in Rin's arc than the rest. Plus he turns into a total slacker, whereas in the other arcs he improves a little to a lot. With Rin he becomes self-destructive, like her.

Having played all the arcs, I think I prefer either Lilly's for its awesome ending that wraps the whole story up nicely, or Emi's for how it whips from funny to serious to sweet and all over the place. Plus, I think those are the arcs that
involve the heart condition the most and has more personal growth for Hisao.

With regards to the bad influencing etc, I think that's actually a marvelous representation of how we all grow to live vicariously through the people we interact with in real life. I actually noticed this too, but it happens in every route; it becomes more obvious in the ones who have negative tendencies. People grow closer to each other with synergy.

In Emi's route, her hard working and forward thinking demeanor encourage Hisao to improve his own lifestyle. In Lily's route, as other people have noted earlier in the thread, Lily is constantly the one in command of the relationship both emotionally and sexually, and the entire relationship comes to fruition and overcomes tribulation when Hisao is finally able to do the same.

Then again, maybe I'm over-interpreting these nuances of story as something much deeper, but it's definitely interesting to think about. To me anyway.
 

XeroSauce

Member
Finished Rin's route last night around 4am.

That was hard. Really hard. It was almost exactly like an experience I went through with an ex so it hit really close to home.

The part where
Rin is being yelled at by the art teacher, and she yells that she doesn't know what's wrong with her..
I couldn't take it. Word for word, that was what I went through less then two years back.

What I did start to realize is that the story was very similar to Iwanako and Hisao's little issue. Visiting in silence? Simply wanting to support someone? FEEDING HER ORANGES? Wasn't that exactly like the hospital visit? Was that intentional or what?
There were subtle things throughout the path that also referenced that.

I finished on the good note and I had to say, I have never empathized with Hisao and one of the girls in this game so much. The things he went through and the things Rin went through felt like they were ripped out of my life.

Now I have to go work and try to suppress all this. Beh.
 

McNum

Member
With regards to the bad influencing etc, I think that's actually a marvelous representation of how we all grow to live vicariously through the people we interact with in real life. I actually noticed this too, but it happens in every route; it becomes more obvious in the ones who have negative tendencies. People grow closer to each other with synergy.

In Emi's route, her hard working and forward thinking demeanor encourage Hisao to improve his own lifestyle. In Lily's route, as other people have noted earlier in the thread, Lily is constantly the one in command of the relationship both emotionally and sexually, and the entire relationship comes to fruition and overcomes tribulation when Hisao is finally able to do the same.

Then again, maybe I'm over-interpreting these nuances of story as something much deeper, but it's definitely interesting to think about. To me anyway.
It is interesting, yes. I think, perhaps, that the stories we latch onto in the game vary one what experiences we've had before. I can sympathize with Hisao in both the Lilly and Emi arcs, but not so much in Rin's I think. He starts out the same, of course. Heart attack, hospitalized, then sent to a new school. He's basically lost, and I don't blame him. That has to be rough.

So in Lilly route
he finds Lilly to be an escape from all that, so to speak, where he doesn't have to be in control, where he can just be calm. And as you said, it's not until he realizes that he has to be as active as Lilly in the relationship that he finally learns who he is and what he wants. He kind of turns into another Hanako, really. (Hanako makes it out of Lilly arc much better than her own, by the way, as she and Hisao pretty much share the same growth in Lilly's arc.)

Emi's arc
has him rather than going introspective on the heart condition, take it on at full blast. Too full at times, sure, but he takes on her "Fastest thing on no legs" attitude and wants to show that heart who's boss. In an interesting twist, he gladly accepts Emi's help but hits a wall when he realizes that when Emi needs help, she shuts him out. Just like Hisao had the opportunity to do with her on the track, but he can't out-Emi Emi. So he, if you take that option, decides to out-Hisao her and use part of what made old Hisao interesting: His logic. He goes full circle, and comes out better for it, and manages to help Emi overcome some of her problems, but in his own way. And in the end, they do complement each other rather well.

I think I might be overdoing it, too. But it is interesting to see that the game lets itself open up enough to actually have this kind of discussion.
 

Tess3ract

Banned
yeah i got that, but i would call it bad writing anyway ;/

and i wont play any of the bad endings! no way! ;_;
It was intended from the start to (HANAKO)
show her weakness. It was here way of saying she wanted to be seen as an adult, but didn't want hisao to leave her either. She thought it was what he wanted, and hisao thought it was what she wanted. It's pretty much confused lonely virgin sex, and it was intended to be awkward (which is how it was written).
 

Jintor

Member
I love that we can have this kind of discussion. I don't have anything really insightful to add right now, but I'm going to replay a few routes and see what I come up with.

I'm thinking of seeing whether I can get another interview with the devs for a more literary post-mortem, since my first article I think focused far too heavily on the disability angle (for admittedly quite reasonable reasons)
 
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