Hi there Smogon community ! I was exploring the Great Library in order to find fellow Katawa Shoujo players and I was disappointed to find only scarce posts even mentioning it, so I figured I'd create a thread to talk about one of my favourite games and an amazing visual novel.
Pretty sure this will be a total flop and this thread will be swallowed into the darkness of Smogon's history, but eh.
Well then, I shall start explaining the concept of the game a bit, before placing the emphasis on its strong aspects.
Since Katawa Shoujo is an adult (watch out kids !) romance visual novel, each route represents a girl that you can romance, and in each route there is a good and a bad ending (sometimes there is a neutral ending as well). Your choices, as they are made by the main character, will have an impact on the fate of your couple : will it live happily ever after or meet its emotional doom... ?
It was made by 4LeafStudios, which consists of a patchwork of fans.
Each of the girls is unique because of her own disability, but I'll get to that later. The main character himself is crippled, and the story often revolves around him trying to come into terms with his condition, with your girl of choice of course.
Even though it might not look like it at first glance, this aspect adds an interesting twist to an otherwise generic formula. While the whole "we'll get the player to identify as the MC to increase his interest" factor suffers from this, the characters appear much more human.
Hisao Nakai, the game's main character. Remember his face, because as in any visual novel, you won't be seeing it much. The poor guy is sent to a school that is specialized in taking care of crippled students due to arrhythmia, leaving his old lifestyle behind way too suddenly. Little did he know that it could be his salvation...
Shizune Hakamichi, class rep and deaf-mute since birth. Despite her condition, she has some presence ! She'll try to recruit Hisao in the Student Council, which is severely understaffed. She likes strategy games and won't hesitate to manipulate people, but she has her own reasons to do so.
Shiina "Misha" Mikado, Shizune's translator. Almost as loud as Shizune is silent, she'll give Hisao some headaches with both her deafening voice and her uplift attitude, and she might give the player a serious headache at some point... She's also a member of the Student Council and Shizune's partner in crime no matter the crime. Warning : her route doesn't exist ! She's not physically crippled either, and players have been arguing about her disability.
Emi Ibarazaki is a cheerful and bubbly girl, as her more anime-ish design may give away. She's a member of the track and field club despite having no legs anymore (she has prosthetic legs though), and defines herself as "the fastest thing with no legs". Her puppy eyes are a lethal weapon against Hisao, her lunchboxes are huge, and she can't stand staying in place, which will also cause her to make Hisao run every morning. She's got the easiest route to get and the easiest to complete with a good ending, but pleasant to read nonetheless.
Hanako Ikezawa is a girl whose house and family burned down when she was little. Off to a great start, aren't we ? Since that day, not only does she wear scars on the right side of her face and body, but she is also emotionally traumatized. As a result, words like "quiet" or "timid" wouldn't be enough to describe her incredible ability to vanish out of existence. Will she ever open up if Hisao tries to seduce her ? Her route is a rollercoaster of emotions and can be a bit tricky, but yours truly thinks that it's the best out of the five.
Lilly Satou (sorry for your eyes, but her color is yellow, soooo...) is a refined and ladylike girl, always ready to sip a cup of tea. Furthermore, she was born blind into this world, but it doesn't seem to bother her much and she often laughs it off. She was raised by her older sister and aims to be the perfect woman. She's very motherly, but seems to have a strange feud with Shizune...
Rin Tezuka... is quite the mystery, even in school. Being deprived of her arms, secretive, tomboyish, airheaded and obssessed with painting, Rin is any psychanalyst's worst nightmare. Time and space distort whenever you're close to her, even though it's not like many people would be around her anyway. Only Emi seems to understand her despite her mood swings and philosophical monologues. While she can be sharp at times, love is not something she'll comprehend immediately...
Those are the seven main characters, but there are more to discover in each route !
So please, feel free to enjoy Katawa Shoujo !
Pretty sure this will be a total flop and this thread will be swallowed into the darkness of Smogon's history, but eh.
Well then, I shall start explaining the concept of the game a bit, before placing the emphasis on its strong aspects.
- What is Katawa Shoujo ?
Since Katawa Shoujo is an adult (watch out kids !) romance visual novel, each route represents a girl that you can romance, and in each route there is a good and a bad ending (sometimes there is a neutral ending as well). Your choices, as they are made by the main character, will have an impact on the fate of your couple : will it live happily ever after or meet its emotional doom... ?
It was made by 4LeafStudios, which consists of a patchwork of fans.
- How does Katawa Shoujo differentiate itself from other visual novels ?
Each of the girls is unique because of her own disability, but I'll get to that later. The main character himself is crippled, and the story often revolves around him trying to come into terms with his condition, with your girl of choice of course.
Even though it might not look like it at first glance, this aspect adds an interesting twist to an otherwise generic formula. While the whole "we'll get the player to identify as the MC to increase his interest" factor suffers from this, the characters appear much more human.
- Who will I meet in this game ?
Hisao Nakai, the game's main character. Remember his face, because as in any visual novel, you won't be seeing it much. The poor guy is sent to a school that is specialized in taking care of crippled students due to arrhythmia, leaving his old lifestyle behind way too suddenly. Little did he know that it could be his salvation...
Shizune Hakamichi, class rep and deaf-mute since birth. Despite her condition, she has some presence ! She'll try to recruit Hisao in the Student Council, which is severely understaffed. She likes strategy games and won't hesitate to manipulate people, but she has her own reasons to do so.
Shiina "Misha" Mikado, Shizune's translator. Almost as loud as Shizune is silent, she'll give Hisao some headaches with both her deafening voice and her uplift attitude, and she might give the player a serious headache at some point... She's also a member of the Student Council and Shizune's partner in crime no matter the crime. Warning : her route doesn't exist ! She's not physically crippled either, and players have been arguing about her disability.
Emi Ibarazaki is a cheerful and bubbly girl, as her more anime-ish design may give away. She's a member of the track and field club despite having no legs anymore (she has prosthetic legs though), and defines herself as "the fastest thing with no legs". Her puppy eyes are a lethal weapon against Hisao, her lunchboxes are huge, and she can't stand staying in place, which will also cause her to make Hisao run every morning. She's got the easiest route to get and the easiest to complete with a good ending, but pleasant to read nonetheless.
Hanako Ikezawa is a girl whose house and family burned down when she was little. Off to a great start, aren't we ? Since that day, not only does she wear scars on the right side of her face and body, but she is also emotionally traumatized. As a result, words like "quiet" or "timid" wouldn't be enough to describe her incredible ability to vanish out of existence. Will she ever open up if Hisao tries to seduce her ? Her route is a rollercoaster of emotions and can be a bit tricky, but yours truly thinks that it's the best out of the five.
Lilly Satou (sorry for your eyes, but her color is yellow, soooo...) is a refined and ladylike girl, always ready to sip a cup of tea. Furthermore, she was born blind into this world, but it doesn't seem to bother her much and she often laughs it off. She was raised by her older sister and aims to be the perfect woman. She's very motherly, but seems to have a strange feud with Shizune...
Rin Tezuka... is quite the mystery, even in school. Being deprived of her arms, secretive, tomboyish, airheaded and obssessed with painting, Rin is any psychanalyst's worst nightmare. Time and space distort whenever you're close to her, even though it's not like many people would be around her anyway. Only Emi seems to understand her despite her mood swings and philosophical monologues. While she can be sharp at times, love is not something she'll comprehend immediately...
Those are the seven main characters, but there are more to discover in each route !
- Pros and Cons
- The game is completely free and available for every single OS !
- The sprites and background are well drawn, and the occasional CG is pleasant to the eye too.
- Outright godlike music, with numerous tracks. A goldmine if you like violin and/or piano.
- Well-written routes and stories that left players either crying in the corner or dancing with happiness.
- Likeable and human characters. They're crippled, but the game shows them as normal people instead of otherworldy beings, with an incredible amount of pertinence.
- There is a cutscene at the beginning of the game, and one per route. Cutscenes !
- A variety of endings, which makes reaching 100% completion very difficult, not only because of the number of endings, but also because of your feelings, since you have to get the bad endings to reach it, and trust me, you don't want to get some of them.
- Available in 6 languages, including English, French, Japanese and Russian.
- Due to the the way 4LeafStudios is organized, the routes were written by different people and can lack regularity. Similarly, the changes in the art style can be off-putting at first.
- One could question the placement of some of the R18 scenes that feel out of place.
- Can be emotionally devastating. You've been warned.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo
The Fridge and Shout-Out sections in particular will shed light on certains events !
The Fridge and Shout-Out sections in particular will shed light on certains events !
So please, feel free to enjoy Katawa Shoujo !
Last edited:
