It’s been a while late Happy “Insert holiday here”. I would have posted sooner but I got sidetracked with helping out with Skilling peeps and other RS matters, new gifts, old gifts, Madden, Football, you-tube and upgrading my computer. I have a dell still one of the 1500 series and well… it being a replacement for the breakdown prone 1200 I used to have… (we remember that well) did have only 1 GB of ram… When I saw that I said to myself that this was going to have a hard time so I had to spend cash and wait for ram to come in which to be honest 2GB runs quite well for me right now and I can go up to 8GB even though my processor would need to be replaced before that. However that took a while to get the cash it was well worth it plus I could get by on one just… took SO LONG. One of my other new gifts I got was a nice mug from my aunt with the emoticon 😉 which I am drinking out of right now as we speak. I also got the usual mundane expected stuff but we all know what that is.
If you couldn’t tell by the title… I am going to be talking about Katawa Shoujo in this post and is why I waited so long to make my second post. Now you might say Dating sim eeeewww why creepy gross… my response? Go Pick up persona 3 or Persona 4. There is dating sim elements in that RPG that just work SOOO well. I couldn’t put Persona 3 FES down when my nephew got it as I became attached to the game. I admit though getting back on topic… I almost never play dating sims (see above). DISCLAMER: the views below are from someone with a steady relationship with a woman for five years now and may not be to your liking.
Katawa Shoujo is loosely translated to Disability Girls. (Not going to get into why). You might say something on how it’s wrong to make a game about trying to romance girls with disabilities like no arms, no legs, blind, mute/deaf or others but stop to think about it before you say that. I went in to the game an empty mind expecting probably something not great as I did look at some games on the Ren’py game engine from sub-par to just plain terrible. However, this one blew my mind. The text itself is well written explaining what happened with the main Character Hisao Nakai. He has a condition called arrhythmia which makes his heart beat irregular and a good chest shot could be lethal. On one winter day he meets his High School crush who confesses his love for him and then… he starts to have a heart attack. Fast forward to a few months later to when he has been in the hospital since. It seems he is going to be released and about to go back to school and see his frie… wait this isn’t a fairy tale! Actually his friends… Stopped visiting him the last one to leave was his high school crush. To make it worse… he is being transferred to a new school with a 24/7 med staff and also a dorm so someone can look after him for the last year of schooling.
Now this is where the game officially begins Act 1. At the start you meet your class… Sitting in the back I saw a really shy girl with scars on her face and at that moment I decided if she was a romance option I am aiming for her! (I went into this blind… sorry lilly but I only saw on cheeseburger the name and how it was promoted didn’t read the chars or anything as the site was down except for a torrent link). Well… short story is as I start playing I met the girls and not ONE felt sorry about their disability but actually Really worked around it. Rin being an example having no arms but uses her feet and mouth to paint with dexterity or Rin her friend being a Track and field star especially sprinting but having no legs using leg springs in lieu (if you saw the new American Gladiators when Brick was on he uses the same principal).
I need to stop and explain the girls for a sec
Lilly Satou: blind since birth. the motherly gentle giant of the cast and also Hanako’s friend.
Hanako Ikezawa: the scars on her face and hand tell more than you know for a 3rd of the game her family died in a fire when she was young and was saved because her mom covered her daughter leaving hanako with her burn marks.
Rin Tezuka: Her birth defect left her with stubs for arms after they had to be amputated. She is an avid painter and the head in the clouds persona of the game. She is also the other half of Eri.
Eri Ibarazaki: “the fastest runner on no legs”. She lost her legs from below the knees in a car accident allways happy allways 100% energetic and hides a secret throughout her game.
Shizune hakamichi: Deaf/mute combo only able to be talked to by sign, notes, or her translator Shiina. very competitive and a harsh taskmaster to the point she pushed most of student counsel away except for Shiina (who waste no time getting you to join). She is also the Student Counsel president.
Shiina “Misha” Mikado: the pink hair anime standard is her trademark and her other being her laugh. She is Shizune’s translator and other student counsel member. Get used to them quick they never go away.
I went along and saw Hanako reading a book. She was who I saw at the begining and at that point my goal was set for my first run. She is really timid sure the scars don’t help but she is cute. (though emi is just bubbling cuteness she’s a little much for my tastes). I met her blind friend Lilly just before and from there it was just hoping to pick right to get her to be my choice. When it came down to the day of the festival (act 1 end) I was told to find Hanako by Lilly (each girl has a paring shizune/misha, Lilly, Hanako, and rin and emi) and then my goal was achieved.
The rest of the game was getting to know her but… she would never let me get close to her. It seems each character has an internal struggle. This internal struggle makes you feel closer to the character than you would think. At one point I was feeling so bad I wanted to wait for a cue to hug her and tell her everything is ok… However once the one adult scene came up (yes there’s a scene where you know… man + woman BUT YOU CAN turn it off if you don’t like it or are too young and NONE of it is rape which would probably stop me playing right away) I felt so bad for her as I saw the amount of scars and it’s alot. However, I also saw her maturity too and smiled at the same time. The next scene was pure wow seeing her cry and I get my big wish. The ending was really happy and I was hoping for more but the game ended (no happy wedding? Hanako as a blushing bride would be nice with hisao giving her a ring having conquered her fear would be nice). However, I was satisfied with it. So I went and looked for ALL the paths and all the endings for 100% and all I can say is WOW at the amount of work the game took.
In all I can say katawa is a great game. Definitely was above my expectations and I just couldn’t put it down. It’s like a book you just want to read more you wanna see if emi can get off her chair or if Hanako can finally say I love you without showing signs of fear. I don’t often recommend a Dating sim but… this one I liked and I am playing Hanako’s story again just to see her warm happy smile. Plus… It’s free! I would include screens but a google search will give you PLENTY.
until next time
~L-LWentworth8567
P.S. Yes Hanako I did enjoy your ending
Links to peruse if you want to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_dysrhythmia about Arrythmia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katawa_Shoujo Katawa Shoujo on wikipedia
http://katawa-shoujo.com/ link to katawa incase you want to try I am seeding the torrent
http://shimmie.katawa-shoujo.com/post/view/2392 reference to my P.S.
The Somewhat Infrequent 3.0 