PC katawa shoujo

ANGRYWOLF

ANGRYWOLF

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I've been meaning to write a review of this for a while; it's the most controversial thing I've played/read in quite a while. But finding the words has proven to be quite difficult without spoilers. So I'll provide a mini review of my thoughts here instead:

I downloaded this the day it was released; I was highly curious. It sounded a lot like twisted fanservice to me at first glance given its origins, but there was potential for it to be something quite special if it was done right. I'm drawn to controversial things, and despite what I thought this was going to be, I wanted to confirm it before I wrote it off...for a change. There are five possible pathways, one for each girl - Lilly, Shizune, Hanako, Rin and Emi - and overall...I still can't decide what I think of it overall, and I've played through each storyline twice now...although going through two of them twice was torture. I love the storylines I enjoyed just as much as I hate the ones I hated.

If this was just Rin's story by itself, this would be one of the best visual novels I've ever gone through. Rin's story really struck me; it was emotional, complex, carefully thought-out, and it shocked me more than a little to see such quality in an amateur product. This was better than some of the mainstream VNs; hell, some video games don't even have as good a storyline as this. This was Katawa Shoujo at its best. I completely forgot what I was reading on more than one occasion, I was so caught up in the dialogue. Rin was an extremely well developed character, and better still, she didn't fit any character archetypes, something the rest of the cast can't claim. Rin's wonderfully deadpan manner and occasional textwalls - as well as the fact that I had to actually think to follow her train of thought sometimes - made it worthwhile, at least for me. It's rare for characters to surprise me as much as she did.

But the other storylines let it down. Lilly's wasn't too bad, being a traditional romance story - it was quite endearing - but Shizune's and Emi's stories were both awful, and more than justified the criticism this was getting prior to its release; they were poorly written, little more than twisted fanservice, and exactly the sort of thing you'd expect to come out of former 4chan members. Just...no. NO. I can't put into words how bad these were. Hanako's was well thought out, but it really, REALLY pissed me off, because she ended up better off in Lilly's story as a secondary character than she did in her own...I can't quite decide what I think of that. Hanako was really short-changed in her own path, and it ended far too abruptly. So, split between two amazing pathways, two atrocious ones, and one that is hit-or-miss.

The characterisation of the protagonist, Hisao, was where this VN really stumbled though. No matter what path you took, he was a complete and utter fucking retard: close-minded, overwhelming arrogant, and more than once I wanted to punch his face in. He's just...ugh, he's exactly what you'd expect. His way of thinking is both offensive and annoying, and it's a wonder ANY of these girls would get with him. I didn't find Kenji particularly amusing either; after the first two encounters, I just skipped his dialogue. Either not to my taste in humour, or just plain unfunny.

The soundtrack wasn't too bad, all things considered...although I did turn the sound down quite frequently. Tracks like Concord were fantastic, but tracks like Ah Eh I Ou You sounded worse than the sort of thing you'd expect to find in Final Fantasy XIII-2. It was all over the place. It's pretty good length if you follow it all the way to the end, as well. Personally, I think this VN is worth experiencing for Rin's story alone, and I'd recommend trying Lilly's and Hanako's as well. Just give Shizune and Emi a wide berth. The option to turn the explicit scenes off was much appreciated as well; if you don't like it, just skip it and enjoy the story. Just bear in mind skipping the explicit scenes in Emi's story will cut the time in half...yeah, this is why I think you should avoid it, amongst other things. And avoid everyone once and see what happens; it's quite amusing and, considering how much of a complete ass Hisao is, it's not entirely undeserved.

So, that's about it. Ranking the storylines is easy (Rin -> Lilly -> Hanako -> Emi -> Shizune) but giving it an overall score isn't. There was an equal amount of good and bad, but the bad doesn't justify a high score, and the good shouldn't be sold short because of the bad it was lumped with. xD
 
Thanks.
I will probably download it this weekend and start off by playing Rin's story as you suggested.
It's sad the main protagonist isn't more sympathetic/aka a good guy but you can't have everything.
I hope it is as visually stunning and has the mature themes I find myself liking these days.
 
I actually played Lilly's story.It was very nice.Lilly was such a sweet girl. Reminded me of my own past btw.

I found this online:

http://theglobaldaily.net/010412.html



Teenager Severs Arm in Imitation of Video Game


  • by: By Ned Cummings
    Brantford, Ontario
  • From: CNN
  • 3:01 AMJanuary 17 2012

(This story is still developing)
'Katawa Shoujo' Cutting: A local teenager remains in a critical condition tonight following an attempt to deliberately sever his arms after playing a Japanese-style dating sim.


2h5tr86.jpg

Ryan Dunham in happier times Source:The Daily Telegraph



A community is in shock as last night local student Ryan Dunham convinced a friend to hack off his arms. The 16 year old was inspired by a video game called 'Katawa Shoujo', which translates as 'Deformed Girls'. The game involves the player seducing a group of disabled high school students, one of which lacks arms, and having sex with them. Dunham's parents and schoolmates were understandably shocked by the bizarre incident, his mother saying "I don't know why Ryan decided to throw his life away over a stupid game, the people who make this junk should be ashamed".

Dunham's friend (name withheld by request) used a large woodcutting axe to deliver the blows and intended to sever both arms but panicked and called an ambulance after nearly severing Ryan's right arm. Ryan had knocked himself out by consuming a large quantity of alcohol earlier in the night, but he left a message on his computer explaining the reasons behind his choice and telling his parents that his friend was not to blame. The message was also posted on social networking websites Reddit and 4chan. Several Reddit users tried to raise the alarm and alert authorities but it was too late. Paramedics rushed Dunham to Brantford General Hospital but were unable to re-attach the partially severed arm and were forced to amputate it. A local police spokesperson said they are looking into the incident but does not expect they will file charges.

Katawa Shoujo is a 'visual novel', a new style of video game popular in Japan where a player reads the action instead of plays it. The game has caused quite a splash online after finally being released, it was in development for 5 years. The game was created by a group of amateur game designers and is available to anyone free of charge, regardless of age. This follows the controversy over another visual novel called 'Rapelay' which Taina Bien-Aime, Executive Director of Equality Now, called "An abomination," continuing to say "These type of games have no place in our society, we are working with community leaders and government to stop the spread of toxic games like Disability Girls (Katawa Shoujo)".




Read more: http://www.theglobaldaily.net#ixzz1wpz6eIdF

Sad

I am looking for other stories like Katawa if anyone knows of any.​
 
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