Deskimus Prime Skips A Beat with Katawa Shoujo

[Deskimus Prime]

[HEADING=1]Katawa Shoujo[/HEADING]

Heartwarming, heartbreaking, heartstopping, and a whole lotta heart.

[img alt=And I didn't even have to use the phrase better than it sounds.]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/113081m.jpg[/img]
​

To put it as bluntly and politically incorrectly as possible, this a game where you date crippled girls, spawned by 4chan.

Let me clarify that a bit. Yes, Katawa Shoujo is a dating sim in which the protagonist is given the opportunity to romance a variety of his peers at a school for the disabled. The idea came from the back-page scribbles of a Comiket fanbook, which somehow wound up in the hands of 4chan's /a/nime board, who fell in love with the idea, formed a group, did some brainstorming, and eventually created this game.

Having said that, I'm now in the position where I have to convince you, dear reader, to kindly stop hovering your mouse over the "back" button, because then you'd be missing out on one of the most unique, interesting, heartwarming and overall fucking great games to come out in recent memory. It's also free and available for download right here [http://katawashoujo.blogspot.com/2012/01/katawa-shoujo-released.html], so the only thing that should be holding you back at this point is that you're patiently waiting until you've finished reading this review. Right?

First off: a little backstory. Katawa Shoujo, despite the misleading title, was not made by Japan. The group Four Leaf Studios is made up of 21 multinational volunteers; essentially ordinary folk with a far-from-ordinary idea. It's also over a decade old, from idea to inception to finished product. So yeah, it's the anime-style cripple-loving equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever, except that instead of the gnawingly empty feeling of 15 years' worth of waiting for a heaping platter of shit, you get to experience the kind of joy and self-satisfaction typically reserved only for things like Charlie Sheen's opinion of himself.

I guess this how Lilly sees line breaks.

[HEADING=2]ACT 1: DAT PLOT[/HEADING]

You play Hisao Nakai, ordinary high school student whose latent superpowers awaken when his crush asks him out; except that his only power is having a heart attack and it's not actually a super power, he has a life-threatening condition known as arrhythmia. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_dysrhythmia] Hisao is then advised to swap schools to Yamaku High, a school that specializes in disabled or otherwise un-ordinary students. Needless to say, breaking connections with everything and everyone he knows and discovering he could die at any moment doesn't go over very well with ol' Hisao, and neither does having his heart literally broken by this girl.

[img width=600, height=450, alt=dat ahoge]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/geehisaoyoulookkindofcool.jpg[/img]
You. (artist's likeness)
​

Though the place takes some getting used to, with the help of the people he meets and the friends he makes, Hisao manages to turn the downward spiral of his life into something downright enjoyable. After all, assuming you the player point him in the right direction, he might just mend that broken heart of his, thanks to the efforts of the female cast. Or end up in a crumpled, whiskey-soaked heap in the dumpsters behind school. No pressure.

And that's really where this game shines the brightest: the characters. To say they act like actual people might seem insulting, but I'm talking about their virtualness, not their disabledness. Gone is that nagging feeling during a great deal of anime-related/inspired stories that the writer is just throwing darts at a giant sheet of cute quirks and fetishes. Katawa Shoujo's characters can easily pass the Turing test without having to flash their panties for a passing grade.

[img width=600, height=450, alt=This the is the most non-disabled people you will see in one place at the same time.]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/tothecripplemobile.jpg[/img]

​

You've got Shizune, the Student Council President whose competitive spirit and take-charge personality crown her Queen Gets-Shit-Done, though being deaf-mute makes communicating her exact feelings difficult; Misha, Shizune's disturbingly loud, cheery and inseparable best friend/sign-language interpreter; Lilly, the tall blonde and classy young lady who enjoys tea, walks in the country, and reading, though being blind since birth limits her to Braille; Hanako, an impossibly shy book-loving girl usually seen either with Lilly or hiding from the world in the back corner of the library, where her extensive burn scars can finally go unnoticed; Emi, the local track star and self-proclaimed "Fastest Thing on No Legs," with an infectiously bubbly personality and the kind of headstrong determination that would shame Rocky Balboa; and Rin, a short-haired girl who is great at painting and abstract conversations but bad at making sense and shirts, the last two respectively due to being an Osaka-calibre space cadet and not having any arms.

An amusing arrangement of side characters help fill out the cast, give out extremely useful advice, or generally be entertainingly insane. Kenji, for instance. Kenji is, well... You can't just describe the Kenji experience, you have to see it in order to understand it. Even Hisao himself rises above the generic dating sim protag archetype; he's got dreams, thoughts, opinions, and his own personal issues which he needs to settle before he can help others with their own.

[img width=600, height=450, alt=Where will you be when the feminists rise up?]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/kenjilogic.jpg[/img]
Yer a misogynistic paranoid schizophrenic, 'Arry Potter!
​

As for the plots of the 5 different routes themselves, they're generally very solid. The one weaker route is made up for by two excellent and two positively stellar What's thankfully absent is the use of "forced drama," aka unexpected, unwarranted and un-foreshadowed bad things happening just to squeeze a few tears out of a shellshocked audience; misery flavoured deus ex machina. Thanks to the phenomenally written characters and their interactions, the characters drive the plot as opposed to the plot pushing them forward. No impossibly tragic backstories, and the backstories that are tragic are handled magnificently realistically: you are a high school student, not a therapist. You aren't magically going to solve everyone's problems with a few forced platitudes and a quick fuck behind the sports shed, and where do you get off trying to "fix" people anyway? It's indescribably refreshing to see this sort of thing handled so well.

And the endings? Let's just say I almost had a heart attack of my own; the good kind. You may find yourself uncomfortably happy. Cheek muscles hurting from smiling for half an hour straight, that kind of happy. You might go out and do something recklessly happy, like buy a homeless man dinner or pet a kitten. Katawa Shoujo takes no responsibility for any unplanned acts of happy you may inflict upon others or yourself.

[img width=600, height=450, alt=I feel another heart attack coming on.]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/love.jpg[/img]
Please play responsibly.
​

Line.

[HEADING=2]ACT 2: DAT GAMEPLAY, DEM ARTS[/HEADING]

In terms of technical aspects, the game is nothing fancy, but there's a sort of warm softness to the whole thing that is both comfortable and endearing. There's a fair few special effects to spice things up as well, including an interesting fade to black, and the reoccurring ? and terrifying ? heartbeat effect, a warning that Hisao is always just a few wrong moves away from death. Sprites are nicely detailed and adorable, backgrounds are of the "blurred photo" kind that adds to the sensation of softness, and the CGs are an absolutely lovely sight: reminiscent of watercolour paintings that warm the cockles of the heart and all that other "feelings" stuff. Really, I can't praise the artists enough for the CGs, they're like concentrated kitten petting in visual form.

[img width=600, height=450, alt=I've got no arms to hug you with.]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/hrnggg.jpg[/img]
Disarmingly cute.
​

There's also half a dozen FMV sequences that, which definitely lacking the polish of things with, well, budgets, are still a very pleasant surprise. Hanako's in particular is both heartbreaking and heartwarming in all the best ways possible, and the others are no slouches either. I won't link them, though, they're much better when earned.

The music should not go unrecognized, either. Whether achingly romantic [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UpVRu1mU1A&feature=related] or cheerful little ditties [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-gb8g-Kt70&feature=related], the soundtrack is excellent at setting an appropriate mood. Special mention goes out to the girls' themes for being remarkably good indicators of what to expect: Hanako's Painful History [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmgV6vN0Evs&feature=related] will require tissues and excuses involving onions and foreign objects stuck in your eyes; Lilly's Concord [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RqHOkUSWTg&feature=related] is like a nice cup of horse-tranquilizer-laced tea on a beautiful sunny afternoon, and Rin's Parity [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tEcG9qpgUg] is as amusingly...weird as Rin herself. Emi's Standing Tall [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaQzRABeXX4&feature=related] is worth noting if only because how hilariously (in)appropriate the title is for her.

The game also manages to strike a fair balance in difficulty; some visual novels have insultingly easy choices:
1. Ask her out.
2. Punch her.
3. Put it in.
and some have mind-bogglingly unintuitive paths (I'm looking at YOU, Clannad), but Katawa Shoujo manages to make them worthy of more than just a moment's pause, yet clear if you've been paying attention so far. Which you should do. The first act is a little tricky; Emi's route requires you to force Hisao to be a bit of a dumbass, and in order to even get that opportunity you have to dodge the rather aggressive Student Council's recruitment efforts. And by "recruitment efforts" I mean "slavery attempts."

[img width=600, height=450, alt=So this is Spiral Power, eh? Wahaha~]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/demdrills.jpg[/img]
Hey baby, what's your sign?
​

Line.

[HEADING=2]ACT 3: DEM FEELINGS[/HEADING]

So that's the general idea of Katawa Shoujo. As for how I felt about it? Pure joy. Absolute misery and despair. The warm fuzzies. Something I can approximate to love, even. It's absolutely phenomenal at getting the player to feel feelings, and that's the highest form of praise I can give to any form of entertainment. Something like Hanako's rare smile, or even Kenji's brief, confusing moments of bro-ship feel genuine and earned, which is more than I can say of countless other works. It's fucking fantastic, is the general theme or message I'm trying to convey here.

If I had to pick a little at it, I'd say that it's a bit short; individual routes are maybe 4-8 hours depending on how fast you read. Sometimes scenes will cut unexpectedly, signalling the end of the day at times when there is clearly more that could be said. The side characters, though interesting, are relatively few in number and though there's much to be enjoyed piecing together Kenji's deal throughout the various routes, the others aren't really touched on as much as I'd like. But that just ties more in with the length issue than an actual problem. But the worst complaint I have? Not enough post-coital cuddling. Dammit 4LS, don't hold out on the good stuff here. You and I both know I expect warm fuzzy feelings.

[img width=600, height=450, alt=Why does she need ribbons if she's blind?]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/miracleoftheuniverse.jpg[/img]
Did someone say "warm fuzzy feelings"? Cause I think I just heard someone say "warm fuzzy feelings."
​

Speaking of which, time to address one of the major elephants in the room: that whole "18+" thing.

Spoiler: DIRTY THINGS

It is with relief, pleasant surprise and mild amazement that I say that this is the first time I've read a visual novel with sex scenes that seemed like they were written by someone who has actually had sex before. As crazy as this sounds, they're as incredibly tastefully done, respectful, very sweet and kinda hot as that of a well-written classic novel or serious movie. None of that godawful porn writing that infests most VNs, none of the uncomfortable length or surprise fetishes or any of usual cringe-inducing suspects. Hell, there's one scene that's actually funny: two teens trying something on impulse that maybe they shouldn't have and the hilariously awkward consequences. Which is impressive: that they've got the balls to admit that sex, even between people in love, isn't always perfect and amazing and wonderful and everyone involved comes 17 times, especially given lack of experience. At the risk of repeating myself, these characters are written well enough to be virtually indistinguishable from real people, and it's little things like this that really help drive it home.

Perhaps you've noticed I've gone this far without really talking about the whole disabled deal. That wasn't actually intentional on my part, but likely intentional on the game's part. Spend a little time and effort getting to know any of the characters and they quickly surpass any and all labels put on them, especially those of their respective issues. Y'know, like how actual people work. You don't forget they're disabled, it's just not called attention to and quickly becomes much less interesting than the characters themselves. It's a game where you date girls who happen to be disabled, not a game about dating disabled girls. As Hisao says to himself very early on, the thought that people would be defined by their disabilities is disgusting. And that's essentially the core of the game itself: people can and should only be judged individually as the people they are, not as a pile of character traits held together by willful ignorance and laziness.

If you step back and look at it, this is a very odd game. Besides the obvious points, it's a multinational (mostly English-speaking) game that uses most of the conventions of a Japanese dating sim, or ren'ai game if you want to be anally retentive about it. However, either because it's free and therefore doesn't need to sell, or maybe because having an outside opinion allows them to mess with the standard conventions, it's missing a lot of the cringe-inducing cliches of the medium. No blatant panty shots, no standard anime character archetypes, Hisao doesn't have boob-attracting magnets in his hands when he trips; none of the things anime-watchers have come to expect -and loathe - from a somewhat stagnating medium.

[img width=600, height=450, alt=She even brags she's got the legs for it.]http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/deskimusprime/Katawa%20Shoujo/everymansdream.jpg[/img]
If this isn't the phrase every guy dreams of hearing, I don't know what is.
​

Not only is this refreshing, it's also hopefully a sign of things to come. The visual novel medium is largely nonexistent in the West, and with Japan all but monopolizing it, for those of us who enjoy this niche we find it extremely finely tailored towards Japanese interests. So when something like Katawa Shoujo comes along, it's heartening to see things like this exist, and makes me wish all the more for its success so that others can imitate, learn, and improve on it. That's also why I'm writing this sloppy literary blowjob glowing recommendation.

Summed up, what do I think? The world needs more of this. It's an eye-opener, a mind-opener and a heart-opener. If you don't seriously reflect on yourself as a result of playing this, you're either already a moral and empathetic savant up there with Buddha and Gandhi, or due for a trip to the Wizard of Oz, though I hear he's fresh out of hearts. It's an experience, and a damn moving one to boot. It'll make you feel feelings, think thoughts, and above all else, smile. And I could be wrong, but those are some of the finer things in life.

This has been your host Deskimus Prime, back in black after an extended leave of doing things that are not reviews. I'll just dump the download link right here [http://katawashoujo.blogspot.com/2012/01/katawa-shoujo-released.html] once more, and if this one gets clicked more often that the one at the top of the page I'll consider my work here a success.

Spoiler: If you enjoyed this one, why not try your luck with these others?

I've also done:
Muv-Luv [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.288229-Deskimus-Prime-Presents-Awesome-Games-with-Stupid-Names-Part-1-Muv-Luv]
Muv-Luv Alternative [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.290270-Deskimus-P-Presents-Awesome-Games-With-Stupid-Names-Part-2-Muv-Luv-Alternative]
Clannad [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.282699-Deskimus-Prime-Spends-A-Day-With-The-Family-In-CLANNAD]
Chaos;Head [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.264914-Deskimus-Prime-Reviews-The-Madness-that-is-ChaoS-HEAd]
Cross+Channel [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.266586-Deskimus-Prime-Dives-into-Cross-Channel]
Planetarian [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.274139-Deskimus-Prime-Reaches-For-The-Stars-and-the-tissues-In-Planetarian]
and Ever17 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.263601-Deskimus-Prime-Presents-Ever-17-ything-You-Ever-17-Wanted-To-Know-About-Ever17]

Oh, and it seems to have spawned a parody flash game called Katawa+Crash (a loving reference to Nanaca+Crash, the flash game parody of Cross+Channel [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.266586-Deskimus-Prime-Dives-into-Cross-Channel]) it's pretty damn funny and disturbingly addictive. Give it a look [http://www.mediafire.com/?wv4h2oamleqp57v] if you enjoy things like laughing and fun.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

Wow, excellent review and I have to say; couldn't agree more. I really don't know what to say except well done and I wish I could offer more constructive criticism. Oh, and I hope someone reads this and changes their mind.

People really need to learn the difference between 4chan and Anonymous. Or 4chan and /b/. Or 4chan and... well.... terrible things that people hear about it. Of the few friends I have talked to about this, all but one of them laughed it down when they heard the origins, thinking it nothing more than a prank or fetishistic fanservice.

That out of the way, which character paths did you think were 'Stellar'? As my friends and I cannot agree at all.

Spoiler

Personally, Rin's path was probably the most heart-wrenching thing I have read in years

 

[Evilsanta]

I have said it before but I say it again, Excellent review.

And as Evil Cheese above me wrote I hope this changes some minds.

Also Lilly forever.

 

[Colton Renfro]

I needed to create an account just to say this.
Amazing review.
I wish i could thank everyone who's had an influence on this game personally, because frankly, it changed me quite a bit.

 

[Jorec]

Skips A Beat with Katawa Shoujo huh? I see what you did there.

Tired memes aside, that was an excellent review and I hope that it convinces people to give this game a try. And then I hope that if they enjoy it they can convince other people to give it a try, and so on.

 

[ExileNZ]

I've gotta say, even just playing the demo a few years back really struck me.
Not sure if I'll even ever find the time to play it, but I'm glad it's finally come out and even more glad that it lives up to expectations.

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

Superb review, and one I agree with wholeheartedly(I'm so sorry).

I haven't even finished one path yet(I'm on Hanako's, bless her <3 ), but so far the story has been solemn, hilarious, sad, heart-warming and downright heart-wrenching. The art is beautifully done and the music is unobtrusive and hits just the right note for the scene it is in.

Frankly I'm sad that so many people in the discussion thread about this have written it off as just a dating sim, when it is so much more than that.

I cannot recommend trying this enough.

 

[Deskimus Prime]

Thanks to everyone who commented, always glad to hear there's people who agree. I'd shout recommendations from the mountaintops if it'd get more people to play this; it's just one of those things that's so great you feel compelled to share it with everyone, because nobody should ever have to miss out on this.

Which character paths did you think were 'Stellar'? As my friends and I cannot agree at all.

Spoiler

Personally, Rin's path was probably the most heart-wrenching thing I have read in years

That would be Emi and Rin, although Lilly's pretty far up there as well. Which was unexpected, those two were the ones I had the least confidence in, and then I end up eating my words when they both turn out to be brilliant. There are no "best" girls, though. Even Misha is great, it's a shame her "disability" prevents you getting a route with her.

I needed to create an account just to say this.
Amazing review.
I wish i could thank everyone who's had an influence on this game personally, because frankly, it changed me quite a bit.

Glad to hear it, and I know that feeling bro. I'm actually going for a run later today. Won't be the same without an Emi, but even the idea of just getting in shape is somehow infinitely more attractive to me.

Although on the other hand, I'm somehow still thinking that a cigarette every now and then would make me look cool. Dammit Akira, you're too suave.

 

[Weaver]

Thanks for the review, Deskimus!

I actually stayed up until 6am playing/reading Katawa Shoujo and woke up at 10am to start playing again

The only thing that's gripped me so much in the past were some of my favourite novels (I'd frequently read until sunrise; unintentionally of course!).

For me, it's really the characterization that blows me away. The writing is pretty strong, the stories of the girls and Hisao are well thought out; but the personalities of the characters and their development over each story is , in my opinion, absolutely and staggeringly well done. It easily matches a great novel in just how thoughtfully developed the people in the story are. I think it's obvious a near inexpressible amount of care and research has been given to each and every one of the main characters.

I just have to give it credit on it's realistic portrayal of relationships and people. There are no magic anime style "friendship" speeches where a rousing set of words entirely alters a character's outlook. There are no instant fix solutions for everyone's deep seeded issues. Hisao is just a high school student, not a doctor. Therapy takes years; even then it might only go so far. People come with baggage and if you want a relationship with someone in real life you have to take all of a person; love all of a person, even if it's hard. You can't attempt to fix them, but you can attempt to understand them.

 

[Irradiated Tiger]

Hanako's route put me on an emotional rollercoaster that was mentally tiring. And I fucking LOVED IT because holy shit, was that an amazing Act 4 or what? I don't think I could aim for the bad end for her, might break me. Good review, by the way. I think you're pretty spot on for everything.

(Next up, Lilly!)

 

[andy25100]

Excellent review, i might use this if i need to convince my friends that nothing is wrong with thinking this is an amazing game, as this is more than a guilty pleasure for me.

 

[Korten12]

Downloaded the game, really good so far.

 

[NoOne852]

I took my time and just finished the story with Hanako in about 8 hours. I would be lieing if I said I didn't want it to go further with the story. It truly was superb and amazing story. Not to mention how truly heartwrenching it was. As stated by Irradiated Tiger, at times it was an emotional rollar coaster, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a great story. I'm at a loss for words as to how good it was. There was never one second that I thought it had an event that wasn't a believeable reaction/situation/well... anything. It all made sense. There was a lot of work put into this and it well shows. As stated before, there needs to be more visual novels like this one. It really was touching in more ways I could have ever thought of. I would strongly recommend anyone reading to give it a try if you haven't already. To be honest, this was the very first visual novel I have ever experienced and I don't think there could have been a better impression to be made. I am going to try to get my friends to give it a look, though I am not exactly sure how to approach them about it.

If I were to make a suggestion for your first time through, as obvious as it may seem, it would be to select the options that best reflect how you think you would react in that given situation. Afterward, try to find out what the other paths are like. Some events won't be that different I am sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if a completely different set of events where to occur even in the first act based on how well done the story was for the paths I decided on. After I finish this post I am going to start another story. I think this is going to remain on my computer until I get a new one, and even then, I may just download it again. Going into this I was very unsure about it, but I am going to thank my past self for taking the time to download it. Once again, it was the one of the best stories I've heard in a long time and makes me glad that there is still such talent in the literary world.

tl;dr:
It was an amazing story with great characters and you should give it a try even if you haven't tried anything like this before. Also if your uneasy about the 18+ content, there is an option to disable it and doing so doesn't make you lose any part of the story, because it just comes up later as "you had sex" essentailly.

Once again, I strongly urge readers to give this a try.

 

[Weaver]

Played two routes so far.

To put it bluntly the game has made me feel a lot of things and has given me a lot to think about. I can't say the same for much else.

I actually think it's affected me in a very deep way. I'm not sure if it's temporary, but I'm sure it's for the better.

Right now I just need to detox, it will take me probably another week or two to finish as I'll be going slower.

 

[Deskimus Prime]

Played two routes so far.

To put it bluntly the game has made me feel a lot of thinks and has given me a lot to think about. I can't say the same for much else.

I actually think it's affected me in a very deep way. I'm not sure if it's temporary, but I'm sure it's for the better.

You should see 4chan, it's been transformed into some kind of nice place where everyone talks about their feelings, inspirations and their motivations to become better people.

Save a route for later if you want, spread it out a little. I kinda wish I hadn't plowed through so fast.

Still, getting up early to jog/run to school instead of the bus. Emi's route made me want to better myself in a way I haven't felt since breaking up with my ex a long while back.

Who've you finished so far, out of curiosity?

 

[Weaver]

Played two routes so far.

To put it bluntly the game has made me feel a lot of thinks and has given me a lot to think about. I can't say the same for much else.

I actually think it's affected me in a very deep way. I'm not sure if it's temporary, but I'm sure it's for the better.

You should see 4chan, it's been transformed into some kind of nice place where everyone talks about their feelings, inspirations and their motivations to become better people.

Save a route for later if you want, spread it out a little. I kinda wish I hadn't plowed through so fast.

Still, getting up early to jog/run to school instead of the bus. Emi's route made me want to better myself in a way I haven't felt since breaking up with my ex a long while back.

Who've you finished so far, out of curiosity?

I heard /v/ and /a/ became quite transformed. I've done Emi and Hanako's in that order.

I've dug out an old gym membership from my wallet (that I still pay for). I've played my guitar for the first time in ages. I even realized a lot about how I treat people, and why I treat them the way I do.

I think I'm going to be on time for work tomorrow for the first time in a year, even though I hate the job.

I also started looking for a new job

I suppose, for me, I realized I've been granted so many opportunities in life by simply being born in a first world country with no major crap-ups that wasting them on eternal escapism instead of making my life better/one I want is foolish.

I'd say that Katawa Shoujo gave me the swift kick in the ass I needed to get my life in order. But that's a lie. I've shielded myself from the harshness of reality for something so blunt as a swift kick to affect me in any meaningful way. It would be no more than a lazy jostle. Instead, it uses a deft tenderness. A gentle, delicate affection that unassumingly invites itself in and lets you realize, for yourself, that we're all broken in some way. Instead of kicking down the door and demanding change, it simply knocks and asks if it may come in. It then asks questions that become more difficult. It forces, or at least it forced me, to reason with myself and ask questions I didn't want to ask but that I really needed to confront.

That's what it did for me at least

 

[Deskimus Prime]

words

words words

words words words

I feel like a huge amount of interconnected things, about myself, other people and the way I act around other people suddenly made sense all at once. Like finally being able to put a feeling in words.

Not that I can properly describe how I feel about this game. I mean, I wrote that giant wall of text up there about it and I still feel like it wasn't even remotely enough, or close, to what I thought.

Argh. Feels like Rin's route. Which is excellent, by the way.

You sir are a gentleman and a scholar, and I wish you the best of luck in what you do.

 

[Fat4all]

I've done a review of this game as well, but on a different site. I loved it.

I personally loved Hanako's plot the most. It put me in such a strange place emotionally, and I was always interested in what would come next.

Great review, Deskimus Prime.

 

[Atomic_Domino]

Brilliant review. I've played through 90% of the game and as the first VN game I've played this one is excellent. It handles everything pretty superbly.

Also Rin forever (though Mischa's a close second).

 

[Weaver]

words

words words

words words words

I feel like a huge amount of interconnected things, about myself, other people and the way I act around other people suddenly made sense all at once. Like finally being able to put a feeling in words.

Not that I can properly describe how I feel about this game. I mean, I wrote that giant wall of text up there about it and I still feel like it wasn't even remotely enough, or close, to what I thought.

Argh. Feels like Rin's route. Which is excellent, by the way.

You sir are a gentleman and a scholar, and I wish you the best of luck in what you do.

I can certainly feel your frustrations. Emotions are just so inherently difficult/impossible to define and convey. I'm sure it's the lamentation of many artists and poets. I think that's why KS is very special; it's made a lot of different people feel a lot of different things. I genuinely pity the people who play it and don't seem to be able to emote with it.

I'll do Rin's last, I've heard from a lot of people it was special (what else would you expect from Rin? ).

Good luck to you too, Deskimus! The world is big, vast and for the first time I realize; rife with opportunity.