I've been hearing about this game/visual novel a lot recently, but I haven't played it yet. I know it's free, but I'm not going to waste my time with a VN unless I know its any good or not. I hear this game actually treates the subject matter of disabilities maturely and it has a lot of heart. But I also hear that the game is amateurishly written, filled with cliches and cornyness you'd find in a bargain bin harem anime. I don't mind that there's little to no gameplay, because Planescape Torment had poor gameplay but the impeccable writing made up for it. But does Katawa Shoujo feature excellent writing and a strong cast of believable characters? Or is it poorly written fetish sim in disguise?

Strong cast of characters: absolutely. No question.

Amateurishly written: perhaps at times, and yes, there are moments (specifically when speaking with the comic relief character) that internet memes come into play. You're also dealing with end of high school age teens in this story, so take that as you will. However, I think that strength of some of the writing and the themes it deals with overcome its few shortcomings.

Whether it's something you should try is something I can't answer though. It's free and going through one girl's path isn't going to take up a whole lot of your time, so I would say to give it a try.

@AndrewB said:

Strong cast of characters: absolutely. No question.

Amateurishly written: perhaps at times, and yes, there are moments (specifically when speaking with the comic relief character) that internet memes come into play. You're also dealing with end of high school age teens in this story, so take that as you will. However, I think that strength of some of the writing and the themes it deals with overcome its few shortcomings.

Whether it's something you should try is something I can't answer though. It's free and going through one girl's path isn't going to take up a whole lot of your time, so I would say to give it a try.

I might, but I hope this VN is good. It won't be the first VN I've played, because I've tried out Clannaed after hearing a lot about it a while back. I couldn't get into the game, and found it to be way too cutesy for my taste.

I hope this VN is good, because I remember hearing similar things about Clannad a while back. I did not hate Clannad but I did not find it to be very good either.

Would you typically read a novel about school kids and their pseudo-relationships? If the answer is yes, then sure thing you should try it out.

Well if you are in the mood of a romance story it is ok.

As far as VN's go i don't get why this average title is getting so much attention when there are so many great (by VN standards) titles to be played. If you just want a VN and it does not have to be katawa shoujo then i can not recommend the "when the seagulls cy" enough

And if you wanted another suggestion, I also made this relevant thread about Remember11 recently...

A lot more "grown up," if you're looking for a story and the dating-sim aspect turns you off.

If you like Wipeout (the racing game) you'll love Katawa Shoujo.

@Questionable: Because so many people praising it have never played other VN's, which is a shame.

@Cloudenvy: It's also free, which means zero barrier to entry. You can't say that about a lot of other VNs.

Yes. It's fucking great.

I thought it was pretty awesome.

@AndrewB: Also that.

The moment-to-moment writing can sometimes be pretty amateur-ish, but the larger ideas behind the game and it's individual plotlines are really admirable and are pulled off nicely. Overall it's much less groan-worthy then many VNs, probably due to the fact that it's Western made. I really enjoyed it, and I feel I might have even gained a bit more respect and understanding for people with disabilities.

If you do give it a shot, give it till probably halfway through Act 2. If it hasn't grabbed you, then it probably won't down the line.

it's alright, I think it's worth playing because it is very decisive. I find most of it to be terrible, myself, but you might not so...

Only VN I've played, and I liked it a lot. Maybe the moment to moment text isn't that great but the overarching development is great.

I guess if you like reading, like romance stories and have a decent tolerance for methodical "read slow" writing, you will like it just fine.

*cough* Rin is the best character, *cough*

@Sooty said:

If you like Wipeout (the racing game) you'll love Katawa Shoujo.

???

Slap that on the back of the box and we're good to go!

I thought it was boring and the art sucked.

@McGhee said:

I thought it was boring and the art sucked.

And I know you're wrong.

@Video_Game_King said:

@McGhee said:

I thought it was boring and the art sucked.

And I know you're wrong.

The backgrounds were all photos with filters over them and many of the drawings of the girls were very roughly done. The art sucked.

But if you didn't find it boring, then congratufuckinglations.

@Sooty said:

If you like Wipeout (the racing game) you'll love Katawa Shoujo.

I don't know man,I played so much Wipeout that by the time I got to Katawa Shoujo I felt like I was playing the exact same game and got bored of it. And Wipeout has better tracks, you pretty much can't argue with that.

It's alright for a free vn that was made by some amateurs

@Landon said:

@Sooty said:

If you like Wipeout (the racing game) you'll love Katawa Shoujo.

I don't know man,I played so much Wipeout that by the time I got to Katawa Shoujo I felt like I was playing the exact same game and got bored of it. And Wipeout has better tracks, you pretty much can't argue with that.

Wipeout: a tale of disabled skycars. It really did tug at the heartstrings at times.