My history with visual novels has been a bit of short and incomplete one. I’ve been sampling software for a little over a year, but I never really could confidently speak on the subject for a number of reasons. Finally, one of the biggest reasons can now be thrown out the window. I’ve finally played my first full-fledged visual novel! Although it is a freeware release, Katawa Shoujo has a full retail product vibe behind it. And while my ability to review such a title still may remain questionable, I feel confident enough in my knowledge of the genre, as well as anime and manga in general, to properly assess it.
Katawa Shoujo follows the tale of a Japanese high school student named Hisao. In the midst of his senior year, he’s suddenly struck with a heart attack. The cause of his heart attack is a long dormant heart condition he has called Arrhythmia. After the attack, he can no longer return to his normal school as his need for medical surveillance is simply too great. Instead, he transfers to a school for the disabled. While able to start a new life at this school, the road ahead of him holds many challenges as he has to come to terms with his own condition, learn how to deal with others’ conditions and of course, being a visual novel, date the ladies. There are five ladies in total: Shizune, who’s deaf; Lilly, who is blind, Hanako, who has extreme burns on half her body, Rin, who is without arms; and Emi, who is without legs.
Despite what you might think from a visual novel that essentially originated from 4chan, the title definitely takes a very serious approach to the subject, as Hisao struggles with the acceptance of his new life. While a very important aspect in making Katawa Shoujo unique, the disabilities don’t hog the spotlight. Often they play a role in the story and make for some interesting interactions and conversations, but it’s more or less a simple twist placed on the plot that helps give Katawa Shoujo a different feel than just your typical visual novel love story.
The main female characters may appear cookie cutter at first – minus their more obvious disabilities – but each character and route have their own tweaks that make them feel unique. For example looking at Hanako’s route, early on it’s pretty easy to tell how that whole route will end. But thankfully, it takes a roundabout way of getting there. Some routes are definitely more drama filled than others, but overall the they’re diverse enough that it feels like there’s something here for everyone.
For those of you who are here for the boobies, there are quite definitely boobies…. disabled boobies at that. How much you see greatly depends on what route you take. Some routes feature sexual intercourse all over, while others just have a minor scene at the end, seemingly just for the sake of having one. In most cases, these scenes roll well into the story, so they don’t feel too obtrusive. Unfortunately, there are a few scenes that feel unnecessarily forced into the experience just to give the player some eye candy. It’s unfortunate, but it’s an eroge.
Being developed by a largely western-based development team would seemingly put the title at a disadvantage to other visual novels, but it feels like it helped it as well. The sense of humor seems much more natural than most visual novels. This is possibly thanks to being originally written in English and not having to worry about adapting jokes to an English-speaking audience. The title also features animations which are extremely impressive given the project’s nature. And in some cases, the animations look better than the actual CG stills. While we’re on presentation, the soundtrack is strong as well, featuring a nice variety of tracks that captures the emotions of some of the more dramatic scenes, the carefree nature of the average school day and that lovin’ feel of the (oh baby!) love makin’. If you don’t want to know that lovin’ feel, you can disable all adult content.
While Katawa Shoujo has high production values for being a freeware release, there are still some problems with the consistency. The overall artistic direction is set, but some small stylistic changes between artists are quite noticeable, particularly in the character art. The writing is fairly consistent all around, but there are some differences in route structure. For example, Shizune’s route has a single choice beyond the initial act that determines the route you will be following. This is in comparison to most other routes in Katawa Shoujo which throw at least a few choices at you, even if they don’t play a huge role in where the story goes.
At the end of the day, Katawa Shoujo is definitely a flawed experience in some areas, specifically due to its inconsistency. But unless you’re desperate for a highly polished experience, it’s hard to deny that the title is solid. Its strong sense of humor that doesn’t invade the story, diverse character routes, unique character interaction and overall strong cast line-up creates a well-worth your money experience, without the actual need of money.
You can download the full title for yourself over on the official website.
Tags: 4LS, Katawa Shoujo
