[MEI12123]

I finished Hanako's and Rin's routes and Hisao is an idiot, Rin is painful and Hanako is the best girl.

[Adidaas]

I'm a little late to the party, but I just recently downloaded the game and beat Hanako's route. And I'm gonna have to jump on the bandwagon and agree that Hanako is the most lovable girl. It's hard to see how the other routes will be able to knock her off the throne.

[XxLen KagaminexX]

why can't I hold all these feels

[Hikaru-chan]

...Decided to download the full version of this sucker. >///< Yep.

It just sounds too interesting to pass up, tbh.

I'll have to add this to the list of other games I'm trying to balance/finish (KH: Birth By Sleep, Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64 ver.), Persona...holy crap, so many games to finish... @///@)

[Byakuren]

I've been too busy and distracted with Chrono Trigger to even touch this game again but I intend to re-read Lilly and Rin's routes. ;_;

[Selphos]

Adidaas, on 03 February 2012 - 03:38 PM, said:

I'm a little late to the party, but I just recently downloaded the game and beat Hanako's route. And I'm gonna have to jump on the bandwagon and agree that Hanako is the most lovable girl. It's hard to see how the other routes will be able to knock her off the throne.

I did the same thing, and I'll tell you from a more seasoned perspective that nobody will knock her off her throne - they'll just each have their own thrones.

In my opinion, no one girl is simply "better" than another.

Of course I still haven't completed Shizune's route yet nor started Lilly's.

[ѕуℓνєση ღ]

Are we all playing the same game?

Maybe I'm suffering from Hype Aversion but everyone seems to have played a glimmering shiny god-given game from the promised land whereas I could barely stagger through act one without feeling bored to death. None of the characters (aside from Hanako, whom I like solely for her character design) really resonated with me and I just couldn't be arsed to play the second half of the game.

Eh. Maybe it's not my sort of thing.

[Byakuren]

I would recommend you try at least finishing one girl's route since the writing is different per route (Different writers for each route and all).

The thing is it gets better after act 1, since it focuses on the girl specifically and it starts to get touching and heart tugging usually. Some tend to relate or get really really teary eyed(even actual genuine crying) from the routes.

The best examples I could possibly think of would be something like Clannad(Starts out cutesy and fun, but get further and it's really heart wrenching).

I was literally bawling in tears for like 1-2 hours while reading and after finishing Lilly's route (Good end). All of those feels man.

[Viola]

Woah where'd that poll come from.

[Gallows]

Selphos, on 04 February 2012 - 01:14 PM, said:

nor started Lilly's.

Oh just wait. It was wonderful.

The only routes I have left to finish are Hanako's and Rin's, but Lilly is my favorite girl, I think. I started on Hanako's but I feel so weird being around Lilly but it focusing on Hanako, so we'll see how that goes.

Lilly's never really made me cry, but I had my moments of "Oh god no... ;-;"

[Adidaas]

Selphos, on 04 February 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

I did the same thing, and I'll tell you from a more seasoned perspective that nobody will knock her off her throne - they'll just each have their own thrones.

In my opinion, no one girl is simply "better" than another.

Ah, personal opinion and such. I'm playing Lily's route right now and like CirqueT I feel a little bad for Hanako while all this fluff is going on with Lily. But I can't wait to try out Rin though, she looks like a crazy gal.

[♪]

I have always wanted to ask...why did Shizune & Misha get zero votes for both favorite girl and faovrite route?

Spoiler

DO YOU PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO PROMOTE FRIENDSHIP THAT MUCH?

lol

[Chinchen]

♪, on 06 February 2012 - 12:13 PM, said:

I have always wanted to ask...why did Shizune & Misha get zero votes for both favorite girl and faovrite route?

Spoiler

DO YOU PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO PROMOTE FRIENDSHIP THAT MUCH?

lol

Cause Misha's haircut is the greatest abomination in the history of visual novels.

[Selphos]

So, with the conclusion of Lilly's route last night, I can safely say I have completed Katawa Shoujo in every way. Now I shall attempt to give a retrospective analysis of each route, while listening to Innocence, because it is simply beautiful.

Might as well go in order of completion. And yes, these are spoiler-heavy, it's not just for the textwalls.

Hanako.

Spoiler

There's a certain magic given to the first girl followed. Despite being all but alone in the world, Hanako is adorable, and I truly wished to protect her and be there for her. When she had her breakdown, I had a bit of one myself, feeling at a loss, but desperate to help her recover from her ordeal.
When the prompt appeared suggesting taking Lilly's advice or not, I had to sit there and think about it. I didn't want to proceed until I knew for sure what I believed the right decision was, and for about ten minutes, I didn't. Then I made the decision to listen to her. I am ever glad I did.
Her ending really opened my eyes, in a way. I was close to joining her in her weeping, as I watched Hisao and her mature very quickly in a very short amount of time. The image of Hanako leaning into a kiss with her finally truly accepted lover at the end is one that won't leave my heart easily.
Her BAD ending... however... was simply numbing to watch, as I believe I have mentioned before. It hurt too much to hurt. If I had somehow seen that the first time, I don't think I would have been able to proceed.

Emi.

Spoiler

Emi is a headstrong girl to a fault. It was frustrating, sometimes, letting her burst on several occasions about how she doesn't need help, she can handle everything herself, nobody needs to get close to her. It was obvious that those statements were false from the beginning, but her pride wouldn't allow anything else.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed her route as well, partially because it felt the closest to a "normal" high school relationship, with a "normal," plucky high school girl. Everything about her, drama excepted, just felt natural - the confession, the kisses, the casual affection she showed, her general positive attitude; she lifts up the atmosphere of any situation.
None of her decisions were particularly hard to make, thank God, until I had to decide whether to talk to Emi or her mom after the former's walkout. While I went with Emi for my first run, I found it kind of funny later when I realized both ways end up with a good end, it's just a matter of scenes and CGs included.
Her bad end was awful, too. It was one thing that she broke up with Hisao, but it was really depressing how casual and offhand it was. Like she just didn't care, and never did.

Oh yeah, something else I remembered since these are basically stream of consciousness: the scene where she told the truth about her accident and her father. It was a heart-tugging feeling as she gradually worked up from small admittances to more and more painful confessions, especially when I realized Hisao himself had put her up to it.
And I think she's the only twin-tailed girl out of most any anime I'm familiar with that I haven't designated as my unquestionable favorite. More on that later.

Kenji?

Spoiler

Man, what the fuck.
Also, that sound? Sickening. Sent a chill up my spine.

Rin.

Spoiler

This was a head-scratcher. A troublesome thing about Rin's route is that most of the prompts don't actually give any alternatives, just different modes to the same end. I can safely say I asked for help with this one most out of all five. In the end, though, I still managed to pull through with Rin on my own, like the others before her.
Rin was a... unique experience. The heartbreaking moment for her was seeing her alone in that dark room with nothing but her art around her as she intentionally broke herself down. I'm not sure what else to say, really, I guess one could ask Bya about our chat logs on the topic...
The endings, however, require mention.
First, the good one. I must say that dandelions make an excellent substitute for cherry blossoms. As Rin stood up to the sky, and spread what little arms she has against the sky with a smile, I believed she could take on the world. That anybody could take on the world. It just takes enough willpower.
The bad end felt like... nothing. It just happened. The reversal of the argument with the one, small change in setting made all the difference, and it happened so quickly that there was no real time to feel bad about it.
The NEUTRAL end, however. That was depressing as fuck. I'm only going to say five more words to describe it:
"I can't hug anyone, Hisao."
;___;

Shizune.

Spoiler

I loved Shizune in a way unlike the others. She also applies the best to my personal preferences in terms of appearance, methinks - short dark blue hair, glasses, zettai ryouiki, and I'm trying really hard not to say "curves in all the right places." She could be a little taller, though. Relatedly, she's beautiful in her casual dress and her yukata.
First of all, her father can fuck off. Furthering my worldview that the biggest assholes in life are almost always the biggest people, I would've loved to shove that colorguard baton I mean sword of his right up his ass. He already walks like he's got something up there, anyway. >_>
That aside, there was a certain connection with her that the others couldn't boast. I'm not sure what it was, although the sign language - and body language in general - was likely involved. Working in the council with her, too.
Now, I'm gonna have to agree with a few other people that Misha's decision to lop off the drills was questionable. All things considered, though, it was probably for the better, as it was easier to take her seriously. Which is why it hit me like a truck when I saw her looking so depressed asleep on the roof, and then a little later when I reached the one and only prompt in the entire line.
I knew I should've known what to do, and all the signs pointed to one option over the other, but for some reason, I questioned myself over this just as much as I did with Lilly's advice in Hanako's route. I didn't know if I had the heart to say no to a face that sad. I went over all sorts of scenarios in my mind trying to think of a reason Shizune would want Misha to be comforted in that way... but in the end, I couldn't. For that, I'm glad, else I couldn't have seen the two - three - friends happy together again, raising their fists to the sky as if to challenge anyone to dare stand in their way.
Because the alternative was cruel. I just... don't have any better way to describe it. And seeing the cat plush Hisao had won for Shizune, still in her bag? I felt like a monster.

And last but definitely not least, Lilly.

Spoiler

Yeah, you know how I kept saying before that I refused to tier the girls, and that they all have their own places in my heart? That was before I found Lilly. They STILL DO have their thrones, but Lilly's is just a little bit higher, which is kind of funny because of how tall she is. :V
Guess I better back a hypocritical statement like that up. From long before I started I had heard word of how wonderful Lilly is, so my hopes were high. It only took until Hanako's birthday party that I decided those hopes were well-founded with that lovely little kiss.
It was painful watching the same events that I had watched unfold over Hanako's route play over again with so many similarities, especially the call for advice. Fortunately Hanako was alright, and the following call again to Lilly personally was pleasant. A simple statement like "I miss you" can mean so much, though it made me a little wistful as I wondered when was the last time I was able to say that to someone.
The Hokkaido trip. Christ, so much happened in so little time. Alone in the wheat field, I was reminded slightly of Kanon's Mai Kawasumi, but I quickly accepted Lilly's confession scene as easily the most romantic and heartwarming. It was very pretty, too. And while I'm talking about romantic and pretty scenes at Hokkaido, I think the sex events with Lilly there were the only ones I can say I found actually erotic. Shizune's were nice, too, but it wasn't quite the same feeling.
Skip ahead most of an act. When Akira (who is totally bro, by the way) broke the news about their return to Scotland, I started to really feel scared about losing Lilly. I know it's silly to talk to a screen, but ask Bya, I was BEGGING Lilly to stay. My entire sense of reason started to break down as her departure grew closer and closer and I still didn't want her to leave at all whatsoever. I cheered Hisao on as he made his last-ditch attempts to "save" her, for the first time really feeling like the player character was an extension of the player himself...
...and only became more upset as I saw the futility of the situation. She wasn't turning around. She wasn't coming back. He was going to die alone in the airport as the truest love he's ever known walked away from within his sight.
In the hospital, I was sure that that was it. I had lost. Somewhere, I had messed up, fudged a key choice despite my best efforts to do everything in my power to help the relationship, and it had blown up in my face. She was gone, and not even Hisao's parents could assuage his pains. Even Bya, who I had confided in for my entire length of playing the game as the person I could babble about my feelings to as I went, told me I had landed on the bad ending. It was hopeless.

Imagine my reaction
when I heard the music box.
Lilly's music box.
I was in disbelief. I swore it was just music intended to further drive home the depression.
But Hisao acknowledged that it was there.
And then... I wanted to cry.
Lilly was there.
She had come back.
All my anger and depression immediately vanished, all washed over by the most overpowering sense of happiness and relief I have felt in a very long time. I would've given anything to be able to feel her in my arms as she wept, tell her everything was all right, kiss her, wipe the tears from her face while fighting off my own and promise to never leave her side for as long as I live.

In case that wasn't enough to seal the deal, Lilly is the only character to receive a post-credits epilogue. In a way, it offered a true sense of closure - but at the same time, it gave me the feeling that their story had just begun. Even now, I feel like there's so much more to be done with her, and I'm a little sad that I've experienced all Four Leaf Studios has to offer about her, or any girl.

This is why I cannot love any of the girls as much as I love Lilly.

End longass spiel that took forever to write.

[Byakuren]

Yessssssss
(Finally got to read it all)
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Sel. <: