oh internet

The Duke Nukem of visual novel games... but minus the suck

Summary

Katawa Shoujo is an American visual novel (a hybrid between video games and an actual novel) that serves as every depraved weeb's dream. It's a game where you date cute girls with disabilities. Depraved? Maybe. But who wouldn't want to give it a try? It's free after all.

Despite this game being free and having the weird subject, it is actually very well made and put together, even with the people working on it volunteering for the job. It is also surprisingly mature about the character's disabilities considering it's origins. The game also has a tendency to be tongue-in-cheek with it's dialogue, purposely making mistakes with it's dialogue to give it that authentic Japanese translation feel as well as making vague references to memes and anime.

The plot of the game follows Hisao Nakai as he develops a severe heart disorder that forces him to go to a school that specializes in serving those with disabilities. There, you meet the girls, get to know them, and try to get one to be your waifu. The game takes place in Japan, hence all the Japanese sounding names.

Characters

Hisao Nakai- Serves as the basic apathetic protagonist that is suppose to allow the players to insert themselves into the game.

Emi Ibarazaki- Emi had her legs amputated below the knees. She is the optimistic and cheerful one of the group, even seeing her amputation as a blessing since she can use her prosthetic legs to run to her full potential. Emi runs on track, and is very health oriented. But due to her healthy outlook, she is probably one of the less popular since what Basement-dweller would want to exercise?

Hanako Ikezawa- At a young age, Ikezawa was severely burned and disfigured when her house burnt down during which her father died. So Ikezawa is extremely shy and anti-social, so much so she panics any time there is social contact. Her only friend is Lilly. She's basically everyone's waifu since every /b/tard relates to her anti-social behavior and shyness.

Lilly Satou- Satou is blind, and is the representative of Class 3-2. She's extremely proper in an almost Victorian fashion, spending her time drinking tea with Ikezawa and being very formal (read: uptight) with everyone. People just deal with Lilly to get inside of Ikezawa. She's rivals with Hakamichi.

Rin Tezuka- Rin had a birth defect in which her arms had to be amputated, so Rin uses her feet for basically everything. Rin is very creative and likes to paint, usually using her mouth to do so. Rin is the "weird" one in the group, liking to give voice to her abstract thoughts on life and getting lost in thought, usually saying something that confuses people.

Shizune Hakamichi- Shizune was born deaf, and never learned to talk. Shizune is very much the leader type, being very strong willed and forceful, taking charge in any situation. Shizune also likes to compete, being able to be very manipulative, but is also seen to be fair. Shizune runs the student council, and is the representative of Class 3-3, your class. So Shizune and Misha (her interpreter) are the first two girls you meet in the game. Being a representative, Shizune does not get along with Lilly, at all.

Shiina “Misha” Mikado- WAHAHA~!! Misha has no known disability revealed yet, besides being some kind of mental disbality ~WAHAHA!!!. Misha is Shizune's interpreter, and has drill bits for hair. Misha is very cheerful, and never pulls a punch. All Misha really does is laugh, being the "airhead" of the group.~WAHAHA!!

Origins

The game originally originated from 4chan. Yes, that 4chan. It started in 2000 when a few people discovered some bonus material involving disabled girls from some dating game. 4chan violently ran with he idea and people began developing the game, eventually becoming FourLeaf Studios. Since then, the game has been building off of volunteer services of people before being able to release and Act 1 demo some time in 2009.

Current status

Katawa Shoujo has been released, and it is every bit as terrible as it sounded like it would be. "Terrible" being in a black comedy sense. The game itself is all around well designed and avoids being offensive, for all that's worth.

Facts

Images

Shizune	It's done when it's done.	HNG	Feminists, feminists everywhere
Yuri love	Lilly and Shizune in a South Park reference	Nyoro~n
MISHA YOUR DRILL WILL BE THE DRILL THAT PIERCES THE HEAVENS	Rin	Hanako

Videos

Related Pages

4chan

a

Anime

b

It's Not My Fault That I'm Not Popular

Mai Waifu

Otaku

Video game

Weeboo

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This article is part of a series on software.
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Explore our other categories for information on different subjects!

.

This article is part of a series on video games.
You can find additional games here.
Explore our other categories for information on different subjects!