I really don't get it when people talk about Katawa Shoujo as if it was this absurdly depressing game that will leave you emotionally drained and sad when you finish it. Have we played the same thing? It's not even that I'm trying to say something like "oh its not even sad unlike my favorite obscure VN which is really much sadder than babbys first VN" like some pathetic elitist or anything. Like, because of what I heard, I just went into Katawa Shoujo expecting something that would break my fucking heart into pieces and give me the drive to finally end myself... Yeah, I wasn't doing too well back then. Anyway, what I ended up getting was probably the most uplifting game I've played in a long time.
Now, I ain't gonna be here saying Katawa Shoujo cured my depression or some stupid shit like that. However, it did contribute immensely to better thoughts at a time when I was at my lowest point as a shut-in with no future in sight. It would be easy to just take this game's concept and write some shitty overblown melodrama around it, but instead, you see that despite the hardships they go through, the characters in Katawa Shoujko still push forward and strive for what they want, they are defined by more than just their disabilities, and even the source of the drama in their specific routes usually don't have much to do with said disabilities.
What made this a deeply personal experience to me was exactly that, the game invites me to see beyond its concept, to see that its characters have relatable problems: Be it low self-esteem, social anxiety, issues with expressing your own feelings and understanding other people's, having a hard time adapting to your surroundings, being afraid of letting people get close to you and lose them in the future, etc. Through Katawa Shoujo, I got reminded that other people also have their sorrows and insecurities, and that letting mine keep me from moving forward will not do any good, it also helped me come to terms with the way I express my own feelings and have a better understanding of what it really means to love another person. Sometime afterwards, I ended up building the courage to get out of my room and have another try at life, things did improve, I got in and out of a few jobs, met some nice people out there and started to have an easier time opening up. Sure, I'm still not fully healed, there are still moments when I feel horrible and almost involuntarily distance myself from even the closest friends I have, I still get very anxious in social situations and some people still get frustrated dealing with me because I have a hard time expressing myself, but I can safely say that it's very unlikely that I will go back to how I was around late 2012 to 2014, and Katawa Shoujo is one of the reasons why. I just feel I walked out of this experience as a better person, and now I have things and people to live for.
This was possible because writers treat this subject in such a respectful and delicate manner that I can't help but feel their passion for this project. It's not a perfect game by any means, Hanako and Shizune's routes in particular have some noticeable flaws in their second halves, and you can make the argument that Emi's route is predictable, though I'm personally not too bothered by that. However, the stories, and their good endings especially, feel sincere and heartfelt, the way the characters feel like unique and nuanced people as opposed to full-on anime stereotypes also helped a lot. That along with the music and the way the backgrounds are taken from real places, it all evokes an eerily nostalgic and heartwarming atmosphere that I've yet to see another VN replicate, playing Katawa Shoujo just felt comforting all the way through.
Is this the best VN ever made? Probably not, even though I still do prefer it to most of the other ones I played, I do believe there must be better VNs I haven't got to try out yet. However, I cannot think of a better starting point for people who aren't much into the medium but have some interest in trying it out. Katawa Shoujo was made with all kinds of people in mind, and that's why it ended up having such a widespread appeal, with people still remembering it to this day and even media outlets who were initially skeptical about it ending up being pleasantly surprised. In my case, it just appeared in the right place, at the right time, and I could not be any more thankful for that.
Now, I ain't gonna be here saying Katawa Shoujo cured my depression or some stupid shit like that. However, it did contribute immensely to better thoughts at a time when I was at my lowest point as a shut-in with no future in sight. It would be easy to just take this game's concept and write some shitty overblown melodrama around it, but instead, you see that despite the hardships they go through, the characters in Katawa Shoujko still push forward and strive for what they want, they are defined by more than just their disabilities, and even the source of the drama in their specific routes usually don't have much to do with said disabilities.
What made this a deeply personal experience to me was exactly that, the game invites me to see beyond its concept, to see that its characters have relatable problems: Be it low self-esteem, social anxiety, issues with expressing your own feelings and understanding other people's, having a hard time adapting to your surroundings, being afraid of letting people get close to you and lose them in the future, etc. Through Katawa Shoujo, I got reminded that other people also have their sorrows and insecurities, and that letting mine keep me from moving forward will not do any good, it also helped me come to terms with the way I express my own feelings and have a better understanding of what it really means to love another person. Sometime afterwards, I ended up building the courage to get out of my room and have another try at life, things did improve, I got in and out of a few jobs, met some nice people out there and started to have an easier time opening up. Sure, I'm still not fully healed, there are still moments when I feel horrible and almost involuntarily distance myself from even the closest friends I have, I still get very anxious in social situations and some people still get frustrated dealing with me because I have a hard time expressing myself, but I can safely say that it's very unlikely that I will go back to how I was around late 2012 to 2014, and Katawa Shoujo is one of the reasons why. I just feel I walked out of this experience as a better person, and now I have things and people to live for.
This was possible because writers treat this subject in such a respectful and delicate manner that I can't help but feel their passion for this project. It's not a perfect game by any means, Hanako and Shizune's routes in particular have some noticeable flaws in their second halves, and you can make the argument that Emi's route is predictable, though I'm personally not too bothered by that. However, the stories, and their good endings especially, feel sincere and heartfelt, the way the characters feel like unique and nuanced people as opposed to full-on anime stereotypes also helped a lot. That along with the music and the way the backgrounds are taken from real places, it all evokes an eerily nostalgic and heartwarming atmosphere that I've yet to see another VN replicate, playing Katawa Shoujo just felt comforting all the way through.
Is this the best VN ever made? Probably not, even though I still do prefer it to most of the other ones I played, I do believe there must be better VNs I haven't got to try out yet. However, I cannot think of a better starting point for people who aren't much into the medium but have some interest in trying it out. Katawa Shoujo was made with all kinds of people in mind, and that's why it ended up having such a widespread appeal, with people still remembering it to this day and even media outlets who were initially skeptical about it ending up being pleasantly surprised. In my case, it just appeared in the right place, at the right time, and I could not be any more thankful for that.