Crippled Girls - 4chan's erotic game

[Stormwatch]

"Those channers are such perverts, how can they make an erotic game about..."

Hold it. Allow me to introduce this to those who don't know it yet.





Katawa Shoujo (かたわ少女) is an adult "visual novel", an interactive story produced by Four Leaf Studios, a group assembled in 4chan around a concept proposed by Japanese doujinshi artist Raita. Production took five years, and the game is free, for Windows, Mac, and Linux.



The sketch that started it all


Hisao always seemed to be a regular teenager, until the day he almost died. Doctors found then that he suffered from a severe congenital heart disorder. After many surgeries and a long hospital stay, he must return to a normal life, but what school could provide the constant medical attention that he needs? Thus his sole option is a boarding school specialized in people with physical disabilities. There, he meets many people, including five special girls... and you can guess that something could happen, depending on your choices.



How /v/ reacted to the game: manly tears everywhere


What surprises many people about this game is that it is not about some weird cripple fetish. In fact, it is extremely sweet, respectful, and well-written. Disabilities are part of the characters, but they don't define them. Even the sex scenes are not gratuitous, they always make sense in the context. Also, the production values are nearly professional: the art is excellent, and there are impressive animated cutscenes.

If it sounds interesting, get it HERE.

And, just in case... the strategy.

[Estebang]

If anyone's interested in getting into visual novel eroges, I'd say to go play YU-NO, Saya no Uta, and Yume Miru Kusuri before they go stroking 4chan's cripple boner. This isn't terrible or anything, but it's not a worthy introduction to the genre.

Or Hatoful Kareshi (hah!).

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Or Hatoful Kareshi (hah!).

Oh man, I was going to bring this up somewhere when I read that article yesterday. Without having any prior experience to visual novels beforehand, I can safely say that this is the best one out there. Dead serious, no other VN has a concept this inspired.

[Elixir]

Whenever I'm reminded of eroge, I'm reminded of Cross Channel; great writing, interesting characters, nice scenario, ...laced with terrible erotic scenes which completely and utterly break the flow of the game. This is the problem with the eroge genre itself - the core is awful. It's often well-written literature laced with smut. You don't hear people going "oh, that visual novel was great, I wish it had erotic scenes!", do you?

Good to see 4channers still can't express themselves without mimicking current trends, sounding like mindless sheep. As for the game, I'm just surprised that they've actually managed to finish it.

[Ruldra]

What surprises many people about this game is that it is not about some weird cripple fetish. In fact, it is extremely sweet, respectful, and well-written.

I'm kinda skeptical when I read that. I was told the same thing about another visual novel where you bang your little sister with a terminal disease. Same about that lolita anime that got cancelled in the US.

Regardless of how good the writing may be, the premise is still wrong on every level.

[njiska]

What surprises many people about this game is that it is not about some weird cripple fetish. In fact, it is extremely sweet, respectful, and well-written.

I'm kinda skeptical when I read that. I was told the same thing about another visual novel where you bang your little sister with a terminal disease. Same about that lolita anime that got cancelled in the US.

Regardless of how good the writing may be, the premise is still wrong on every level.

As long as it's not exploitative I fail to see how this is any more wrong than Crash. It may not be to your tastes and it's certainly not to mine, but I don't see any reason for moral indignation if it is indeed respectful. Respectful being a subjective word as this is an eroge at the end of the day.

[hzt]

Before the legendary sticky that got this game off the ground I used to post the original sketch on /a/ and try to convince people it would be a good idea to actually make the game, and I'm pretty sure I started the thread that the sticky was a continuation of.

Then the sticky happened and I went to bed because I wasn't about to put any effort into it myself. I can't really remember why I wanted to see the game made so much in the first place, I probably just thought it would be amusing as that is my motivation for basically everything I do.

#coolstorybro

[xbl0x180]

What surprises many people about this game is that it is not about some weird cripple fetish. In fact, it is extremely sweet, respectful, and well-written.

I'm kinda skeptical when I read that. I was told the same thing about another visual novel where you bang your little sister with a terminal disease. Same about that lolita anime that got cancelled in the US.

I'm more shocked a lolita anime was licensed for the U.S. in the first place. Which one was it

[Estebang]

The Kodomo no Jikan manga was licensed for the US as "Nymphet," and then got promptly canceled once the media got word of it. The anime was never licensed.

It was blown out of proportion. Neither depicts any actual sex (and the author happens to be a woman). There's some far worse stuff that passes for "all-ages" manga in Japan. I guess the problem was that no American bookstore was willing to stock it.

Something that's legitimately creepy is that the manga Naisho no Tsubomi, intended as sex education for middle school girls, was made into an otaku-targeted OVA series.

[mrsmiley381]

I've been calling it "Weeaboo Cripple Quest" because it seems much funnier that way. The best part about it is Kenji and his concept of global feminist conspiracy. The humorous fan art is OK too. The actual stories? Pretty boring if you ask me. I was actually quite pissed that "Gimme the chocolate Hisao" (Google it for a wonderful NSFW comic) was not actually part of it.

So basically it's generic romance with cripples. Play Sengoku Rance instead, since it's an actual game and it's quite humorous on its own. That being said, Weeaboo Cripple Quest took a lot of planning and cooperation and whatnot, so props to the guys that made it happen.

[Blackbird]

Whenever I'm reminded of eroge, I'm reminded of Cross Channel; great writing, interesting characters, nice scenario, ...laced with terrible erotic scenes which completely and utterly break the flow of the game. This is the problem with the eroge genre itself - the core is awful. It's often well-written literature laced with smut. You don't hear people going "oh, that visual novel was great, I wish it had erotic scenes!", do you?

This is pretty much my opinion. Why muck up a good story with porn?

[CMoon]

Forget crippled girls, it's all about pigeons!

[Ruldra]

Forget crippled girls, it's all about pigeons!

EDIT: Oh God, why did I read a playthrough of this pigeon game? The whole thing is pure insanity.

[drauch]

The day 4chan no longer exists is when I reach euphoria.

[CMoon]

The day 4chan no longer exists is when I reach euphoria.

Euphoria starts every day when I come home to my plants, cats and beer. Damn, I should have been a monk...or a drunken hobo.

[CMoon]

EDIT: Oh God, why did I read a playthrough of this pigeon game? The whole thing is pure insanity.

Because you needed to know. I mean, what appears to be the main romantic interest looks like this...

[Estebang]

This is pretty much my opinion. Why muck up a good story with porn?

So it sells better, and they can get the cash to make console ports and anime adaptations without the H-scenes. (Though Steins;Gate is a recent exception: a non-eroge that started on the 360 and became massively popular.)

Also, Saya no Uta's story wouldn't work without the sex. Urobuchi Gen actually thought up an interesting, logically cohesive sci-fi concept involving sperm and extra-dimensional aliens.

[njiska]

This is pretty much my opinion. Why muck up a good story with porn?

Exactly why i hate fanservice. Ruins so many good things.

[xbl0x180]

Wait... WHA...?! No sex, no nudity, not even fan service? Have I stepped into a realm where this is not good or improve everything?! Sprinkling sex and nudity into games (and everything) makes everything better in the same way bacon bits and cock sauce make food better

[Ruldra]

And too much sauce can ruin your food. Plenty of shows out there add so much fanservice it ruins the whole thing, regardless of the premise. See: Highschool of the Dead, Ikki Tousen.

I'd be more willing to try out this crippled girl game if it didn't involve sex.

[Teufel_in_Blau]

I'd be more willing to try out this crippled girl game if it didn't involve sex.

Uuumm.... the sex scenes can be disabled in the options. So you can play it without the mature content.

/e

Also the game has gamepad support out of the box thanks to ren'py, something I would love to see in more VNs implemented.

Not the best VN I have read so far (that was Chaos;Head) but it's an ok read for boring sundays.

[njiska]

And too much sauce can ruin your food. Plenty of shows out there add so much fanservice it ruins the whole thing, regardless of the premise. See: Highschool of the Dead, Ikki Tousen.

I'd be more willing to try out this crippled girl game if it didn't involve sex.

Highschool of the dead was exactly what I was thinking of. Such a good premise, such good execution, expect for every 30 seconds when a pair of breasts need to bounce with a comedic sound effect. However, just as too much can be a bad thing, the right amount can be a good thing. I'm with you that'd I'd be more willing to try the game if it didn't involve sex, but as I originally stated I don't think there's necessarily anything immoral about it.

The big problem here is expectations. Pretty much every eroge game i've seen (and it's not very many) is just smut. The sex is tacky, forced into the plot and usually the ladies are not realistic, but just bait for the player. I think that's what we're all banking our expectations on. But what about proper erotica? Writing sexy stories is as old as man kind and if handled correctly can be a beautiful and arousing thing. I'd be far more willing to try this if someone could show that that is indeed what this is.

Uuumm.... the sex scenes can be disabled in the options. So you can play it without the mature content.

I think Ruldra means in terms of goals not what's shown on screen. A relationship game rather than a "let's fuck the crippled kids" game. To put it bluntly.

[Blackbird]

What irritates me most about fanservice is that it typically pigeonholes the story to one gender. Sure, you can pander and get a few cheap fans with your service, but as a writer, you've sacrificed the potential for both genders to share and enjoy the story together.

I'll cite a few examples to explain what I mean. Gurren Lagann is a really amazing story. It's the classic coming of age story, has great action scenes, doesn't overthink itself, handles romance sub-plots meaningfully, and is very inspiring. It's like the anime version of Star Wars. I would love to recommend this anime as the anime for -everyone-, even the doubters, to watch. However, I cannot recommend it to women. As soon as they see Yoko's boobs start bouncing, they lose interest -instantly-. I can practically set my watch to it. The story would be arguably be the best anime of all time if the fanservice weren't in there. That one thing mars the whole experience for half of it's potential audience.

Another story I enjoy is Negima! It's got an interesting setting in which a child prodigy with magical powers battles secret organizations and monsters with the help of his friends and pupils. It's a lot like a Japan-i-fied Harry Potter, actually (even in the sense that it's got light-hearted moments and grim ones). However, the awkward fanservice sometimes brings the story uncomfortably close to pedophilia, which limits the story's appeal only to otaku.

Of course, this also works in reverse - stories have shoehorned in inappropriate homoeroticism (or other fanservice oriented towards a female audience) and lost my interest as a result.

I essentially see fanservice as a crutch that weak authors use because they are not confident in the merits of their story alone. An interesting story will sell. It doesn't need fanservice to be good.

[ED-057]

I'll cite a few examples to explain what I mean. Gurren Lagann is a really amazing story. It's the classic coming of age story, has great action scenes, doesn't overthink itself, handles romance sub-plots meaningfully, and is very inspiring. It's like the anime version of Star Wars. I would love to recommend this anime as the anime for -everyone-, even the doubters, to watch. However, I cannot recommend it to women. As soon as they see Yoko's boobs start bouncing, they lose interest -instantly-. I can practically set my watch to it. The story would be arguably be the best anime of all time if the fanservice weren't in there. That one thing mars the whole experience for half of it's potential audience.

After I read your post about this anime which is so great the worst thing to be said about it is that the boobs are too bouncy, I had to see it for myself.

[Ruldra]

Massive bump.

So...as you can see at the top of the thread, I was really skeptical about this. Having played this kind of game in the past, I totally thought this was just a creepy, tacky disability-focused eroge. I downloaded it when this thread first popped up but didn't bother to play it until a year later, out of morbid curiosity.

Having finished three routes at this point (Emi/Lilly/Hanako), I can say this game really deserves the praise it gets. It is well-written, the people are believable and act realistically, and the disabilities are merely a part of the characters - you come to like/dislike someone not because of their disability, but because of who they are as a person. Heck, often you just forget they're disabled at all.

The adult scenes are really mild and they're not the focus of the game. Character development is what this is about.

And lastly, expect to get very emotionally attached. Shedding tears is not uncommon here.

So yeah, just wanted to say that, if you haven't checked this game out already, put your prejudices aside and please give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Skykid]

Shedding tears over an eroge visual novel about crippled high school kids. I'll pass.

Japan knows no limits these days. I'm sure it's well written, well executed and all that - but look at the subject matter. It's pathetic. Any opportunity to shoehorn a bunch of pre/recently post-pubescent schoolkids into exploitative erotic media is getting as tired as old boots: and now they're cripples. Thalidomide girls on the left, bone marrow transplants on the right. At least the intercourse is mild and respectful. Slaps on the back all round.

Distasteful just isn't a big enough word.

[trap15]

It's mostly Western

Besides, that sounds awfully... (thanks tumblr) ableist of you

You're thinking of cripples as not-people. Which I think was the point of this VN.

[shmuppyLove]

I'll just leave this here

http://kotaku.com/in-this-game-you-date ... -675502392

[ArrogantBastard]

what in the name of fuck

[KAI]

I'm confused, don't know if I'm becoming gay or getting hungry.