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I really enjoy playing Dating Sims and when I first learned about Katawa Shoujo a few years ago, I thought it was such an interesting concept. It gained notoriety for it's concept being born from 4chan, but it soon stemmed far from that. They put out an Act 1 beta in 2009 and the full game was released in 2012, absolutely free. Although it is an adult game with some graphic scenes, you certainly have the choice to turn them off from the main menu to enjoy the game without them.
I thought the idea of disabled girls could have gone wrong, but they executed this concept tastefully. All of the girls have such different and lovable personality's and this game was very heartfelt. It takes place at a High School for disabled students. You play as the main protoganist who transfers there because of a heart defect. I recommend this game to anyone who enjoy dating sims and also a good story. For anyone who doesn't know much about dating sims though, it is basically a novel so it's mostly reading. It's a story with a lot of pictures.
You meet five possible love interests.
Lilly, Hanako, Rin, Emi, and Shizune.
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| Lilly was my favourite. ♥ From the wikipedia: "Lilly has been blind since birth. The tallest member of the main female cast, she has long blonde hair and blue eyes — her father is Japanese and her mother is Scottish . She is very polite and ladylike with a motherly demeanour, not wanting to intrude on others' private life. She had previously attended a strict all-girls school. Lilly takes things at her own relaxed pace. Her sentence is "Can you see what I see?". |
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| "Hanako, as a child, suffered an accident in which her house was burned down, taking the lives of her parents. Much of her body was horrifically scarred from the incident and has left her traumatized. Because of her facial deformity, she is incredibly shy and has difficulty opening up to anyone except Lilly. She spent most of her life in an orphanage and was bullied in middle school, further adding to her difficulties in opening up to others. Her sentence is "Can you face your fears?" |
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| "Rin, a girl whose arms were amputated due to a birth defect, uses her feet to accomplish everyday tasks with surprising dexterity. She wears a boy's uniform to avoid the awkward situations that would arise from using her feet while wearing a skirt. She is typically allusive and oblique, even for an artist, and abstract in the extreme. She is nonchalant with the other students and about their disabilities in general. Her sentence is "Can you seize the day?" |
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| "Emi is an energetic and extroverted girl. She has prosthetic legs, having had her legs amputated below the knees as a result in a car accident. She is a track star, although she is somewhat self-conscious of her short stature. She has trouble getting emotionally close to people, because she is afraid of losing people important to her. Her sentence is "Can you stand up for yourself?". |
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| "Shizune is the student council president. She is a deaf mute, communicating primarily through sign language. She is strong-willed and forceful and is capable of creating craftily manipulated plans as well as having an extremely competitive nature. Occasionally, she displays a softer side, but generally shows a face full of emotion to make up for her lack of speech. Her sentence is "Can you tell me what you think?" |
