KS Group Reading, 2 more days

So, those who've read this blog since a few months ago should already know that I love Katawa Shoujo. The subreddit for Katawa Shoujo decided to do a group reading of the Visual Novel and it will start on january 4th. Why January 4th? because it's the 1 year anniversary of Katawa Shoujo's full release.

For those of you who've played KS before I invite you to join in and replay the VN, relive the experience and rediscover your feels again. For those of you who haven't played KS before, now is a good time to start.

Check out the Reddit post HERE
According to the poll, we're going to do Emi's Good End route first, check the post HERE

I think I'll do a recording of my playthrough, I'll embed the video on a later post.

Top 5 Games I Enjoyed in 2012

Well, since we're nearing the end of 2012 I might as well make a list of games that I really enjoyed playing this year. It's not the Best of 2012 which would suit all people as this list will only consist of games that I've played. The games that is on the list are those that I really love because it is either really addictive or offers enough innovation to make it unique. Do note that not all of these games will have been released on 2012. There are some titles from last year but as I said, this list is what I've played this year, even if the game is a bit old.

Games I Currently Play

As usual, I post about games that I'm currently playing. At the time of this post I'm actually not in the mood for any game. However there are some titles that I've been playing these few days. Let's have a look :)

1. Katawa Shoujo

This one should be obvious since I already post a short impression of it 2 posts ago. But for those who still want me to tell you how great this game is, read on. Katawa Shoujo is a Visual novel, so expect to see A LOT of text and only a few choices a long the way. Despite this however, KS is a very enjoyable experience because of the great story. There have been mixed reviews by different people but the general consensus is that Katawa Shoujo is a damn good game and everyone should try and play/read it. Download, here: http://katawa-shoujo.com/

2. Analogue: A Hate Story

Got this from a bundle a few weeks ago. Played it for a few hours and only touched the surface of the game but I can safely say that this is an interesting game. People say that this is a Visual Novel and while it is indeed have the same basic concept as a VN it is IMO more interactive and has a more unique "feel" to it because of the setting and how the game interface works. The story is quite enganging even though it is shown more in the form of journals and logs with some short conversation with Hyun-ae the AI. For those of you who likes reading or playing VN, Analogue could be an interesting game to pick up. Available on Steam, here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/209370/

3. Guild Wars 2

Because this list is made in no particular order, Guild Wars 2 is here. It is actually my most played game right now although I don't play this as much because my character already reached level 80. However I still play the game regularly and still plans to play this game for many more months. I don't hink I need to tell any of you about Guild Wars 2 because it is really popular so...yeah.
Buy it, here: http://buy.guildwars2.com/

Games I'm going to play
There are sometitles I downloaded but still haven't have time to try. I will play these games eventually :)
- Juniper's Knot: http://junipersknot.dischan.org/
- Cradle Song: http://cradle-song.com/index.php
- Borderlands 2: http://store.steampowered.com/app/49520/

Katawa Shoujo

Well, I've been following the development of Katawa Shoujo since 2007. I've been on and off since then waiting for a release. When the Act 1 Demo was out I downloaded it but only played very little of it, mostly because at the time I was currently bored of VNs and didn't even want to try to start playing VNs.

Even after Katawa Shoujo was released earlier this year I only downloaded and installed it but never play it. This time it's because I was playing SWTOR at the time. fast forward a few months until last month and I decided to play Katawa Shoujo for the first time. As a note, I haven't even read any reviews at the time so I don't know what I was about to play. I only know it as "a VN about crippled girls", not in a negative sense since I always thought that if they are going to make this they would do it right and not some stupid fetish crap. I don't know why, but I just believed that.

I...was...surprised. After I met all the characters in the game and played for around 30 minutes I was already in love with the game. I love all the characters and their personalities(minus some annoying side characters) and it drew me in even more.

Since the game is still in development I've set my eyes on Hanako and decided to play her route first and that is what I did. Almost got into Emi's route but I realized that I've made a wrong choice and reloaded the game before I chose THAT choice(you know which one, the one which locks you into Emi's route). 8 hours later, after finishing Hanako's route I felt something that I haven't felt for a few years from playing VNs. Last time I felt this way was when I finished Aeka's route in Yume Miru Kusuri. I love it, I love every single moment of Hanako's story.

Even though most of the conflict are packed into the end of Act 3 and Act 4 it's a really really great rollercoaster of emotion or as most KS players say it "it gives me so many feels". The events are heartwarming and heartwrenching. That moment when Hanako broke down in the middle of the class really got to me and that ending, it was so beautiful, even if the story is quite short(and yes, I wanted more but what we have right now is good enough I suppose).

I almost don't want to do the other route after finishing Hanako's, just like after I finished Aeka's route on Yume Miru Kusuri. That feeling of "If I do another route, what will happen to Aeka/Hanako?". But I felt that it would be a waste if i did that(even though I really did that with Yume Miru Kusuri) and played through Rin's route, and then Shizune, Emi and Lilly.

I haven't finished Lilly route(currently in Act 4) mostly because I currently have so many feels that I don't think I can finish it right now. I got some problems IRL that needs to be dealt with and I don't want to ruin my experience with KS because of that. And besides, I'm having way too much fun with Guild Wars 2 :P

For those of you who doesn't know what the heck Katawa Shoujo is, I suggest looking at their website here:  http://katawa-shoujo.com/ . The concept might make you think "omgwtf cripple porn game" but the way they handled the topic is so good that you'll never feel that they are just using the "disability" part as a fetish object. Katawa Shoujo is much much more than that...and this picture here describes it the best:

Give the game a chance and play it with an open mind, it'll surprise you as with so many people who now love this game. The link to download the game is in the website I linked earlier. The game's free btw :)

Note: I wrote more about KS on GameQQ Max #7. Note that it's in Indonesian Language.
Download it here: http://max.gameqq.net/