An important part of what makes Katawa Shoujo so successful is its first act, called "Life Expectancy". This is, by far, the part of the game that you can influence the most, and is considered by some fans to be the best KS has to offer. I'm inclined to disagree, but it's hard to deny just how good Life Expectancy really is.
The first section is extremely linear. Hisao's standing in the forest, waiting for the sender of a mysterious love note he's received. This turns out to be Iwanako, the girl he's had a crush on for a long time, who asks him out on a date. Hisao's heart starts beating fast, he's unable to utter any words when he should be able to just say yes.
This is because he's having a heart attack.
He lands in hospital, where we get a long soliloquy describing the bleakness of his life there. This might be one of the most affecting sections of the entire VN. The extremely cliche description of what it feels like to be a teenager in love is brilliantly twisted into something much darker and more unpleasant. Once Hisao is in hospital, one can feel the bitterness oozing from every word he speaks, angry and unable to do anything about his condition.
Hisao is diagnosed with arrhythmia, and the game fast-forwards an unspecified amount of time, to Hisao being somewhat recovered. His doctor recommends that Hisao attend Yamaku Academy, a school for the disabled where he can learn whilst having the proper medical attention always a short walk away. Hisao is not happy, but he grudgingly accepts, and the prologue ends, putting us into Act 1 proper.
Act 1 itself is a long thing, introducing us to the characters one by one at a very relaxed pace. Or, at the least, initially. Most characters get an appropriately long amount of time: Shizune and Misha are introduced almost immediately and spend a huge deal of time with Hisao. Lilly and Hanako follow shortly after and also get a decent amount of screentime, Lilly in particular. This is understandable, seeing that Hanako's main personality trait is her shyness. Rin and Emi are when things become a bit iffy. Rin is introduced last of all the characters, and, whilst you do get to spend a decent amount of time with her, it doesn't seem to be quite enough, especially considering the very unusual feel of Rin's character. This problem is amplified with Emi. Emi is introduced very shortly before Rin, but gets a short, insignificant scene before dashing off. You get one more scene with her, where you also have a short conversation with her. The next scene with Emi is the decision point that decides whether you end up going down her route or not.
It's really shocking just how little time Emi gets to develop. You just about get the idea that she's bubbly, energetic, and likes to run, and you're then asked whether you want to spend 4 or 5 hours of your life playing her route. This was, by far, my biggest complaint with Act 1 this time around, and I can't help but wonder how much my ranking of Emi's route as the worst is influenced by it.
Complaints about Emi aside, Act 1 is actually fantastically paced. You spend a long time with each character, but never too long in a row. You'll spend a couple scenes with Shizune, go hang out with Lilly, and then be baffled by Rin before Shizune shows up to yell at her and drag you off again. The way the tone and feel of the story can drastically change between scenes, whilst still feeling completely natural is a testament to the quality of writing in display. Scenes with Shizune feel fast-paced, competitive yet still playful. The time spent with Lilly is relaxing to the extreme, and time feels like it's slowed to a pleasant crawl. The little you do get to interact with Hanako keeps you on edge, desperately wishing Hisao doesn't say something dumb and scare her. Rin scenes, on the other hand, feel like you're wondering through a haze, with no idea of what's going on, and the precious few Emi scenes do manage to capture her energetic but easy-go-lucky spirit. The way the tones contrast allows you to really get a feel for what the full route feels like.
Even Hisao, in my opinion the worst character in the game, is fairly interesting at this point. He's absorbed by self-pity, but it's hard not to feel like he's got at least some right to, yet he contrasts interestingly with the other characters who are all dealing perfectly well with their disabilities.
So, I hope I've managed to convey that Act 1 does a magnificent job of introducing the characters. The other job that Life Expectancy has to accomplish is to let you choose between them. This is pulled off quite strangely. After playing through KS quite a few times, I've learned that there's a bit of layering going on with how you get locked into your route. Initially, your choices only really count towards Shizune or Lilly/Hanako's routes (The reason for the / will be explained in a moment). Looking online, you can basically get "points" for either route, and, if you get enough of one type of point, you end up on that route. If you don't get enough, you're presented with a choice that determines your ability to end up on Emi's route. If you take it, a seemingly innocuous choice a bit later on locks you in or out of Emi's route. If all other routes have failed, and a few very simple conditions have been met, you're presented with an opportunity to get on Rin's route.
It's a system that works very bizarrely. It makes sense within the narrative, but kind of negates the effort put into introducing the characters. If you end up close to Shizune's route, you'll still meet Emi and Rin, but will have to make all your progress toward Shizune null to go down their routes, if you even can by that point. The way it practically doesn't matter what you do, you can still end up on Rin's route just feels strange, and the choice pattern on Emi's route is, as I extensively bitched about before, way too fast.
What's even stranger is how Lilly and Hanako's routes work. To end up on them, you have to pursue both Lilly and Hanako through pretty much all of Act 1, and only at the end does an incredibly obvious choice end up allow you to choose between the two. Considering how different the two are, it just seems very strange. I understand it was difficult to make Hisao get close to Hanako any way but through Lilly, but to get to that point you also have to not mess up around Hanako, and at one point call her cute. Surely, just making Hanako have her own path through Act 1 would have felt more organic at that point.
There is also a failure state in the game, a route that ends in Act 1 if you fail to get on any girl's path. There are a couple failure states on "locked in" paths within Act 1, but to get to it you'll usually have to reject the obvious Rin choice near the end of the act. It's quite annoying to get if you're playing the game without a guide, since it can often mean a good 2-3 hours of lost progress, but I can see the need for it. The alternative was just forcing an "official" path on the player who failed to reach any path, and that opens up a whole new can of worms.
On the upside, that failure route is fucking hilarious.
Anyway, once you've chosen (or stumbled into) your route, you end up hanging out with the people within their friendship group more and more. The act ends with both of you going to the school festival, something built up throughout the entire act. There, you end up doing things that your partner drags you into. The festival might be my favorite plot device in the game. The way you change what you do and how it feels depending on who you're with is absolutely ingenious: You do essentially the same things, but with a slight twist. It's incredible character building, and becomes more and more impressive with each playthrough. It also manages to be some of the funniest writing in the game in pretty much every non-Lilly/Hanako route (though you do end up with different festivals in those two routes)
All in all, Act 1, for all its flaws, is still a joy to read. It's brilliantly written, and, Emi aside, introduces every character extremely well. The choices could be better, but the tone Life Expectancy manages to consistently hold, even through the dramatic shifts in feel brought about by the presence of certain characters makes it all worth it.
The first section is extremely linear. Hisao's standing in the forest, waiting for the sender of a mysterious love note he's received. This turns out to be Iwanako, the girl he's had a crush on for a long time, who asks him out on a date. Hisao's heart starts beating fast, he's unable to utter any words when he should be able to just say yes.
This is because he's having a heart attack.
He lands in hospital, where we get a long soliloquy describing the bleakness of his life there. This might be one of the most affecting sections of the entire VN. The extremely cliche description of what it feels like to be a teenager in love is brilliantly twisted into something much darker and more unpleasant. Once Hisao is in hospital, one can feel the bitterness oozing from every word he speaks, angry and unable to do anything about his condition.
Hisao is diagnosed with arrhythmia, and the game fast-forwards an unspecified amount of time, to Hisao being somewhat recovered. His doctor recommends that Hisao attend Yamaku Academy, a school for the disabled where he can learn whilst having the proper medical attention always a short walk away. Hisao is not happy, but he grudgingly accepts, and the prologue ends, putting us into Act 1 proper.
Act 1 itself is a long thing, introducing us to the characters one by one at a very relaxed pace. Or, at the least, initially. Most characters get an appropriately long amount of time: Shizune and Misha are introduced almost immediately and spend a huge deal of time with Hisao. Lilly and Hanako follow shortly after and also get a decent amount of screentime, Lilly in particular. This is understandable, seeing that Hanako's main personality trait is her shyness. Rin and Emi are when things become a bit iffy. Rin is introduced last of all the characters, and, whilst you do get to spend a decent amount of time with her, it doesn't seem to be quite enough, especially considering the very unusual feel of Rin's character. This problem is amplified with Emi. Emi is introduced very shortly before Rin, but gets a short, insignificant scene before dashing off. You get one more scene with her, where you also have a short conversation with her. The next scene with Emi is the decision point that decides whether you end up going down her route or not.
It's really shocking just how little time Emi gets to develop. You just about get the idea that she's bubbly, energetic, and likes to run, and you're then asked whether you want to spend 4 or 5 hours of your life playing her route. This was, by far, my biggest complaint with Act 1 this time around, and I can't help but wonder how much my ranking of Emi's route as the worst is influenced by it.
Complaints about Emi aside, Act 1 is actually fantastically paced. You spend a long time with each character, but never too long in a row. You'll spend a couple scenes with Shizune, go hang out with Lilly, and then be baffled by Rin before Shizune shows up to yell at her and drag you off again. The way the tone and feel of the story can drastically change between scenes, whilst still feeling completely natural is a testament to the quality of writing in display. Scenes with Shizune feel fast-paced, competitive yet still playful. The time spent with Lilly is relaxing to the extreme, and time feels like it's slowed to a pleasant crawl. The little you do get to interact with Hanako keeps you on edge, desperately wishing Hisao doesn't say something dumb and scare her. Rin scenes, on the other hand, feel like you're wondering through a haze, with no idea of what's going on, and the precious few Emi scenes do manage to capture her energetic but easy-go-lucky spirit. The way the tones contrast allows you to really get a feel for what the full route feels like.
Even Hisao, in my opinion the worst character in the game, is fairly interesting at this point. He's absorbed by self-pity, but it's hard not to feel like he's got at least some right to, yet he contrasts interestingly with the other characters who are all dealing perfectly well with their disabilities.
So, I hope I've managed to convey that Act 1 does a magnificent job of introducing the characters. The other job that Life Expectancy has to accomplish is to let you choose between them. This is pulled off quite strangely. After playing through KS quite a few times, I've learned that there's a bit of layering going on with how you get locked into your route. Initially, your choices only really count towards Shizune or Lilly/Hanako's routes (The reason for the / will be explained in a moment). Looking online, you can basically get "points" for either route, and, if you get enough of one type of point, you end up on that route. If you don't get enough, you're presented with a choice that determines your ability to end up on Emi's route. If you take it, a seemingly innocuous choice a bit later on locks you in or out of Emi's route. If all other routes have failed, and a few very simple conditions have been met, you're presented with an opportunity to get on Rin's route.
It's a system that works very bizarrely. It makes sense within the narrative, but kind of negates the effort put into introducing the characters. If you end up close to Shizune's route, you'll still meet Emi and Rin, but will have to make all your progress toward Shizune null to go down their routes, if you even can by that point. The way it practically doesn't matter what you do, you can still end up on Rin's route just feels strange, and the choice pattern on Emi's route is, as I extensively bitched about before, way too fast.
What's even stranger is how Lilly and Hanako's routes work. To end up on them, you have to pursue both Lilly and Hanako through pretty much all of Act 1, and only at the end does an incredibly obvious choice end up allow you to choose between the two. Considering how different the two are, it just seems very strange. I understand it was difficult to make Hisao get close to Hanako any way but through Lilly, but to get to that point you also have to not mess up around Hanako, and at one point call her cute. Surely, just making Hanako have her own path through Act 1 would have felt more organic at that point.
There is also a failure state in the game, a route that ends in Act 1 if you fail to get on any girl's path. There are a couple failure states on "locked in" paths within Act 1, but to get to it you'll usually have to reject the obvious Rin choice near the end of the act. It's quite annoying to get if you're playing the game without a guide, since it can often mean a good 2-3 hours of lost progress, but I can see the need for it. The alternative was just forcing an "official" path on the player who failed to reach any path, and that opens up a whole new can of worms.
On the upside, that failure route is fucking hilarious.
Anyway, once you've chosen (or stumbled into) your route, you end up hanging out with the people within their friendship group more and more. The act ends with both of you going to the school festival, something built up throughout the entire act. There, you end up doing things that your partner drags you into. The festival might be my favorite plot device in the game. The way you change what you do and how it feels depending on who you're with is absolutely ingenious: You do essentially the same things, but with a slight twist. It's incredible character building, and becomes more and more impressive with each playthrough. It also manages to be some of the funniest writing in the game in pretty much every non-Lilly/Hanako route (though you do end up with different festivals in those two routes)
All in all, Act 1, for all its flaws, is still a joy to read. It's brilliantly written, and, Emi aside, introduces every character extremely well. The choices could be better, but the tone Life Expectancy manages to consistently hold, even through the dramatic shifts in feel brought about by the presence of certain characters makes it all worth it.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario