The "thank you 4LS" thread.

[gekiganwing]

Thanks to 4LS, me and several friends with different skills and backgrounds were inspired to create a visual novel, and now we're in the process.
While it's an overwhelming project, it's been fun so far and it's also looking promising so far.

Hopefully that will go well. Writing fiction requires a lot of time, effort, and dedication. A lot of creators lose interest in their projects after a while, or give up when it becomes too difficult. (I fully admit that I'm one of them. I lost interest and gave up on my own VN projects...) Be sure to post on Lemma Soft and perhaps also the /visualnovels/ sub-Reddit if you have plans or something to show.

Before playing KS I completed several visual novels, most of them being from Key. Though, I must admit KS was one of the better.

My interest in visual novels began with Three Sisters Story, and was cemented with Kana Little Sister. In the last eight or so years, I have played and enjoyed some fan translations, EVNs, and indie games. I imported a copy of Kanon (for PC) around 2005, back when Haeleth was still working on an English patch. I read it for maybe an hour or two, and slowly lost interest. Since then, the only Key/Visualart's product that I have purchased was the translated iOS version of Planetarian. </off-topic>

[DeoxFeels]

We are very well aware of that fact, that's why we try to take this rather seriously, with my condition I often lose interest quickly in stuff I do, but my team has been a real encouragement to me, and made me push forward. I will sure try to post something, we got a lot to show, most being biographies and artwork, but we hope to finish our demo this winter. =)

[Frusty]

Surprisingly *not* a first-time poster, but my former account was made so long ago that I have forgotten the particulars, including which email provider I may have been using at the time.

I first played the KS Act 1 demo when it was in V1 or V2, after hearing it mentioned somewhere (I can't remember if it was the Granado Espada Singapore forums or the Mabinogi forums, but that doesn't matter now). I remember waiting patiently, then impatiently, then forgetting about KS altogether, then hearing that it had been released...

And now I've finally read Hanako's story. This was the first path that I got in the demo, and I managed to get it in the full version first time, too. I'll get to all the other girls soon enough, but this was the route I waited so long to play, and so...

I'd just like to say thank you. Thank you for making me laugh... for making me cry... for the emotional roller coaster ride that I've experienced reading this story. You have created something very special, something which I am having a hard time finding words to describe.

I'm sure I'll be lurking around the forums from time to time, and I might even post again (if I can remember my blasted login info), but if I don't, I just want you to know that this was a truly awesome game, and I am truly grateful to all the 4LS staff for making it.

<3 [F]

[Wan]

To be honest, it's my first time playing a visual novel. After seeing a YouTuber *cough*Millb-*cough* posting videos about it, I'm immediately hooked by the unexpected settings of the game. The main character having heart problems and his new life studying/living in a school for students who have different disabilities. I'm even more surprised by the fact that it is a free game created by a group of people in the Internet who really asks for nothing in return other than we, the players enjoying it. So I immediately jumped into the game with no second thought.


----------SPOILER---------


I've heard about playing a visual novel's main goal usually involves "interacting more with a certain character" And the moment I met Lilly, I'm sure she's the one I'm going for. Unfortunately due to my concern for Hisao's health conditions, I figured some exercise should do him good in order to keep his heart strong. Without realizing the fact that I might actually enter another person's route, which is undesired of course. And sure enough, it seems I'm too eager to improve Hisao's health that I got myself into Emi's route. And the cut scene shown at the start of Act 2 confirms it, just great. So I loaded into the last save before deciding whether to slow down or speed up my (Hisao's) running pace and of course, chose the alternative.
Due to a few wrong options after getting in Lilly's route, I didn't end up with the Good Ending the first time. Thankfully with further evaluation and some "help" from the Internet, I've managed to experience the latter as well, which is definitely gratifying.
I might be over-exaggerating a bit but the story is truly inspiring/insightful and the characters, lovable. Especially when it comes to the topic of family (Lilly's route), which is something I can always relate to. I didn't even manage to sleep without fully going through the part where Lilly went back to Scotland the first time. Not until she returns to Japan. (sounds really nerdy right..)

And that's about it, just me rambling around and sharing some of my experiences with the game.
Whether the working team see this or not, I'd like to show my gratitude to them for creating such a wonderful visual novel and willing to spend a huge portion of their personal time (5 years!) to develop the game. Playing Katawa Shoujo is without a doubt, a truly memorable and enjoyable experience that I'll never easily forget. Thank you for all the hard work!

[Seeker91]

Greetings, I am not a very active forum poster in general, but I think this thread is something that I just have to reply to.
I discovered Katawa Shoujo from a gurochan thread about 5 years ago if memory serves, and I have followed the updates by 4LS since then. I really enjoyed the game itself, the feelings it triggered within me and it helped me see some things regarding personal issues from a bit better angle. For one it also helped me to finally make up my mind to make my own project ( a post apocalyptic tabletop rpg for what is worth mentioning.).
So, I wish to say a big thank you to Four Leaf Studios for creating this incredible visual novel. I think Katawa Shoujo is amazing both as a very well made (by many aspects) game and as a collective effort. Actually the most amazing thing might be that KS was made, if one considers how it started, progressed and completed and the fact that the team made it for the sake of making something they like.

(I am not so good with words when actual feelings are involved, so I am sorry for the tacky way of expressing myself and potentially bad English.)

Anyways,
Thanks for the wonderful feels 4 Leaf Studios!!!

[Nightfish]

Hi guys.

I don't even know where to begin with this. Wow. Katawa Shouja was definetly one of the best gaming experiences I have had in... ever. And that is not something I say lightly. In terms of writing and handling mature content in a ... well... mature way, I do not believe I have ever seen anything that comes close. I'd say it blows AAA games out of the water, but that would assume they ever left the dry dock. So, yea, color me impressed.

I have to admit, at first I was somewhat prejudiced. Not against people with disabilities, I didn't need the game to teach me that, but against the game itself. I had only heard a few small tidbits and if not for someone who's opinion I value a lot saying this was amazing, I might have dismissed it as simple smut. Just based on the "reviews" I had read / heard of. Thankfully, it didn't come to that, but I'd feel dishonest if I left that part out. I'm not sure the dev team was going out to accomplish this, but either way, I think differently of VNs now. And I am now convinced mature content can be handled well and can add to the story, rather than take away from it.

So far I've played 3 paths, Hanako's, Emi's and Lilly's. They've all been great, with Hanako's resonating the most with me because I screwed up a similar situation once.I wish I'd had a Lilly to phone and give me a hint about giving Hanako some space and letting her work things out on her own.But yea, these things happen, as they say. And when you're in the middle of them you're not always detached enough to make the smart call.

Anyway, I really like they way you told the story and how it's not dumbed down to the point where you just need to learn one key fact about a persons life and then confront them with it and they're magically "fixed". I'm looking at you, every AAA game ever that had a romantic interest. And probably not just games. Also movies. And probably books as well. As this was the first path I played, I half expected hanako to get magically cured once you point out to her that her scars make her far from ugly. But no, that was not the case. It's not as simple as that in real life and thanks for not making it as simple as that here. The story is much better for it.

Okay, I'm starting to ramble a bit. I guess what I'm trying to say here is... Oh my god, the feels! Or something like that. I've been thinking about my experience with the game long after I stopped playing and that's not something that happens on a regular basis anymore. Am I getting across just how impressed I am? I think I am.

Also, thanks for distributing the game for free. This has probably been asked before, but do you guys accept donations? I sort of feel like the best game I got all year deserves some of my hard earned moneys.

From what I read, there may or may not be more games from 4LS in the future, I really hope there will be, and if not, that this inspires other devs to produce something of similar quality.

So... Thanks. Seriously.

Fishy

[Bliisk]

Just something short.

Thank you 4LS.
I just finished the game an hour ago, and I have to say you guys made a brilliant game. Having played no visual novels I went in doing the Hanako route with the aid of a walkthrough, you guys made the story so good that at a certain point I believed I had achieved the bad ending by misreading the walktrhough. This applies to each of the subsequent routes I went through, each taking me through an emotional rollercoaster of happiness, sadness and joy as I went through each route making choices, slowly doubting myself and thinking I had made mistakes that would lead me to the bad end, and ending up with the good ending.
Thanks for the experience.

[Paniol]

Thx 4LS , this game was my first Visual Novel and it was great , Rin route was the best imo , Hanako intro and music also best one. I hope that you will make another game in the future

[Aspen]

As the first VN I've played, Katawa Shoujo really sparked my interest in these kinds of things, and I was surprised to learn that Hisao had arrhythmia, which I also have, aswell as anxiety, and panic attacks.
Those things really did affect my daily life and yes, they were a pain. But Katawa Shoujo is a VN I definitely found myself getting lost in and not paying attention to much else, including those problems which I had faced, (Also got a couple of good laughs out of the story, at times.) I'm glad for this marvel of a VN the staff has brought us, and I decided to do something about all this, which leads me to these forums, and this board, as well as the IRC.

Also, I have a rare form of Migraines which do not inflict any pain, but it takes away my ability to see for up to an hour, which has happened a couple times while I've been playing, and it certainly was hard to read due to that, but certainly didn't stop me from playing the VN.

Once again, a big thank you to the developers and staff for this, and I'll try to be a regular around these forums and the IRC!

[FeroxAnima]

Just figured that if there's a "thank you 4LS" thread like that I can't simply ignore it, seeing as I really am thankful for KS, so there's my thank you thingy.

Since I was a little kid, the moments I liked the most were the ones in which I was alone, privacy, can do whatever I feel like doing, no judgement whatsoever.
But each one of these private moments, and later on every moment in general, was always accompanied by this... feeling.
To describe it physically, I'd say it felt like the bad counterpart of butterflies in the stomach (I hope that expression also works in English ).
To go even more physically, it feels like this hole, located somewhere between the middle of my chest to the middle of my stomach.
It feels awful; depressing, gives a horrible aftertaste to every moment in my life.
Recently, I've been through a certain string of events.
Long story short, it involved me getting close to someone.
During the period in which this happened, I could actively feel that hole growing smaller. I'll go as far as to say it actually vanished for a while.
Eventually, though, this someone disappeared from my life, and the feeling came back - as bold and hard to ignore as ever; probably harder.
These events have led to me finally being able to properly identify this feeling...
Loneliness.
It's taken me years, but there, I figured it out.
Thing is, it doesn't go away next to other people like it used to when I was little; it just stays there all the time.
It's like I still feel alone even when I am around other people.
My current assumption is that it's because I haven't got a single connection in my life with another person that's strong enough to actually fill this hole in my stomach.
My friends are my friends only because we have some similar hobbies.
My mom is never up to any sort of deep conversation.
I barely even see my dad.
It's like I'm simply not close enough to anyone.
I've been trying to get closer to my friends, to work on our bond, and failed.
So, it became really hard to go through with life. Just trying to live every day became a burden with this effing hole ruining everything good, not letting me have any sort of real happiness, ever.
Then I found Katawa Shoujo.
Just some boring night, I see a signature of some guy on some forum saying "Enjoy Katawa Shoujo", I get curious, I download it...
Well, you know, started playing, slowly (or not so slowly) getting connected to the characters...
And once again I can feel the hole growing smaller.
Ever since I identified the loneliness I felt, I knew that the only remedy would be meeting that special someone, with whom I'll form a real bond. Doesn't necessarily mean a romantic bond (although this might definitely work xD), just an emotional one, like a deep friendship with a real friend.
But meanwhile, when I still don't have that kind of bond, I'm amazingly greatful for having this little something, this wonderful visual novel that's become my special occasion during my treasured private moments of friday nights.
Of course, it's nothing but a temporary way to deal with it, but even this temporary thing helps with making life so much more bearable.
KS really helps me moving forward until that bond will, hopefully, be created... someday.

So, thank you so much Suriko, Aura, cpl_crud, Hivemind, Anonymous22, Blue123 & NicolArmafi (because KS wouldn't be the same without its soundtrack <3) and every other person who's had a hand in this amazing project. Thank you for helping me move forward while trying to fix the hole in my life, and for fueling my attempts to do so.
And I'm terribly sorry for burdening your neat forums with this TL;DR post. I wonder if someone's actually gonna read it

Edit:
LOL, I knew it was gonna be way too long as soon as I decided to pour my feelings in this post, but that's gotta be the longest single forum post I ever wrote Sowwy.

[Alyrolm]

I couldn't POSSIBLY thank you people enough! This is the best game/book/ANYTHING I've ever seen, it really changed my views on many things and touched every part of my heart every moment I read it! For some reason I feel like the only guy who would refuse to fap to this game, but I just find it beautiful and I thank you very much! I wound up crying at the end and I didn't even know I had the ability to cry (seeing as I haven't in so many years) so really, thanks! Also, will there be any sequel or continuation for this game? Like, maybe you're in the university or something? Just a question, but if not, overall, thank you so much.

[DaBa]

Thank you for making me think more about myself, even though I didn't like it. I still think it is for the best at the end.

I really enjoyed the game (a little bit too much acctually) and I have still 3 characters to go.

[Drummodino]

Thank you 4LS. Katawa shoujo is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Hopefully one day I'll experience something similar IRL.

[hitman555z]

thank you 4LS for making this wonderful game! never finished it 100% but i am sure im over 50% done and not gonna stop till 100% done. and i will most definitely replay emis route. especially emis route.

[Weird Heather]

I suppose that it is time for me to add to this thread. I have been through all of the stories, although I have not been through every single ending yet. Rin's story is so complex that I wanted to go through it a second time, and I have just finished Act 1. The scene at the end of Act 1, with Hisao and Rin watching the fireworks, is beautiful. I read it the first time in English, and this time in French, and it is amazing in either language.

I want to thank all of the developers for producing a work of literature that works well both intellectually and emotionally. I am a cynical and pessimistic old woman, but this visual novel reminds me that the world, as horrible as it can be, can also be wonderful, and that good things can come from the most unexpected places. Who would have imagined that something like this would have emerged from 4chan, which is widely believed to be a lair of hateful perverts? In addition to the writing, the artwork and the music are excellent, and all elements of the visual novel work well together. I cannot imagine reading it without the background music, and without the artwork, the story could never work as well as it does in its current form.

I am a writer, and my specialty is experimental, or non-genre, fiction. "Katawa Shoujo" shows me that the visual novel is a worthwhile medium, and that I should perhaps look to its conventions for inspiration. Although I doubt that I will ever write a "conventional" visual novel, elements of the visual novel format are likely to find their way into my writing, so I would also like to thank the developers for providing this inspiration. Maybe one day, I will write a highly experimental and bizarre visual novel that only a few crazy academics will care to read.

(Pardonnez mon français; ce n'est pas ma langue maternelle, et je la lis mieux que je l'écris.) Je voudrais remercier Kawa Soft de la traduction française de "Katawa Shoujo." J'ai étudié le français, et je cherche souvent des occasions de l'utiliser. J'ai lis les histoires de Lilly et Shizune en français, et j'ai commencé recemment à relire l'histoire de Rin, qui j'ai déjà lise en anglais, en français. Quand je lis en français, je fais bien attention aux details, et je pense que je comprendrai mieux Rin quand j'aurai fini. La traduction française est utile pour les francophones, et aussi pour les gens qui veulent améliorer leur connaissance de la langue.

(Translation: Pardon my French; it is not my native language, and I read it better than I write it. I would like to thank Kawa Soft for the French translation of "Katawa Shoujo." I have studied French, and I often look for opportunities to use it. I read Lilly's and Shizune's stories in French, and I have recently started re-reading Rin's story, which I have already read in English, in French. When I read in French, I pay close attention to details, and I think that I will understand Rin better when I am finished. The French translation is useful for French speakers, and also for those who want to improve their knowledge of the language.)