Katawa Shoujo Forums

Hi guys, I've played Katawa Shoujo a couple of paths (so far finished Rin's and then Lilly's) and the game left me emotionally scarred due to bringing up some bad memories of my past failed relationships that ended similarly to Lilly's Bad ending. The fact that Lilly's good ending was something that I had wished had happened with one of my past relationships doesn't help at all. So I've been feeling very down (in addition to the down I was already feeling from playing other visual novels/anime in the past) due to the memories and experiences this game brought up. This doesn't make me suicidal, rather it left me feeling disconnected with literally everything, from friends to the real world to even myself. I'm starting to feel better now by stopping the playing of the game, and I really appreciate the uniqueness of the game, but I really need some help with getting my mind out of this.

So my question is how I can help myself get over the feelings of loss resulting from playing the game? Should I completely ignore the game? Should I just play through the rest of the happy endings, sad endings, all endings? Everyone has their own experiences, so I'm expecting different answers, and I'm open to pretty much anything (excluding the rude "Just stop being depressed" which is akin to "Just stop being schizophrenic"). I also hope that being diagnosed with a personality disorder (schizoaffective) doesn't play too much into this.

On a side note, 4LS made a really great game. It was a lot better than I expected from a visual novel (and a lot goddamned more depressing in terms of how real everything seemed).

Please halp. I'm currently about to play through it again (going for Hanako this time).

If you want to get over KS, I'd start with not playing it again and go finding something else to do. That's just me though.

Laugh at the memes, comrade.

That should make you feel better.

Ivan The Mouse wrote:Laugh at the memes, comrade.

That should make you feel better.

I think some are counter-effective.

newnar wrote:

Ivan The Mouse wrote:Laugh at the memes, comrade.

That should make you feel better.

I think some are counter-effective.

Indeed. But that's the point.

The strange thing is that everytime I keep avoiding the game, I get pulled back into it for desire of the rest of the storyline. When I'm playing it, I don't get depressed, actually I feel rather accomplished, it's only when I finish a storyline that I feel like utter failure. I need someone to give me a hard slap. Now. This game drives me insane, more so than any other visual novel I've played.

Some say that avoiding the game is good, but I actually recommend finishing the other paths: it helps get a sense of closure. Hanako's bad ending is especially important.

Other than that, one common coping mechanism is to find something that needs to be done to improve your life -we all have them- and either do it or, if it's more like a longer process, start that process. I can vouch for its effectiveness, and it seems to have helped a lot of other people.

But in all seriousness, I was hit pretty hard, especially after playing Hanako's storyline but its more like trying to learn from the experience rather than.... i'm having a Rin moment right now.... damn

I think the best advice you'll get is to stop playing and busy yourself. Find something else to preoccupy your time. Just my opinion.

Here is what I did and will normally do in situations like this. I'll think of 3-6 things I used to enjoy doing, get a 6-sided dice, and let it roll. Whatever the dice landed on I do it. It's a great distraction for me and it could help you, I've mentioned this as a tried-and-true method for me on several other topics with a few different responses about it. As for me at this point, I have completed the gallery including the bonus pic and now it just feels like I'm beating the dead horse by continuing to read KS.

P.S. In regards to khaos4ng31;

I try to do manly things to make me stop being such an emotional wreck, like arm wrestling.

Titus wrote:I try to do manly things to make me stop being such an emotional wreck, like arm wrestling.

manly picnic perhaps?

My suggestion is to seek therapy if these old things aren't resolved yet and something like a visual novel or game can bring them back up. It helps!

Get a game where you blow shit up like an RTS or something. Or something that allows you to kill a large number of enemies or that shit.

If you want some 'humor' to link it with this, look up Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy (circa 2000), pick one of your female soldier and rename her to Hanako. Equip her with a flamethrower and let the flame war begin :p

it gets a lot better after you gey 100% completion