Poll: How did you play through KS?

[A Humbled Fan]

For my first playthrough, I went with pretty much what I'd do. I started off with nobody in mind, making the choices I naturally would, and then as soon as I figured out who I wanted to get (Hanako), I started making choices that either were obviously for her, or just ones I'd make in general (which usually coincided). Glad I got the good ending with no help.

Then I played the others with help to get the 100% completion.

Same

[Mirror Image]

I confess I used a guide beforehand, but I did still think about what I would do in Hisao's sweatervest.

I was petrified at the prospect of getting one of the bad endings.

[Rivan]

When first playing the demo (one of the last version), I did exactly everything the way I knew I would if I were there. Got dragged into Emi's path.

Then I experimented other than that and satisfyingly, easily found myself being able to choose between Lilly and Hanako.

And later, finally I managed to work out exactly what do to to get each girl.


When playing the full version, I naturally followed my favorite girl's path (Based on the demo - Lilly), and then, Again, I went with what I'd do in case of those choices.

I'm honest to a fault. I feel I'd be especially pushed to be honest when in a relationship, because I wouldn't want the feeling to change into a big lie.
How pleasantly surprised I was at the end of my path, where I found I was rewarded.
With other girls, I experimented a little more. Since I was slightly more detached, I was often able to see how I should progress in order to get a good ending. I didn't always do it but I guess it kind of ruined their naturalness for me, despite me trying to keep it up.

With Hanako, I immediately noted how sick Hisao's attitude sometimes was and I managed to realize that I need to change it. It was also visible how much Hanako disliked words "friends" and "protect", especially used in one sentence.

With Rin, I... went with my gut. And with coins. Yes. Heads one choice, tails, the other. Worked surprisingly well. I did get the bad ending and I didn't manage to trigger the "support flag", but after some experimentation I was able to note what was neccesary for Rin to be happy and managed to get the good ending after just 1 choice reload. I highly identified with this route's Hisao and only slighly less with Rin, so I enjoyed it greatly despite some craziness

With both Shizune and Emi (I used one Act I save to progress down both paths), I decided to show my stubborn side in both. With Emi, it didn't work, but I guess me also being open-minded helped, and I only made one bad choice in her route. However, thanks to our pink-haired student council member I managed to repair everything and now I'm in act 4.

With Shizune, I enjoyed the route in a funny way and I felt most of the time it was quite lighthearted, but when problems came around, I couldn't help but feel frustrated with... Shizune. So, when it came to choosing, that one time I consciously chose the bad end. I mostly wanted to see how Shizune would deal with the situation. I was dissapointed that Act IV played out like there was no situation, and Shizune dealt with everything in the most frustrating and annoying way possible. I could sympathize but only because that's something "a past me" could probably do. Still this development made Shizune land on the end of my list of favorites, despite the fact that her route seemed very good to me all the way to Act III.

Btw. It doesn't help that Mischa is fueling my fetish. So...hard...to...refuse.

[Acerus]

I went with what I'd do naturally, ended up with Emi. I even managed the good ending somehow.

Though since that I've been taking queues from a walkthrough just to get to a character's specific route then I do what I would normally do from there. My favorite so far has got to be Lilly. Her path was the best piece of writing I've possibly ever seen. The good ending anyway, I couldn't bring myself to go about getting the bad ending for Lilly, her character is too just too likable for her relationship to end poorly with Hisao.

[Orciencor]

My case is rather similar to others so far in that I just kinda did what felt/seemed right (at least under the idea of having the heart condition, so I guess kinda more RP sort of thing) first playthrough. I had *intended* to go Hanako's route first, but fell into Emi's instead and just ran with it (pun only slightly intended). After that I just checked to see what I had to do to miss Emi, and ended up down Lilly's (well, Hanako's was obvious from that point as well, but I decided to 'save the best for last' (in my head. It's the purple, really. Love the color purple).) And since then have just double checked to start down specific routes (Shizune's then Rin's. I swear, the hardest thing in that act is to say Hanako isn't cute, JUST to avoid them.)

But once into a route I more or less just followed what I felt was right. As much as the route would let me anyway, and have so far only managed to get Lilly's 'neutral' ending once by one choice only because what I WANTED to do was never an option. I mean, the easiest answer in my mind the instant he finds out Lilly was leaving was to just FOLLOW HER... If not right away, after graduating. I'm pretty sure she'd wait for him if she knew he was coming.

I actually have no idea how I managed to get Rin's good ending. I swore I screwed up innumerable times her entire route.. (though I still personally think she was quite easy to understand.. Maybe that's part of how.)

Shizune's was.. really obvious, sadly. And Emi's.. well, I thought I screwed up once, but when it kept going I was pretty sure it was salvageable.

Now to see how Hanako's goes. Pity at this point I have a rough idea of where it's going. But who cares! Save the purple for last!

[MadDogV2]

Did Shizune's without help. All the rest I consulted a flowchart. I got all endings from one girl before moving onto the next, in the order they are introduced in Act 1. I deliberately got the bad ending first, then went back to get the neutral ending (if there was one), and again for the good. I felt seeing the bad end first would make the good end seem even happier and touching by comparison.

[lemonlube]

Emi>Rin>Kenji (figured why not fail)>Hanako>Lilly>Shizune
oddly enough the stories tie themselves together quite well in this order.
Story Intertwine:Yamaku cat burglar , Hanako opening up when your not on her route, picture Lilly's council days , Satou visit to the Hakamichi residence in an alternative perspective your thoughts on this in a different order?
looked at a guide for some bad endings.

[Raburesu]

Not knowing who I wanted to pursue at first, I lackadaisically went through Act 1 simply making the choices I didn't think would ruin me; thought I'd go after Hanako when she managed to pique my interest more than Shizune.

But then, out of sheer serendipity, I opened the door to an art room, only to encounter the charismatic wonder that is Rin Tezuka.



"...Screw Hanako! Rin. Flowchart. Now."

Sort of regret cheating, but not entirely. Her route's choices play mind games with you at times. Like the "explain" one, the very thing you want her to do, but she doesn't.

[GuessingGuest]

Sort of regret cheating, but not entirely. Her route's choices play mind games with you at times. Like the "explain" one, the very thing you want her to do, but she doesn't.

really? got the good ending playing normally without the support flag i guess i'm intrusive to a beneficial point.

[Raburesu]

I don't remember if I agreed with the choices the chart told me to make or not, but that's the entire reason for my regret in the first place.

[Jawn]

My first play through I played through it how I would, not expecting what to... Expect. I got Emi's route, and it was probably the most emotional moment of my life. I used a flowchart to set me on track for Hanoko and Lilly and got the good endings on both, I'm yet to finish the others.

I'm dreading 100%ing this because it means going down the bad routes. I'm pretty depressed from playing the game and getting the good endings let alone the bad ones.

[Chronopolize]

Emi's route, I played with what I would do, although sometimes what I thought the option was saying wasn't what it actually was. E.g. "run harder" or something, I thought because Hisao just was thinking about his heart the very previous line, that that option would be a gingerly run faster sort od deal. Well, ofc I didn't have enough VN intuition to guess, in hindsight that was like the lulz suicide option. Good end (is the fight the result of a slipup, or is it always there?) . 2 days elapsed time. Maybe 4-5 hours game time?

Then I rerolled a picked different choices? Not sure don't remember, except that I changed my response to the "don't get me involved option" in the scene Cold War, which made me frown greatly at Lilly's reaction. Got Rin, was slightly bored and so I saved and stopped still in Act 1, cause I liked what I saw so far of LIlly.
Then I started new, actively picked for Lily's route, got it. Having a liking to Lilly, it was only natrual to geniunly want to share things with her, so I picked those options perhaps across the board. Wasn't really considering bad end good end (it didn't become jarringly clear until I saw the flowchart later on). Got the good end. About 2 days elapsed, about 4-5 hours again. Longer arc, but I think I was reading faster through the common scenes.

Then continued with Rin, I think I played through the. The options were pretty abstract, and I mulled over them. Ran into Rin's bad end because I picked "Then, Explain." It's odd, the two phrases sounded reversely aggressive and calm in my head: I NEED to know, is a strong phrase, while Then, explain, sounded calmer. Kept going, went to good end. Yea, now that I look back on it, those choices were damn abstract. I don't think there was also any backstory to Rin. At all.

Restarted, aiming for Hanako. Started to notice the character picking options (ie. where is hanako's choices, where where , oh there it is, library vs town), which had (pleasantly, it's nice not to have to think about routes when making choices) previously passed over my head. Got the good end because I trusted Lilly's verdict because it sort of played out in her arc.. Still haven't played through her bad end, though I did come back to her neutual one, which like many of the other bad/neutral ends, was shocking in how fast the the credits roll from the choices. Speaking of rin's bad end and hanako's neutral, I didn't really see the slight horror until tvtropes pointed out that its inferred that rin will destroy herself (commit suicide), and that hisao's placing of hanako over himself will eventually lead to consequences from his health. Not that I nessesarily believe these implications, just that having it declared as a statement is pretty shocking, compared to a general feeling. Elasped time 2 days, Game time: 3-4 hours
Now after about a few days later after finishing rin's route, I tried getting Shizune's. That was kinda hard, ended up getting to a rin trigger, then plenty of MANLY TEA PARTIES, which was a bit infuriating, because previously I had seen that ending. After 2 reboots, I relunctantly figured I had to pick the asshole choice in "cold war" (dat room cleaving expression). There were a lot of factors contributing to lack of interest in the Shizune's route. Burnout from other routes, Lack of the first-time factor, much here-say that Shizune's route is subpar, the huge deal about joining the student council (I mean seriously I thought they'd just give you an option and be done with it). Maybe part of it was also seeing so much Mishi and Shizune already, as well as maybe Shizune's competitiveness and Mishi's eventually tiresome bubblyness). This was actually kind of suprising, as Shizune was a character that caught my attention near the beggining of the game (mainly for the possiblities, how she deals with it, how she actually is, how Hisao will have a relationship despite that...). So the end result is I ended up just increasingly fast forward through the scnes, even unread things. By this time I already had the choice spoiled for me, by my own direct. fault (though not willingly). So I picked the bad end, went through it, came back onto the path, and stopped somewhere in part 4, fastfowarding all the way. Yea. I kinda feel bad about that. I by no means feel like its a bad arc DIRECTLY, though the first H-scene was like whhat? seriously those guys weren't lying about bondage? Out of the blue? That's like lily's arc x3, with respect to questionable pacing at that segment.. Also, the festivals, and repeated council meetings got boring, but that's mostly due to playing the route last and wanting to get to some actual serious stuff. The relationship seems more normal in that arc, anyways. I'll go through it sometime, I think there still is a story to be had. Time elapsed: ~1-1.5 hour.

And then after, THEN i went and saw the flowchart. It was kinda suprising but understandable in hindsight that in the flow chart as a wholeso few choices were counted. Even if you don't remember the actual choices, just knowing that would put the fun out the medium amount of choices present in most routes. I personally thought almost all things had a point value which was added up, but I suppose that would be too cumbersome. Anyways, looking at ANY part of the flowchart really irrevocable changes the way play or even think about the game. I would strongly reccomend against it, unless. Seriously, looking at it for the first time (reference: I've only played 1 VN before, and it only had a nominal amount of choices and endings) felt like looking at porn. Your tranfixed by every notion and past impressions/experience being shaped into a cystal clear hard truth. Once you look at how one route is done, you can't help but look at the others. All of them. It is kinda neat the flag system, never thought of that.

I guess I let my whole playing experience (minus most of the emotional part, funnily enough) gush out onto the board. Well, this is as good as a thread as any for that.

[Luisiroth]

For first playthrough I selected the choices I would make in that situations. After that, I used walkthrough from time to time and a lot of savestates to get the other routes/scenes.

[ForLackofaBetterName]

I think I got about the same as most here.
I went through the first with my choices I would have done at the time.
I'm new to anything RP or VN related so I don't know if that played into this at all.
It was after the first route (Emi) that I heard that bad endings existed and I used the guides to make sure I didn't do those.
F*** getting 100% I just don't want to make them sad