Communication Theories in Katawa Shoujo:

Communication Theories in Katawa Shoujo:

Katawa Shoujo is a visual novel game about a high school boy named Hisao Nakai in Japan. After developing a heart condition (arrhythmia), he’s transferred to Yamaku Academy, a school for students with disabilities. As he adjusts to his new life, Hisao meets five girls, each with their own experiences of disability and unique way of communicating. Through these relationships, Hisao not only explores romance but also learns to adapt to disability culture — and each girl’s story represents a different communication theory that helps him do so. The player also meets Kenji, a paranoid, legally blind student who lives across the hall. Though his over-the-top conspiracy theories and isolation from the rest of Yamaku make him an unforgettable character, his story ends early and doesn’t follow the same structure as the others. Because of that, while he deserves a mention, he won’t be discussed in detail here.

The game’s story structure follows a pattern of culture shock. Hisao leaves behind his old way of life and enters disability culture at Yamaku. “Only after I stand in front of the haughty main building, I surprise myself by realizing why the gate bothered me: it was my last chance to turn back, even if I had no life I could ever return to.”

Dr. Igor Klyukanov outlines five stages of culture shock in Principles of Intercultural Communication, which we can see reflected in Katawa Shoujo:

1. Preliminary and Spectator Phase – Hisao’s early days at Yamaku, where he passively observes the new environment but doesn’t yet understand it. He wonders if he will ever have a “normal” life again.

2. Increasing Participation Phase – As he interacts with the students, he starts questioning his old perspectives. He wonders, “Will I ever get used to sights such as this?” and, “Is this what passes for normal around here?”

3. Shock Phase – A turning point in Hisao’s journey, depending on the route taken. This is the emotional crisis where he must either accept his new reality or struggle against it.

4. Adaptation Phase – If he successfully navigates the shock, he reaches a point where disability is no longer foreign. He is able to exist in and out of the culture at the same time, accepting both his past and present selves.

Each girl Hisao meets serves as a guide, embodying a different communication theory that helps him through this adaptation process.

Shizune and Misha – Social Influence Theory

Shizune, a strong-willed deaf student and class representative, communicates through her interpreter, Misha. Misha’s loud, bubbly personality contrasts with Shizune’s serious and competitive nature, creating a comedic yet dynamic relationship between the three. Their story aligns with Social Influence Theory (French and Raven, 1959), which suggests that relationships develop through shifts in power, influence, and persuasion. From the start, Shizune wants to draw Hisao into her world, challenging him through student council work and games. She believes: “The mark of great people is that they are daring and can follow through.” She wants to make Hisao stronger by encouraging him to take on leadership roles. In her good ending, Hisao embraces this influence, realizing that Shizune was never trying to control him—she just wanted to connect. In her bad ending, the power dynamic collapses. When Hisao and Misha’s hidden relationship is exposed, Shizune loses trust in both, and Hisao becomes isolated. Since Shizune views love and life as all-or-nothing competitions, there is no neutral ending.

Hanako – Uncertainty Reduction Theory

Hanako, a shy burn victim who avoids attention, struggles with social anxiety and self-worth. Her story follows Uncertainty Reduction Theory (Berger and Calabrese, 1975), which states that as people interact, they seek to reduce uncertainty about one another. When successful, this leads to increased intimacy and trust. At first, Hanako barely speaks to Hisao, often relying on her best friend, Lilly, for comfort. But as Hisao shares his own struggles, she begins reciprocating. “I-I have to,” she says when explaining her past, indicating her need to balance the information she’s given and received. In her good ending, she fully opens up, allowing Hisao to see her scars and returning his affection. In her neutral ending, they remain stagnant, both agreeing to “stay the same,” preventing further connection. In her bad ending, she retreats completely, rejecting Hisao in a final outburst: “I hate Lilly! I hate you most of all! I know I’m broken!”—a full breakdown in uncertainty reduction.

Lilly – Principled Negotiation Theory

Lilly, a blind and kind-hearted girl, navigates relationships with a sense of fairness and compromise, making her story fit Principled Negotiation Theory (Ury and Fisher, 1981). This theory emphasizes agreements that satisfy both parties’ interests in a balanced, lasting way. Unlike Shizune, who views conflict as a challenge, Lilly avoids unnecessary confrontation, focusing on harmony. She even accommodates Shizune, her rival, saying, “Please, Hisao, it’s alright,” when he tries to defend her. In her good ending, Lilly stays in Japan, choosing her relationship with Hisao over moving to Scotland. The agreement is fair and mutual. In her neutral ending, she leaves, but encourages Hisao to follow his own dreams, showing wisdom but forfeiting their relationship. Because she has an older sister to care for her, she has no bad ending.

Rin – Redefinition Theory

Rin, an eccentric painter born without arms, often struggles to express herself. Her story follows Redefinition Theory (Braithwaite, 1990), which argues that people with disabilities challenge societal definitions and create new identities for themselves. Rin doesn’t see herself as limited: “I don’t think I’m that disabled. I mean, I do pretty much everything differently. But it’s not that hard. I can always practice.” She adapts effortlessly, seeing disability as a part of her identity rather than a restriction. Hisao, however, initially struggles to understand her. When he tries to “fix” her or make sense of her abstract thoughts, their relationship fractures. “I think in the end, I’m not really happy with who I am, either. But that doesn’t mean that I regret being who I am. That’s the thing that’s wrong with you, Hisao.” In her good ending, Hisao accepts that Rin doesn’t need fixing, and their relationship becomes one of mutual understanding. In her neutral and bad endings, he fails to see her as she is, causing her to withdraw completely.

Conclusion

Katawa Shoujo is more than just a dating sim. It’s ultimately about Hisao’s journey of adaptation and self-discovery within disability culture. Each girl represents a communication theory that helps him move through the phases of culture shock, from uncertainty to acceptance. Through these experiences, Hisao—and by extension, the player—comes to see disability not as an obstacle, but simply another way of being.

Bibliography

Berger, C.R., and Calabrese, R.J. (1975). Some explorations in initial interaction and beyond: Toward a developmental theory of interpersonal communication. Human Communication Research, 1(2), 99-112.

Braithwaite, D.O. (1990). From the Margins to the Center: An Intercultural Redefinition of Disability. Text and Performance Quarterly, 10(1), 7-21.

French, J.R.P., and Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In Cartwright, D. (Ed.), Studies in Social Power. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.

Klyukanov, I. (2005). Principles of Intercultural Communication. Boston: Pearson.

Ury, W., and Fisher, R. (1981). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin Books.

Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (2013):

Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (2013):

“Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is an enhanced re-release of Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom and Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow over Mystara. Besides the obvious differences like gamepad support, leaderboards or internet multiplayer, the most important enhancement is the addition of house rules: after beating the game once, players can activate optional rules like items with infinite durability, the player character heals when killing an enemy or a time attack mode. After solving challenges like killing a certain number of enemies, the player unlocks bonus items like concept drawings. This version also introduces infinite continues and a few additional video modes which simulate things like scanlines or CRT monitors.”

- IMDB Summary

For what it is, Chronicles of Mystara is pretty good. It's a DnD-based beat-em-up. It combines two arcade games. Tower of Doom (1993) and Shadow Over Mystara (1996). There is no real character creation to speak of, only some pre-made characters. Tower of Doom only had Cleric, Fighter, Elf, and Dwarf. Shadow Over Mystara adds Thief and Magic-User (Who, for DnD, should be a given! But, it's a beat-em-up first. Maybe they couldn't decide what spells to put in.)

The Magic-User can use spells, which are basically clear-screen attacks. There's fireball. Acid Cloud, Ice Storm, Magic Missile, among others. Otherwise, it's a pretty basic beat-em-up arcade game with neat ways to use items that sort of resemble classic DnD. Because Elf / Dwarf are classes, and there are no real armor/weapon mechanics, it's sort of a weird mix of 1st Edition and 2nd Edition DnD.

Characters that don't have spells can use items like healing potions, arrows, hammers, burning oil flasks (which create fire walls, which you need for monsters weak against fire.) You need keys to unlock some chests. Sometimes, if your character is strong enough, you can break them open. You can also buy items in shops after some quests. The game also has special loot that can only be collected in-game, and Chronicles of Mystara tracks what items you've found.

Additionally, Chronicles of Mystara has challenges apart from its 2 main games. So, along with keeping track of your items, it can also track unique achievements unlocked. They start simple and get harder, in classic arcade fashion. Everything from play through a game to kill a specific monster 300+ times.

The monster designs are pretty cool. Some look straight out of the Monster Manual. You've got your basic goblins, harpies, kobolds, and gnolls. But, then you've got really specific monsters like Displacer Beasts, Ice Salamanders, and Owlbears, Dark Elves, etc. You need to keep oil on you if you don't have fire spells to defeat Ice Salamanders and trolls (who can only be killed by fire.)

All in all, it's a pretty good DnD-type experience, combining what's great about DnD fantasy with Capcom beat-em-up mechanics. Plus, you get two games in one. Sure, it's not going to replace pen-and-paper 5th or 6th Edition anytime soon. But, it's nice for a classic DnD fix, if you like beat-em-ups. And it's perfect for multi-player! I say check it out.

SILICON DREAMS (2021):

SILICON DREAMS (2021):

“It’s 2065, and you are an interrogator-model android tasked with rooting out deviants among your own kind. You must probe for lies, monitor and exploit emotional spikes, earn the trust of your subjects, and make the final call: release, or destroy?”

-Steam Synopsis

So, I managed to get an ending for Silicon Dreams. It's sort of like a visual novel/cyberpunk mystery game. You work for a mega-corporation KRONOS Robotics. They send in Androids who are malfunctioning. Getting emotional, violent, in love, feels human, etc. You interrogate them until you find out what's wrong, and make recommendations whether to reset, kill, or keep the android as is. So far, so good.

Later on in the game, you learn about rebel groups of androids that want to be human, or in love, and doctors or teachers that want to help them, and you're supposed to either hunt them down or join the resistance. That's supposed to be the game's moral dilemma. The problem is, (for me.) some of the game's mechanics directly conflict with getting a “good” moral ending.

In order to stay employed at KRONOS, you have points out of 100. If your score falls low enough, you can't stay in the game. So, on a certain level, you have to maintain points just to keep playing. And, although we're told in-game by various Androids or humans that KRONOS is evil, and they control them, etc., I just never saw enough evidence that KRONOS was evil to care. At a point, you can just start doing your job just to finish the game.

It certainly doesn't help when the rebel androids or humans start threatening you, hacking androids and planning to bomb KRONOS multiple times. I will say, there's a lot I agree with tonally in the game. I get that maybe I'm supposed to feel like KRONOS is evil, and manipulating robots and people. I just wish the rebels...and the Androids that want to escape, were less violent and whiny. It's not a moral dilemma, it's just called having a job.

For example, an android comes in. We know she's been working with a scientist to help Androids escape. I'm trying my best to keep her calm (The game registers emotions like “Fear” “Anger” “Joy” “Disgust”.) Well, none of that mattered, because she blows herself up when you ask about removing her hard drive to get the scientist's location, after cursing the company.

Frankly, the game just feels like a checklist to me. I know what I'm supposed to feel, but in the end I didn't care. Another time, my score fell so low, for misdiagnosing Androids that KRONOS started to suspect that I was part of the resistance. Well, I wanted to keep my job. So, I went into interrogation myself, gave all the safe, pro-KRONOS answers, and boom, reputation back up to 80.

In the end, an android comes in threatening to release a video proving androids have emotions. Which is fine, I guess. Wouldn't have particularly mattered to me. But, of course, it turns out, he has a bomb in his stomach. Well, now I'm going to disarm the bomb and arrest him. This of course, got me to the pro-company ending, where I became assistant to the Vice President of KRONOS. I never really felt one way or the other about the company. I just wanted to finish the game.

I guess I wanted to help humans and rebels, but I also wanted to keep playing, in which case, you need to stay employed. By the way, if an android started showing excess emotion, I usually just reset them. Which sometimes got me in trouble with the company, either because a customer was dissatisfied, or the android had evidence the company needed on rebels. But, again, I just kept doing my job, giving pro-company answers, and completing my diagnostics, and I could keep playing.

I don't know. I don't really recommend the game, unless you really like those scenes in Blade Runner where they're diagnosing androids. That's clearly what this game was inspired by. But, I just didn't see enough evidence of the “evil corporation” being evil for me to care about androids that claim they want to be human, or any of the rebels. I did have plenty of androids try to bomb me, or hack me. So, mostly I just did my job for KRONOS. As far as I could see, the only evidence that KRONOS was evil, was that they are a mega-corporation, not that they directly interfered in the lives of androids or consumers.

I wish I could recommend the game. I love robots, Blade Runner, and sci-fi. But, this has all the moral subtlety of an angsty teenager. It's hard to care for rebels when they're constantly violent. It's hard to care for androids who want more emotions when they are clearly unstable. Again, I can't help feeling that they were supposed to be more sympathetic. That KRONOS was supposed to be wrong. But, I had to keep up my points to keep playing. Oh, and also rebels kept bombing me, and androids kept hacking me. So, maybe that had more to do with it.

In conclusion, the game has some neat mechanics, but fails in that it has black-and-white moral dilemmas. By the end, I would just whiff entire cases just to move the game along. I get that it wants to be about big issues, moral dilemmas, inducing emotions, etc. All you need to do is keep up your points. It's a classic case of “show, don't tell”. It's hard to believe the corporation is evil, no matter how many times you tell me...when it was the rebels who actively tried to kill me.

What was the worst KRONOS could do? Deactivate me? Big deal. Rebels and androids had tried that already. I just gave my answers, and kept playing. I wish I wanted to play again. I don't. But, if you do, it's on Steam. Maybe it would've meant more to me if I were a teenager. I don't know. But, I got one play-through, and that was enough for me.

Connected Hearts: Visual Novel (2017)

Connected Hearts: Visual Novel (2017):

“Gary is caught in a strange dream and now he must overcome the adversities on his path or perish in the attempt. In this adventure you will meet 3 children in dream-like scenarios, next to a mysterious girl who talks about a promise.” - IMDB, “Connected Hearts: Visual Novel”

So, I played Connected Hearts: Visual Novel. I mistakenly thought it would be a romance visual novel, but instead it's a surreal fantasy adventure. That said, the story is pretty good for the adventure story that it is. There are 2 drawbacks immediately though. One is that it's obviously translated from Russian, and there are a lot of typos, and phrases that repeat. (Get ready to read “I swallow saliva...” a lot. I'm guessing they meant gulp, which they actually write once; much to my relief.) But, I guess in the end, the surrealism of the adventure drew me in.

It starts like a romance visual novel. A guy named Gary dreams of a girl, but then discovers that he can travel between dream worlds. He can't wake up. So, each dream world has a child that you're supposed to protect from a dream world monster. You teach them about growing up, facing their fears, embracing their talents, etc. So, it's pretty solid, storywise. Let's get to the plots.

There are 4 dream worlds. The Forest of Whispers (misspelled as Wishpers, but not a dealbreaker.) was the first one I entered. There are wolves there that insult you, and look scary. If you run from them, you'll discover the first child, Mary. She's alone and scared and her cabin is all she knows of the world. You tell her to be brave, and enter a maze where you just keep going in circles.

You soon discover the wolves don't actually do anything. They just insult you. So, you guide Mary to the exit, having conquered your fears. The next world is the Kingdom of the Sun, where strange robot-like inhabitants wear masks and live in fear of people from the “real world”. Their king, Henry, is a talented young boy who built the kingdom from his mind. You have to convince him reality is worth facing. You can't just isolate yourself inside your fantasy.

After that, you escape his robot guards, and return to the dream world hub. The next story I chose was Into the Deep. In this one, a young boy called Royer is trapped on a boat with vicious mermen. Some of the decisions you have to make here to survive, like not hiding from the monster, and “throwing” your lead pipe at a Merman (Did they mean swing?) are all pretty good for the “face your fear” theme. But, I think this one was my least favorite. The robots in The Kingdom of The Sun were the coolest.

Having done all that, you can then visit Alice's Castle. Alice is the girl Gary sees in a dream at the start of the game. Here, you find notes about “Director Heart”, and psychological test subjects all demonstrating a particular phobia. I can guess that Alice created the “dream worlds” to trap Director Hearts' children. Her phobia is chronophobia, and the entire game has been about maturing and confronting fear. So far so good, translation issues aside.

This last bit is where the game loses me. After you confront Alice, she asks you if you remember a promise you made to her. You say no. She says to remember the promise, you have to dream again. Then, the game repeats! I can easily guess, based on her choronophobia, that the promise was never to grow up, or to stay with her forever, or something like that. Something antithetical to the game's theme of maturity and bravery. Maybe I'll finish the game later, but I'm not playing through the same game again right now just to get the “real ending”.

All in all, Connected Hearts: Visual Novel is a strong fable-like story, with a good central message, and vivid imagination that helps it through some of its shortcomings. I still think the title misleads you into thinking it's a romance novel, and not a surreal adventure to save the Heart children. I'll finish it eventually, and I do recommend it, but right now I need a break. There's only so many times I can read Russian-to-English typos, and the novelty of the fantasy story has sort of worn off. That said, I do reccommend at least one playthrough.

The typos weren't the dealbreaker. I'll come back to it. I guess I just don't like games that repeat. It just strikes me as padding out the game. Particularly, when they are full of scenes I just played through. It's exhausting. For now, I need a break. But, It's free on Steam. Check it out!

Dual Blades (2002):

Dual Blades (2002):

Dual Blades (2002):

"Dual Blades is a fighting video game published by Metro3D, Inc. for the Game Boy Advance. It is a fighting game with single player and player versus player modes. It features a "power combining system" which was very new for the genre at that time. This system allows players to create their own fighting style.”

Fighters throughout time come to fight for the Dual Blades, a weapon that will grant immortality. First off, despite the power combining system, you pretty much just have light attack (thrust) and heavy attack. (Slash.) So, it all comes down to your weapon and character, as this is a weapon-based fighting game. My favorite character so far is Shin, the feudal Japanese magician who uses a spear. He gets an ending where he challenges the best fighters throughout time again, essentially just relaunching the tournament.

Others include Brandon an American vagabond with a sword, Efe, an Ottoman warrior with a scimitar, a female ninja named Kunonichi, a beastman, a sorcerer, a Russian witch, and the last boss who is unplayable. He's an immortal Roman named Alpe Ren, who can move super fast and switch instantly between “weapon mode” and “armor mode”. The only thing comparable that you as a player can do is choose between a defensive or offensive fighting style before the fight.

For a Game Boy Advance title, it does some advanced things for the time in 2002. I don't really think there's much reason to go back to it. It is super violent, which is unusual for even a weapon-based fighting game back then. But, even watching characters get sliced in half as the final heavy attack lands gets boring after a while. There are updated modern versions and sequels on Steam, but the original is pretty one-note (i.e. the power-combining system.) and stale by now.

My favorite ending to the game though, is Duke the English knight's ending, who uses the Dual Blades to umm...stop the Viking invasions of England? It's an interesting idea. It's ultimately how I feel about Dual Blades. It's an interesting idea. But, it doesn't really follow through, even though it could've completely changed things.

King of The Dragons (1991 Arcade/1994 Super Nintendo):

King of The Dragons (1991 Arcade/1994 Super Nintendo):

“Set out on a great adventure in a fantastical world to defeat Gildiss, the mighty Red Dragon, and save the kingdom from darkness!” – Steam

King of The Dragons is a fantasy beat-em-up that came to Super Nintendo in 1994 (As I remember it!), ported from the 1991 arcade game. It was just like playing a good hack-and-slash DnD game. I still remember a lot of the bosses, characters, the level design, and the great music that made it all unique and part of my formative DnD experience, even though it wasn't directly related to the DnD games. I just want to talk about it.

You start off by selecting your character who's on a quest to slay a dragon. There's a fighter, a cleric, a wizard, a dwarf, and an elf. The elf has the best range. The dwarf has the least range. The cleric is okay, and the wizard is a gamble, since with every level his attack spell, and thus range, also changes. Your weapons level up after every boss fight, but for some reason...I guess for the added challenge, you can also not pick up new weapons and let them disappear.

The first boss fight is the Orc Chieftain. He's got two chain whips and you have to stay in the middle of him while taking out baddies in the forest. Then, the Minotaur who charges every so often after swinging a giant axe. Then, the wyvern, who you attack in the sky, so if you don't have good range, you're just doomed unless you're really good at jumping attacks, or have a lot of magic. The hydra is pretty sneaky with it's multiple heads shooting different things out. I could go on, but really, all of the bosses are are so good, and tough. I usually die right before the giant spider on my own.

Later on, there's a cyclops, a giant spider, a dragon knight, a dark wizard, and of course, King of The Dragons, Glidiss. Each boss has its own trick to beat, but it can still be pretty tricky, if you waste a lot of health getting to them. Heck, I still can't beat the game on my own. But, a lot of the enemy designs, and level designs like spooky giant spiders in the forest, the cyclops who throws rocks, or the shifty mermen still influence many DnD campaigns today.

The settings and music are phenomenal for the 16-bit era. I feel like, in any beat-em-up, since you'll be attacking and doing the same things a lot, the sound can make or break the experience, and boy, does King of The Dragons go all out from the first level onward. Even the character select screen music feels like an epic quest, the level up sound “Wooo!” let's you know you just became more powerful, the magic screen-clearing lightning attacks or frog orbs that turn all your enemies into frogs (BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!) or (RIBBIT, RIBBIT!) feel satisfying and strong.

There are a few minor things I don't like about the game, but they're not deal-breakers. I still like it. I hate the slime enemies that capture you and drain your health. I hate the freeze spell that freezes you until you click really fast to get out of it. I hate the mimic treasure chests that bite you and you have to click really fast to get them off. Basically, I can never click fast enough to avoid them, and that always dooms me during a solo run. I do better as player two!

Despite all the annoying little enemies, it's still a great game, and its music, settings, and characters keep me coming back to it again and again to try to slay Glidiss. Taken together, all the good parts of the game make it an unforgettable experience of an epic DnD quest! Just make sure you pick the elf, in my opinion. Unless he's taken, then just pick the next best-ranged character. Check it out, if you can!

Orion Trail (2015):

Orion Trail (2015):

“Dare to travel the absurd and dangerous Orion Trail, where only the luckiest, bravest, and most stubborn captains will make it all the way to the end. Become famously incredible or incredibly dead in this single player choose-your-own-space-adventure!”

The Star Trek parody game that mixes Oregon Trail with board games, and...well, Oregon Trail mechanics. The name of the game here is funny stuff happening. You start off by selecting 4 crew members (Officers) who will influence your stats (Diplomacy, Bravado, Tactics, Science, and Attack.) From there the game takes on resource management mechanics (Crew, food, fuel, and hull.) and works like a board game.

Each space you “move” takes fuel and food. Sometimes you'll have random encounters that will add or take away skills and resources (Lost your lucky underwear -1 Bravado. Took a martial arts class +1 attack, etc.) The meat of the game however is funny encounters when you get to planets. Whether it's dealing with annoying party aliens or the villainous “Underbaker”. Each scenario gives you a choice of how to proceed, with each solution using a stat.

For example, if you're dealing with the Underbaker, the attack solution is to blast him. The dialogue solution is to get him to cut a deal with you, the tactical solution is to get him talking, and disable his bakery, and the bravado solution is to steal his chef hat. Each one of these then turns into a probability out of 10. So, if you have 6 bravado, or whatever, 6 squares will be ok, 2 will be failure 1 will be complete failure and another will be complete success. Of course, the higher your stats, the more chances you have for success.

So, the game is all resource management and probability with comedy mixed in. Some of the events parody Star Trek directly like evil clone planets, and some parody other elements like Rogue AI, or a planet full of Michael Jackson Thriller zombies. Willy Wonka's factory and giant space malls are also part of it. Just make sure not to get lost in the giant space mall.

The goal of the game is to reach the space station at the end, where you receive your title based on how many successes or failures you had, and what stats you most used. For example, mostly successes will earn you the adjective “Admirable ____” So, if you used bravado, you'd be “Admirable Rule-Breaker”. Or “Unfortunate Scientist” if you used mostly science and got failures.

There are 6 missions (boards) to use, each one harder and longer than the next. I mostly like this game, since the emphasis is on probability and funny stuff rather than skill. I can always have a good time, even if my resources run out and we all die, at least it'll be funny. The same stuff kind of happens on every board, you get used to it after a while. But, there's enough random elements to keep me coming back. Check it out!

What Is A Visual Novel?

What Is A Visual Novel?:

“As a genre, "visual novel" is not defined by a mechanic or an aesthetic, but rather a distinctive presentation: VNs focus on presenting a text-based story using click-through text boxes, accompanied with static character graphics, and usually feature little to no actual gameplay.”– TVTropes.com

What is a visual novel? I guess the best way to describe a visual novel is like a virtual book that you read and occasionally make choices in that effect the story. But, then things get a little more specific. For example, many fighting games have “story modes”, which have larger plots connected to each character through a series of fights. Also, many role-playing games have story elements.

The main difference is that a visual novel is told mostly through text like a book instead of graphics. There can be graphics, but the story isn't told through the graphics, necessarily. But, then it gets even more complicated when you mix genres like fighting game-visual novels. The story is mostly text, and player decisions effect the plot, with an added fighting game mechanic.

This difference between “story mode” in most fighting games vs. fighting game-visual novels is mostly about how player decisions effect the plot. For example, if you lose fights in a traditional fighting game, you can't progress. The fights are the main game. In fighting game visual novels, losing a fight would effect the outcome, but the story text would continue. The text is the main mechanic, not the fight.

Then, you have kinetic novels, where there is no game at all. No choices are made by the player. It's a book in videogame format. You read it. There are no multiple endings, and there are no side mechanics. I don't really play visual novels that don't have gameplay. I like to make choices.

I just wanted to make this post because I've been posting about visual novels. And I realize that not everyone knows what they are. My favorites are Katawa Shoujo and short comedies like Leave Mr. Bear Alone. But, even some games like Blazblue, a story-heavy fighting game, have visual novel modes that are pretty fun. Like books, they can be any genre, not just dating games. If you have time today, look for a visual novel on Steam. You'll find something you like!

Slay The Spire (2019)

Slay The Spire (2019):

"It's a combination of roguelike-like gameplay with a deck-building card game. It requires players to develop a strategy for their deck on the fly based on the cards they can obtain from loot.”

Slay The Spire is basically a Souls-Like game with cards. You begin the game by selecting a class. Your class determines what skills and abilities (Cards) you have. There's The Ironclad. He's your Tank character with heavy attacks. There's The Silent. He's your Rogue (DPS: Damage-per-Second.) guy with quick attacks and good abilities. There's The Defect, your “Mage-Type”, with weak attack but heavy on spells and abilities.

The one class I haven't gotten yet is The Watcher. But, I assume it's a support-type character. The Monsters you face are fierce, and can do lot of damage usually, just like a Souls-Like. You'll need to balance your block and attack cards each turn. If you don't block, you're dead. If you can't attack, you're dead.

Some monsters can attack and exhaust your cards or steal your cards. Some mini-bosses have special abilities like reflecting attacks back at you or just dealing truckloads of damage. But, fear not. each level of the Spire is like a board, and each defeated monster drops loot. Not every space on the board is a monster encounter. You can have mystery encounter spaces, where something happens whether it's meeting a demon who curses you, but gives you abilities, or a gambling game that can get you new cards. (Or something like that.) Each such space is usually random.

You can also buy potions, cards, and abilities from merchant spaces if you land on them. My favorite spaces though, are campfire spaces. Here, you rest and heal, or upgrade your cards, making their effects more powerful. These are usually good before boss fights or mini-bosses. You can either rest, or upgrade. You cannot do both.

Overall, it's a good game. A tough game. You die a lot. But, it makes me want to replay each time to see if I can do better. I always want to get better cards or try a different class. “Git Gud”, as the gamers say. Give it a try. Check it out on Steam.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (2018):

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (2018):

“BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is a 2D crossover fighting game developed and published by Arc System Works, first released for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Windows in 2018. Cross Tag Battle features characters from different series, including BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth and RWBY.”

Well, it's BlazBlue with some extra characters, and tag team mechanics! I liked it. It has some characters I didn't know about like from the Under Night In-Birth series. (But, I get that they are monster-themed characters.) Honestly, it's worth it just for the novelty of seeing characters from Persona 4 like Chie fight Ragna The Bloodedge or Ruby Rose from RWBY.

The attacks and combos are insane, as usual with BlazBlue. Plus each character has a “clash” button, that automatically performs a small tag team combo. I thought that was nice. It sets up some nice juggling. Battles are 2-on-2. You can tag another fighter when one is low on health. Or set up tag attacks! There are some “secret” characters too, like Neo Politan from RWBY, or the Blitztank from Akatsuki Blitzkampf.

Apart from single player 2-on-2 battles, each franchise in the game (BlazBlue, Persona 4, Under Night In-Birth.) has its own story mode (visual novel.) to complete. Or you can complete the full story mode where every franchise is summoned by BlazBlue, and they all have to find magic stones to return to their franchise homeworld...by engaging in 2-on-2 tag team battles, of course.

Some of my favorite characters in this game are Ahkiko from Persona 4 and Yang Xiao Long from RWBY. Both boxing types, and good for quick combos. Plus, anyone can release special attacks when you fill your character's “Cross Burst” Meter. Those are always neat. Overall, I'd say check it out on Steam.

Highschool Possession (2015):

Highschool Possession (2015):

"Hikaru was just a normal young man with a crush on two girls at school, that is until his whole world changed as he literally had to walk in the shoes of his dream girls... Only to find his school idols were not so perfect after all."

Generally, I think bodyswapping is a dumb premise except in Freaky Friday where it teaches teens responsibility and adults to loosen up. But, I actually enjoyed this game. The main character magically swaps bodies with a girl he likes while he's in a coma. Then, he discovers she's being bullied. He tries to help her. How much you help depends on the ending you get. There are a few scenes where you can discover abuse or explore your body more. I just like that the main character helps his crush. I thought that was nice. Check it out on Steam.