It’s been a while — more than six months since the last demo release (v0.2.4). Since then, I’ve made steady progress on the GBA port of Katawa Shoujo, and I’m finally ready to share what’s new in version 0.4.1.

This update is a big one — not just in features, but in groundwork laid for what’s coming next.

Fully Functional Save System (With Thumbnails!)

After a lot of experimentation and low-level memory handling, save/load support is now fully working.

Each save stores:

• A thumbnail preview of the current scene (background, characters on the screen)

• Useful metadata like scene and playtime

This matches the original PC version’s save behavior — something rarely seen on the GBA, mostly because of memory limitations. I’ve made it compatible with both SRAM and Flash save types, so it should work on most flashcarts and emulators.

Performance Optimizations (It’s Fast Now)

I spent a good chunk of time profiling and optimizing key parts of the engine. The result? Everything’s a lot snappier, especially during:

• Text skip / auto-forward

• Scene transitions

• Menu navigation

Frame pacing is smoother now, and gameplay just feels more responsive overall. Even background processing is leaner, which helps on real hardware. Also sound glitches is gone!

Video Playback: Switched to DXTV Codec

I replaced the old AGMV video codec (by RyandracusCodesGames) with the newer and more efficient DXTV codec by HorstBaerbel.

Why the switch?

• Fewer artifacts, less blocky output

• Smaller or equal size, but better visual quality

It’s a subtle but meaningful improvement for animated scenes.

Audio Codec Upgrade: GSM → ULC

I also swapped the old GSM audio system (Damian Yerrick) for the ULC codec by Aikku93.

The ULC format offers:

• Smaller file sizes, saving several megabytes in the ROM (That COUNTS!!!)

• Significantly better sound quality, especially in music tracks

This frees up space for future content and makes audio playback far closer to the tone and atmosphere of the original visual novel.

Large Background Support via VRAM Streaming

Some scenes in Katawa Shoujo use huge, detailed background images — far beyond what the GBA can handle with its tilemap limit.

To address this, I wrote a custom tile streaming system. It loads tiles into VRAM on the fly as the scene scrolls or changes, allowing the use of large, detailed backgrounds for event scenes.

This brings the visuals much closer to the original, especially in character routes where the setting matters a lot.

Script Updates: Progress Through Act 1

Script-wise, I’ve made solid headway into Act 1:

• Monday through Wednesday: Fully implemented and  lil polished

• Thursday: Now ported and working

• Lots of smaller fixes to timing and transitions

All content has been tested on both hardware and emulators, and feels closer than ever to the original experience — with proper timing, branching, and scene playback.

What’s Next

At this point, most of the heavy technical work for Act 1 is complete. What remains is scripting, testing, and a bit of polish.

A full Act 1 release is getting very close.

Thanks for following the project — and stay tuned for more updates soon.

- neparij