Through these daily interactions we learn more about each character and want to continue watching all that unfolds around them. Still, when it comes right down to it, the writing in Clannad is strong. Buddy Sunohara is also physically harmed repeatedly in slapstick comedy gags that feel out of place these days. For example, Tomoya’s terrible prospects for the future aren’t dwelled upon as he and friends simply enjoy their youth. Everyone is amusing, goofy and lighthearted. It all feels rather trope-filled at the start and moves at a leisurely place.
If you’ve ever experienced “slice of life” tales in anime or manga then you’ve got an idea for how things start out in Clannad. Given how much reading folks will be embarking on (accompanied by Japanese voice acting for all characters except the protagonist), the writing simply has to be stellar to keep people engaged. With that said, we can talk about the writing of characters and how everything flows together. In either case, that’s a heck of a lot of reading.īecause of the intense focus and winding path of Clannad’s storytelling, it would be immensely cruel to share any story elements beyond what was already described. With over ten endings to explore, a playthrough from a fast reader who makes liberal use of skip functionality might take forty hours while folks going at a leisurely pace could expect to see eighty or more. That’s not to say the experience is short, either. There are guides online proclaiming to be anywhere from 100 to 300 hours, but that’s not likely for most players out there. As you might have heard, it’s quite long. The way that Clannad diverges actually takes a while to unravel.
Okay, so that might not sound all that different from other visual novels out there. Now, Tomoya finds himself talking more to other friends in his class and potentially romancing basically any other female character in the game. It is this meeting which spurs the rest of Clannad into motion. Somehow, this presence of Nagisa seems to change Tomoya’s outlook and daily life in a wide variety of ways. There’s no doubt that, for the few similarities the two share, Nagisa is quite different from Tomoya. Nagisa doesn’t appear to be the type to ditch, and he quickly learns that she is repeating a year due to an accident that kept her out of school for nine whole months. One day, Tomoya runs into another delinquent - but she stands out to him. Still, they’re happy enough wasting time during their third year in high school. The duo appear to have no prospects in life because that’s what they’ve envisioned for themselves. Although he goes to high school, he and his best friend/punching bag Sunohara would much rather be tardy on a daily basis and skip classes together. We’re introduced to a teenage boy named Tomoya Okazaki who has absolutely no plans for the future. Things start off in a standard visual novel-y way. And somehow, it manages to be this while initially appearing like any other romance-focused title out there. Clannad is indeed a stellar example of some of the best the visual novel genre has to offer. Was it possible that all of this adoration simply wasn’t warranted? Perhaps people had really just been playing up the game’s importance, and as such, my expectations would have been too high.Īs it turns out, people were right. Having never played Clannad in Japanese or through the existing English fan translation, I wasn’t sure what my reaction would be. No, in order to enrapture thousands, it must in fact be one of the best games of the genre. This doesn’t just happen by being a good visual novel.
Having been adopted to manga, anime, drama CDs, and even film over the years, there’s little doubt that this is one game that sparked tremendous affection from the audience. I’m speaking of course of Clannad by VisualArts Key.
After over ten years since its original launch in Japan, one of the most beloved visual novels is finally available officially in English. Bradly had no input or awareness whatsoever in the creation and publishing of this review. This was not a job he made public and the reviewer Marcus Estrada was completely unaware of this connection when doing the review (him reading this statement post-publishing will be the first he hears about it). Editor in Chief’s Note: One of our Editors, Bradly Storm, also served as the Lead Editor and Production Assistant for Clannad.
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