Look up lists of the greatest dating sim visual novels, and I almost guarantee you will find “Clannad” somewhere on the list. Considered by many to be the magnum opus of developer, Key, this visual novel has gained popularity in Japan and growing popularity to North American audiences. However, for the longest time, English-speaking countries wouldn't be able to play the game unless they understood Japanese. This is because the game wasn't localized for over eleven years since its original release date. Many people had heard about “Clannad” thanks to the anime adaptation made by Kyoto Animation and localized by Sentai Filmworks. But in late-2014, Sekai Project announced a kickstarter to fund the development of a fully localized version of the original “Clannad” visual novel. And the following year, English-speaking players were finally gifted with the first officially released English version of the game. I got the game mainly because I was already a huge fan of the anime adaptation (the sequel series “After Story” being among my favorites). So as a huge fan of the anime whose been dying to play the visual novel it's based on, does it fulfill everything I've wanted?
STORY
The visual novel puts you in the role of Tomoya Okazaki, a high school senior who hasn't had the best life. His mom died when he was young, he and his father are very distant and he has a damaged shoulder, preventing him from playing basketball, which was his passion in life. He goes through life by the motions. However, that all changes one day when he meets a rather ditsy, but friendly girl named Nagisa Furukawa.
From here, you as Tomoya can go through many routes in the game where you can focus on befriending a specific individual, some of which can lead into romance. Truth be told, I didn't find any issues with any story in this game. All the routes are extremely well done with laughs to be had and tears to be shed. However, if you're playing this thing, let me tell you you're going to be clocking in A LOT of game time. I've been playing this thing for about 45 hours and am only JUST NOW getting to the After Story segment, which serves as a continuation to Nagisa's route, which you can unlock after completing all the other routes in the game. This is not a quick visual novel to get through, but let me assure you that the moments where the story shines are worth going through the long haul.
GAMEPLAY
Because this is a visual novel, there isn't much in terms of gameplay. All you really do is make a choice when the game asks you to. These choices affect where the story goes and there is a lot of variety. However, I do suggest that if you just want to go straight through all the routes without failure, a guide is a necessity. There are plenty of walkthroughs that you can find with a quick Google search, so there isn't any issue there. My only real problem is that there's one bit where you have to do one route of the game before doing another in order to get all the orbs of light, which are required to get the true ending to the game. As far as I can tell, the game does not give you any clue on this.
PRESENTATION
Sekai Project did a good job at bringing “Clannad” to a higher definition. This game's art style is absolutely stunning. The English translations are also spot-on. I've only noticed one or two grammatical errors so far, but from my understanding, they have since been patched in updates. The game keeps the original Japanese voice acting rather than making its own dub and the voice cast is excellent. One last thing of note is that the soundtrack by Jun Maeda sounds absolutely beautiful and is easily the highlight of the game's presentation.
OVERALL
“Clannad” is a visual novel that I personally feel was well worth the long wait. If you're a fan of these kinds of games, I highly recommend it. It currently goes for $49.99 on Steam and I personally feel with how long the game goes, it's well worth the price. If you have the money and ESPECIALLY the time, it's a beautiful visual novel that's worth going through, especially if you enjoyed the anime adaptation.
OVERALL SCORE: 9/10
