Clannad

Clannad is an adventure game that belongs to the visual novel category. The production was developed by a renowned visual novel creator - Japanese studio Key, known for titles such as Kanon, Air, Little Busters!, or Rewrite.

Plot

The player assumes the role of a Japanese teenager named Tomoya Okazaki, who attends the Hikarizaka Private High School. The game's branching, highly non-linear plot revolves around his school life. As a result of various decisions made at specific story moments, sooner or later the plot begins to focus on one of five girls attending the same high school. As each of them has a unique story, the entire game can and should be played multiple times.

After completing the first part of the story, i.e. getting to know the stories of all girls, a second one, entitled After Story, is unlocked. It’s set seven years in the future and assumes that from among five potential love interests the main character eventually started a family with a girl named Nagisa Furakawa. The second part of the game is at least as long as the first one, which described the characters' school years.

Like most visual novel games, Clannad's main focus lies on the story. The plot is very extensive and filled with both comedic scenes and dramatic events, featuring some fantasy elements as well.

Mechanics

In terms of gameplay, Clannad is a typical visual novel - we passively follow the story that is told in text form and accompanied by two-dimensional characters sprites and backgrounds. From time to time the player is given a choice between several alternative actions or statements and the decisions he makes have a significant impact on further development of the scenario, eventually directing it into one of several alternative paths and affecting their possible endings.

Such a structure requires the player to complete the game repeatedly to see everything it has to offer.

Last updated on 26 October 2015