excellent revisiting to the review. I rather liked the remix here. it goes further in to explain things. the anime was sad and I have to admit the game, that I was able to play it, was quite sad and horrible. I can't believe how sad both of them were (anime/VN) I could not play any further so I sneaked for spoilers to see how it ended (VN).
Clannad game Review
Deliquent Okazaki Tomoya finds himself starting his final year in high school with no hope for the future, no girlfriend, bad grades, and a strained relationship with his father.
All seems lost, until the moment he meets Furukawa Nagisa. This girl brings forth hope, love, and family into Okazaki's life.
Story & Playability
Story Introduction
The player takes control of Okazaki Tomoya - a relatively well-known highschool delinquent.
He have lost interest in the world around him and spends most of his days goofing off with his friend Sunohara - but
soon enough , Tomoya would find himself meeting girls whom would change his life - and likewise , he himself would find
himself struggling to make their lives better.
Story Overview
There is no mystery , no murders , no suspense... well , maybe a little and pretty much little to no plot twists.
So what makes this story exceptional?
It's ability to turn men into dried sods whom had emptied themselves of tears.
Clannad offers no exaggeration to it's plotline. Nothing dramatic - it's simplicity is in itself a pure form
of drama and romance.
The characters spends an everyday life with each other. Go to school , eat together in the courtyard , spends their
moments together chatting away or simply spending what time they have together.
The lustrous brightness of the plot draws the audience in. Absorbing them into the characters. Developing attachments
for the characters as they witness their strengths day to day.
Then , it breaks. It shatters. The plot takes a sudden turn.
Suddenly , the characters suffer. Their smiles gone , their strength crumbled and tears starts to flow.
All of the heroines and side-characters have a heart-wrenching tale of their own.
The plot then immerses itself in the characters' fears , their tears , their helplessness , their past and their
pain.
By then , the player had already found themselves deeply immersed into the plot. The drama kicks in and he or she would
find themselves holding back their tears - or leaking them out like a broken tap.
What is truly beautiful is how the characters stand up again after their fall.
They fell - but they climbed up again. With the support of the protagonist ( or vice versa or through other means ) ,
they find themselves facing life once again. Through the kindness of those around them. Through the courage the other
had given.
The saturation of such emotions can be overwhelming.
What makes the plot unique is that there is no need for villains , a unique concept nor anything complicated for
it's plot structure.
Everything is easy to absorb and yet it is easy to immerse one self into the plot.
The characters does truly stand out and it won't be long before the player gets caught in their momentum - and this
happens for every single route the player goes down into.
That route may not be particularly romantic nor dramatic - particularly the side-routes. But unusually enough , it bears
enough of an impact to shake one's heart and tear glands.
Thus , please do allow me to use up my remaining box of tissue before I continue to the art section.... *sniff*
Rating:
Graphics
Artwork Review
Right , truth be told , the color theme of the Visual Novel is a mite bit musty.
Character proportion can also be a bit warped up at times - particularly for Tomoya whom looks ridiculous in kissing CG
scenes - his face looks fairly distorted truth be told.
Whilst the artwork is far from what one would consider perfect owing to some inconsistency in the body parts and the
fairly musty color tone to the character sprites and CGs - as a whole , oddly enough , the game in itself is still a
pleasant experience.
Some of the scenes can still be exceptionally beautiful - perhaps the lack of luster in the color tone and godly artwork
is buffed up by the music and the story in itself.
However , there are - indeed - some CG scenarios which are note worthy. Whilst some scenes are indeed awkwardly drawn (
Particularly if the protagonist is in it ) - some of them can be exceptionally depressing or beautiful. Of course , by
depressing I've meant that in a good way.
For example , in Kyou's route , there is a specific scene of which the entire atmosphere of the CG is dull and
heavy. Perhaps it's because of the rain but the how atmosphere of the CG makes one feel guilty , sorry , worried
and depressed at the same time.
It had truly brought out the meaning of that scene and the cornerstone of the plot of which Tomoya and Kyou is suffering
from an emotional issue which deeply troubles the both of them.
Rating:
Sound
Music Review
... Can I rate 10 for this?
The music collection of Clannad is an exceptional one. Each character - or to be specific - each MAIN HEROINE have their
own theme song and each of them gives the player a proper first impression of the character's personality.
Just hearing the first two seconds of the theme song in itself is more than enough to tell you whom is going to appear
next.
Let's give some examples.
Kyou's theme song is upbeat , bright , vibrant and she does pretty much bears my favourite character theme song in
the entire Visual Novel.
Kotomi's theme song have this pompous nature to it - but it also sounds a weeny bit mysterious and gives the
impression that she may be a klutz - or an oddball to be blunt.
Depending on the character , the tune may be soothing or... well , a mite bit wild like Kyou's.
Other than the character theme songs the game also bears a collection of theme songs for an everyday scenario and some
of the more emotional or troubling scenarios.
It is interesting to see how different remixes of the same song could emit different effects. From a bright sunny
morning tune to a depressing tune of two confused individuals whom can't come clear of their feelings.
These theme songs are recycled again and again and again , but they never do seem to lose their effect.
These songs does buff up the plot a whole lot and does make tear jerking a lot easier... wait , what did I just
say?
The ending theme also gives much satisfaction to the player and the beauty of the song pretty much emphasis on the route they had just experienced earlier - allowing them to think back about the route they had just cleared with a smile on their face.
Voice Acting
Ahh... if the plot and the songs are enough to make you go loose like a broken tap - fear the voice actors!
Naturally , as expected of a Visual Novel , the voice actors would put emphasis on the "personality type" that
their playing.
Kyou would sound upbeat and bright ( and like a bully at times ) , Ryou would sound... well , humble - same goes for
Nagisa but she's have a brighter and more naive tone about her.
But what really makes the cut is the part where the characters starts sobbing.
Yes , it doesn't really help your tear glands when the characters starts sniffing , screaming , sobbing and starts
stuttering amongs their tears.
If the music and the plot isn't enough to make you cry like a damsel in a burning tow- Oh wait , wrong analogy.
If the music and the plot isn't enough to make you cry like a baby , then you ain't human.
Rating:
Fun
This is a Review of Clannad ( Visual Novel
)
A re-review of Clannad - since my old review didn't do it justice.
Generally , the idea of this game is that it makes men cry a bucket , women would use up all their tissue boxes and
children would...
..... Forget it.
Despite this being a "galge game" , which makes it suitable for male players , female players may want to
consider trying this Visual Novel as it isn't solely about the protagonist hitting on the girls but the struggles
the characters faces and overcome.
Clannad is essentially a mixture of comedy , drama and tragedy.
Making the audience laugh and grin , then shed some tears and smile again. Funnily enough , the process repeats itself
even after finishing a route once.
Prep a stock of tissue boxes if your prone to tears.
Overall ( Others )
Age Rating : 13+
Console : PC / PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Xbox360
Gameplay
The structure of Clannad is similar to most other Visual Novels - with one major difference.
You don't "stock up points" with the Heroines - or rather , you do "stock up points" if your
still in the prologue state but once you get into the route itself , you have to make sure you make the correct
decisions ALL the time , lest you reach a Bad End.
So the idea is , there's no room for mistake.
What makes it challenging is that you may have to be exposed to some other heroine's route before you can get into
a specific heroine's route. Or you'd have to remember ( or guess ) where the heroine in question is going to
turn up and stuff like that.
One wrong move and it's pretty much down to the Bad Ending you go.
There are also Easter Eggs which makes this game interesting. Or rather , their events which can only be viewed if you
have associated yourself with a certain heroine before dedicating yourself into another route.
Such as.. the notorious gym storeroom scene. Well , those whom had watched the Anime would know the curse involves
trapping Tomoya with Kyou - but in the Visual Novel , the player have a CHOICE.
So they can pretty much shut Tomoya in with any of the Main Heroines provided he had associated with them in the
prologue.
Well , there's nothing gained from such scenes - other than for a good laugh anyway.
So for some players , they may feel like experimenting around with the routes to see what minor events they may land
themselves into.
Comedy
Comedy occurs in the first half of the game , where it allows the player to immerse themselves into the characters and
the world of Clannad.
Though the main victim of it all is pretty much Sunohara. His pretty much the comic relief of the game and he gets his
head bashed in by just about everyone else in the game - either psychologically or physically.
I pity him. A little.
Romance
Romance... surprisingly enough , isn't the main focus of the Visual Novel.
To be specific , it's not the type of romance one would expect it to be.
It is more about people. Their problems and how they overcome it with each other - the bond between humans as a whole
and the strength that they have to overcome their problems.
Romance in itself revolves around this element though at times , it works the other way round.
Depending on the route , the romance factor may prove to be stronger or weaker.
Trivia
- There is a side-story of Clannad on PSP called Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de
- There is a Tomoyo Sequel called Tomoyo After ~ It's a Wonderful Life ~
- PC version of Clannad can be subjected to a Voice Patch
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.6667 (very good)
Reviewed by z827, Nov 02, 2011
Comments
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angelxxuan Banned Member Nov 03, 2011
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Demasontoth Nov 04, 2011
Oh it's superb! The concept of the game is good, quite different rather than regular. I have Ps3, it will run on this? <a
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hitsu-chan Nov 04, 2011
I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE CLAAANNAD! :DDDD thx for this great review! I totally agree with u ;)
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musicvocaloid Aug 28, 2013
clannad what sad
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fitarol15 Sep 13, 2014
Awesome===Love clannad my fav anime!
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mclean410 Jul 14, 2015
i cant spell verry well pleas over look it pleas and ty i rilly need help finding the name of this its Clannad. But to Clannad r Cllannad after story its a way sadder story line well the lead boy been wakeing up from same nightmare far ass long as he can remimber the sickly girl has same dream well after she dies giveing birth he never ones sees his baby not till end of story pleas help me ty
merged: 07-14-2015 ~ 05:48pm
i finnaly found it its called clannad the movie ty took forever to fined yall shuld all watch it
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