Clannad Visual Novel Guide
Ortiz Ullery
I was playing Clannad and I was planning on going through blind and just dicking around for once in a VN. However I got curious and looked at the walkthrough and it looks super complicated, I was planning on going for 100% completion (and I already have an idea of how it ends). I am also not someone who cares about spoilers so the recommended route order does not bother me.
Don't use a walkthrough for your first playthrough, especially for a VN as big and rich in content as Clannad. In fact for Clannad in particular I would recommend not using a walkthrough at all until you've gotten close to finishing up and are missing a few things that you just can't seem to figure out.
A VN like this one that, especially early on, puts most of the focus on the characters and their interactions with each other and the world at large rather than the plot itself is best explored on your own otherwise it loses a lot of its appeal in my opinion.
The issue is that Clannad has a lot of ridiculous choices to get on some of the routes-to this day, I don't understand how you would figure out on your own that you need to talk to Nagisa to get on almost any route, and that one old teacher's route just plain doesn't make any sense.
It's similar to Root Double's A route or Cross Channel, where it's very easy to screw up without realizing that you're doing anything wrong. I'd recommend at least looking at a guide so you can figure out who has routes, if nothing else.
this. it is very very easy to get on the neutral or bad end of clannad because you didnt chose the correct choices in the correct order. ive played 100's of vns and never encountered a vn's choices as confusing and as many as in clannad. couldnt continue playing it sadly without a walkthrough despite several attempts and numerous saves.
Clannad is the kind of game where it's pretty fun to just go with your heart and see where you end up. After you do that once, I suggest resorting to a walkthrough. But there should be no issue with one playthrough like that.
Well, I think my honest opinion here would be using a walkthrough because there's a lot of choice that you need to navigate. But after I saw some split opinion here, I think it depend on you whether you just want to complete one route or doing all of routes and completing everything. If you want to do the former, guess you didn't really need the walkthrough. But if you choose the latter, prepare the walkthrough because there will be some Guide Dang It moment (There's CLANNAD entry at TV Trope for Guide Dang It). Oh, and be prepared for very long playtime because according to VNDB you'll need 50 hours at very least. Have fun.
Play it once through without a walkthrough and see where you end up, enjoying the story along the way. Then use the walkthrough from then on. Games where the choices make no sense as to where you end up are bad form in my opinion and there is zero satisfaction out of selecting the correct route completely by accident.
Admittedly, I only played one and a half route, and I actually enjoyed just randomly choosing different choices and seeing where it would take me. I guess, if I had finished a few routes this way, I would have switched to using a walkthrough. I generally enjoy going through VNs blind, though there are some VNs with really dumb choices where going through it blind quickly gets annoying.
This review focuses on a visual novel created by Scope Games, which is for the most part, a single individual. After scrounging the internet for images, image templates, and songs, they pieced together this entertaining this work free for you to enjoy. Download here.
This visual novel is based on the visual novel Clannad, which has its only anime broken up into two titles: Clannad and its sequel, Clannad After Story. These particular anime are family oriented, but by that I mean they focus on struggling families, not that they are appropriate for young kids. The same is true with this fan novel.
When you go looking at typical free visual novels, they are embarrassing. This work, however, looks and sounds excellent. The primary reason for this is because of internet browsing on the part of the creator looking for help, but ultimately the novel turned out to be a great success in my book.
Being done in RenPy, the creator had the benefit of transitions and fadeouts, which they used and enhanced the experience. Artistic appearance was very nice quality, although it is definitely obvious that all of the girls were made from templates.
There is talk of murder in some cases, even a scene that would appear scary to some children (though teenagers will probably laugh unless they think of it like Higurashi No Naka Kore Ni). And of course, there are car accidents, one described and one where blood is shown, though the scene is almost comical because of the simple effort in creating the dramatic scene. Depending on one of the choices you make, one path leads to the main character hanging himself!
The Clannad visual novel was adapted into what became my favorite anime of all time. Once I saw the anime, I wanted to see how Clannad began. Buying the Clannad visual novel was one of the best things I have ever done, and I have spent dozens of hours playing through it. Now that all is said and done, it is time to discuss the best (and the worst) routes of the Clannad visual novel.
For those who do not know, Clannad has twelve routes in total. Eleven of these are usually called the "school routes." The twelfth one is called "After Story," which is considered to be the main story of Clannad. For this article, we will be looking at the eleven school routes from worst to best.
I am forever grateful that Kyoto Animation decided against adapting Kappei into the anime. He should not exist. The only purpose for Kappei's existence is to help Clannad appeal to an audience that is into seeing feminine male characters in anime. In street argot, I believe the proper term is "queerbaiting." In the end, Kappei's route does nothing more than discredit the other characters of Clannad.
Kappei is the only supporting character that serves no purpose outside of his route. He walks into the picture, absorbs some of Tomoya's time, and leaves without adding any development to Clannad's story or its characters. While Ryou Fujibayashi has a prominent role in Kappei's route, Ryou's appearance is actually a detriment to her character. She starts out as the cute and shy girl she is in every route. Over time, she becomes much more confident and bold. This metamorphosis should be reserved solely for her own route, and seeing it here is very unsettling. To summarize, Kappei's route does nothing more than worsen the Clannad experience.
Koumura serves two purposes in Clannad. The first is to act as the bridge between the main cast and Kouko Ibuki in Fuko's route. The second is to be the drama club advisor. These two roles are not enough to constitute a memorable character. As a way to combat this, Key decided to give him his own short route in Clannad. Unfortunately, his route is more of a stumbling block than anything.
A little down the line in Nagisa's route is where you branch off to Koumura's route, and if you play through the routes of Clannad in the recommended order, you will end up going through Koumura's route right before Nagisa's. So, you go through half of Nagisa's route, sidetrack to Koumura's, and then repeat Nagisa's. This is bothersome for a first playthrough, especially since you have to go through this extra trouble for such an unnoticeable character.
I like Misae, so I am reluctant to put her so low on the list. To be fair, Misae has even less impact on the story than Koumura, with her only other highlights being in the baseball route and an optional performance in an event in Nagisa's route. Out of all the routes in Clannad, Misae's is the shortest, which can be bad or good, depending on how much you like her. The route also has a cliffhanger ending. What puts Misae over Koumura is simply having a more attractive personality that makes for a more memorable character.
The Sunohara siblings certainly have their fans, so some of you may be put off by me placing them so low. They are good characters, but I do not like them enough to want a whole route just for them. Yohei Sunohara is prominent in nearly every route of the visual novel. I like seeing his relationship with Mei, but after seeing him in the game so much, I would not want to spend an extra five hours just on him.
Mei's main role is to help add depth to Yohei's character, and her inclusion is also a benefit for Tomoya. Tomoya is seen as somewhat of a big brother in the Sunohara route, which is a side of him we do not see anywhere else. Still, Mei serves few purposes, and her brother may alienate some fans. The route has merit, but not enough to reach higher on the list.
The story of Yukine's route is fairly simple. Tomoya meets Yukine, there are some fun hijinks between the two and some other characters, and it ends in a way one would expect from a romance visual novel. Amongst all of the routes in Clannad, Yukine's is the most relaxing. It lacks the melodrama that is prominent throughout all of Clannad. The dynamic it adds to Clannad is what makes it important. Despite that, it is not on the same level that the main routes are on. Even so, Yukine still gets the accolade for the best route among the supporting cast.