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Essays 05 September 2022, 21:24

Clannad. 8 visual novel games with the best story

Table of Contents

  1. Who is it for: fans of romance
  2. Year of release: 2004
  3. Publisher: Visual Arts
  4. Platforms: PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, PSV, X360, Switch, Android

Visual novels are often associated with romantic stories, based on a popular shtick – the protagonist is surrounded by a wreath of beautiful, young people. They are all interested in relationships with the player's avatar, and we ultimately have to decide which one we want to bond with. Clannad is exactly about this. Despite the fact that 20 years have passed since the original release, and the graphics do show that, the game is still enjoyable and touching, mainly thanks to great story and realistic character-building.

In Clannad, which consists of two main parts, we play the role of a rebellious high school student. Tomoya contempts the city in which he lives and the society at large; he also has his own family problems on his mind. During the school year, he meets five different girls, and he can develop a closer relationship with each of them to learn their, usually quite dramatic, stories. In the second part, the game choses his wife, and focuses on family life. Unfortunately, this story ends tragically unless we unlock all alternative versions of events in the entire story – in this case, we get the best ending, a closure to the entire plot. Despite simple mechanics – the whole game is dialogues – and outdated graphics, Clannad still impresses with detailed psychological profiles of characters and unobtrusive, accurate observations on coming of age.

  1. Clannad in our encyclopedia

Aleksandra Wolna

Aleksandra Wolna

Has been writing articles for Gamepressure since March 2022 about both games and movies. On a daily basis, she deals with creating storylines for games, so she knows the industry inside out. She's been playing since she was little; she usually chooses JRPGs or indie games, although she also has a huge weakness for 3D platformers. Feels most comfortable when writing, so she considers the combination of creating texts with a passion for games a natural sequence of events. Privately, she collects Tamagotchi and takes care of her small, cat family. She happily shares her favorite games, cat photos, and other various things on Instagram.

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