CLANNAD

CLANNAD is one of those games that just sticks with you forever and I'm not even exaggerating, it originally came out way back in 2004 and even with all the years that've passed, it still hits harder than Truck-kun. At its core, it's a story about a delinquent highschooler named Tomoya Okazaki, a guy who's pretty much given up on life because of his awful relationship with his dad and a general boredom with his town. He meets a shy and kinda weird girl named Nagisa Furukawa one day on a hill, and that chance encounter sets off a whole chain of events that'll change everything, but dude, that description doesn't even begin to cover it.

The first part of the game, the School Arc, is where you get to know all the heroines through their own routes. You've got Nagisa the sweet but insecure girl, Tomoyo the tough as nails student council candidate, Kyō the loud and feisty tsundere, Kotomi the quiet genius and Fuko… the… uh, interesting girl who's obsessed with starfish. The game gives you a lotta choices which is awesome 'cause it lets you feel like you're really shaping the story and you'll easily sink over 40 hours trying to see everything. Some routes are pure gold, like Kotomi's which is this super emotional story about childhood trauma, and Tomoyo's, which is a really mature take on romance. But yeah, not every route is a W, some can feel a bit like a chore to get through, and gotta be honest, the main girl Nagisa can come off as bland compared to some of the other more colorful characters at first. The art's also pretty dated with those massive bug eyes but that's not a gripe at all, and the music more than makes up for any visual shortcomings.

But that's not even the main event, the real reason CLANNAD is so legendary is the After Story. You unlock it after finishing the main routes and it's basically an entire second half of the game that follows Tomoya and Nagisa's life after high school. Calling it a route feels like an understatement, it's basically a life story. It explores their relationship as they become adults, get married and have a daughter, and it deals with some incredibly heavy themes like parenthood, grief and moving on, this is where the game will completely break you, I'm talking about the ugly crying can't breathe kind of sobbing. It's not just sad for the sake of being sad tho, it's such a raw and honest portrayal of life's struggles that it feels terrifyingly real.

The writing is phenomenal for the most part, especially during those emotional peaks. You really feel Tomoya's pain and growth, which is crucial since you're in his head the whole time. He's a fantastic protagonist 'cuz he's so flawed, he can be a dickhead, yeah, but you understand why he's like that and watching him mature is so satisfying. The supporting cast is amazing too, especially Nagisa's parents who are basically the best anime parents ever and provide so much of the game's heart and humor, and speaking of humor, the game's hilarious when it wanna be. The dynamic between Tomoya and his idiot best friend Sunohara is comedy gold and the jokes can be so absurd that you'll be laughing out loud one moment and then be in tears the next.

Of course, it's not perfect. The game is stupidly long and the pacing can drag sometimes, especially during the slower slice of life scenes and some of the earlier routes are pretty weak, but honestly none of that really matter by the end, the highs are so incredibly high that they completely overshadow the lows. It's an experience that'll linger in your soul long after you've finished it, and it's definitely up there as one of the best pieces of fiction you can ever experienced.

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Alright, so you've made it this far down the hill, and you're probably feeling that familiar pull again, aren't you? This sensation says something important's about to happen, just like when a new chapter's about to unfold. That warmth you're sensing isn't just nostalgia, it's the story waiting for you to step into it. Go ahead and grab that .RAR file, unpack everything and drop both folders straight into the root of your SD card. Once it's nestled in there, you've got one last thing to do, fire up that FBI app and install the .CIA forwarder. That's it, that's your ticket to walk up that long, long hill. Come on, let's walk this path together!