Id like to preface this review by saying I maybe a tad bit bias in this as I absolutely love Clannad, I have the Manga, the Blurays, the 10th anniversary art book and even a boxed copy of this VN, so yeah just keep that in mind while reading this ;)

Now, I have been waiting for a long time to get an official English release of this VN and my patience has finally been rewarded, though Clannad has a high price tag I hope in the following words I can convince you that it is worth every cent, for Clannad is much more than a simple story you grow attached to every character, and with the huge amount of choices there is so much replayability; anyway lets get started shall we.......

In my humble opinion Clannad is the best representation of life, friendships, love and loss. It shows purpose, fulfillment and satisfaction can be attained and at the same time it teaches people that the most unexpected things can sometimes come from the most unexpected person. It will show just how far an ordinary man will go just to help his friends and family.

Clannad has many different arcs that are just as good as the last, the choices you make throughout Clannad can alter your entire experience, it has a beautiful story and many touching moments, those who are looking for drama, romance and slice of life genre look no further for Clannad is exactly what you are looking for.

What truly sets Clannad apart from other visual novels is its clear representation of emotions. I would highly recommend this VN to anyone, it is well worth the money and has a very enjoyable story, it has excellently designed characters which are so incredibly believable; specifically with their personalities, as you keep reading the VN you will notice changes with each character, and you will come to love each and every one of them.

Overall to be honest this VN is a must own, I believe that most people will be able to relate greatly with Clannad.

I hope that this review has helped you in your decision in getting this VN and I hope you will enjoy the whole experience as much as I have; there is also a second VN that you should check out if you enjoy this one that being Clannad Side Stories I have also done a review on it if you wish to read my thoughts on it.

I will finish by saying; Clannd is not only my favorite thing on steam but the anime adaptation is my favorite anime of all time, if you are so inclined I'd recommend you go check that out too; happy reading :3

p.s. Im very passionate about Clannad and thats the reason I have so many hours.

(Like all my reviews I do not put a score as it is my belief that games like all forms of art are subjective and therefore it is impossible to afix a number to them)

So I sign into steam and much to my surprise I see Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de (Clannad Side Stories) on the store page, and after a brief moment of incomparable excitement and a small amount of time to recompose myself I bought the game, now if you have seen my original review of Clannad you will most likely know I have a great deal of passion for this subject matter.....

so I guess I'll preface this review the same way I did with the original Clannad VN, and this is by saying I maybe a tad bit bias in this as I absolutely love Clannad, I have the Manga, the Blurays, the 10th anniversary art book, so yeah just keep that in mind while reading this review, and try to forgive me ;)

Well to start out I must say that Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de is very different from Clannad as unlike Clannad this is not an arc-choice based Visual Novel rather it is a collection of 16 short stories based around the characters both main and side from Clannad.

The game is not so much a side story serving more as a series of prequel / after stories; for Nagisa-chan, Fu-chan, Kyou-chan, Ryou-chan, Tomoyo-chan, Mei-chan, Botan and Akio-san just to name a few.

Anyway let’s talk about the game system: it’s very distant from what Im used to when it comes to visual novels. It has a forced auto reader with no real way that Ive found to configure the speed which is rather bothersome.

I have also not found a way to advance the story faster, or to go back to parts I might have missed; you can however jump between chapters which is very useful for going back to parts that you like and love rereading over and over *cough* Kyou-chan *cough*

(>_>)
(<_<)

….....anyway there is also an option to check out all the CG's, which I believe is a must have in any visual novel, however the only downside I must say is that Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de does not have as many CG's as I would have like but this is mearly me nit picking as it is a easily overlooked thing.

Length wise each story isnt very long clocking in at aproximatly 25 - 30 min give or take so yes they are not terribly long however you can not hold this against it because-

A. they don't need to be any longer; they tell their story well in the period of time needed, any longer and the feel would be completely off, as if to make it worse by drawing it out.

B. Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de was originally a PSP release so they could only do so much.

And finally C. there are 16 beautifully written stories so the fact that each story is only around 25 - 30 min is quickly forgotten.

Now onto the stories themselves, as I have said previously in my honest opinion I belive that each and ever story is beautifully written, unlike other VN short story collections, Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de is not just a collection of entertaining but ultimatly irrelevant stories.

The stories in Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de are definite additions to the character backgrounds and the history of Clannad itself, this helps build on the already well established origin stories of the characters that I had come to love.

The stories are at times fun, but also there are times that are touching, moving and sad, they shed light on intruiging aspects of the past and future of the various characters: how Kyou-chan and Ryou-chan fell for Tomoya-kun, how Akio-san and Sanae-san met, etc...etc...

Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de doesnt have to much CG as I said before but that is made up for with it being fully narrated and I mean every character, even Tomoya-kun....however much to my annoyance Tomoya-kun doesnt seem to be voiced by the same voice actor as the anime (while the original Clannad VN was fully narrated Tomoya-kun was not voiced)

Music wise Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de is the same as the original Clannad, so it’s pretty good; actually now I think about it Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de reused a lot of assests from the original VN.

Im not saying there isnt any original content but a lot of the scenes and music are from the original but that is to be exspected really if you take into consideration that they where making this for the PSP and they had the assests avalible to them so why not use them.

Overall Id have to say that Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de is truly a worthwhile addition to the Clannad world; and my recommendation is to check it out, as someone who has completed the Clannad NV more times than Id care to say this was something that gave me a more indepth look at the characterrs I love so much.

I hope that this review has helped you in your decision in getting this VN and I hope you will enjoy the whole experience as much as I have, Clannad is my favorite subject and I could go on for hours about it; the Clannad anime is my favorite anime of all time, if you are so inclined I'd recommend you go check that out too.

Happy reading :3

(Like all my reviews I do not put a score as it is my belief that games like all forms of art are subjective and therefore it is impossible to afix a number to them)