Clannad Side Stories. known in Japan with the subtitle of “Hikari Mamoru Sakamichi de”, which translates to “On the Hillside Path that Light Watches Over”, is a collection of short stories set in the Clannad universe. This was originally an illustrated novel written by the staff of the developers. It was later adapted for mobile phones, before ported to PSP, PS3 and finally PC where it was translated into English upon meeting the Kickstarter stretch goals.
The game is a visual novel and it is one hundred percent required that you have already played and completed Clannad, including achieving the True Ending in the After Story portion. However, there are some changes to how the visual novel plays compared to Clannad. It has no character portraits; you only get background stills and the occasional CG. The artstyle is softer so it may throw you off in the beginning. The biggest change however is that the text automatically proceeds. You cannot change the time before it moves on but unless you read extremely slowly, there should be no issues following the story.
There are a total of sixteen short stories, and each one has chapters if you want to only revisit a certain section. You’re able to pause and quit at any time but you cannot save your progress at a particular section. You have to finish each short story in one go, or at least enough of a chapter so that you can use chapter select. Each story takes around 20-30 minutes, for a total of around 7-8 hours. Every single line is voiced (with Japanese voiceovers only) and the voice actors return, including Okazaki from the anime, who was a silent protagonist in the visual novel. However, since the characters are narrating, their voices can feel flat in comparison when they are actually conversing with other characters. The same music plays and so it definitely feels a part of the Clannad universe.
The first story is Be Brave, following Nagisa a year before the events of Clannad. It shows her struggling to make friends with her new class as she is having to repeat yet another year, and it reinforces her loneliness. She has a loving family but you just can’t help but feel sadness for Nagisa, who is such a nice and sweet girl. Okazaki and Sunohara make appearances in the story although the pair never interacts directly with Nagisa. This was also the scenario that got adapted in the anime as an OVA so it may feel familiar for some.
Kouko’s Diary follows Fuko’s sister as she writes into her diary the daily events involving Fuko. Fuko is moving onto high school and you can feel Kouko’s lost at some of the odd things that Fuko does. It’s a bit bland but the emotional highlight comes at the end when Kouko realizes that she has to stop playing with Fuko and let her go out on her own in order to move on.
Male Friend follows the older twin, Kyou, in her second year. She is the class president and both Okazaki and Sunohara are in the same class. This short story shows how Kyou already had some feelings for Okazaki before the events of Clannad, and dives deeper into her thoughts than before. Her violent tendencies (in a good way) lead to some funny scenes.
My Heart Beating Fast has the other twin, Ryou. It is again set in second year and details the time when Ryou realizes that Okazaki isn’t as rough as his delinquent status might suggest. Okazaki and Kyou has formed a sort of friendship, noticeable enough to other students, and it is through this that Ryou experiences some of Okazaki’s warmth. Like her ending in the original visual novel, it has a bittersweet atmosphere since Ryou always felt inferior to her sister but you feel she deserves every bit of happiness that she can get.
Me In Those Days has Tomoyo, set during the time when she was dating Okazaki. She begins to retell a small bit of her past, describing one of her fights that she had almost lost. Thus it is a bit more action packed than normal but it shows how Tomoyo, despite her strength, still looks forward towards a future that she wants.
My Big Brother is narrated by Mei, who is Sunohara’s sister. However, it is more of a story about Sunohara rather than Mei. It takes place whileSsunohara was still in middle school and playing soccer (since he was somewhat of a prodigy). It has the typical rivalry for Sunohara against another player. Sunohara has had unfair things happen to him while Mei could only watch on helplessly. She looks up to her brother and does her best to cheer him on. It’s sweet story about the siblings and yes, there are times when even Sunohara can look cool.
Various Smells follows a very unexpected character… Botan the baby boar! He was cute in the original visual novel and he is cute now. However, the novelty does eventually wear off and it gets a bit boring towards the end. It just tells the story of how Kyou came to find and adopt him. Then it goes on and we get a sense of how Botan feels about various other characters.
A Special Night takes place a long time in the past, back when Akio was still in school. It can be somewhat weird imagining he was the same age as the protagonists, but it takes place on a significant night of his life. It’s fairly odd at first, when Akio sees a lonely boy on the street during Christmas, but he takes it upon himself to keep him company and cheer him up. While it comes to a predictable end, it is no less sweet.
One-Piece Dress is narrated by Okazaki himself but during the timeline where he is dating Kotomi. Kotomi remains the shy, absentminded, innocent girl and is someone you just want to protect. Unceremoniously joined by the twins Kyou and Ryou, they shop for lingerie for Kotomi. This story is the one that feels extremely close to a typical clichéd slice-of-life romantic comedy but it works and has a good ending.
The Spell’s Secret follows Yukine and it feels like this side story can just fit into the original visual novel. It has Okazaki and Sunohara visiting Yukine in her secret room, as they create charms and test it out. It perfectly captures Okazaki’s day to day school life before all the crazy stuff happened. Since Yukine was never a romantic option and her route felt truncated at times, this side story helps to rectify that.
Predestined Four Years before doesn’t actually feature Okazaki at all. Instead, it has Kappei, set after the ending of his route. During his rehab at the hospital, he encounters someone from a while ago that he met at school, and recalls those events. Kappei was another one of those characters that wasn’t as developed (relatively speaking), so we learn a few things about him here. It is one of the less interesting stories but only because it doesn’t follow one of the official Okazaki pairs.
The Memory Between the Two of Us follows Miisae’s high school days as she reminiscences her time as the student council president. She used to go to school together with Yoshino, and while they never formed a romantic pair, there is a fair bit of teasing. The ending links to the original visual novel’s story and a few funny scenes but this side story does feel a little bit like a filler.
The Teacher’s Memory is narrated by Koumura. He was another route that had a melancholy yet hopeful ending after he had influenced Okazaki for the better. Here, we see what he has been up to after he has retired from teaching, as he reflects upon the past days, his teaching styles and his regrets. Due to the content, it can feel a bit bland but entirely suits his character.
The Reunion of the Furukawa Bakers finally follows Okazaki again. As the title suggests, a reason comes up for Okazaki to round up the gang again in order to play a baseball game. The short story has him talking and trying to convince everyone to join.
Together in a Public Bath, surprisingly enough, is a direct sequel to the previous Furukawa Bakers story. After the baseball event, everyone heads to a public bathhouse where the story ends up being a pure fan service event. The guys listen to the girls as they chat about topics that are very clichéd in this type of anime hot springs event. Nevertheless, it still manages to throw together some funny jokes and as per usual, ends on a sweet note as the characters reflect on their time together right now, and how even if they spread apart in the future, they’ll have this good memory to remember by.
Wishes of the Towns is the sixteenth and final side story of the game. It is set after the true ending of After Story and has Ushio begging to go on an around the world trip. This might sound ridiculous, especially for such a young child but if you ignore that then this is the perfect ending that ties back into the same themes as the original game. When the ending comes up, the combination of the song, Okazaki reflecting on what this all means and the slideshow of various settings that the game takes place in, will elicit an emotional response from you.
Overall, Clannad Side Stories is a fantastic addendum to the main game. It is definitely for fans that couldn’t get enough of the story and characters, and for that purpose, this game is perfect. It definitely requires a good understanding of the characters in order to appreciate (and sit through) the side stories. Take note though, that you do run the risk of having those emotional feels come back and hit you hard but the experience is definitely worth it.
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