Should I return it?

[musicangl1]

I know this game has a lot of die hard fans. I've been looking at buying it for ages, and bought it at the $25 point. I'm 1.5 hours in, and I am honestly not enjoying it. I don't like any of the characters so far, my choices are to be an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ or act out of character, and the story is doing nothing for me. But, I realize 1.5 hours is not much. I can only return it in the first 2 hours though, and I don't want to waste my money if the game doesn't get any better, you know? So, does the game improve/change DRASTICALLY a few hours in, or should I return it if I don't like it yet? Thanks!

[mimizukari]

once you set yourself on a route, the varying routes are incredibly different, although slice of life might just not be your genre, i'd recommend steins;gate as it's the #1 vn on all time and on steam, otherwise; clannad has over 100 hours of content, so decide whether you wanna stick with it to see all the stories or not... i could also recommend the grisaia main series (currently fruit and labyrinth of grisaia on steam)

[DPM JaMaN]

Return it if you're not into visual novels, anime related stuff and/or you're not interested in emotional melodrama in school setting.

[musicangl1]

oh, I'm into those things. I love anime based on dating sims like Kanon, but these characters aren't clicking for me. I guess what I'm asking is, did anyone else find it an incredibly slow start before it got interesting?

[DPM JaMaN]

Well, if you mentioned Kanon then you definitely have to give Clannad a chance. As Shiki-sama and Sir James mentioned above - Clannad is a slow starter and fatty in terms of story. Every route brings character development, so if you don't like them now - doesn't mean it'll stay like that forever. This game is not about lovey-kissy-hugy stuff, it's about this very difficult and complicated thing called life.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Clannad and rated it slightly above 8, but I still enjoyed it a lot, and I don't regret buying it, it's a classic of VN genre.

So, I don't know, man, It's your choice.

[Mr Hildebrand]

It does have a pretty slow start and all of the routes start out the same but once you're a few hours in they start to pay off. If you're into slice of life stories with a heavy does of depression at times then you will enjoy it. You just have to seriously take a good chunk of time to sit down with it and once it gets going it's hard to stop.

My opinion is also biased so take it with a grain of salt. I would say maybe find something that can give you an over-view of the characters without spoilers and see if anything clicks for you. I think DPM JaMan described it best, the main character isn't really trying to get a girlfriend and anytime something starts going his way, life decides to take a dump on him. It's about building relationships and working through some of the hardest things life has to throw at you.

I also recomend using the community guide. Clannad is a hard game to work out a route on your own, especially since it has alot of "bad" endings per-say.

[Casus Belli]

If you don't want it, you can give it to me. :)

[isaac13_13]

At about 1.5 hours in, I didn't enjoy this either. I was on Nagisa's route, and I quit for a few weeks because I wasn't enjoying it. Too much talking.

When I came back a month later, I beat the 1st half of the game ('all routes') in about 2 weeks.
Give it a break. Come back, get a summary. But, keep trying. You DID spend over $20 on it.

You can do it. And maybe you too will find something precious to hold on to.
I wish you luck.

[James1991]

Too much talking? What the hell were you expecting from a visual novel?

[isaac13_13]

Originally posted by James12183:

Too much talking? What the hell were you expecting from a visual novel?

It was my first. And, being one of the best, I'm so glad it was. :)