Japanese publisher VisualArt’s posted photos on its Facebook page showing an English version demo of CLANNAD, the beloved visual novel by its famed studio Key, running on the PlayStation Vita at Tokyo Game Show 2016.
This PS Vita version of the game utilizes the handheld’s touch screen, with various gestures mapped to specific commands:
Originally released in Japan on April 28, 2004, CLANNAD has since been ported to many other platforms over the years, including the PS2, PSP, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, and Android. An acclaimed anime adaptation, split between two series titled CLANNAD and CLANNAD After Story, was produced by Kyoto Animation in the later half of the 2000s (available streaming on Hulu).
An official English release did not arrive until last year, with a PC version from Sekai Project thanks to a very successful Kickstarter campaign, which raised $541,161 – the original $140,000 goal was reached after less than 24 hours.
This English demo curiously comes after E3 2016 where Sekai announced it was bringing some of its library to PlayStation platforms.
Here’s the story description from the Steam page for the official English PC release:
After the death of his mother, Tomoya Okazaki—a guarded delinquent student at Hikarizaka High School—struggles to not only make sense of the abusive relationship he has with his alcoholic father, but also find meaning in his life. While on his way to class one morning, he meets a mystifying girl named Nagisa. She is a delinquent like him, but only because she is repeating her senior year, unlike the perpetually tardy Okazaki. From their brief encounter, Nagisa decides they should be friends, and enlists Tomoya’s help to revive the school drama club. Not being busy in any way, he decides to join in. Along the way, the two make friends with many other students and try to find both solace and belonging in their endeavors.