There is also the batting practice mini-game, which is a bit more involved compared to the battle system. This aspect of the game basically has the player collecting items to increase his/her stats and up his/her position on the battle rankings leaderboard throughout the course of the game. Despite Little Busters! being a visual novel, there are plenty of mini-games included that span a variety of genres. The definitions range from simple words that are rather well-known, like Tatami, up to terms like Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, the name of a Japanese poetry anthology published in the 12th century. I consider myself at least somewhat knowledgeable about Japanese culture, but there was still several terms and names that I was not familiar with, so the Busterpedia was rather helpful in that regard. It can also can be accessed at anytime from the main menu or the in-game menu. Clicking on the highlighted word, phrase, or name brings up its definition. It is basically an in-game dictionary, highlighting certain words, phrases, or names that the player may not know. This all just further cements my opinion that Jun Maeda is the best writer in the industry.īusterpedia. The Busterpedia is a great addition for the English version, especially for those that may not know a lot about Japanese culture. The emotional payoff in the Refrain route is easily worth the 60 or so hours it took to get to that point. I can count the number of times this has happened on one hand, Little Busters! now included. This is coming from someone who rarely feels any emotion for fictional characters, let alone shed a tear for one. Sure, the character routes are supposed to invoke some sort of emotional response, but I did not shed a single tear until I got to the Refrain route. The Refrain Route. I had a great time going through most of the character routes, but all of them pale in comparison to the game’s true ending, the Refrain route. Overall though, the Little Busters! Original Soundtrack is just another great work to come out of Key Sounds Label. I would be lying if I said I did not shed a tear or two when that one started playing during the Refrain route. The main insert song, titled “Faraway”, is easily the best vocal track in the game though. The different ending themes were of varying quality, but none of them were bad. The opening theme is just as good, with the English localization even including karaoke on-screen when it plays, just as one would find on a lot of today’s fansubbed anime. It is not just the excellent background music that makes this soundtrack so good. “BOYS DON’T CRY” is a great example of one of the better tracks from the game and might be my favorite, although it is hard to choose. There are several standout tracks in the soundtrack, with only a few on the weaker side. These expectations were met for the most part. During that process, these characters are really brought to life.įantastic soundtrack. The Clannad Original Soundtrack is my all-time favorite soundtrack, so knowing that the Little Busters! soundtrack shares some of the same composers, I had similar expectations.
The character routes expand on each character in-depth, usually by exploring said character’s past, giving the player insight into why each character acts the way they do. This is an aspect that Key has always been good at and Little Busters! is no exception. The whole goal is to build up these characters so much so that the player becomes attached to them and really gets to know them. Great characterization. As with Key’s previous works, the game is built around its characters. Clannad is my all-time favorite work of fiction across any medium, so I had very high expectations going into this game. It is a game that I have been wanting to play for years now, as I am a big fan of Key’s previous works, having seen all of their respective anime adaptations. Ten years after its initial Japanese release, Little Busters! finally makes its way to English audiences.
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