Key (company)
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Key is a Japanese visual novel studio, known for making dramatic and plot-oriented dating sims. Their debut release Kanon was hugely successful in Japan. It combined an elaborate and sentimental storyline, an up-to-date anime drawing style and a popular musical score.
Their second game, Air, was similarly well received in Japan, having a similar if not more complex storyline. Both Kanon and Air sold over a million copies and also had non-ecchi console ports released for the Dreamcast and the PlayStation 2.
CLANNAD is a dating sim similar to its previous games, but is entirely clean, without any ecchi content. CLANNAD suffered many delays before its release, leading to a great deal of anticipation from fans. The game finally released in 2004 and, although with more than 2 years of delay, was still popular.
In 2004, Key also released Planetarian (planetarian ～ちいさなほしのゆめ～). Planetarian, in contrast to Key's past games, is a linear visual novel that does not require the user to make a choice, but to sit back and enjoy the story. Planetarian is also the shortest of Key games.
Fan Translations
Translations into other languages exist for Key games. Many Chinese and Korean translations (especially for Kanon) have been completed, but English translations of Key games, excluding Planetarian, are still being worked in progress (the translation for Planetarian was complete as of February 28, 2005. Kanon is more then half completed for British English translation, and American English translation is knowns to be in work. Other games are in halt, or has not been picked up yet).Games produced by Key
- Kanon (1999)
- Air (2001)
- CLANNAD (2004)
- ''planetarian ~The Reverie of a Little Planet~ (2004)
- -- the sequel to CLANNAD (2005)
Games announced by Key
- Little Busters was announced in late 2005.
External links
- [Forum for English-speaking Key fans]
- [Key homepage] (Japanese)
- [Kinetic Novel homepage] (Japanese)
- [Key fan club of mainland china] (Simplified Chinese)
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