Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life
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| Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life | |
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| Developer(s) | Key |
| Publisher(s) | Visual Art's (PC) Prototype (PS2) |
| Release date(s) | JPN November 25, 2005 (PC) JPN January 25, 2007 (PS2) |
| Genre(s) | Eroge, Visual novel |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | CERO: 18+ (PC), 12+ (PS2) |
| Platform(s) | PC, PlayStation 2 |
| Media | x1 DVD |
Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life (智代アフター ～It's a Wonderful Life～ tomoyo afutā ~It's a Wonderful Life~?) is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and released on November 25, 2005. The original version, first available on the PC as a DVD, contains adult content of a sexual nature. A version without this content was released on the PlayStation 2 consumer console by Prototype on January 25, 2007 under the title Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life CS Edition; CS stands for "Consumer Software". After releasing their highly-anticipated title, Clannad, Key gave its designers the freedom to work on projects as they wished. Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life was the result of Jun Maeda's decision to make a game based on the Tomoyo scenario from Clannad. Jun Maeda handled the game's scenario, continuing from his work on the Tomoyo scenario in Clannad, and Leo Kashida, a new member of the team, accompanied him.
The art was done by Fumio, best known for his work on Sorauta and Pia Carrot G.O. TOYBOX ~Summer Fair~. The music was worked on by Key's signature composers; Shinji Orito, Magome Togoshi and Jun Maeda. The opening and ending themes were performed by I've Sound singer Lia, called "Light colors" and "Life is like a Melody" respectively.
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[edit] Plot
Tomoyo After's story revolves around Tomoya Okazaki, the male protagonist from Clannad, and Tomoyo Sakagami, one of the main heroines of the same game. Tomoya has graduated from high school and is now employed as a garbage collector in the same city Clannad was set in. He and Tomoyo are now seeing each other in a romantic relationship, though Tomoya lives alone in his apartment. One day it is discovered that Tomoyo has a younger half-sister named Tomo Mishima who had been living with her mother, but was recently abandoned. It is eventually decided that Tomo will live in Tomoya's apartment for the time being. The game details the events in their lives in the summer vacation after the events of Clannad. Other characters in the story include Tomoyo's brother, Takafumi, and Takafumi's ex-girlfriend, Kanako. A central theme in the story are the ties between families, much like in Clannad.
[edit] Gameplay
The main gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that will appear on the screen, signifying that a dialogue has occurred. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from usually two to four options that are displayed on the screen. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes. In order to view the available plotlines to their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points to further the plot in an alternate direction. The goal of the original version's gameplay was for the player to enable viewing of H scenes depicting Tomoya and Tomoyo having sexual intercourse.
A different feature was added to Tomoyo After that is not usually seen in visual novels. A system called "Dungeons & Takafumis" was added, which gives the player chances to play in a role playing game setting not unlike in a typical Final Fantasy video game. In order to complete the game entirely, the player must complete eight of these mini RPGs which unlocks certain scenarios as the player continues to play the game.
[edit] CS Edition
When Tomoyo After was ported to the PlayStation 2, improvements to the game were included. This edition's scenario was expanded by the original staff after the removal of the adult content which also meant the removal of the H scenes. With the added scenario and visuals combined, the PS2 edition is 1.5 times longer than the PC edition. In the original version, the entire cast excluding Tomoya Okazuki, had full voice acting. The PlayStation 2 version offered full voice acting, including Tomoya, which, according to Prototype made the experience of playing the game more emotional and profound than the original version.[1] Added support was included so as to make the visuals on the television sharper than in the past with visual novels played on a consumer console rather than on the PC.[1] In the past, players' eyes may get tired after playing a visual novel on a television due to slight flickering of the picture, but this was solved with the CS Edition, which made the flickering decrease, enabling the player to play longer.[1]
[edit] Characters
- Tomoya Okazaki (岡崎 朋也 Okazaki Tomoya?)
- Tomoyo is the main protagonist of Tomoyo After and was also the protagonist from Clannad. He has already completed his first year of being a full-fledged member of society; he works as a garbage collector. Initially, he is living in an apartment alone, but still has a close friendship with Tomoyo Sakagami.
- Tomoyo Sakagami (坂上 智代 Sakagami Tomoyo?)
- Tomoyo is the main heroine from of Tomoyo After and her story is expanded upon than what was seen in Clannad. She has stayed in touch with Tomoya and they are starting to see more of each other. She loves children, especially her younger half-sister Tomo Mishima. Voiced by: Hikaru Isshiki
- Takafumi Sakagami (坂上 鷹文 Sakagami Takafumi?)
- Takafumi is Tomoyo's younger brother. He is very skilled at handling computers and after he installed a personal computer in Tomoya's room, he started to live in his apartment. Voiced by: Chisato Suzumori
- Kanako (河南子?)
- Kanako is Takafumi's ex-girlfriend. She had shown dissatisfaction from seeing her mother remarry and thus does not like to live at home. In effect, she becomes a freeloader in Tomoya's apartment. She has a foul mouth and is excessively sarcastic. Her favorite food is ice cream. It is never revealed what her surname is. Voiced by: Chisato Suzumori
- Tomo Mishima (三島 とも Mishima Tomo?)
- Tomo is a young kingergartener and Tomoyo and Takafumi's half-sister. She is the illegilimate child of Tomoyo's father after having sex with another woman named Yūko Mishima. After Tomo's mother abandoned her, it was decided that she would live in Tomoya's apartment. Tomoya loves her very much and dotes, or takes care of her, constantly.
- Yūko Mishima (三島 有子 Mishima Yūko?)
- Yūko is Tomo's mother. She has psychological problems which result in a weak mind which had agonized Tomo to the point where she had to move in with Tomoya.
- Naoyuki Okazaki (岡崎 直幸 Okazaki Naoyuki?)
- Naoyuki is Tomoya's father. Tomoya and his father do not have a close relationship.
[edit] Release and sales
Tomoyo After was first introduced to the public in Japan on November 25, 2005, playable only for the PC as a DVD. It retailed for 5,800 yen (~US$49.67) prior to tax.[2] This was a limited edition release which came bundled with the visual novel's original soundtrack.[2] The game was ported to the PlayStation 2 consumer console by Prototype on January 25, 2007; it retailed for 6,090 yen (~US$52.16), tax included.[1] According to a national ranking of how well bishōjo games sold nationally in Japan, the original Tomoyo After PC release premiered at number one in the rankings.[3] This game stayed on the charts for a month longer, ranking in at thirty-five and thirty-six.[4]
[edit] Music
The Tomoyo After original soundtrack was originally bundled with the limited edition release of the visual novel on November 25, 2005. The soundtrack contained twenty-one separate tracks which included full and short versions of the opening and ending themes along with piano versions of two of the other tracks. The opening theme was entitled "Light colors" and the ending theme was named "Life is like a Melody"; they were sung by I've Sound's Lia who also sung the opening and ending themes for Key's previous title Air. Every song's title was written in English with no kanji or kana given. Another album released a month later on December 29, 2005, entitled Piano no Mori, featured five of the songs from the game in piano versions; the other five songs on the album were piano versions from Clannad. The original soundtrack will be re-released on April 27, 2007.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Prototype's official Tomoyo After website (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ a b Key's official Tomoyo After website (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ PC News national ranking for bishōjo games; Tomoyo After ranks 1 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
- ^ PC News national ranking for bishōjo games; Tomoyo After ranks 35 and 36 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
- ^ Amazon.co.jp on the OST re-release (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
[edit] External links
- Key's official Tomoyo After website (Japanese)
- Prototype's official Tomoyo After website (Japanese)
| Kanon | Anime episodes | Characters | Soundtracks |
|---|---|
| Air | Anime | Characters | Movie | Soundtracks |
| Clannad | Nagisa Furukawa | Soundtracks |
| Other games | Planetarian (Albums) | Tomoyo After (Soundtracks) | Little Busters! |
| Pre-Key games | Dōsei | Moon. | One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e |
| Related | Key Sounds Label | KineticNovel | Tactics | Visual Art's |
