So, Key is now 3 for 3 on reminding me that I’m not as emotionless as I’d like to be (got a hard lesson from CLANNAD re: Nagisa’s Route. If you know, you know. Let’s just say I fully intend to 100% CLANNAD now…). After being teary eyed at how Tomoyo’s CLANNAD route ended, I wanted to Tomoyo-ise as much as possible, before I set my sights on Ryou or Fuko, and that’s how I wound up here.
I’ve been using walkthroughs on choices since my Nagisa attempt to go in blind fell deader than… Well, I’ll let you fill in the blank. I wasn’t walking away without the true ending.
And that’s what broke me. [b]That’s what ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ broke me.[/b] [spoiler]She waited 8 months for him, in CLANNAD[/spoiler] and [spoiler]had to reteach him his memories, what, every week for 3 years?[/spoiler]. That last scene post-credits, through teary eyes, just made me say [i]”You did it, lad. You ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ did it, you magnificent ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️”[/i]. It contradicts itself, but I choose to believe that the post-credits bit is how it turned out, and I will. Not. Change. My. Mind.
The one-trick pony being turned into a vital element at one point, was a clever touch (you can’t that me that [spoiler]Tomoyo wouldn’t have found a way off of the mountain on her own, if Kanako hadn't won over the townsfolk[/spoiler]). (EDIT: You know what, no, [spoiler]I’m [b]sure[/b] she would have gone home on her own, if Kanako didn’t swipe her wallet, and instinct says Tomoya would have never seen her again…[/spoiler]) I legit feared for their relationship on at least 2 occasions. The back end of their time there was 1 of them… The other was the prologue. Tomoyo humoured Tomoya biiiig time there.
I haven’t tapped into Dungeons and Takafumis yet. Not sure if I will. The last Final Fantasy / Atelier Ryza kinda game I played was ‘Shining Force’.
I have no regrets with the music. CLANNAD’s music for when things are going to ❤️❤️❤️❤️ was stuck in my head, the night after I tidied up Tomoyo’s route. I’m not having that problem this time.
If you’re looking at this, these days, I’m guessing you picked up CLANNAD on a sale, liked what you saw of Tomoyo, and found this after a bit of searching. There’s no nasty surprises to the formula. Don’t let [spoiler]the quiz questions in the prologue[/spoiler] throw you off. You’re in for the same kind of ride as CLANNAD gives you.
Oh and remember that the anime has an AU Episode that diverges into Tomoya and Tomoyo getting together. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make a timeline where a girl’s pre-existing crush turns into a dream come true. This review’s already well in “I ain’t reading allat” territory.
(EDIT: A few other reviews have pointed out that the Prologue is hard to stick through. I see where they’re coming from, to be honest)
(EDIT 2: Thank You to those of you who’ve pointed out in comments of threads that in the True Ending [spoiler]Tomoya fell into a coma after his surgery was successful. Hence, Tomoyo asking how much longer she’d have to wait, but still getting her happily ever after when he came out of said coma. [/spoiler] It’s helped.)
