Da Capo (video game)

Did You Know?

• The game's title is an Italian musical term meaning 'from the beginning'.
• Da Capo ranked sixth in a Dengeki G's Magazine poll of the 50 best bishōjo games.

Gameplay

Da Capo requires little interaction from the player, functioning as a classic visual novel where most time is spent reading text representing dialogue or the protagonist's inner thoughts. Periodically, the player chooses from multiple locations to visit, with variable intervals between these choices. The plot progresses in a specific direction based on the selection, and there are seven main plot lines, one for each heroine. To experience all seven, the player must replay the game and make different decisions. During gameplay, sex scenes between the protagonist Jun'ichi and one of the heroines can be viewed.

Development

Da Capo was Circus's sixth game and the fourth developed by Circus Northern, who had previously produced Suika. Production was headed by Tororo, Circus's president, who also worked on the music, and was directed by Mikage and Hotaru Koizumi. The scenario was divided among four writers: Mikage wrote Nemu's and Sakura's scenarios; Kure wrote Kotori's and Yoriko's; Yoko Yoko wrote Moe's and Mako's; and Mari wrote Miharu's. Character design and art direction were handled by Naru Nanao (Nemu, Sakura, Kotori), Igul (Miharu, Moe, Mako, and others), and Kanon Ikutata (chibi characters and others). The opening video was produced by Nitroplus. The game was first released in Japan as an adult Windows game on June 28, 2002, as a CD-ROM, with a DVD-ROM version following on July 26, 2002. A PlayStation 2 port titled Da Capo: The Origin was released on February 14, 2008, and an extended version with adult content removed, Da Capo: Plus Situation, was released on October 30, 2003. An adult version of D.C.P.S., Da Capo: Plus Communication, was released on May 28, 2004.

Adaptations

Numerous novels have been written based on Da Capo. The first series of six novels by Tasuku Saika was published between December 2002 and February 2004, and Saika also wrote a six-novel series based on Plus Communication from October 2004 to May 2005. Four more novels based on Plus Communication were written by Izumi Okazaki and published by Enterbrain between February 2005 and September 30, 2006. Two novels based on the manga Second Graduation were written by Miyuki Gotō and released in October 2005 and January 2006. A single novel based on Four Seasons was published on March 25, 2006. Drama CDs include the first released by Lantis on January 22, 2003, titled Shunshoku no Shima, and a limited-edition CD titled Nemu Hajime. For the first anime season, six drama CDs were released between July 22, 2004, and April 26, 2005, and three more for the second season between January 25, 2006, and June 7, 2006. Two manga adaptations were serialized in Comptiq: the first by Natsuki Tanihara from February 10, 2003, to April 10, 2004, and the second, Da Capo: Second Graduation, by Cherish from August 10, 2004, to July 10, 2006.

Music

The visual novel Da Capo features four theme songs: one opening, two endings, and one insert. Tororo wrote and composed the opening, "Da Capo: Dai 2 Button no Chikai," performed by Yozuca. The first ending, "Dream: The ally of," was written by Tororo, composed by Naoyuki Nagata, and sung by Rino. The second ending, "Dream: The other side," was written by Tororo, composed by Takayuki Azuma, and performed by Noriko Mitose. Lantis put out a single with the opening and both endings on August 22, 2002. The insert song, "Small Cherry: promised bell," was written by Tororo, composed by Angel Note, and sung by Mami Nakayama. Lantis released the two-disc, 33-track Da Capo Complete Original Soundtrack on September 25, 2002. An image song album, Songs from Da Capo, came out on November 22, 2002. Two image song albums for Plus Situation, D.C.P.S.C.S.1 and D.C.P.S.C.S.2, were released on April 7 and July 7, 2004. A vocal mini album for Four Seasons appeared on February 8, 2006. For the first anime season, Lantis released the single "Sakura Saku Mirai Koi Yume" on July 24, 2003, followed by three image song albums between August 27 and October 22, 2003. The vocal album Dolce, featuring Yozuca and Rino, was released on December 26, 2003. Three additional character-specific vocal albums followed: Ribbons&Candies for Nemu on September 1, 2004, My Little Wish for Sakura on December 1, 2004, and Happy Days for Yoriko on July 6, 2005.