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Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 8:55 am
by Kelanael
Thank you for the game. Very much.
I agree with people that say it's too good to be free, having such an amazing story, gui, art and music.
The music collection is just exceptional - it highlights the story really well, and all of the pieces have similar lining, so that altogether felt like a great movie soundtrack. A few are even spinning in my head all the time after playthrough :)

As about characters - I love them, truly. They are complex and intertwined, and I could sympathize with almost everyone.
Except for Alcaster and Mythros, probably. I loathe Alcaster for being such a militarist, and even more for what he had done with Fritz T_T First abandoning his responsibilities as father, then giving permission (demanding even) to curse his child, and then, in Karma's route... I hate him. With all my heart. As for Mythros - he's just evil, weak in his loyalty and has an unrequited crush on Hyldr. He made Lucette suffer through almost all of the routes(except for Karma's, I suppose) ... Well, now I realized that I can sympathize with Myth a little. That leaves that despicable Alcaster alone.
I've played routes in suggested order, and I am grateful that you told how it must played. Everything felt very logical and felt like I was discovering story layer by layer. I strongly recommend everyone to do the same. I've finished only good endings for now, maybe I'll return to bad ones some day. It just that even good endings were quite tragic and bittersweet (especially the last two), and I can't bear more sad events to happen with Lucette.

To say more about each route:
Rod's
It was gentle and innocent, the most fairytale-like of all. Maybe because of the sweet way his curse was broken, maybe because it was the route without losing dear characters. It was also the only one to show breaking a curse while being in the palace, so it felt very refreshing(more so as I am going back in memories to it). It showed Lucette becoming friends(and, well, more) with her step-family, so it was very heartwarming. I really hope Rod and Lucette will somehow overcome the step-siblings problem in future.
Karma's
It was funny, robust and showed us that Lucette can also be a badass swordfighter :D As a huge fan of B&B I was touched to read "But no one could love a beast"... It chimes so much memories for me :) I loved how Jurienne and Garlan's story progressed here. And... I felt so bad about Fritz... :c Also at first I though I wouldn't like Karma's route because of his flashy and slightly annoying nature. But at the end of the day it all turned to romantic fairytale story with prince Charming(Klaude in this case :)
Rumpel's
It was hilarious, I laughed aloud a lot of times during this route :) Lucette learned value of life and changed her attitude towards Annice a lot. Though people say they don't quite like this route - I think it was lighthearted, sweet and filled with laughter. Maybe in romantic aspect it's not my favourite because of Rumple's nature, but I love it nevertheless. Hovewer, Parfait's death and the way Myth was killed were so tragic... I know that's natural course of the story here, but it was so sad...
Fritz's
It was obvious after three playthroughs that Varg was a curse of Fritz. Fritz's loyalty was very nice, while Varg's bold moves and passion won the hearts. I thought I would be annoyed the most by Lucette's behavior in first playthrough(because I read thoroughly common route then), but no. I know why she was acting like that, but... It felt so bad to see how she came with Mythros willingly. And when she revived her mother... Everything after that felt horrible... All the deaths, destroyed crystals... The fact that Lucette never made her three good deeds in time... The way Varg disappeared... This route was the most tragic for me.
Waltz's
It seems to be the main route :) You know, all that positioning in the main menu, video, etc. Waltz's route is the most intense, IMHO. Though some of the romantic potential was lost due to him being a kid at the beginning, it didn't affect story much. It was great to see Lucette learning magic, standing to defend people and tricking her mother. I seriously hoped that Waltz came in time to stop revival, and it almost seemed so... Though it would be too good to be true, huh. Her interactions with kids, her father and thoughts about other families were heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time :) It felt shocking to lose King and Parfait. In general, this route added finishing strokes to the picture and felt like the true ending to this beautiful and magnificent story.
Overall, it was very enjoyable to see Lucette interacting with different sides of her character in every route. She is shown from slightly different perspectives in each one, and that's very interesting to see. Maybe this is the reason why I liked each route equally.

Thank you again for this game. It's, probably, my favourite game now.

P.S. Sorry for such a long message

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 3:53 pm
by Dicesuki
Wow! Thank you all very much for the feedback everyone! We really, really appreciate you taking the time to write out all of your comments <3

@Saturn, wow, thank you! We are so very glad that Lucette grew on you as a character! We're also all relieved you enjoyed the other routes as well. They were all meant to highlight some different type of emotion/relationship, so we're glad we managed to showcase that. As far as Rumpel goes,
he had to undergo a different sort of character arc— especially since a lot of his realizations came belatedly when he regained his memories after fully breaking his curse.
Also, we definitely plan on expanding Fritz's ending in the fandisk!
If it makes you feel any better, Varg is still a definitive part of Fritz, even after his disappearance. We hope to expand on that other side of Fritz (hopefully) during the epilogue.
We appreciate your compliments! (And your pun ;) ) Thank you so very much for your support and feedback!

@Iaertid, thank you so much for all your support! We especially appreciate you helping us with our KS backing :) We also appreciate all of the feedback on the guys' routes! They're all meant to have their own sort of atmosphere, so we're glad we achieved that in some way. As for Rumpel,
yes, that scene with Bria is definitely meant to make you see the dilemma through another perspective, so we're glad you sympathized with her!
And Fritz! I personally love the Persona games, so it's awesome to hear the comparison. (Though we were going for something different) We hope to go into more detail regarding
that other side of Fritz in the fandisk, especially considering that Varg was an important part of him. We'll do our best to address that plot in the epilogue scenarios!
Thanks again for your detailed feedback, and for your support! We hope you enjoy the FD once it's out :)

@Artemesia, thank you! We're very glad you enjoyed CP! We did our best to give every side character a separate spotlight where possible, but they were inevitably less detailed given the scope of the story. Still, we hope you enjoyed what you saw of them. And yes!
We definitely wanted Lucette to grow at a realistic pace, so we're glad it seemed natural.
@Kirlett,
ah, Varg. He was one of our team's favorite characters to write! We hope to better address the Varg/Fritz issue in the FD, just to give everything a better sense of closure. :)
@fae_of_the_rose, we are so very glad you enjoyed CP! Thank you very much for playing <3 And thanks for the critique as well! The balance of past backstory with present plot was a little difficult to keep, but we tried our best. We'll definitely focus more on that balance in future games. Rod's route was definitely family-oriented; we're glad you enjoyed that about it! And yes, "Sebby" is most definitely a reference to the Disney movie~ As for Karma,
I can say as the writer that Karma questioning Garlan was actually not inspired by the original fairy tale— BUT that is a wonderful (and coincidental) comparison that I can't help but really enjoy!
Also, so very glad to hear you like Rumpel's route! His definitely has a different dynamic from the rest, and we're glad that it was enjoyable despite that! Fritz's route was...
well, basically the game's "dark route". Lots of sadness all around. We hope to better expand on Varg/Fritz dynamic in the FD; hopefully that will bring about some closure!
And we're glad Waltz's route brought up some of that closure! That was definitely the intention :) Thank you very much for your feedback!

Ahhhh once again, thank you all for these comments! We're a little swamped at the moment so we'll continue responses over the next few days. (We've read over these comments and really do appreciate the feedback, and we want to take the time to respond to everyone. Thank you all!!)

— Tajina (Dicesuki)

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 11:15 am
by WitchberryMoon
I downloaded this last night and am working on my first play through. Just wanted to say, I'm enjoying the characters dialogue so far, and the story development. Also the art is gorgeous! I came across it on itch originally. I'll say more when I finish a route but I am having fun with it so far . <33

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 11:19 am
by Evy
I started on this about three days ago and I'm on my last route (Waltz). I honestly could not say which character is my favorite, because they're all amazingly unique and endearing. I wasn't even done with the common route when I realized I was already really invested in the story, haha.

I'm gonna try to finish Waltz's route today and then I'll get to actually deliberate on what I think!

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 5:29 am
by nefferinthia
I have to admit I didn't expect much from this when I downloaded it, because I am sceptical of such a polished release with such high production values being put up for free. I'm happy to say that I've been proven entirely wrong. This game is truly impressive, and it looks incredibly professional. Obviously the art is gorgeous, but what I'm most impressed with is the splendid, engaging writing that really pulls you into the story. Better than some professional Japanese otome games I've played. I also want to point out that the soundtrack is really good, I'd listen to these songs outside of the game, and I'm not a big soundtrack person. Is it available for download anywhere?

I'm still not too far into the game so I will give more in-depth comments on the different routes once I've finished them! Oh, and before I forget! I absolutely adore the main character, I have such a huge soft spot for spoiled, bitter and people-hating characters. I felt like I identified more with her than I did any "generic" protagonist in games where you're meant to feel like you are the main character. She's incredibly interesting and I'm curious to see how she progresses.

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 11:00 am
by Nori
First of all congratulations on the full release! So far I've finished every route (and got the good endings yay!) but Rumpel's (I-I promise I'll finish his route too! though i doubt that I'll be able to complete the bad endings...I-I just can't... :cry: ) and I LOVED the game! It is amazing! Well, I mean... beautiful art + amazing music + great story with fairytale elements + an INCREDIBLE main character + a bunch of nice, likeable and conveniently extremely handsome guys + a great cast of supporting characters (+all that for free :wink: )... what more do you want?! :D

1. What do you think of the plot?
Well, I really like fairytales so it's only natural that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the plot!
I also really enjoyed the fairytale curse with a twist type of thing and the fact even the good endings had some pretty tragic stuff going on. remembers certain scenes cries in the corner That really made the story more realistic and definitively had a impact on me(though I have to admit I love the happily ever after type of endings :P )
2. Which route did you liked the most and why?
Now that's a difficult question... Honestly, I can't really choose and that's because every route felt like a unique and different experience to me. The guys have different personalities and motivations, there is interaction with different side characters at each route(which i really enjoyed because not only did I learn new things about the characters and the plot at each route, but also I managed to understand Lucette and the way she deals with different situations) and every route evokes different emotions. Other routes are more lighthearted and other are more bittersweet.
(Yes, I'm looking at you Fritz's route :cry: )
That's actually amazing because neither route felt repetitive or tiring.

3. Do you have any questions? Critiques? Feedback?
What really made the game incredible for me was Lucette. She is such an amazing main character! She's strong, straightforward, smart, experiences a believable and incredible character growth and has a great backstory!
( At Watz's route-good ending the last memory-dream after the fight with her mother made me tear up a bit :( )
In any case she was a really complex and interesting character and that was the case with every character in this game. They all felt like real people with different experiences and motivations.Well done!
The art and the music were beautiful. They really created a fairytale atmosphere and i spent quite some time admiring the backgrounds and the character sprites. As for the music my favourite track is probably the one during the dream sequences or the main menu one.
Some random thoughts...
My first impression of Em was: Hmmm...she's such a good person...or is she?She must be evil! :D But after playing Rod's route I really came to like her and her mother. :D
About Fritz's route... now I loved him as a character but I guess i expected that he would somehow accept Varg as the not-so-perfect part of him.After all Varg himself said that he wasn't created by nothing. I hope I make sense. :P Also I felt that in this route Lucette didn't bond as much with the people from the Marchen. However I really loved the mother-daughter relationship between her and Delora and of course that made Delora's death even more tragic. Nicely done writer person. slowly claps while staring at the computer screen
Last but not least... I really laughed with Rumpel's interaction with Karma at the common route! :lol: Also I really want to meet Karma's father... Karma and Llama,,, He must be a really fun person. :P
Overall... the game was amazing, you people are amazing and i am jealous of your skills. :D Keep up the good work! I'm looking forward to your next project!
Also totally random comment, I love your logo design! It's adorable! Ok bye! runs away

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:49 pm
by Evy
Okay, I... I finished it. I'm REALLY sad it's over because it was just... so good. My god. What am I going to do with myself now??

As for the questions...!

1. What do you think of the plot?
It was really, really good. I usually get annoyed by ~dark retellings~ of fairytales, but this managed to keep both the original melancholy of the original stories while also maintaining a good dose of mystical, hopeful whimsy. And of course, the good endings leave me with warm fuzzy feelings.

2. Which route did you liked the most and why?
Honestly... I can't say. They're all really good for different reasons. I thought Rumpel wouldn't appeal to me, for instance, but I ended up really liking his backstory. Some routes had scenes that made me go "oh my" a lot faster than others, most notably Fritz and Waltz's, haha. But yeah, they're all amazing and I can't pick a favorite T_T

3. Do you have any questions? Critiques? Feedback?
There was one part in Fritz's route, while skipping to the next choice, that got me an error about a possible endless loop. Throughout the routes there are some instances of background or sprite changes occurring without transitions, so it's a bit jarring. I also feel like there are several passages that could have benefited from additional punctuation, namely commas. Some are missing ending punctuation, and there was at least one instance of a sentence ending with "?." I also spotted Tinkerbell misspelled as "Tinkerball" in Waltz's route, I think.

Spoilers:
... Is it bad that I was kind of sad about Varg erasing himself? He was endearing in his own way and I kind of wonder if it would have been possible for a sort of "merge" to occur between him and Fritz. But then, I guess that wouldn't have completely done away with his curse, huh? I'm also really curious as to what, exactly, within Fritz allowed Varg to come into being. I'm not sure if it was ever specified, but I could have just missed it.
... I'M STILL SO SAD IT'S OVER... I find myself wishing there would be some bonus content, like after stories or something like that. But that would be unreasonable of me, haha. WAIT I just read through the previous posts and there will be a fandisk?! Oh my god. Dreams do come true.

But seriously, thank you guys for making such an amazing game. It's very inspiring and is even motivating me to work on my own project. If Dicesuki comes up with another title in the future, I'll be all over it~ /o/

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:06 pm
by YonYonYon
I'm too tired for words, so I'll just say that this game is extremely well made and you should check it out and give some money to the developer, maybe
also, as a monster lover, I'm always amused by "you will hate me in my monster form!" stories. Dude, it's your lucky day!

Beauty and the Beast as one person is a smart alteration of a fairy tale, I loved Karma's Beast form, so cool, so awesome!

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 11:55 pm
by xxmissarichanxx
I FINISHED THE GAME AND I AM SO SAD THAT IT'S OVER! I want more.. haha..

1. What do you think of the plot?
The story was very exciting to read! I found that I could not stop reading until I finished an entire route in one go. I just really wanted to know what would happen next and how the characters would react to the problems they were presented with.

I was happy with how Lucette developed over the entire story and how she opened up and changed to the characters and world around her. She really warmed my heart as the protagonist and it was a delight to see her grow.



2. Which route did you liked the most and why?
I'll start by first voicing my thoughts about each route.

So I played in the order that was recommended.

Rod:
I thought it'd be weird because Rod is Lucette's step-brother, but it was very interesting to see how they came to love one another. Their banter and insults towards each other really riled me up, and I loved the dialogue between them.
I found Rod's route to be the most heartwarming because it showed how Lucette came to know and love her family. It was touching to see her come to love Em despite being so cold to her and everyone else in the beginning. This route definitely stirred some emotions in me when it comes to family and what it means to be a family. That really hit home and I was touched.
I thought Rod's curse and Karma's curse were similar in that they both involved falling in love. However, the circumstances and the role love played in their curses was unique so I wasn't disappointed when I learned about Karma's curse later.

Karma:
Karma's route was exciting and a nice change from Rod's route.
I was eager to learn the terms of Karma's curse, and as I uncovered more and more about him I became exceedingly impressed with the twist you guys put on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Karma's curse was definitely my favorite to uncover.
I could understand Karma's motivations and his reasons for keeping his secrets. The way his curse shaped him as a person was beautiful, and I especially loved his character because of this. I'm glad he found a true love in Lucette, and I'm also happy that Lucette was able to give him hope that he might be able to break his curse. In fact, the way they shaped each other was wonderful to read about as well!
I also really enjoyed the match-making going on with Jurien and Garlan. Their love story weaved into this story was a great touch! Getting to know Jurien and Garlan was probably one of my other favorite things about Karma's route.

Rumpel:
I have a lot to say about Rumpel...
I didn't find myself too engaged with Rumpel's story. Perhaps it's just me, but I was frustrated because I couldn't relate to him well at first. It was easy for me to relate to the other characters, but Rumpel kept bugging me! That doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing through it though! I loved the challenge and the mystery!
First, I'd like to say I ABSOLUTELY enjoyed the tension and rivalry going on between Rumpel and Karma. You really showed how much they were polar opposites in both story and character, but you also showed how similar they could be. Good job!

The mystery of who Rumpel is and what he did to become curse kept me hooked. I figured he'd be a doctor because he looks the type, but when Bria was introduced I thought his story became more exciting.
At first, I didn't like Bria at all. As I read on, however, I came to understand her, much like Lucette did, and I accepted her as a character that could exist in real life. I still didn't like her as a person though. I'd like to think that I'd work harder to try and help the person I love, but in reality that wouldn't really work out, would it? Thanks for keeping it realistic!

Rumpel as a character was strange to me, but I think you did well in keeping him consistent as a selfless type. At first, I didn't understand how being flirtatious could be "selfless", but as I read on your ideas on that became more clear. I think now I understand better how compliments and selflessness relate.

Rumpel's ending chapter really shook me because it didn't seem all that happy. Lucette and Rumpel end up together, but Rumpel kind of became broken. He broke his own ideals and morals as a doctor, and that really hurt me!

By the end of his route, I could understand Rumpel much more, but I didn't quite understand how Lucette could fall for him. I felt as though she didn't do much for him because he broke his curse on his own, and quite early in the plot too!

Despite all that, Rumpel still has a special place in my heart.

Fritz:
Fritz is so precious!
I'm glad you wrote his route with him having a double personality because it really showed how endearing and loving Fritz is as a character.

I was surprised in Rod's route when Fritz remembered that Lucette was the princess. Of course, I knew he was cursed, but I just didn't expect Lucette to find out that way.

When I first met Varg, I thought he was just some side character. But as I played through each route, it became apparent to me that he had some larger role, and by Karma's route I had already guessed that Fritz was Varg, though I still had my doubts. Despite this, the reveal in Fritz's route was still entertaining and it was nice to confirm my suspicions.
While I was getting to know Varg in other routes, I greatly anticipated Fritz's route because I wanted to know Varg's motivations and character. When playing this route, I really fell in love with Varg along with Fritz. I was kind of rooting for Varg to win, but that's just my preference because I love bad boys with power.
You really made Varg quite appealing to me as a love interest, and in that, I was just a little disappointed that I didn't share that opinion with Lucette. However, I could understand very well why she couldn't fully come to love him.

I think I cried the most in Fritz's route because I had fallen in love with all the characters, and to have them ripped away one by one like that... My heart... D': Great writing! Also, the extra layer of Varg being totally written off as a bad guy and erasing himself because he found no potential as a love interest in Lucette's eyes... heartbreaking. Well done!
Waltz:
Ohhh, Waltz. My beautiful, beautiful boy.
By the time I got to Waltz's route, I was concerned because I had already learned from the previous routes about what his curse was, how to break it, who cursed him, and how he was involved with the war. I thought there wasn't anymore I could learn about Waltz, but I was definitely wrong. SO WRONG.

Waltz's route was definitely worth the wait. The Waltz I had come to know in the other routes seemed so kind and friendly, I couldn't wait to get to know him well. I just didn't expect him to be the childhood-friend trope, but when I learned this it was refreshing. It made sense to me why he was so eager and willing to help the princess through all the other routes, and I'm glad you kept his character consistent throughout the story. I also appreciated how there was a good amount of time with the child-Waltz and adult-Waltz. Thank you for that! I didn't want to feel like I'd spend the entire route falling in love with...a child? ...

If there's one thing I have a problem with in Waltz route, it's that he didn't get to face Mythros. Mythros had seen Waltz as a huge obstacle in his life, and to simply write him away like that.. I felt you didn't do his character justice when he couldn't face Waltz in a final showdown, battle-to-the-death kind of way. Other than that, I loved reading Waltz's route and I absolutely loved each moment I spent with Waltz. It was... magical. Also, I did not expect a "sharing the same bed" scene. I got super excited. LOL. Mostly because I think Waltz is the most attractive.

The father-daughter bonding moments between Lucette and the King were probably one of my other favorites in Waltz route. When you tore the King away from Lucette I could feel her heartbreak. I also felt the additional heartbreak when she realized she couldn't do much to save her mother. Excellent job!



I can't say I have a true favorite of all the routes because they each have elements that I appreciate a lot. If I'm ranking in terms of character development and excitement then I'll have to say:
Karma > Rod > Fritz > Rumpel > Waltz (I'm sorry, my poor baby)
but that's because...
by the time I got to Waltz's route I had already learned a lot about Waltz.


3. Do you have any questions? Critiques? Feedback?
I loved this game so much! Each character's route was so unique from one another, and I enjoyed each one. The pace and writing was perfect, and I had no problems with it. It was well written and engaging.
I'm really impressed with the art and animations for the menus! The character sprites are so beautiful and the CGs were well worth it!
The soundtrack was great too! Each track, I think, was used appropriately in the gameplay to evoke certain emotions.

You guys put a lot of work into this game and it is very apparent. Thank you so much for your hard work! I think it really paid off because I had a lot of fun reading and playing through this game, and I can't stop going back to the Gallery and staring at all the CGs!

I'd definitely like to give this story another read-through even though I've unlocked literally everything.

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 5:59 am
by Amiralo

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 10:16 am
by Dicesuki
@Amiralo, thank you so much for your detailed review! We really appreciate all of the feedback. We definitely wanted to highlight Lucette's story in relation to her family— we're glad that those relationships were (for the most part) successful. We really appreciate the feedback on the bachelors as well.
We'll definitely be exploring "Varg" in more detail in the FD; enough to hopefully give some closure to those who were a little iffy with the ending to Fritz's route!
As for Rod, we definitely wanted to achieve something more bittersweet with his ending. We ended up leaning more sweet than bitter perhaps, and it's interesting to hear your opinion on a different variety of ending. We have also vowed to explore Waltz's character in greater depth in the FD to showcase more of his "flaws", so we'll try our best in doing that! :) On the Queen:
We definitely tried showcasing Hildyr as something beyond traditional evil; we're sorry that the delivery fell a little flat! Your critique on that is much appreciated. The two later routes (Especially Fritz's) were meant to better portray Hildyr's fall from grace and her affection for Lucette. (Though definitely twisted) It seemsthat the balance there might have fallen off-kilter, so we'll definitely look out for that balance in our next game.
Oh, and also your fanart is AWESOME AHHHH. The whole team's seen it, but I'll comment on it as just Tajina, since I happen to be picking up the responses here for now. I am in love with the simple composition and the soft colors. Everything else, from his mirrored expressions to the tattoos, to the clothing... it's all fantastic! I greatly appreciate this fanart and want to thank you for taking the time to draw something for CP!! (As Karma's writer I am also ecstatic to see a drawing of my child ;v; He is beautiful ahhh) Thank you so much once again! For both the feedback and the lovely fanart <3 You have our heartfelt thanks!

@Isotta, thank you kindly for your wonderful compliments! We're so very glad you enjoyed all of the different routes for their dynamics. And yes, Fritz and Waltz were definitely more plot-focused! Fritz's especially seemed to be weighed down by this because
his route was a precarious balance of Varg/Fritz/plot.
We hope to better expand on his and Lucette's relationship in the FD since CP was definitely very story-oriented. Also, very glad that we changed your mind about the king! We definitely wanted to focus on Lucette's relationship with her family in relation to the story. We're so glad you enjoyed the game, and truly thank you for playing :) Thank you very much for the feedback!

@Sheri3, ahh we're so happy you enjoyed it so much you sped through it! ;) We really appreciate your detailed feedback on the bachelors; thank you very much for your comments! First, an answer to your question about Karma's curse...
As is mentioned in the prologue, the conditions of one person's curse does not affect another cursed person's. Just as Karma can still remember who Lucette is, so too is she unaffected by the conditions of his own curse. In other words, she can not become infatuated with him because of the curse cast on him. Her 'love' for him can never be forced by the spell!
On Rumpel:
yes, you are definitely meant to sympathize with Bria! No one in CP is completely good/evil so we wanted to make sure that the characters all had their own pros and cons, so to speak :) Bria and Rumpel included~
For Fritz:
His route was inevitably bogged down by plot. His and Waltz's are very similar in that they focus on the story and as a result, lose some of their detail for relationships. Fritz's was even more difficult a balance because Varg was thrown into the equation.
We do hope to expand on his relationship with Lucette in the FD! Also Fritz's route was definitely
"Cinderella Phenomenon's Dark Route", so to speak. So we're sorry, but not too sorry ;) We hope we can bring more closure to Fritz's ending too—even without traditional magic, Varg is still most definitely a part of Fritz after all...
And finally, Waltz: Yes, Lucette definitely gets more closure for her own family problems here :) We're glad that his ending was satisfactory for you!
We definitely thought it would wind up everything nicely...
Your English is awesome, and so is your feedback— thank you so much for going out of your way to write such a detailed review, we really appreciate it! On the FD: Our estimation is listed on our CP KS page. We hope to have it out sometime during the summer! :) Thanks again, and we hope you continue to look forward to the FD!

Ah, still so many lovely comments to respond to! Thank you all for your feedback <3 Will continue responding at a later time.

— Tajina (DICESUKI)

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 7:46 pm
by Polly Grimm
I LOVE YOU! Oh, god, I LOVE this game so much, I want cry. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And answering your question (sorry for crappy english, second language T.T, but my feelings are louder than my embarrassment)
1. What do you think of the plot?
Incredible creative and mature, especially for otome game. 11 out of 10.

2. Which route did you liked the most and why?
I liked all of them, absolutely wonderful cast! Karma, Rod and Fritz are my favorites, buuuut
I beg you give me some Varg, his sacrifice was so sad. I want hug him and love him. Give me this opportunity. I beg you!
3. Do you have any questions? Critiques? Feedback?
Oh, and where I can read about and order fandisk?! I need more your game in my life! I am so tired of passive damsels with pink glasses, you heroins like light in the darkness.

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 2:38 pm
by Flowers from Nowhere
I haven't played Rod's route yet but here are my thoughts on the rest of the game.

I LOVE the mc! Lucette is the best. She has a strong voice and personality and her horrible backstory just makes me wanna huggle her. The way it shaped her and the way she comes to terms with it... brilliant! Just brilliant. She was the best thing in the game.

My favorite bachelor was Fritz and I'm relieved to read your responses to other comments saying that you'll expand on his ending in the fandisk.
When Varg said "I am Fritz's dark side" I was all set for emotional drama and turmoil as Lucette and Fritz come to accept and work with their dark sides together... and then no one mentions anything about it ever again. What?

Frankly this gets into the only big issue I had with the story. Specifically: everyone talks about how the dark and light crystals have to in balance for everything to be good but none of these really seem to be stories about finding a balance between the light and the dark. All of the good ends are pretty clearly the powers of joy and love triumphing over hatred and fear. It's not that I don't understand why you did that it just seems weird to me that you go out of your way to emphasize the need for that balance only to go LOL JK at the ends.

Don't get me wrong, Fritz is still my favorite route in the game. I think I have some idea of where Varg comes from so I've just been rewriting the ending so that they do combine. Problem solved! :lol:
As for the other romances I really liked Karma and was surprised that I liked Rumpel as much as I did.
Rumpel's great because a lot of the "right" choices in his route were for the mc to be cold and snippity. I thought they had a really great dynamic and it kept cracking me up.
Waltz's route had the best story and the best moments of Lucette being a badass but I thought Waltz himself was kinda boring. He was generically nice but that was about as close as he got to having a personality.
Also didn't help that the plot ate up most of the time so he felt like he just got shoehorned in.

The heroine's family, and her awkward relationships with them, were fantastic. I gotta love the twist on the old "evil step-mother" cliche. "No no, the step-mother is your father's true love. It just took some time for them to work their way through the evil magics holding them apart."

Speaking of cliches turned on their heads, I'm not sure I've ever read another story where the person that gets forced into a marriage and raped is a dude. Pretty dark but it very much suits the story and the tone. I feel like you did a phenomenal job at not underplaying the horror of it while also not letting the story get dragged down by it. That's not easy to do. My respect to your skill as a storyteller.
I absolutely love this game! Thank you so much for making it!

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 12:51 pm
by NightWalkerCreep
So I'm just semi-dropping here (semi bcos I haven't finished playing to get all the endings yet) BUT I just want to say how thankful I am for making your game free for those who cannot pay. I would love to pay for this wonderful game but sad to say I am a kid who has no way of doing so. Huhu. Thank you for letting us enjoy your talent of creating such gems. I played your game before too and I was never failed to be amazed of how amazing you can make a story; how you can make a player into it. Anyways, that's all for now~ *flies back to Waltz' arms*

Re: Cinderella Phenomenon [GxB/Free]

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 2:58 pm
by NiKaWo
I spent about two hours writing this, that is how much I loved this game.

First of all, thank you so much for this amazing game!!! The plot and writing were very interesting and left me suitably invested in the world and the characters and the art was FANTASTIC. Anyway, I loved this game a lot, powered through it (all 5 routes for both ends) in roughly 16 hours~ last weekend, but have felt too drained by it (in a good way) to really sit down and write a review until now. Before I write down my thoughts, I'd like to clarify that I played the game in order EXCEPT I switched it so that I would play Fritz last because I always play what I think will be my favorite route last. I'm such an absolute sucker for sweet&nice guys as well as the childhood friend trope (which he admittedly didn't fit exactly right, especially compared to
Waltz)
that it took me approximately 10 seconds after meeting him to realize that he'd be my fave.

I'd also like to note that I actually think the order worked out better this way, I felt like Fritz route was overall the most climatic and final, though I did enjoy all of them. That said, I have posted my thoughts on the bachelors below from least-to-most favorite, though again, I did like points about every guy! I've also included my thoughts about the main heroine and some of the minor characters.

Special mention also goes out to the 'right answer mechanic' as well, I'm crap as guessing answers in games like these and usually need a walkthrough so it was greatly appreciated.


Lucille
I cannot do meaness in video games, it makes me exceptionally uncomfortable, so I struggled really hard past the first 15 minutes of gameplay. That said, looking back at it now, it was a refreshing twist from the usual otome heroine who is usually either ~bubbly and just shy of perfect~ or an awkward and trying 'very-hard-to-be-exceptionally-ordinary-but-just-managing-to-be-bland' type of character. It also made her character development THAT MUCH MORE SATISFYING.

All in all, while I started out not liking her and wishing desperately I had more options to shape her personality, I ended up realizing that it works perfectly with the story and I wouldn't change anything. I think she grew beautifully in all the routes, but Fritz's is what really made me go 'wow' because it was a lot more gradual without the constant '3 good deeds' weighing on her. It made the progression that much more subtle and all the more satisfying by the end. Especially as it contrasted her to her mother and showed that even at her worst, she was more of mid-level grey then actual black. Over-all, she was fantastic, and while I do hope that your future games have more room for the player to decide the MCs personality, I also recognize that it was necessary for her to be how she was in this game and that knowing what I know now, I would've played her exactly as she is even with options to make her more to my normal tastes.

SIDE CHARACTERS

The Queen
Saw her first in Waltz route, went 'oh no-she's so pretty' proceeded to cry that she was evil and Lucille's mother and thus not romanceable. More seriously I liked her, especially on Fritz route when we got to see more of her character and also her motivations. I thought it was pretty interesting that she seemed to truly believe that she did love her daughter and that it wasn't all fake, she just loved her goals more. Her casual cruelty was frightening, but not out of place or seemingly used just to illustrate that she was a villain, rather it seemed fitting in her personality. She honestly reminded me quite a bit of Mother Gothel from 'Tangled'
Ser Alcaster
Didn't honestly think much of him except 'oh yeah, he looks like a villain'. And then he killed his own son, Fritz, and my hatred was cemented.
Ser Mythros
Within a few seconds of meeting him I realized that A. he was hot and B. he was setting off my villain senses like crazy. He was actually probably my favorite minor character because he was creepy and cruel and yet his obvious love (or, perhaps more cynically/scarily, obsession) for the queen gave him good motives to do what he did and turned him from more of a 2D 'exists to cause problems' villain to a bona-fide character. By the time I got to Waltz route, I had some measure of (twisted) affection for him and my heart legitimately ended up cracking a bit at how casually the queen tossed him aside. His role in Fritz's route only cause me to love/hate him more. I honestly didn't expect him to be a witch though, that took me by surprise.
Delora
I loved her design, it was probably one of my favorites. I honestly really disliked her at first because I kept finding myself thinking that while I didn't like Lucille at all at that point, even I could tell how much she was hurting. I thought if she had been watching the princess for so long then she should've seen that too and maybe should've re-thought how she'd do the curse, or, at least, not be so indifferent to her plight, especially since she must've known just how much control the queen would've exerted over her for her entire life.

By the time I was half-way through the first route, however, I'd come to accept that she really was just doing what she thought was best. As I completed more routes, I had genuine affection for her. Learning about her daughter (and when she said that she thought her grown-up daughter would've been like Lucille) and then watching her die hit me very hard.
Mr. Broom
Love him, cutest character in the game 10/10 would play a route for him. Dat sad emote.
Parfait
I liked her, and I really liked her dynamic with Delora, but I honestly can't think of much to say about her except for that I did tear up a bit at her first death (and get a tad misty at the subsequent ones). I kind of wish we got to see more of her relationship with the Queen though. I thought her real name, Fait, was cute and very fitting for her.
Annice
We didn't get to know a lot about her, unfortunately, I would've liked to see a scene where Lucille comes completely clean and the Annice responds though... I thought her design was cute!
Bria
Yeah, at first I didn't like her at all, but by the last time I saw her I found myself heavily sympathising with her, though I don't understand why she ever wanted to try and get back together with Rumpel and take advantage of his memory loss to do that considering the circumstances. unless she knew that he gave up his memories to save her? I don't remember if it was specified if she did or not.
The King
I disliked him at first, but my opinion softened as we learned more and more about just how much the queen was controlling. Kind of a jerk move for him to try and force Lucille to call Ophelia her mother though. I genuinely felt sad on Waltz's route for him, and find myself wishing that him and Lucille got more such closure (though maybe without the death) on some of the other routes too. Though most had at least hints of them reconciling, thankfully.

The fact that the Queen raped him to get Lucille though... That was quite dark and I could understand when I found out that he wasn't just coerced (which is still very bad and rather rape-y, though not as horrifying to me as beING PUT UNDER A FRICKEN SPELL) how that could affect his relationship with his daughter.
Victoria
She was fine, I guess, though I feel bad that her marriage will be based on lies. Unless Dimitri never said that he saved her? I don't know, I think it would've been a nice touch for her to find out the truth, and the resulting drama/angst would've been pretty great, I bet.
Emangeline (sp?)
I liked her!! I thought she was sweet, and loved getting to know her on Rod's route. I wish we'd seen more of her in the others, though I realize that it may not have made much sense if she was there.
Ophelia
Another character I wish we got to see more of, it was especially jarring on Fritz route where we saw Rod/Em and the king, but not her at all (I think). I also thought her sprite was really pretty. And really liked the scene where Lucille stands up for her against those nobles in Rod's route.
Jurian
I liked her, she kicked butt and had an awesome sprite, I was glad we got to see more of her in Karma and Fritz's routes, though you better believe Fritz route filled me with guilt.
Garlan (sp?)
Cutie. Wished I could romance him for 5 seconds before I realized how much he cared for Jurian and also remembered how much I loved Fritz. I liked seeing him more in Fritz and Karma's routes, though I was surprised by how much his death hurt me in Fritz route, considering he was such a minor character...


LOVE INTERESTS

Rumpel
I liked his character more as the game went on, but I'll freely admit that if I wasn't a completionist I probably would've never even started it. I just don't care for the 'flirty' personality too much, even though I knew that it would almost certainly reveal something deeper as his route would go on. I enjoyed his interactions with everyone a ton though, and I truly did come to appreciate him more and get more engaged with his personality. Overall though, I felt like his character didn't tie in so much with the overarching story and also just wasn't really my type of guy to romance. I did enjoy that, much like Karma's route, we got to spend a lot of time getting to know the Marchen, though, also like Karma's route, I found myself wishing that we got to know everyone at the castle a bit more on his route, or at least see him interact more with Rod.

His good end was nice, but not spectacular, his bad end was clearly bad, and it made me sad as it was supposed to to, but I wasn't as affected by it as I was of most of the other bad routes (excepting Rod's), that bad CG was amazing though.
Waltz
I liked him, I did, more so then Rumple, and I definitely liked the heavier focus on story (though given the choice, I would've focused a bit more on romance, though it was a much closer balance to my liking then Rumpel managed), but I honestly felt more of a warm and friendshippy feeling one then a romance one though I can't tell you why that is. His route tied a ton of things together, which was nice, though since I played 3 routes before his I had already figure most of the surprises out (though, again, the clarification and expansion upon those was great.)

I also really liked his backstory, though I wish there had been more elaboration on how the fact that Lucille and him were childhood friends. Since she didn't get her memories back at any point though, I understand why it was written as it was (forging forward rather then lingering on the past). Out of all the routes, I think his had the best balance for getting to know everyone at the Marchen and also exploring Lucille's past.

I liked his good ending well enough, and his bad ending was great as well, disturbing and upsetting, but still had a whisper of hope in it (at least from, the LI's point of view, both of them did survive after all...) Well, sort of.
Karma
I liked him a lot! His character was fun and his ending satisfying (though my heart hurt a lot with Fritz's death, at that point I still knew that pretty white-haired boy would end up being my fave.) I think his route was balanced pretty well for my tastes (between the romance/story), though since he was only my second, I didn't realize how much story still needed to be unlocked. I loved his sword fighting outfit, and just all of his sprites in general, he was so pretty! I loved all of his interactions with all the characters, especially at the Marchen. His ending explored Lucille's family ties more than Rumpel's as well, in my opinion, so it made a better balance between Lucille's two families in this route. I wish that we'd gotten to know his family though! Especially his brother, he sounds like a riot.

His bad end got the intended reaction from me, though I saw it coming pretty far off. His good ending was good, but still reasonably bittersweet to me because of Fritz's death.
Rod
Ah Rod, I did not expect to like him nearly as much as I did when I started this game, which is why I had no problem playing him first. I'm not actually sure how he managed to wriggle his way into second place, actually, he just did. Kind of strange considering how I ~usually~ don't care for the tsundere type. That said, he isn't really tsundere when you think about it, he had perfectly valid reasons for disliking Lucille, though I find it funny that despite his deep dislike for her, she actually considered him her favorite of her 'family' (though I don't think she ever called him that) at the beginning of the game.

His route didn't really touch on the over-arching plot, which normally would get him dinged, but his own personal story was really good and since I didn't know about all the other stuff yet it allowed me to fully enjoy it without being disappointed with the lack of exploration on Lucille's mother and the like. Even though Fritz is overall my favorite, from a pure romance perspective, I'd say that Rod wins best here. I really appreciated how much the story focused on Lucille's family as well, though it only made their absence in the other routes that much more obvious, even if it was understandable.

His bad ending... Wasn't actually that bad to me, all things considered, everything turned out mostly fine, though my heart clenched rather painfully when he talked about how he thought that if they had had more time he could've grown to love her. His good end made me a little sad, though not as much as Karma's (when Fritz died) or Fritz's (when everyone died and also magic was gone).
Fritz
Ah Fritz... Ah yeah, I've said before how it took me two seconds to guess he'd be my fave, and I was right (I usually am, I can count on one hand the number of times in an otome game my favorite character ends up being anyone besides my first guess). By the end of Rod's route (my first one), I had suspicions that he and Varg were the same, by Karma's they were all but confirmed. When I played Waltz's route and they flat out said it I was a little disappointed that they stole the thunder of the dramatic reveal from me from Fritz's route (even though I already pretty much knew) but hey, that's what I get for playing out of order. Anyway, in short, I loved him. In long, I wish that there had been more interaction between him and the Marchen (who, by this point, I had come to accept as the 'default' setting, so it was a little jarring to be torn away from all of them, especially since, unlike in Rod's route, there wasn't a whole lot of friendliness where Lucille was staying during it.

I was also a little disappointed by how little we seemed to see of Fritz compared to Varg, I mean, we saw both, but Varg seemed to dominate here, and while I did love Varg too (more on that in a second) I was sad that I didn't get see as much as anticipated of my beloved knight. That said... I really ended up coming to love Varg, far more than expected. Not as much as I loved Fritz, but still enough that it could keep its place had my favorite route. His scene in the tavern when he held the knife to his/Fritz's neck broke me rather unexpectedly when I realized 'holy crap!! I don't want either of them to die!!' Though I also realized that I, like Lucille, would choose Fritz without hesitation if prompted, it was still a real surprise to me that I genuinely came to care for the masked man. His route, over all, left me feeling weird. It was so unexpectedly different from the others, every pattern was broken, even more (much more) so then in Rod's route (the curse 'wore off' rather than being broken properly, she got to go back to the castle, more than just a few days passed since her 18th birthday, her mother comes back for real, not just as a story or for one last stand, the list goes on and on) that I almost didn't know how to feel about it.

I was looking forward to see Fritz settle in at the Marchen and interact more vigorously with some of the other characters (I was honestly hoping to see more interaction from Rod/Em/King etc... too, since he, like Waltz, had ties to Lucille's family so I didn't think it would be as out of place to incorporate them into his story as it would've with, say, Karma's. It still ended up being my favorite, I can never resist good angst and, as previously mentioned, I think his has the firmest grasp with the 'main' story (even more so then Waltz's, though I know that's not how you intended it). But it was my favorite in a different way, if that makes any sense. I think it had the heaviest emphasis on story though, so I do find myself wishing that there was a bit more focus on the romance between them (Lucille and Fritz AND Lucille and Varg). Also, for reasons unknown to me, I cannot get his two bottom row CGs. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but clearly I'm doing something. I could've sworn I saw them while playing though...

His bad end wrecked me, absolutely, positively wrecked me. I got up and wondered around and blasted Karmina's 'All the Kings Horses' several times for my feels, which, coincidentally, is perhaps the most fitting song ever for this game (that wasn't specifically made for it, that is). I felt like it could fit with all of the bad ends for Lucille, but it really hit the spot here, and just in Fritz route in general more than anywhere else. I'd even argue that it fits his good end as well, perhaps to a lesser degree. So yeah, if you haven't heard it, I encourage you to listen to it, particularly at the part when Mythros comes to take her back to the castle and in Fritz bad end. Great mood setter. Sorry, got a tad distracted there, but yeah, bad end killed me, good end killed me as well, but slightly less painfully. I was surprised by how much Varg's decision affected me, in the beginning in his route I never would've guessed that I'd ever find myself wishing he could stay (without overwriting Fritz, who even during this anguished moment, had my vote for who I'd pick to stay. Like everyone else here, I hope it's expanded upon in the the fandisk what happened to him and also show if Fritz became more balanced... Even without that, it was still a punch in the gut what with erasing magic and all of that, even if Fritz wasn't my favorite, I think I would consider his good end the 'true end.'

Jeese, that got long, I have 3,402 words so far (not including the rest of this), you probably won't even read the whole thing. I had a lot of feelings though, so worth it to type it out. Anyway, I think I've exhausted myself here, so all I have left is to make note of a particular error that's bothering me, but most likely isn't big enough for you to fix. According to the ending list, Rumpel has two good endings, it seems that Rumpel's bad end was mistakenly given the 'good' label too. Very minor, but bugged me enough to point it out. Also, used the indicator for all of Fritz route and am still missing the previously mentioned CGs, though I swore I saw them (maybe?) they aren't in the gallery.


TL;DR
1. What do you think of the plot?: Loved it
2. Which route did you liked the most and why?: Fritz, so many reasons, at least read his entry, even if you ignore everything else.
3. Do you have any questions? Critiques? Feedback?: Sorry, you'll have dig through my monster ramblings above to see all of them :P But, short and sweet comments are 'great writing, fantastic art, I listened to Karmina's 'All the King's Horses' on Fritz route and got absolutely wrecked.

Anyway, sorry it's long, I just really, really love this game, okay. I will be buying it next month for sure. Also, I don't know what to do with my life now, I was planning on playing one route each week, but here we are. Oops.