Cinderella Phenomenon – Demo Review

Cinderella Phenomenon is an upcoming English otome game that follows a young cold-hearted princess, Lucette, who suddenly finds herself the unwitting victim of a terrible curse. Magic and fairytales collide in this impressively entertaining riches to rags story from Dicesuki, the developers behind the free otome game Locked Heart. Follow Lucette as she learns an important lesson in humanity while attempting to break her curse… and maybe find love along the way.

Prior to the events of the game, there were two crystals that maintained the balance in the world: the Crystallum Lucis and Crystallum Tenebrarum. Each crystal possessed great power, so they were each entrusted to equally powerful magical beings in order to contain their power. The Fairies were given the Crystallum Lucis, which drew its power from positive emotions; while the Witches were given the Crystallum Tenebrarum, which drew its power from negative emotions. Over time people began to associate witches with dark magic and began persecuting them. In retaliation the High Witch created the Fairytale Curse.  Setting in motion a series of events that would have far reaching effects on not only our sullen princess, but all of humanity.

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Story

The demo covers the Prologue and a small portion of Chapter One, overall the demo should take anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half. This is definitely one of the longer demos I have played recently, but the story is so captivating that you don’t realize the length at all. For a free game, this has the potential to be an extremely impressive English otome game!

The demo starts with a storybook-esque opening, much like those depicted in past Disney classics. Not only do these scenes do an excellent job of setting up the backstory for the events game, but they also set the mood for the overall narrative that follows. I was especially pleased that the developers decided to go with an artistic style that reflected the storybook atmosphere. After establishing the premise, the game quickly delves into the narrative of Lucette, the Crown Princess of Angielle. The prologue follows Lucette from her life of luxury in the castle all the way to a few days after obtaining her curse.

This is just a really engrossing story, I really found myself drawn into the world of the game quite easily. The writers did a wonderful job of setting the foundation of the story from the well defined backstory to the relatable characters, while still leaving enough mystery to keep the audience eager for the final release. I am especially looking forward to seeing how the story deals with the Fairytale Curse concept. By establishing that their are multiple types of Fairytale Curses with their own character specific conditions opens the story up to some interesting scenarios.

Characters

I’m not going to lie my first thought after being introduced to Lucette was, Oh my gosh, what a b****. When I first read the title I thought Lucette would be on the receiving end of her family’s brutality, instead I got the complete opposite. Lucette isn’t the Cinderella in this story, she’s the evil step-person! So when she falls prey to the Fairytale Curse, I couldn’t help but think she got exactly what she deserves.

But, despite her acidic personality, Lucette is a young girl who is still mourning the loss of her mother (her only confidant). So, I could somewhat understand her behavior, the story also hints that her mother might not have been as benevolent as Lucette believes. As for the potential love interests, they all make an appearance in the demo and I can’t for the life of me decide which one I like best! They are all swoon worthy and for the most part all dealing with their own Fairytale Curse. Each of the five love interests have developed personalities and quirks, that make them stand out from one another.

• Waltz Cresswell is the street magician shota Lucette meets while visiting town. He is afflicted by the Neverland Curse.
• Fitzgerald Aiden Leverton is Lucette’s personal knight, he is the only person in the palace that doesn’t hate Lucette. He isn’t shown to have a Fairytale Curse in the demo, but it is implied that he does have one.
• Rumpel has amnesia due to the conditions of the Rumpelstiltskin Curse. He is a shameless flirt and despite what I may have said earlier, Rumpel is the character I am most excited for!
• Karma is cross-dressing gentleman who’s elegant appearance put other women to shame. It is currently unknown what type of Fairytale Curse he suffers from.
• Rod Benedikt Widdensov is Lucette’s younger step-brother. He is mute and uses a stuffed bunny plush to communicate with others around him. He is afflicted by the Mermaid’s Curse.

I am in love with the characters in this game, there’s just something about them that makes them stand out despite exhibiting common trope characteristics. From the main characters to the supporting characters Dicesuki did an excellent job at developing a unique and vibrant cast. During the demo the player is introduced to the Lucette, all of the main love interests, and a host of supporting character both directly and indirectly associated with Fairytale curses.

Features

This is a really well designed demo. Despite most of the content not being finalized the GUI is clean and easy to use. The artwork in the game is top notch, I am extremely impressed by the quality of everything in this game. The backgrounds in the demo will give those in some paid games a run for their money.. The level of detail is fabulous and the locations look like they were plucked right from the pages of a fairytale! The character sprites are well made, and really mesh well with the game’s settings and backgrounds.

The music in the demo is great, the background music which was vibrant and upbeat fit in with the game’s fairytale theme very well. Now, while I commend the developers on the opening theme song, there was something off about it that I just can’t seem to put my finger on. The lyrics are perfect and the instrumental is amazing, but somehow when you hear everything together it feels a bit… disjointed.

The writing was well done and I didn’t notice any awkward phrasing or out of place dialogue. The character interactions were on point, each line fitting in nicely with the overall narrative of the game. There were only a handful of choices for the player to make during the demo, but they didn’t really seem to alter the course of the story much. So, I’m looking forward to a more engaging gameplay in the final version of the game.

There isn’t much in the way of additional features, but Cinderella Phenomenon more than makes up for that in the quality of their content. This is just a really well put together game, the story is engaging and the characters are well written and relatable. The art is stunning, and you can really tell that Dicesuki as a team has really come a long way since their debut title Locked Heart. If this demo is any indication of the quality we should expect in the final game, I for one can’t wait to get my hands on it! This is a top notch introduction to what promises to be a phenomenal English otome game! If you haven’t already, go check out the Kickstarter campaign and show your support! If you still need some more convincing, download the demo for yourself, HERE and give this amazing demo a try!

Are you as hyped for the game as I am? Let me know what you think of Cinderella Phenomenon and the demo in the comments section. Don’t forget to drop a line on the Kickstarter and let the developer know what you think about the game as well! As always THANK YOU for reading!!!

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