I thoroughly enjoyed this one. From the game’s blurb, I expected lots of interactivity and a deeper exploration of the situation presented in the original fairy tale, and that’s exactly what I got. The writing is solid, the characters are believable, and the plot is a delicious mix of moral nuance and deep characterization spiced with a
dash of political intrigue. The whole thing looks very professional – the music is nice and the art is gorgeous. There’s a lot of interactivity, too. Cinders isn’t a complete blank slate, but her personality is malleable enough that I really feel that I have a good deal of agency in the story. I’d even say that her character hits that excellent balance where her few preset traits serve only to enhance the depth of the choices.
One area where the story really shines is the characters, where it takes a lot of creative liberties from the original. The two stepsisters seem similar at first, but are actually highly differentiated and tie
in to the themes of freedom vs. order present in the main plot.
Sophia, the younger one, is extremely
snarky and bitter about absolutely everything, even towards her own
family. It turns out that this is because she was the youngest in the
family, which led to her being the scapegoat and victim for
everything. This caused her to use her cynicism as a mask to deal
with the outside world, and over time she’s just become more bitter
and hateful. It also leads to her being very detached and aloof, as
she doesn’t really care about anything and she’s lost all faith that
she herself is capable of anything. As a result, she is highly
rebellious and nonconformist, representing the “freedom” side of
the equation.
Gloria, the older sister, is obsessed with being the perfect
daughter, to the point where she mimics her mother Carmosa as often
as she can, and meekly goes along with everything she says. She acts
high and mighty, but like Sophia, this is a mask to help her deal
with the stress caused by trying to live up to Carmosa’s
expectations. She does honestly believe in order and the greater
good, however, and even admits she does want everyone to be happy at
one point. Her main problem is that she’s too detached from others,
making her somewhat elitist and refusing to consider that she could
be at fault.
daughter, to the point where she mimics her mother Carmosa as often
as she can, and meekly goes along with everything she says. She acts
high and mighty, but like Sophia, this is a mask to help her deal
with the stress caused by trying to live up to Carmosa’s
expectations. She does honestly believe in order and the greater
good, however, and even admits she does want everyone to be happy at
one point. Her main problem is that she’s too detached from others,
making her somewhat elitist and refusing to consider that she could
be at fault.
The first third or so of the story largely revolves around dealing
with the sisters, and if you’re persistent, you can eventually get
through to them and become friends. I actually found it genuinely
heartwarming to draw them out of their shells and see all the abuse
and hardships they’ve had to suffer through, showing that they’re
really not so different from Cinders in the end.
with the sisters, and if you’re persistent, you can eventually get
through to them and become friends. I actually found it genuinely
heartwarming to draw them out of their shells and see all the abuse
and hardships they’ve had to suffer through, showing that they’re
really not so different from Cinders in the end.
The
only problem is that it seems very difficult if not impossible to
cultivate a relationship with both
sisters – though perhaps that is intentional. Making friends with
Sophia is easy, because she has a personal interaction scene first,
but after that there’s a scene where you have to choose one or the
other with no middle ground. I picked Sophia because I was afraid of
losing whatever common ground I had gained with her, but as a result,
I apparently alienated Gloria beyond recovery, which is a pity. After
that, there aren’t really any opportunities to interact with them or
improve their relationship again. On my second playthrough, I made
friends with Gloria instead, which ended up alienating Sophia. The
problem is that the narrative effect of this seems to be that Cinders
treats the other very harshly in her internal narrative no matter
what, which is not really what I wanted. It’s especially prominent
because an underlying theme in Cinders’ talks with her sisters is
that their situation would be much improved if they could all
get along, so I don’t see why that’s not a possibility.
only problem is that it seems very difficult if not impossible to
cultivate a relationship with both
sisters – though perhaps that is intentional. Making friends with
Sophia is easy, because she has a personal interaction scene first,
but after that there’s a scene where you have to choose one or the
other with no middle ground. I picked Sophia because I was afraid of
losing whatever common ground I had gained with her, but as a result,
I apparently alienated Gloria beyond recovery, which is a pity. After
that, there aren’t really any opportunities to interact with them or
improve their relationship again. On my second playthrough, I made
friends with Gloria instead, which ended up alienating Sophia. The
problem is that the narrative effect of this seems to be that Cinders
treats the other very harshly in her internal narrative no matter
what, which is not really what I wanted. It’s especially prominent
because an underlying theme in Cinders’ talks with her sisters is
that their situation would be much improved if they could all
get along, so I don’t see why that’s not a possibility.
I
sympathize with Sophia more – she seems to have suffered more
emotionally – but on a philosophical level, I think I can agree
with Gloria’s viewpoint more. Sophia doesn’t seem to think on a grand
scale very much, and is rather self-centered because of it. Gloria,
even if she does go too far, does understand the importance of order
and recognizes the wider scope of her actions. From a practical
standpoint, they both confer the same effective benefits – more
freedom from the oppressiveness of the household – but Sophia gives
you that through subverting Gloria’s authority, while Gloria gives it
to you freely as an earned privilege for good behavior. Somehow, I
think the latter option is a healthier and more mature outlook to
have.
sympathize with Sophia more – she seems to have suffered more
emotionally – but on a philosophical level, I think I can agree
with Gloria’s viewpoint more. Sophia doesn’t seem to think on a grand
scale very much, and is rather self-centered because of it. Gloria,
even if she does go too far, does understand the importance of order
and recognizes the wider scope of her actions. From a practical
standpoint, they both confer the same effective benefits – more
freedom from the oppressiveness of the household – but Sophia gives
you that through subverting Gloria’s authority, while Gloria gives it
to you freely as an earned privilege for good behavior. Somehow, I
think the latter option is a healthier and more mature outlook to
have.
Carmosa has some pretty interesting backstory as well, which ties
into the feminist themes of the game. The story is set in a medieval
period, it looks like, and as such it acknowledges that life kind of
sucked for women at that time. It claims, rather justifiably, that
the only way for women to get ahead in such a society is to be
ruthless, cutthroat, and ambitious, and so they should not be blamed
for having to become such. This actually leads to characters having
some sympathy for the evil stepmother (complete with saying Cinders
isn’t so different from her), and that actually leads to Cinders
getting on good terms with her in one of the endings.
into the feminist themes of the game. The story is set in a medieval
period, it looks like, and as such it acknowledges that life kind of
sucked for women at that time. It claims, rather justifiably, that
the only way for women to get ahead in such a society is to be
ruthless, cutthroat, and ambitious, and so they should not be blamed
for having to become such. This actually leads to characters having
some sympathy for the evil stepmother (complete with saying Cinders
isn’t so different from her), and that actually leads to Cinders
getting on good terms with her in one of the endings.
On the account of Cinders’ biological parents, the story actually
does a pretty good job of balancing both of them; both die before the
story begins, but Cinders talks frequently about her recollections of
her father, and midway through the story you also meet Ghede (who is
apparently a stand-in for the fairy godmother), who knew Cinders’
mother and has some interesting things to say about her as well. For
posthumous characters, they seem to have a lot of depth and relevance
to the plot.
does a pretty good job of balancing both of them; both die before the
story begins, but Cinders talks frequently about her recollections of
her father, and midway through the story you also meet Ghede (who is
apparently a stand-in for the fairy godmother), who knew Cinders’
mother and has some interesting things to say about her as well. For
posthumous characters, they seem to have a lot of depth and relevance
to the plot.
There’s
some magical stuff with fairies as well, which is always cool. The
story uses the more traditional interpretation of the fair folk –
to enlist their help, you must form a pact, the price of which must
be paid at a later time, but which is always greater than the aid
given. It’s weird, but they kind of remind me of the Financial
District in the anime [C]
– their approach does seem almost like that of an investment
banker, only with fate rather than money.
some magical stuff with fairies as well, which is always cool. The
story uses the more traditional interpretation of the fair folk –
to enlist their help, you must form a pact, the price of which must
be paid at a later time, but which is always greater than the aid
given. It’s weird, but they kind of remind me of the Financial
District in the anime [C]
– their approach does seem almost like that of an investment
banker, only with fate rather than money.
Oh,
and no romance, woohoo! There’s one recurring male character who was
Cinders’ childhood friend and who the internet tells me is a
potential love interest, but I didn’t get that impression at all in
my playthrough – you can choose to make Cinders’ relationship with
him purely platonic. Obviously, Prince Basile eventually becomes a
love interest as well, but it’s entirely possible that Cinders
marries him for political gain only. He seems like a nice enough guy
regardless, though, and his character also ties into the freedom vs.
order thing. He’s an enlightened monarch who wants to create a
constitution and implement reforms for the good of the people, but
recognizes that in doing so he must walk the fine line between
adhering to old traditions and throwing them out for the sake of
progress. There’s a good deal of A
Song of Ice and Fire-y
stuff in his political intrigue subplot – the difficulties of
ruling the realm, the pettiness and opposition of the noble houses,
etc. – and I like that.
and no romance, woohoo! There’s one recurring male character who was
Cinders’ childhood friend and who the internet tells me is a
potential love interest, but I didn’t get that impression at all in
my playthrough – you can choose to make Cinders’ relationship with
him purely platonic. Obviously, Prince Basile eventually becomes a
love interest as well, but it’s entirely possible that Cinders
marries him for political gain only. He seems like a nice enough guy
regardless, though, and his character also ties into the freedom vs.
order thing. He’s an enlightened monarch who wants to create a
constitution and implement reforms for the good of the people, but
recognizes that in doing so he must walk the fine line between
adhering to old traditions and throwing them out for the sake of
progress. There’s a good deal of A
Song of Ice and Fire-y
stuff in his political intrigue subplot – the difficulties of
ruling the realm, the pettiness and opposition of the noble houses,
etc. – and I like that.
A brief look at the online walkthrough tells me that the love
interests seem like pretty healthy, mature options. They’re all
decent, honorable people; no creepy stalkers, degrading “bad boys”
or Nice Guys here. Even Cinders’ childhood friend is understanding
instead of clingy if you “friendzone” him. It’s rare to see such
a mature, reasonable, and most importantly unintrusive approach to
romantic subplots, especially in visual novels, so I’m happy to see
that.
interests seem like pretty healthy, mature options. They’re all
decent, honorable people; no creepy stalkers, degrading “bad boys”
or Nice Guys here. Even Cinders’ childhood friend is understanding
instead of clingy if you “friendzone” him. It’s rare to see such
a mature, reasonable, and most importantly unintrusive approach to
romantic subplots, especially in visual novels, so I’m happy to see
that.
Hm…one
thing about the writing is that at times I felt it might have been a
bit too
grim and gritty. Again, it reminds me a lot of A
Song of Ice and Fire
in that regard. Almost all the characters are exceptionally
snarky and bitter – there really aren’t a whole lot of characters
who are truly idealistic or happy, and people are quick to throw the
word “naive” around for even the smallest flashes of idealism.
Still, there are a good deal of humanizing moments as well, and
Basile does help to offset the grittiness by being a fairly typical
idealistic and romantic figure. And of course, the story does have a
happy ending – I do think that’s very important in these types of
gritty “realistic” stories. If the ending is just that
everything’s hopeless and nothing anyone did mattered, then what’s
the point of all their struggles? The struggle and difficulty makes
the happy endings all the more rewarding, too.
thing about the writing is that at times I felt it might have been a
bit too
grim and gritty. Again, it reminds me a lot of A
Song of Ice and Fire
in that regard. Almost all the characters are exceptionally
snarky and bitter – there really aren’t a whole lot of characters
who are truly idealistic or happy, and people are quick to throw the
word “naive” around for even the smallest flashes of idealism.
Still, there are a good deal of humanizing moments as well, and
Basile does help to offset the grittiness by being a fairly typical
idealistic and romantic figure. And of course, the story does have a
happy ending – I do think that’s very important in these types of
gritty “realistic” stories. If the ending is just that
everything’s hopeless and nothing anyone did mattered, then what’s
the point of all their struggles? The struggle and difficulty makes
the happy endings all the more rewarding, too.
Overall, the story is focused overwhelmingly on plotty stuff and
explorations of Cinders’ own character, which is exactly what I want
from visual novels.
explorations of Cinders’ own character, which is exactly what I want
from visual novels.
One feature I really like is that the game gives you a little
notification every time something happens that’s a result of your
previous actions, instead of just forcing me to guess at cause and
effect. I imagine I’ll be seeing it more and more the longer the
story goes on due to how many choices there are and how interwoven
they are, but it’s still pretty cool.
notification every time something happens that’s a result of your
previous actions, instead of just forcing me to guess at cause and
effect. I imagine I’ll be seeing it more and more the longer the
story goes on due to how many choices there are and how interwoven
they are, but it’s still pretty cool.
There are a few minor nitpicks I have. The perspective alternates
between first-person (as is typical in visual novels) and third
person (where Cinders has her own sprite and participates in the
scene) seemingly arbitrarily, but there’s only one set of sprites for
each character, so they all have to make do with this sort of awkward
half-turned pose that could theoretically work for either one. Their
eyes frequently alternate between moving towards the camera and
looking straight ahead to enforce this effect, also. It isn’t
terribly noticeable, though – I only felt something was off a ways
through, and had to scrutinize the sprites to notice what the cause
was – so I suppose it does the job well. The writing also has a few
slip-ups – capitalizing “mother” and “father” when they
aren’t being used as proper nouns, for instance – but nothing too
jarring.
between first-person (as is typical in visual novels) and third
person (where Cinders has her own sprite and participates in the
scene) seemingly arbitrarily, but there’s only one set of sprites for
each character, so they all have to make do with this sort of awkward
half-turned pose that could theoretically work for either one. Their
eyes frequently alternate between moving towards the camera and
looking straight ahead to enforce this effect, also. It isn’t
terribly noticeable, though – I only felt something was off a ways
through, and had to scrutinize the sprites to notice what the cause
was – so I suppose it does the job well. The writing also has a few
slip-ups – capitalizing “mother” and “father” when they
aren’t being used as proper nouns, for instance – but nothing too
jarring.
After finishing the game, my impressions are mostly unchanged. I
ended up going to Ghede for support instead of the fairies, since
their talk of paying a price that was greater than the aid given
worried me. I am a bit disappointed that there seem to be fewer
choices as time goes on – it looks like you make a lot of choices
at the beginning that then shape the rest of the narrative. I don’t
believe there were any choices after deciding how to get to the ball,
and most of that scene was actually spent looking at other
characters. I still liked it, though – and apparently there aren’t
just four other endings, but little variations on each ending as
well! Highly intriguing, I’m sure this game will last me a while.
ended up going to Ghede for support instead of the fairies, since
their talk of paying a price that was greater than the aid given
worried me. I am a bit disappointed that there seem to be fewer
choices as time goes on – it looks like you make a lot of choices
at the beginning that then shape the rest of the narrative. I don’t
believe there were any choices after deciding how to get to the ball,
and most of that scene was actually spent looking at other
characters. I still liked it, though – and apparently there aren’t
just four other endings, but little variations on each ending as
well! Highly intriguing, I’m sure this game will last me a while.
Two of the most important choices towards the end of the game are
choosing your benefactor (Ghede or the fairies), and choosing what
path you want to take for the climax – you can either try to
restore your noble house to greatness, marry the prince and become
queen, or run away. My first time through, I chose Ghede, as the
fairies’ talk of paying a price that was greater than the aid given
worried me. I also chose to aim for the throne – it’s the
traditional ending to the story and I lack imagination, and also it
seemed like it would accomplish the greatest good overall. Basile
constantly monologues about the reforms he wants to make for the good
of the people in his “meanwhile” scenes, but laments the fact
that he needs to marry before he can be crowned king, and also that
he needs a strong and intelligent woman as his consort to help him
bring about his reforms. The narrative is about as subtle as an anvil
to the head about Cinders being the queen he needs for such a goal,
so I decided to go along with it. Restoring the house seems somewhat
selfish and small-minded in comparison, as well as contributing to
the exact thing that Basile is worried about in a way (although when
I went with that ending, Cinders was actually rather fair and
progressive as the head of her household). If Cinders is good queen
material, then by all means, she should shoot for it, as a good ruler
would bring the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest amount
of people – and indeed, that’s exactly what happened in the ending
I got.
choosing your benefactor (Ghede or the fairies), and choosing what
path you want to take for the climax – you can either try to
restore your noble house to greatness, marry the prince and become
queen, or run away. My first time through, I chose Ghede, as the
fairies’ talk of paying a price that was greater than the aid given
worried me. I also chose to aim for the throne – it’s the
traditional ending to the story and I lack imagination, and also it
seemed like it would accomplish the greatest good overall. Basile
constantly monologues about the reforms he wants to make for the good
of the people in his “meanwhile” scenes, but laments the fact
that he needs to marry before he can be crowned king, and also that
he needs a strong and intelligent woman as his consort to help him
bring about his reforms. The narrative is about as subtle as an anvil
to the head about Cinders being the queen he needs for such a goal,
so I decided to go along with it. Restoring the house seems somewhat
selfish and small-minded in comparison, as well as contributing to
the exact thing that Basile is worried about in a way (although when
I went with that ending, Cinders was actually rather fair and
progressive as the head of her household). If Cinders is good queen
material, then by all means, she should shoot for it, as a good ruler
would bring the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest amount
of people – and indeed, that’s exactly what happened in the ending
I got.
My
second time through, I went with the fairies and chose to restore the
house. This ending route appeared to be more personal and sentimental
in tone, as it involved Cinders politely rejecting the prince’s
marriage proposal in favor of making up with her family. All in all,
it was a pretty happy ending – the only problem I had with the
queen ending is that it mentions Cinders breaks off with her family,
and Carmosa dies sad and alone. In this one, she has a much better
relationship with the rest of her family, and her friendship with one
of the sisters actually influences a portion of the ending. (I’m sure
that it’s possible for Cinders to be evil and throw her step-family
out or something if you decide they don’t deserve forgiveness earlier
in the story, though.) Strangely, the supposed price of the fairies’
aid never came up.
second time through, I went with the fairies and chose to restore the
house. This ending route appeared to be more personal and sentimental
in tone, as it involved Cinders politely rejecting the prince’s
marriage proposal in favor of making up with her family. All in all,
it was a pretty happy ending – the only problem I had with the
queen ending is that it mentions Cinders breaks off with her family,
and Carmosa dies sad and alone. In this one, she has a much better
relationship with the rest of her family, and her friendship with one
of the sisters actually influences a portion of the ending. (I’m sure
that it’s possible for Cinders to be evil and throw her step-family
out or something if you decide they don’t deserve forgiveness earlier
in the story, though.) Strangely, the supposed price of the fairies’
aid never came up.
Something that I think is a pretty interesting design decision about
the endings is that they all contain subtle variations depending on
your actions earlier in the game. For instance, in the queen ending,
the fact that Cinders is a just ruler and loves Basile are both
completely malleable results of my earlier actions that could have
been completely different had I made other choices. So, while
choosing the ending itself just boils down to a multiple choice
question at the end of the game, the nuances and details of the
ending are influenced by all the choices you’ve made earlier to
cement Cinders’ personality and relationships. I think that’s a
pretty elegant compromise between practicality and individualizing
each players’ experience.
the endings is that they all contain subtle variations depending on
your actions earlier in the game. For instance, in the queen ending,
the fact that Cinders is a just ruler and loves Basile are both
completely malleable results of my earlier actions that could have
been completely different had I made other choices. So, while
choosing the ending itself just boils down to a multiple choice
question at the end of the game, the nuances and details of the
ending are influenced by all the choices you’ve made earlier to
cement Cinders’ personality and relationships. I think that’s a
pretty elegant compromise between practicality and individualizing
each players’ experience.
It is possible to make friends with both of the sisters, but it is very, VERY difficult, to the point that I never managed it on my own despite trying several times.
In general, this game seems to be about choosing what you want most and what you’re willing to sacrifice to get it. I think you’re right in calling it cynical, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s “grim” or “gritty”. Achieving happiness is possible in this world, but never unqualified happiness, and only for those willing to compromise on some level.
Anyway, having played this before myself, I definitely recommend it to anyone reading this! It’s one of my favorite VNs I’ve ever played.
I like your insight about “gritty” stories there. I know I’ve put down a couple books/series lately because they basically consisted of evil and futility for everyone every step of the way until the big, pointless dark ending where the slightly worse guys with more firepower win and everyone who might have been likable is dead. I rarely like tragedies, but when I find a good one, the characters fail because of not being able to overcome their personal problems/tragic flaws and so making those choices that lead to their downfall, where you can see as the reader how things could have been different. That’s an entirely different matter than when nothing anyone does matters.
Yeah, that’s been my biggest complaint about SoIaF as I’ve progressed. A lot of the time stories try to be “dark” as an attempt at realism, even though a world in which everything sucks is just as unrealistic as a world where everything is wonderful. You can’t expect a reader to stay emotionally involved in a story where bad things happen no matter what anyone does because fuck everything, because a) it’s frustrating and depressing and b) it’s not an accurate reflection of choice and consequence.
The soul of every drama is conflict, but not just any conflict- it must be MEANINGFUL conflict :P
hehe, Tv Tropes.
Yes, Darkness Induced Audience Apathy is the trope in question.
So I got this and it was awesome.
I had a pretty different experience, though. I had no trouble befriending both sisters, and in my original playthrough, when I married the prince, Cinders invites Carmosa to the court as an advisor and the two sisters move to the palace. They end up on better terms. Cinders is a beloved ruler, and Sofia becomes a novelist. It was perfect.
When I played through to see the poisoning ending (the other option I was weighing), everyone ended up hating each other even though my decisions only branched after deciding on the ending route. Cinders basically becomes Carmosa, dies alone, and it was depressing.
Edit: Ah! The reason the sisters hated me in the second one was because that happens automatically if you poison her.
I made friends with both of them first time , basically be sympathetic and reach out to both, be supportive and help them where you can, but that doesn’t mean you can never call them out or that you have to agree with either of them all the time as long as you aren’t aggressive or harsh about it (and don’t side with one over the other).
Bluntly telling either they’re wrong, or arguing with them will go down badly, but both (especially Gloria) are open to being calmly reasoned with if you already have a good relationship with them.
And your current standing with them does affect how the sisters react to the same dialogue line for example if you are on good terms with Gloria when Cinders compliments her on the dress Gloria happily accepts it and thanks Cinders, but if you have a bad relationship, the same dialogue has Gloria assume you are being sarcastic and react negatively. just one example of many.