I love a good otome visual novel. I love fractured fairy tales even more. Considering that Cinderella Phenomenon is essentially both, this should be a no-brainer to back it. However, while the premise does interest me it’s not quite enough to blindly dive in headfirst. The pitch is good, but not quite good enough. Even so, whether I pledge or not this is one worth keeping a close eye on.

Cinderella Phenomenon

The basic story of Cinderella Phenomenon tells the tale of a girl that had lost her mother in a war. Her father remarries and she has to learn to cope with the change. The twist to this classic tale is that she is cursed to go from riches to rags. And, apparently, she’s not the only one under said curse. Most of her potential suitors also have their problems, but what those are haven’t been revealed yet.

Cinderella Phenomenon

The one aspect of Cinderella Phenomenon that might turn some people away is that this visual novel is planned to be released for all to play for free. One might wonder why they should pay now to get a game that others won’t have to once it’s released. The answer is given in the pitch: This Kickstarter is to recoup expenses already put into development. They still plan on releasing the game whether they get the money or not, but it might take longer to finish up.

While I am on the fence about backing Cinderella Phenomenon, free game or not, thankfully there’s a demo to try out before taking the plunge. I know that I want to know more about the story and how it plays out in the end.

About the Author

Serena Nelson

Serena has been a gamer since an early age and was brought up with the classic adventure games by Sierra On-Line, LucasArts, and Infocom. She's been an active member on Kickstarter since early 2012 and has backed a large number of crowdfunded games, mostly adventures. You can also find her writing for Kickstart Ventures and evn.moe.

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