Modern Cinderella

Okay, I'm all for Cinderella stories. I can tell you about the oral tradition behind them, about the male versions (called Cinder Lads), about how they appear across many different cultures. Seriously, I've studied Cinderella stories. And I'm not talking the Disney version. So a long while back, I thought I'd try the Shall We Date? Modern Cinderella app. I made it part way through one story and gave up. It was bland.

The art is...mostly okay except for the MC. Her eyes are fully 4x the size of anyone
else's like she's some kind of Anime Barbie. And she stands around all prissy.

It's obviously an older app as they haven't even bothered putting it into their new Dear Otome combined thing and there's no special events or anything of the sort. But, for whatever weird reason, I decided to try it again. Maybe because I thought I should at least get through an entire route before passing judgement? I dunno. Anyway, I tried it again. 

The Story...you are a poor little rich girl and your mother has controlled your life, slathering makeup on you, keeping you sheltered, throwing massive parties so she can marry you off to someone acceptable. You think you have friends but instead learn that they are nearly all sycophant pariahs that are only interested in your money. So you freak out at a party and run away into the night, not even bringing a phone with you. No money. Nothing. You luckily wind up on the literal doorstep of this entirely too nice non-threatening gay dude named Aiden who takes you in and gives you clothes and a room and a job. Why? Who knows. He's the Mother Theresa of otome games.

So...that first route I'd tried and given up on had been maybe the one with the singer? I don't even remember. This time around I tried Zack, the pilot, and in the route you wind up becoming a travel writer. You meet him right after starting your new job at Aiden's bar. And...he's a pretty nice guy. The MC, on the other hand, really comes across as a raving idiot. She's rude when he's just being, like, normal nice. I think she throws coffee all over him the first time they meet after he makes some innocuous comment on how she seems like she might be from North Edel (exactly where she is from). And she continues in this vein--he continually shows up and is nice to her and she acts like a rude beyotch to him. You have no idea why he keeps coming around. 

I think the app developers were trying to show her as recovering from her previous spineless ways and being independent and feisty but...meh...no. She's pretty horrid. But also stupid. I actually renamed the character Naive Idiota. Hello, how are you today, Naive? What lesson will you not learn today about how to be a nice human being and productive member of society? 

But I finished the route. She finally becomes almost bearable at the end. He was pretty much a saint. 

I can't say I enjoyed it.

But I was curious. Was she always such a complete idiot / bitch? So I tried the Chris route. He's the photographer...where the job you wind up in is Mountain Climbing Guide. Each one of the routes includes you figuring out what your dream job is -- one of the only things I like about this app is that it isn't just about romance but also finding yourself. And she's actually bearable in this route (I'm not actually finished with it yet) and acts like a rational person. He's another saint of a human being. I'm thinking, hey, okay, this isn't bad. It's not amazing, but it's w-a-y better than the other one.

But.....the route is progressing merrily along, they are getting along, it's all normal, there's about to be a confession...and then...while mountain climbing together, some sketchy dudes push Chris (and Naive) off the mountain and try to kill him. He gets amnesia. You have to figure out why they are trying to kill him and help him get back his memory.

And I'm all, like, wtf? Where did this come from? It's so out of left field. What the hell is going on? Are the app developers on drugs? 

So, I dunno. On the one hand, yay for an app where the routes actually feel very different. It's just really uneven. I'm going to finish the Chris route, though it may take a while as this is one of the apps where you have to do the stupid fashion showdown thing and it takes awhile to get enough cash to move forwards because it's stingy. After that...am I gonna play another route? I don't know. Should I?

Edit...finished the Chris route. It was all around better than the other one BUT there's is nothing earthshaking or groundbreaking in this app. It's all just okay. I think I'm giving it up completely, especially as it takes ages to collect enough coin/whatever to progress and the payoff isn't worth it. I did start some other route (the chef?) and it was another one where the MC is a blazing idiot again, so I didn't even go beyond the first few "free" chapter bits.