Fairy Godmother Stories: Cinderella Collector's Edition

[b]Fairy Godmother Stories 1: Cinderella[/b] (IHOG or Match-3 Adventure) [i]Game provided for Curator review[/i] Options include four sliders for sounds, Stretch, Full-screen, Custom Cursor and Special Effects. Choice of three pre-set difficulties, or you can go with Custom Mode (can be changed at any time). [b]Story[/b]: You are Cinderella's fairy Godmother, and just when she needs your help, the Peacekeepers burst in and arrest you for committing a string of robberies! Now you must prove your innocence and find the real culprit... All without your magic! The story takes place in Taleville, which has modern conveniences such as cars and computers, but somehow retains the old-timey feel of the original setting. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1920373884 We don't have a [b]Journal[/b], but the story is easy enough to keep track of. We DO have a book with tabs for [b]Tasks[/b] and [b]Notes[/b] that we find. [b]Gameplay[/b]: The [b]MAP[/b] can be interactive, and you can choose right on the popup whether you want places with unfound collectibles to be marked. Directional [b]HINTS [/b]are available. Speaking of [b]Collectibles[/b], there are three types: Moonstones (which you use to buy items in your Potion Shop), Household Items (morphing objects) and Shoes. There is a triple-indicator area on your toolbar to help you keep track of where you have/haven't found these items yet. [b]Hidden Object Scenes[/b] vary, ranging from your standard find-by-list to riddles, placing items back in the scene and more. There is a [b]Match-3[/b] game that you can do instead of finding objects, and it's satisfying enough to play... My only gripe is that you can't make moves while pieces are falling. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1920375881 Most of the [b]Mini-games[/b] have a difficulty option (Easy or Hard), and yes, the solutions are different! We are unable to use magic for most of the game because our wand was taken away, so we have to do things the hard way (you know, as people without magic usually do. lol~) The [b]logic[/b] was both inventive and totally ridiculous, a strange mashup to be sure. I appreciated that we found alternate (but believable) ways to accomplish our goals, but some of the tasks we needed to do were absolutely asinine. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will only say being expected to use explosives in unsafe ways is going to rub me the wrong way every time. [b]Sights and Sounds[/b]: There are some gorgeous visuals around the way, and the meshing of modern technology with a magical environment was handled very nicely. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1920347542 The sound work -- including the voiceovers -- was unremarkable... In other words, it seemed appropriate for the environment, and nothing was jarringly out-of-place. [b]CE Content[/b]: [list] [*]Integrated Strategy Guide [*]In-game Achievements [*]3 types of Collectibles (can access found items in Extras area) [*]Bonus Chapter [*]10 Wallpapers [*]10 Concept Art [*]5 downloadable Music Tracks [*]27 Cutscenes [*]17 Mini-games [*]17 Hidden Object Scenes [/list] [b]Bonus Chapter[/b]: Totally unrelated to the main story, in the bonus you will be helping Red Riding Hood, whose grandmother has been kidnapped! Although we're still a fairy godmother, we use magic only once during the bonus, and even then we had to find the parts we needed first. Why we weren't carrying around our wand with us, I have no idea. [b]Verdict[/b]: This is a well-made game that suffers from story inconsistencies and some logic that set my teeth on edge -- A personal pet peeve that may not affect [i]your [/i]enjoyment of the game at all! Recommended to IHOG fans and those who like having a match-3 alternative.

Story/Plot As you might guess, in Fairy Godmother Stories: Cinderella the player takes on the role of a fairy godmother but with a twist; this time you have to help yourself instead of others. You are arrested for a crime you didn't commit, robbery, and so you must escape jail and prove your innocence in a world set in the modern day with magical elements. The storyis a bit more upbeat than one typically finds in most Hosted Object Games which makes for a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, the game should have spent more time world-building. For example, we are told certain characters are our friends, but we are given little context as to why. Not that one expects in depth stuff in a HoG, but it showed here. Additionally, beating the game unlocks a bonus adventure, rescuing Little Red Riding Hoods grandmother. I'm glad it avoided the trap of making the bonus game a prequel or the 'true ending' for the main game. As these things go, it was definitely one of the better written bonus stories. Visuals: As one might expect for a Hidden Object Game, most of the visuals are static, but well drawn. I especially liked how many areas had vibrant colors, once more giving it more life than one might expect. This game is also one of the better games for the human characters. When they move their arms or legs, it is fluid unlike other games where it looks like a cardboard cutout moving along. However, this doesn't mean the humans are seamless; every time they spoke, the mouth shifted so weirdly I thought a Xenomorph tongue was going to appear. Gameplay By now, most Hidden Object Games tend to have four areas of play: hidden object screens, point and click, and minigames and collectibles. I actually liked the hidden object screens in this game. First, you aren't buried in screen after screen and most of the items weren't impossibly small or obfuscated. The game also mixes up the screens; one part might give you a picture of items to find, while another might have you compare two smaller screens and figure out what are the differences. Finally, if you don't like doing the hidden object screens, you can switch over to a match 3 game instead. The point and click elements were well balanced for this game. While there is some backtracking, it isn't to an excessive amount. This game also avoids the trap of requiring the player to find 5 different cutting items for basically the same thing (yeah, I think it is obvious that is a pet peeve of mine). That said, you might think the character was a germaphobe since there were 3-4 instances where they refused to get their hands dirty, and wanted gloves. There is also some variety to the mini games as well. I actually liked a few that I consider a physics game where you have to aim like a dart, but the cursor is wobbling as well, giving it a little more difficulty. There are also logic puzzles, most of them fairly easy to solve, though I won't deny some of them were time consuming to do. If these puzzles prove to tough, you can always skip them. This game has three different collectibles you can find; moon gems which you can use to 'buy' items to decorate a static screen, pairs of shoes (a tie in to the glass slippers) and magical items from other stories like a magical harp. I honestly don't mind some collectibles, such as the morphing objects other games have. However, it felt excessive with three different types of items to find here. Sound/Music Overall, I liked the sound they used in this game, especially the music. While there aren't many tracks, the ones they had gave me a Harry Potter vibe. It is a shame the music didn't run continuously; there were many times it would stop playing on a screen after 4-5 minutes and the silence was a little jarring. The game is also entirely voice acting, and this is definitely a mixed bag. Some of the characters were good, but others could be much better. For example, if you have subtitles on, you will see some sentences grammatically wrong, and the voice actors copied these exact same errors. Difficulty: As Hidden Object Games go, this is probably one of the easier ones overall since it only took me about 4 hours to beat the game. However, you can also change the difficulty. There is an easy, medium, and hard mode with a fourth one being a custom mode where you can set hint refresh rates, time for skip puzzles, etc. By the same token, you can also make a game tougher than the hard mode if you want to. Extras/Achievements: For those who care about such thing, the game does have in game achievements, but these aren't linked to Steam in any ways. Additionally, this version includes the game soundtracks, some backgrounds, and a walkthrough Recommendation: So would I recommend this game? Actually, I would. I won't deny sometimes being a little jaded with HoGs, but I enjoyed my time with this, even though I felt there are areas that should have been expanded or worked on a bit more. However, at $14, it is hard for me to recommend at full price. While I didn't mind paying for it, many other people want a little more bang for their buck. In that case, I would suggest waiting for a sale to get this.

A solid and enjoyable HOPA game with a nice mix of types of HO scenes and puzzles. Game notes: my play time is high due to idling; no Steam achievements or trading cards (I wish Big Fish would reconsider) [b]Pros:[/b] - good interface - nice art - nice music (will stop if game left idle for too long); nothing outstanding but good in the background - a semblance of a plot (very linear, of course, but at least it makes sense) - collectibles are reasonable to find (not sure we needed 3 different types, though) - collectibles are indicated on screen and map - lots of convenient options re map and difficulty settings - the bonus chapter is good Cons: not a lot of substance to it, but I didn't find any significant flaws (it's not a difficult game, but it's nicely put together) Definitely recommended, especially on sale!

Edited to add: I've played this again (at least once). I've now played many, many of these games. They are almost ALL too short for the price in my opinion, so take that with a grain of salt. I didn't mind how linear it was this last time that I played. Now that I can compare to many others, I have additional positive things to say. It has a variety of Hidden Object Scenes. The mini-games were a little more creative than usual. (A lot of the newer ones just have the same mini-games you see in many other games.) It was silly, but the colors were nice and bright. A lot of the games are kind of a blurry watercolor art, which bugs me even though I play these games all the time. In this one, the art had sharper lines, which I like for a HOG. Original review: A reluctant thumbs up. It wasn't a bad game for this sort of game. However, it was too serial for me. The game basically just led you through everything. For some, this might be a pro because it makes feel like more of a real story. (I personally don't care much about story. I just like finding things.) It was also fairly short for the price (9.99 US).

This was a fun twist of the original story!! The puzzles are still on the easier side even on the hard setting, but not too bad. I really enjoyed this game. Bought at full prize and don't regret it.

WHY suddenly the heroes must be billionaire for the game/book/movie to be published? Is a 50 shadows syndrome? I hate it. This game suffers lack of story, the puzzles don´t challenge, nice graphics the only thing good. Waste of money.

Very good HOPA game with intermediate to difficult level of puzzles. Though I played on hard mode when given the option. So, people who played the easy mode might have a different experience. But the puzzles were really fun and enjoyable. Solving them was really satisfying, and I never felt frustrated or given unclear direction. The HOPA scenes are beautifully done as well. The story is basically the weirdness of the HOPA plot genre, but as a lover of HOPA, I welcome the strangeness with all my heart. Play this game if you want a decent level of challenge. The bonus game is quite long as well. So that adds extra game time.

Another beautiful game that is a pleasure to play. The graphics are outstanding bright and colourful, the story line is great, there is an integrated strategy guide, if needed, a variety of mini-games (some easy and some not so easy) a hint button, over all a fantastic game that is a pure pleasure to play. I payed full price and I don't regret it one bit. Thank you to all the developers that put this wonderful game together. Thanx

great game

Adorable game, very entertaining. I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end! Now I'll go for the rest of the series!