I can usually tell a good game from the synopsis, the video, and the reviews. I've only been wrong once in all the years I've been a member at Big Fish. This looks like a really great game and I love the concept of Karmic choices that other reviewers have mentioned - but I'll NEVER play it! I can't stand rats. Just CAN"T STAND them.
There's usually a rodent or two scampering across the floor in many of these games, but they're usually gone pretty quickly. That I can handle. But giant ones all over the place throughout the whole game?! NO WAY. Lol.
So, I hope this developer comes up with a similar game very soon, but without the rats! Ugh! In the meantime, I'd recommend it to other players who don't have my issues with rodents. Enjoy! Looks like fun.
Yes, it was interesting. But not that much. The storyline had too many holes. It was reminiscent of The Exiled Prince but darker and didn't make as much sense.
Yes, it's beautifully drawn. But again, not that great. To me it was just too grainy, not up to the usual standard.
The biggest problem I had was just that the storyline, while interesting, had too many plot holes. I'm big on the story. This one just didn't do it for me.
The CE had all the usual Blue Tea bells and whistles and the bonus game was good, but the above also applies.
I can't really recommend this one - especially not as an introduction to BT games if you've never played them before. Start with the the Dark Parables series. Much better.
The Dark Parables series (really anything by Blue Tea) has set the bar so high that I can only give a review based on comparison with other games in the series. The incredibly detailed artwork, the musical score, the intricately intertwined storylines that flow from one game to the next all come together to make one seriously fantastic series. IMHO for visual presentation and mood that sucks the player in to their world Blue Tea Games reign supreme. If you've never played Blue Tea Games then just go for it because all of their games are fantastic. If you have, then keep reading ...
The Final Cinderella is another stunning addition to the series. The storyline is, of course, a twisted take on the original but it's not quite as engrossing as some of the others in the series. The presentation of the main characters' motivation for going bad was a little weak. I didn't really "feel it" like I did with Snow Queen, for example. It was all there, but this time they didn't really put in the umph factor that could make you step into the characters' emotions. The puzzles are not difficult at all - I didn't skip a single one. They're actually a little too easy but I had fun playing through with my daughter. The FROGs were great. Not too hard, not too easy, just in the middle and quick to get through.
Is it worth the CE price over the SE? ... Weeeell. That depends on what you get the CE for. If you like to have all that concept art and the music scores, etc. then yes. If you don't really care about all that and just want the additional gameplay or you like to know all the details and additional background story that comes with the bonus game - then no. Get the SE. The bonus chapter is pretty short and it's not that challenging. It doesn't provide much insight into the back story - just a fleshing out of a related storyline that you already have through regular game play... and the ending is pretty flat. Rather a letdown. So just go for the SE if you don't care about the bells and whistles.
Like I said before, I LOVE Blue Tea Games and they're all excellent. So this review of TFC is really in comparison to the other Dark Parables and Enchantia. IMO this is probably the weakest addition in the series - but all that says is that it's the weakest addition to the strongest series on Big Fish. I can't wait for the next one!
I had high hopes for this game but I was wrong ... IMHO It would be fine for a younger player but I found it lackluster and too childish. The artwork was grainy and too cutesy, reminding me of a children's library storybook. The storyline itself has potential but the execution is like a painful session of Saturday morning cartoons. Collecting little golden nuts in a case as "fortune cookies" was just a tad ridiculous. The voice-overs in the cut scenes were horrible acting. The rendering of the girls in the story look as if they should be in their early 20s but the characters behave and sound like young teens. Overall it just irritated me more than intrigued me. But if you have little girls (say under 12) who like this type of game then I think they'll enjoy it immensely.
I'm going to begin with the downside - because it's really minor - then move on to the awesomeness that is this game! The only reason I didn't give The Exiled Prince five stars is that the Hint button was truly annoying. It was useless during the puzzles and next-to-useless during game play. If you needed a Hint on what to do in a particular page, or whether there was anything active on that page, etc. the Hint button didn't react at all. Nothing. You could drag an inventory item to it and get a hint on where it would eventually be used - a sort of spoiler (but that's exactly what I don't want to know!) The only thing it was good for was the HO. Otherwise, it was frustrating.
Ok, now that that's out of the way I can say that this game ROCKS! So far all of the Blue Tea games that I've played are excellent. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous; and while I'm not really a big fan of FROGs, this is wonderfully and beautifully done. The puzzles aren't too difficult, but neither are they too easy. But for me the kicker is the story. I am a fan of series novels and I love the twist that Blue Tea has put on these well-known fairytales - add to that the intertwined stories of the Exiled Prince and the Snow Queen and you've got a definite winner!
I'm planning to back track and get Briar Rose as well.
Truly beautiful artwork, interesting puzzles, lively accompanying music, satisfying storyline. My children and I were very happy with this game! We had great fun figuring out the puzzles and working through the time periods, and I enjoyed the fact that they learned something along the way. No complaints at all.
This game actually had great potential but was ruined, for me and my children, by two things. The first problem was that there was no music during game play, just this swishy sound of snow falling. This had us falling asleep inside of a half hour. In addition to that the graphics, though well-drawn, were done in this distant perspective that gives the player the impression of hovering over the scenes instead of being directly involved - like you're floating over the rooms not in the rooms and interacting. It was disturbing. The storyline was ok but the entire experience was ruined by the general lack of excitement. I didn't like it at all.
My children and I usually play these games together on a Friday or Saturday night at least once a month. We have so much fun that we stay up most of the night trying to finish in one sitting! This time we all agreed just to turn it off and go to bed. I bought the game instead of downloading the trial version. Bad move because it was a waste of money. This is the first real flop I've had with Big Fish.
This was an excellent game! There's really nothing to complain about with this one - beautiful graphics, soothing yet exciting music, great mix of puzzles (neither too easy nor too difficult) and HO, cool storyline. The entire family enjoyed it. One of my favorites so far. Definitely recommend this one!