Spring Ball Trouble

Author: Oliko
Availability: Free, Online
Format: Dating Sim
Genre: School Romance
Rating: E

Found at www.deviantart.com  OR www.cutiepiegames.com

My Scores (Out of 5):

Writing: 2.5

Art: 3

Gameplay: 2.5

Romance: 2.5 (Mostly Harmless)

Summary

In Spring Ball Trouble, you are Eileen.  You've just moved to a new town, which means you're transferring schools 3 days before the Spring Ball.  That's not a lot of time to find a suitable date, but fortunately, the school's social expert Wendy has offered to help you find the boy of your dreams.

Review

The Writing

I was a little bit distracted by the idea of a school having an actual ball as opposed to just a prom or school dance.  Still, it's a pretty cute story.  The characters are only types: the jock, the gamer, the evil cheerleader, etc.  Given the shortness of the game, this flatness isn't a necessarily a bad thing.  It's further excused by the fact that three days is not a lot of time to get to know someone, so a person's looks and interests really are the things that would be most prominent.

The Art

The art in this game is very cute, if a bit static. Characters' poses and expressions never change.  They're easy on the eyes, though, which is important in games of this type.  Also, it was a bit jarring when the music suddenly started playing after the intro.

The Gameplay

The mechanics of this game are a bit different from other dating sims I've played.  Instead of targeting one character and either succeeding or failing, you are forced to interact with all of them and are given an ending based on who you have the highest score with.  This means that you pretty much have to go out of your way in order to actually lose.  

My biggest complaint is that there are too many unskippable cut-scenes, including multiple scenes where Wendy drags you over to see a guy who turns out not to be there.  While this part may reflect real life, as people don't always show up where you'd expect them to, it's a bit of a waste of time.  While can be tolerable on the first play-though, it makes replay a bit of a drag.

The Romance

Like I said, the characters are pretty one-note and match up to generic types.  It's good for a short time-passer, but not exactly the stuff of romantic ballads.  If anything, it comes across as a sort of personality quiz.

TLDR

Spring Ball Trouble is a short and cute bit of fluff worth at least one play-through.  It has its charm, and while a couple of things could perhaps be improved, it could certainly be a lot worse.  It's an interesting diversion if you're looking for something to do.

Mind you, this is all just my personal opinion.  You may have a ball with this game, or you may think it's nothing but trouble.  Feel free to spring your opinions on me in the comments.