User blog:The Jacked Maverick/Oliver M. Picky: Ten Reasons Why Class Act is better than the original High School Story Trilogy. (And Ten Why It's Not)

Hello, Berrypickers! For this list, I will be exploring in what ways these two Berry High stories compare and contrast from each other. For the sake of this list, I will be referring to Old MC as "Jordan" and New MC as "Bailey."

This list would be ranked from minor to most compelling reasons.

Here we are: Ten Reasons Why Class Act is better than High School Story. (And Ten Why It's Not)

20. Better: A Fresh Start. Pixelberry could basically do what they wanted to do now they they have no more connection to the High School Story Prime App.

19. Worse: No More Seniors. But a downside to that is that these characters are ‘’iconic’’ in Pixelberry. Julian, Autumn, Payton. Their finale at the end of High School Story, Book 3 was definitely something. At least we got to see Koh at that tattoo parlor… and Mia is a senior now...

18. Better: Less Love Interests. This one may seem like a mixed feeling, but if you think about it, the original’s five options were definitely too much. Now with three, they have more time to fully evolve, even if they aren’t your Love Interests. Well, two of them evolved… Rory doesn’t get any time at all… Spoilers, more on Rory later.

17. Worse: Activity is mandatory. Remember how we got to choose between sports, cheerleading, and band in the original trilogy? Well too bad! You are doing the play whether you like it or not. And speaking of which, the play is the driving force behind every event in Class Act.

16. Better: Amber. Every relation in High School Story was gumdrop perfect. The biggest problem was that one party didn’t have the courage to talk to the other party and ask them out. But luckily, we get our first look at a dysfunctional relationship with Casey and Amber. Amber is the perfect nuisance to sweetness we have come to expect.

15. Worse: No Family. This title is a little odd, so let me explain. In chapter three of High School Story, Book 1, our group of friends have started to feel like family. We got each others backs, no matter what. We are at Chapter 11 of Class Act, and we are only close to the love interests. I get the majority of the original WAS a love interest, but even so, the original feels more like family. I understand that we don’t have a choice to be with the theatre kids, but they could have made it better!

14. Better: No Hearst. The rivalry has gone too far in High School Story Book 3. Now all conflict is contained between ourselves. No outside forces. No people doing violent things. The people at Berry High can be just as interesting as Hearst.

13. Worse: No Real Mystery of Perpetrator. Eleven chapters in, and it is no big shock who the big bad is. It is no surprise who was the one who sabotaged Jordan. I won’t say who it is, but I will say that this individual is more subtle than the other villians of Choices. I would applaud Pixelberry if prime suspect number one is not the perpetrator.

12. Better: Crandalls. Skye dealing up to her last name really is a high point. She seems like a good kid who is getting abused by her parents who are just as sadistical as Brian. We get to cheer her up and get closer to her. We could even have done something as simple as invite her to a party to let her know that the world hasn’t ended.

11. Worse: Forced Love Interest. Rory Silva. Looking at the response they are getting, Rory is more hated than the other main love interests in other series. And for good reason, too! At least with the other main ones, they aren’t forced down your throat like Rory was! To make matters worse, Rory is just “too perfect.” No flaws make them compelling, no problems. It is never explained exactly why everyone is crushing on Rory. For Bailey it makes sense, because they were childhood friends who got attached to each other.

10. Better: Popularity. One thing this reboot got right going out of the gate is that we are starting off as an average joe instead of continuing off as the most popular kid in school. Class Act has a much more relatable scenario for the majorities.

9. Worse: Hype. Pixelberry basically lied to us when they said that Jordan was going to have a major role in this book. They kept hyping it up that this will be a different high school story. Even though there was an outcry, Pixelberry stuck to their guns and rebooted it anyway. Something no one ever asked for!

8. Better: Lack of Quality Diamond Choices. At least I am not tempted to buy ANY diamond options in Class Act. This could be a diamond farm depending how you look at it. I mean, besides a dog and time with Love Interests, what else does this book have to offer? The original trilogy had yearbook photos, could keep the principal and opportunities to get “clues” for the story. I don’t care about the play, so I am not forking over diamonds for designs and soundtrack.

7. Worse: Intentionally Distanced Itself From Jordan. The main character. Of the original trilogy. Got crippled. In the first scene they were in. What? Not even that, we never check up on Jordan to see how he is doing! Most people wanted to see a big brother/sister relationship with Jordan and Bailey! Jordan’s injury felt rushed and forced, and they recover near the end. What was the point, then!? Why include Jordan in this story at all then?!

6. Better: More Grounded. Remember what I said about being more relatable? Well, it is not just the title, it is also the scenes. The original had taking out a corrupt principal, breaking into Hearst and others. Class Act is more grounded in reality and has more relatable plot points.

5. Worse: The Cameos. The cameos from the original cast just snap you back to reality and make you remember you are watching a reboot. The cameos just highlight everything wrong with Class Act and make you go “Hey! I know that person! I had such good times with them!” *Tear…*

4. Better: Color Palette. This may sound a bit odd as it doesn’t really affect the story, but I like the colors in this book more. We see these colors more and it sets the tone.

3. Worse: Released the Same week as It Lives Beneath. Two days after Class Act’s disastrous first chapter, It Lives Beneath, another soft reboot, has released a glorious first chapter! A few weeks later, when more chapters get added, It Lives Beneath has been shown to do a better job at delivering the new cast and the old cast! So… why? Why did that succeed? Pixelberry has proven that they COULD do well on this premise. Why not make Class Act quality?

2. Better: Balances the light and the dark better. The original’s tone was all over the place. One scene is broody, and the next is all happy and celebratory. Brian’s concert fiasco, to shopping for clothes all happy in the next. Isa called off the Winter Formal, we are having fun in the cafeteria, cleaning. Class Act can be dark and have some actual meaning. When it IS light, it feels natural.

1. Wose: Everything you did in the original Trilogy is just meaningless. The top spot on this list on why Class Act is worse than the original is that every choice you made in the original, every diamond choice, every plot point is now pointless. There is no reason to go back and play now that you know it won’t affect Class Act. Personally, I was saving up for some diamond choices, but now with Class Act, it is just meaningless.

Agree with my reasons? Are there any reasons you feel like I missed out on? Let me know in the comments below!