User blog:General Khor/High School Story: The Review Part 2: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my HSS review blog, and today I will talk about what fans like and don't like about the franchise. The reason I decided to split this review into two parts is because it's really long, and by the time I finished part 1, it's already very late.

So, there are many significant differences between the two trilogies, and while overall, the original trilogy is better than Class Act, that doesn't mean there aren't any good points about CA, nor does it mean there aren't any not-so-good points about the original. In this blog, I'll not only be listing what makes the original trilogy better than Class Act, but also what PB did better in CA than the originals. As for "the ugly", this part will highlight some key issues in each trilogy, such as sexual harassment and child abuse. Now, without further ado, let's begin.

The Good

 * One of the more obvious points that makes this series better than CA is that we get to choose our activity. We can choose to be in the sports team, the band or the cheerleader squad, and there are chances for us to show our skills and prove ourselves. The reason I chose the band is because I didn't have to go head on with the bullies, especially Brian. In sports there's Max as well as Brian, and in cheerleading there's Zoe and Kara, so the band felt like the best option for me.
 * Another reason is that we have a more close-knit friend group. While we spend more time with the love interests, we also feel that our other friends are part of the gang, so basically, our friend group consists of not just 5, but more than 10 people.
 * Books 1 and 3 have more of a mystery element, because we have to search for clues and contacts before we know who the perpetrator is. In Book 1, we know the suspect's name starts with M and is someone within Berry, and we immediately have two prime suspects, but they prove to be innocent, and the real culprit turns out to be someone most unlikely. In Book 3, we thought Brian framed Jordan for sabotaging club tryouts when he actually didn't, and we later found out it was just Max and Kara. Whereas in CA Book 1, a few chapters in and we already know the perpetrator is Danielle. It's just too obvious, not much of a mystery, really.
 * The whole corrupt principal drama in Book 2 really turns things up to an 11. I mean, Isa will stop at nothing to rob the school penniless, and that includes stopping any attempts to raise funds for clubs. But in the end, we still expose her corruption anyway.

The Bad

 * One not-so-good thing about the original trilogy is the Heist on Hearst. Sure, we know Myra was coerced by Max and gang to vandalise the statue, so we could have just reported the Hearst guys to the principal, but raiding Hearst? Seriously? Now I know some fans think it contributes to the success of the originals, but others, like The Jacked Maverick and I, think it's going too far. I mean, I would never launch a raid on my rival school, or coerce someone from my rival school to do my bidding. Besides, Aiden's parents know about this, which is one of the reasons they grounded him. Speaking of this, remember how Max and Kara tried to cause a rift between Berry and Hearst? Now they've gone overboard. So why didn't we get to report them to the principal? Sigh.
 * While I like the character development for Brian, Aiden, Caleb and Zoe, I can't exactly see that for other characters. Michael, Emma, Maria and Max, for example, don't change much, they either like or hate Jordan all the way. Zoe, for example, at the end of Book 1, regrets cheating on Caleb, her ex-boyfriend, and near the end of Book 3, tells Brian off for his harassment of Myra (in fact, Brian sort of went from bad to worse in Book 3). Speaking of Caleb, he values friendship above all, going so far as to defy Principal Umbridge for us. But the rest? They're either just normal kids, or they don't change much. Also, for characters we get to matchmake, I can't really see how their relationships develop, save for Frayton and Autumn/Julian or Wes, as well as Dad/Julia.

The Ugly

 * When I say Brian went from bad to worse in Book 3, it's because in Book 1, he was just making out with his best friend's girlfriend, not to mention ruining a football game, but in Book 3, after Zoe dumps him, he goes on to harass another girl, and boy did he make Myra cry. What's more, it is revealed in CA that he also harassed other girls, and that gives fans all the more reason to hate him. As Skye says in CA Book 3, he's always the worst, that misogynist.
 * We've heard about corruption in the government and the police force, but in school? I'm sure that's something most of us have never heard of. I mean, why did Isa send Morgan to distract Aiden and cause an accident? So that she could use the funds from the winter carnival meant for the clubs to pay for Luis' medical bills, not to mention bag some for herself. And why did she not disband the sports team, but appoint her incompetant brother as coach? The answer is one word: nepotism. I mean, teachers are supposed to teach students about the harm corruption can bring, but now we have to deal with a corrupt principal. I wonder which one would be a more suitable computer password for Isa, WorstPrincipalEver or BerrysUmbridge.

The Good

 * One good thing about CA is that the characters are better developed, in particular the LIs (more specifically Skye and Ajay), as well as characters we get to matchmake. First, let's talk about the LIs. Skye was initially insecure and introverted, but she later opened up to our friend group and stood up to her parents, which is a big difference from when we first met her. The whole change in her behaviour, from trying to close herself off from others to overcoming her insecurities and standing up for herself is really convincing. Ajay, meanwhile, comes off as demanding at first, but he soon warms up to us, and near the end of Book 1, we finally know why he's been so hard on us. But what really made me like him is how he deals with his family problems in Books 2 and 3. At first he feels distraught over his parents' divorce and feels uneasy whenever Jim is around, but he later accepts that the divorce is for the best and tries to make friends with Jim, and that's saying something. As for the characters we get to matchmake, I can more clearly see how the relationships develop, in particular Casey/Erin and Clint/Graham. When Casey broke up with Amber for being clingy, Erin was there to help us comfort him/her, and as the story progressed, it became clear that they like each other. Same goes for Clint and Graham. Every time they meet, Clint gets all shy, and we can see immediately that he has feelings for Graham. These are also signs of better character development.
 * As The Jacked Maverick mentioned, the storyline of CA is more relatable to real life. We start off as an average Joe, and the only drama we see besides theatre drama is election drama. As I mentioned above, the Berry-Hearst rivalry is overblown. Sure, I've also seen school rivalry, but not what we see in the Berry-Hearst rivalry. Besides, if I were to launch a raid on my rival school because they won a basketball match, I would probably get expelled. Also, the story heading off in a new direction isn't all that bad, at least to some players.

The Bad

 * Remember how we can choose between different activities in the originals? Well, in CA, we're stuck in the theatre club, and there's no running away from it.
 * Speaking of running away, there seems to be no running away from Rory as well. Even if we prefer other LIs, PB keeps pushing us towards Rory by making us his/her LI on stage. After we're forced to kiss him/her on stage in Book 1, we get a brief respite in Book 2, where we can choose Casey to be school president, but then in Book 3, we have another performance, and who are we cast as? Rory's LI again! Sigh, the devs had to push us towards him/her just because s/he is our next door neighbour and childhood friend. Besides, as The Jacked Maverick mentioned, s/he is just too "perfect", without any significant problems, save for the brief family crisis in Book 3, which makes the other two LIs much more appealing.
 * Speaking of the LIs, they're the only friends we've got. Sure, there's the rest of the theatre club, but we don't feel as close to them as the three LIs. I wish the entire theatre club can be as close-knit as the original gang.
 * Speaking of the original gang, PB said they would have a significant role in CA, but it turns out, for the first two books at least, they only have a minor, if any, role. Sure, we can take premium scenes with them to relieve old memories, but other than that, that's it. The most significant role they have is in the Book 3 play, where they are either cast or crew. Besides, the grand finale felt kind of rushed, because we didn't have a chance to bid a proper goodbye, especially to the seniors like Maria, Aiden and Mia. Sigh, now that's a dissapointment.

The Ugly

 * What do you call parents who support their mean, obnoxious son and bully their sweet, kind daughter together with him? Monsters. Yes, that's what Skye's entire family are. From the moment the other Crandalls are introduced, fans immediately couldn't not feel sorry for Skye. As if one bully isn't bad enough, his entire family had to be bullies, sigh. What's more, the parents abused her to the point she wanted to run away from home. At that moment, I decided we had to tell Jordan about this, so that we can get her entire family arrested. Thankfully, near the end of the series, her parents finally apologised for being so mean to us (after all, when they agreed to fund our London trip, they were sort of dictatorial, and they stopped their funding after we stood up to them), especially her, so I agreed to give them another chance. And at least Brian finally got punished for something, but I would love to see him expelled.

Conclusion
In short, you can see why the original trilogy is better than CA, but CA also has attractions, and the original trilogy also has flaws. Now, I know there are some of you who prefer CA over the originals, so I don't want to be biased, which is why I mentioned everything fans like and don't like about both trilogies.

So what do you think of HSS? What do you like and don't like about the franchise? Let me know in the comments. That's all for today, until then, this is General Khor. The end, and thank you for reading.