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I'm amazed this got released here, but glad.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 46 / 47
Date: September 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

(Some minor plot spoilers follow...)

"Rule of Rose" stirred up some controversy before it was even released in this country. Sony of America dropped it, citing content that clashed with the public image they wanted to maintain here. If not for Atlus, ever the purveyors of fringe titles, no U.S. gamers might ever have seen it. Even now that it's here, I suspect the game is just too strange and different to ever appeal to more than a very select group.

So just what is "Rule of Rose" anyway? It's a horror story set in the 1930s, in a run-down orphanage and a giant airship. I won't use the term "survival horror" since this is much more of a pure adventure than an action game. The protagonist, Jennifer, is a young woman with a mysterious past who follows a young boy on the bus to the orphanage and quickly becomes trapped in a nightmarish society run by creepy little children. The leaders, three young girls calling themselves the "Red Crayon Aristocrats", give Jennifer a series of unsettling storybooks they draw themselves, all featuring a different animal. They then order Jennifer and another girl, Ashley, to bring them presents, or face terrible punishments. While looking for the first gift Jennifer finds and frees a dog called Brown, and together they must rise through the ranks of the girls' social structure, and try to find a way to escape.

Comparisons to Capcom's "Haunting Ground" are inevitable, given the prominent inclusion of the dog. But Jennifer's canine companion is actually handled quite differently than Fiona's in that game. Brown cannot be trained to attack enemies, although sometimes he will try to hold them off on his own. Instead he is used primarily to sniff out items Jennifer can use. In the inventory screen you highlight a "Find" item, then a press of the appropriate button sends Brown after it. This allows you to find the presents needed to appease the Aristocrat girls, as well as extra health items, but it does lead to a lot of traipsing back and forth through the environments.

Jennifer is also a much less defenseless heroine than "Haunting Ground"'s Fiona. Along the way she will find weapons, some of them quite vicious, and is not afraid to use them against the creepy children who lurk about the airship and orphanage. They wear a variety of animal masks and will try to grab onto Jennifer or knock her down. Usually they appear in packs and will quickly surround Jennifer, so it's almost always better to dodge them rather than fight. The game's combat is sluggish and unwieldy, and you're never completely sure your attacks will hit their intended target.

Aside from the item-hunting gameplay, the main thing that might turn people away is the mature content, and believe me there's a lot of it. Children's cruelty to animals is a central theme of the story, along with the ways they can socially exclude and emotionally torment each other. Some of the things the Aristocrat girls do to Jennifer, and make her do to others, are quite disturbing. "Rule of Rose" will make you squirm. And while the masked kids who attack Jennifer are twisted and demonic, they are still children, and yes, Jennifer can kill them (and occasionally has to). This is absolutely not a game you should let your own children play, or even watch. Without spoiling too much, there is also an unrequited love subplot involving one of the young girls, who is revealed to be a lesbian. It is handled with subtlety and taste, but it is there.

Graphics are good overall, though some of the airship environments feel a bit stark. The character models are pretty realistic, aside from a few sticking points. Jennifer looks really awkward in combat, but this could be intentional. When she's walking up stairs the bottom of her legs disappear into the texture, and larger weapons pass through walls and environmental objects when she swings them. Most noticeably, Jennifer and Brown can move directly through each other. Admittedly this is better than always having the dog in the way blocking your movements, but it still just doesn't look good. The musical themes match the mood and time period of the game perfectly, but some of them do get a little repetitive and grating during long searching sessions. Save points are a bit far between, and tend to move or disappear at different points in the game. Even with rubbish bins scattered about to hold dropped items, the limited inventory is often cumbersome.

In the end it was the compelling plot rather than the simplistic and sometimes frustrating gameplay that drew me into "Rule of Rose". It unfolds very gradually, and never quite tells you everything, even at the very end. (Be sure you get the "good" ending, it's not too hard to figure out once you've gotten the "bad" one.) By the time the really disturbing content kicks in you're hooked on the story, though for me it was never as consistently scary as other horror games. Missing is the constant fear that something might jump out at you at any moment, as there are plenty of "safe spots" where you'll never be attacked. Still, there's an unrelenting sense of dread and unease throughout the entire game that works very well. It's definitely not for all tastes, but if you come with enough patience and can handle the clunky fighting and the disturbing content, you'll be glad Atlus ignored Sony's concerns and brought "Rule of Rose" to America.

An Acquired Taste

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 40 / 42
Date: September 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Rule of Rose is a creepy adventure game that belongs to the genre of 'survival horror'. If you've played games like Silent Hill or Resident Evil this game will be very familiar to you. Rule of Rose is not for everyone however, not just because of its disturbing subject matter, but also because of the slow pacing, rather finicky controls and annoying battle system.

Storyline: 8/10
The storyline is possibly the best thing about the game. Incredibly creepy and definitely not for children, the game tells the story of a young girl named Jennifer who ends up in an orphanage and must do the bidding of a clique of kids known as the "Red Crayon Aristocrats". I'm currently in the middle of the game myself and do not yet know how it will turn out, but for those who enjoy the psychological horror of games like Silent Hill, this grotesque story will entertain.

Graphics: 7/10
The game takes place in the gloomy 1930's and the graphics are appropriately grainy and dark with the game's colors being mostly greys and browns. The game takes place inside an orphanage and later on a zeppelin and all the environments are highly detailed. The characters are well rendered and move in a realistic way. All in all these are pretty good graphics for the Playstation 2's twilight years.

Gameplay: 5/10
Here's where you'll either love the game or hate it. At its core Rule of Rose is an adventure game. You are commanded by the Red Crayon Aristocrats (the clique mentioned above) to find certain items and as you play the game you discover more and more about Jennifer and the other characters. Most of the time you're fetching items from point A to point B so if this is exactly the type of gameplay you hate, I advise you to stay away.
Rule of Rose also includes enemies that attack Jennifer. The battle system is the worst part of the entire game. Enemies are hard to target and most of the time it's easier to just run past the annoying critters. Boss fights are somewhat frustrating because of the annoying combat system and lousy controls.
There's an upside to the gameplay and that is if you wish to simply play the game for the storyline the game makes it easy to do just that. The most interesting aspect of the gameplay is that Jennifer can use her dog Brown to find certain items (basically have him sniff out the scent). This makes finding items easier than in other games of this sort as you simply follow Brown until he finds what you're looking for. The puzzles aren't very difficult and the combat is easily avoided so you can progress through the game fairly quickly once you get the hang of it (basically have Brown find the items you need and follow him around). Inventory is limited like in Resident Evil, but unlike in that game items you drop to make space automatically end up in the item box (or rubbish bin as it's known in this game). You can also get hints on how to progress through the game from each save point, so that's a good thing. Also every time you enter a room the name of it is displayed so it's easy to know immediately if you've been there before if you get lost.

Controls: 5/10
While searching for items and clues, it's fairly easy to control Jennifer and Brown. However the controls really could have been tightened up for combat. So often you go to attack an enemy and the hit doesn't connect. Also when trying to pick items up off the ground you very often have to be standing in exactly the right spot or Jennifer won't pick it up. There's no Resident Evil-style tank control scheme so that's a good thing -- Jennifer runs in whatever direction you move the joystick. Brown simply follows you around and three buttons control his movement (stay, find and come here).

Sound: 8/10
Cello and violins, as well as piano make up the bulk of the background music in this game. It's fairly enjoyable, if a bit repetitive. The voice- acting is quite good, though sparse. A lot of times you'll be reading the dialogue instead of listening to it.

Rent or buy:
If you like games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill (also Clock Tower 3 and Fatal Frame) then Rule of Rose deserves at least a rental. If you dislike the above, or if fast paced action fare is more your bag then Rule of Rose is likely to frustrate and bore you. Also a warning about the subject matter: As mentioned above it's definitely not for children or for the faint of heart. There's copious amounts of violence in this game and some rather gratuitous. It deserves the Mature rating which is prominently displayed on the box.

Hopefully this review will be helpful to anyone considering purchasing the game. I found it fascinating, and somewhat less frustrating than other survival horror games. I look forward to finishing it.

Beautiful game with a breathtaking soundtrack... but TERRIBLE gameplay!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 14 / 15
Date: December 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game when it first hit the shelves. I was so excited as I am a avid survival/horror gamer and heard such good reviews about the game. It had been so long since a survival/horror game had been released for PS2 and I saw this as a definite addition to my collection. I played this game only once and will never play it again and here is why...

Right from the beginning, the audience is lost and has no insight to what is actually going on. You would think that this would change very soon or at least within the first half of the game... but I even finished the game and cannot recount any coherent story! Although it is the point of the game to uncover the events that had lead to Jennifer's current state, the audience gets very little story and no explanation for any of the fantasy that exists throughout the whole game. The audience must fill in 90 percent of the story in order to make this game pleasurable to any degree.

The movements and controls for Jennifer were terribly frustrating! Little things such as running and picking up items was a chore and made the gameplay very undesirable. The point of a survival horror is to either run or fight and Jennifer came up short in both tasks. Fighting was the most frustrating of all as the best weapon only reaches a few inches away from her body and she must also pause between hits. I know that the gameplay should be challenging to a certain degree, but come on! I had to attempt the same stupid battles over and over and over and over and... you get the point.

Many controversial statements have been made about the game that lead many people down a misleading path. Nothing about this game is disturbing and nothing remotely resembled what was said about the actions and events which occurred throughout the game. This was probably the main selling technique to get people to purchase the game as the designers knew they made a stinker! They had to come up with any reason for people to be drawn to the game and make up for the loss they foresaw. They spent a lot of time rendering the environments and characters and even more on the soundtrack... but as far as a stimulating storyline, scary atmosphere and great gameplay, this game is horrible as all three of these aspects prove otherwise!

The soundtrack was breathtaking and probably the best quality the game had to offer. I love strings and the orchestrations were impeccably written.

The cutscenes were also very beautiful even though they provided no information and did not bridge any gaps in the "storyline". As anyone who has played the game would say... this must be one of PS2s most beautifully drawn and rendered games ever.

Although I can find something good about the game... as a GAME it lacks everything possible to create a fun and exciting adventure. I highly suggest renting or borrowing this game before purchasing it as you will most definitely share my feelings.

A game all its own...nothing quite like it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I must say, I have never seen a game at all like Rule of Rose. However...you must have a certain liking for this kind of game. The gameplay is slow, yes...the cut scenes and story however are beautifully done!
The story begins with you playing as 19 year old Jennifer on a bus, alone with a little boy reading a story. He comes and hands it to her, asking her to finish before running off the bus. Jennifer follows him off and the bus leaves her behind, her only choice it to keep going after him. I can't tell you more without getting into the wonderful plot. Somewhat like Haunting Ground, Jennifer finds a Yellow Lab named Brown in distress and frees. He is instantly glued to her side.

Throughout the game, you will gain weapons...some of which including a fork, meat cleaver, pipe, ice pick, ax, shovel, etc and eventually a gun. Since Jennifer is very weak, this can become annoying as health items are difficult to find. Luckily, majority of the fighting is optional. The screen takes on a grainy look...meant to look sometimes like an old story. It is set in early 1900's England which adds to the feel.

Much of the game consists of following the dog to an item, getting it, killing an imp or two, watching a cutscene, following a chain reaction of finding items, fighting a boss, watching a cutscene, exploring a few rooms, finding a key, opening the door...that kind of stuff. If you prefer hardcore battle, this is not your game. This game is meant more for the story. It's a beautiful story of friendship, betrayal, and revenge. To many, the story is difficult to get and sometimes, a forum may of assistance but once you do, it is truly a wonderful game.

The load screens are killer...they take quite a while to load. The voice acting isn't bad at all, it is actually rather nicely done. Now, if you've played Haunting Ground, you may be disappointed in Brown. He's rather boring and emotionless. He does not help you fight like the dog in HG, Brown finds items for you which is much more helpful as it is easy to get lost.

Much of this game is symbols. Something weird and strange (Goat Sisters, for example) represent something else entirely, rather than what they appear to be. So, as you play, you sort of have to glue it together and see what means what. The beginning of the game will seem like random events thrown together, but they will make sense later. At the chapter called "The Rag Princess Sews" is when it starts to come together.

The fun thing about this is the different endings. There are two, a good and a bad. The bad part? Very difficult to know how to get either without a guide. Many will get the bad ending on the first try without a guide, just by the way the rest of the game goes and what you are used to fighting like. With the good ending, you get a key that unlocks a door to costumes on your next play through. (Tennis Teacher, Gothic Maid, Octopus, Doll, Nurse, etc.) These can be rather fun as well.

It is one of those games that once you beat it, you should probably play it over so things will fully click if they didn't already. It's also a good idea to sit back and think over the whole game. It will be come together, trust me. ^_~

I highly suggest you rent or borrow this game first, as it just may not be the type for you. If requires a certain liking to this kind of game where you'll either love it or despise it. It does have its flaws, but it really is a well developed game when carefully looked over.

But with big sister dead in a pool of amber blood, who is there to read the letter to? Bah bah.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: August 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

As the teen and young adult male populations tend to consume the profit-making minds of game developers, anything (even superficially) deemed too "kiddie" or "girly" is often left out. Females that aren't either boring sex ciphers, perky and cute anime archetypes, or unrealistic, token "strong women" are a rare sight in the video game universe. Young children in active roles are practically non-existent.

It's encouraging, then, to see Rule of Rose break these two annoying trends. The player takes control of Jennifer, an English schoolgirl who arrives in a bus at a big, spooky house. The premise may seem entirely generic at first, but this is intentional. Absolutely nothing is know of Jennifer's past or even her life at the outset. However, as the game unravels, more and more is revealed until we learn her devastating history.

As a mystery/horror story, Rule of Rose is a sparkling success. Jennifer runs into and is basically imprisoned by the girls of the Red Crayon Aristocrats. Each girl has a widely different personality, but they are all sadistic yet vulnerable. The Aristocrats function as a sort of female version of Lord of the Flies. Those on top are treated as royalty, while those on the bottom are treated as sub-human filth.

This game achieves what so little others do: The player strongly feels for Jennifer and is worried for her. While playing, I felt as Jennifer felt, and desperately wanted her to escape.

The children accentuate this by being perfectly voiced, with not a rotten apple in the bunch. Everyone has genuine English accents, which is vital for believability. No one sounds as if they are simply reading lines, and I never even thought about the voice acting while playing. Which is as it should be.

Slow strings are the musical medium of choice for much of Rule of Rose, and they go well enough with the atmosphere. Slow, tense music plays during suspenseful moments, dramatic songs play during emotional scenes, and faster, intense strings play during battle. Again, it all fits the mood nicely, but there's nothing here that's memorable or of interest outside the game.

Clever visual motifs further engross the player into this strange world. Wiggly, child-like animations are used quite a bit, such as in loading screens, chapter introductions, and in books (which serve a similar purpose as memos or notes do in other horror games). These childish doodles often portray brutal content, making them eerie and surreal.

The in-game graphics are at about the standard for PS2 horror titles. There's nothing here pushing system limits, but nothing noticeably sub-par either. The main cast are understandably much more detailed than other characters.

With such a nice environment and theme, the developers had a real gem in their hands. It's too bad, then, that they actually make you play the game.

As Jennifer explores, she will inevitably encounter odd, child-like ghouls. Sadly, she will virtually only encounter these creatures. Lifeless, malicious zombie children? Sure, that's pretty creepy. Unfortunately, the scare factor is completely eliminated when you see them every other step.

Jennifer must use whatever she finds lying around to fight her pursuers. Not many guns or swords here. Sure, Jennifer shouldn't be a naturally gifted warrior, but she should cause damage when her entire weapon and arm go through a fiend's body.

Even worse, most foes can harm Jennifer with punches or stabs from several feet away! Or sometimes, even when they're facing the other direction! Horrid hit detection mars Rule of Rose consistently and significantly. This is an unacceptable game design flaw, as it makes combat almost unbearable.

This nagging problem particularly shows its ugly face during the few boss fights, which should be the peak of enjoyment in most games. The bosses in Rule of Rose are uniformly monotonous, cheap, and tiresome.

Most of these bosses are challenging for all the wrong reasons. They perform the same actions again and again and are entirely predictable. It doesn't matter, though, for along with the monstrous hit detection, Jennifer is as slow as a slug. Both in terms of running speed and arm swing, my 87 year-old grandma is faster.

These flaws make battles more a game of luck than a test of skill. Did you see that move five seconds in advance? Too bad, you die regardless. Did you work to get behind an enemy to stab him in the back? Oops, missed anyway!

The exploration elements aren't much better. The game is primarily set in a bizarre, 1930's-style airship, and that's where you'll be exploring most. While this airship is fascinating at first, you will quickly grow tired of it as the game requires you to traverse the same areas over and over. Jennifer's lethargic trot doesn't help matters here, either.

Jennifer is accompanied by her dog Brown through most of her journey. While he helps a tiny bit in combat, Brown's main function is to sniff out hidden items. You can let Brown sniff most items in the inventory, and he'll find something related. While this is a novel and interesting aspect, it can get tedious after a while. It does help the player feel affection for Brown, at least.

I often found myself struggling through the game in order to see what happens to Jennifer next. I'm not sure who's crueler: the Aristocrat girls for their evil antics, or the developers for creating such an irresistibly addicting yet agonizingly flawed game.

Judging games like this, ones which have disastrous gameplay yet are good to perfect in every other area, is always difficult. Should you play Rule of Rose? It ultimately comes down to personal taste. If gameplay is categorically the most important part of a game to you, with no exceptions, then absolutely not. If you're willing to ignore severe blemishes to witness a wonderful drama, then yes.

Personally, I am willing to trudge through the depths to find beauty.

An extremely tragic, heart-breaking, deeply psychological story

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: April 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I just finished this game; spending more than 20 hours reading and clicking everything, to make sure I haven't missed any single detail(if you skimp through the game, you can finish it in less than 8hrs). This is the first game I have seen that delve so deeply into the theme of lost and loneliness within the human heart(and probably will be the last one, unfortunately).

The story in this game is like a dream; environment suddenly changes and people appears and disappear in an instance. If you have the patience, however, you will find out what tragic events had happened in reality. Newspapers, letters and notes scattered throughout the game will offer important clues(be sure to check out the newspapers in the airship's smoke-room, the newspapers content will change throughout the game).

There are 2 endings in this game; be sure you get the good ending. The good ending will give you a chance to 'visit' reality; and if you have the patience to click and read everything in that chapter, you will get a good psychological analysis of each character. You will soon feel pity about every character, despite they may have have acted cruelly in the game. Each character, in one way or another, is trying to find happiness; but all of them are misleaded in their own way; whatever they do in order to attain happiness, eventually only end up in misery.

I highly recommend this game to anyone who want to delve into the human heart.

Unique, and beautifully done....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was shocked at how original this game is. From the beautiful lassical/slightly eeire soundtrack to the unique game concept, I was really blown away.
Sure, there were some faults. Such as the fact that it takes FOREVER for the game to load. It's almost a joke; I mean, to load one room to another it takes almost a minute! Also, there are some disturbing images in this game, like hints that the kids torture animals, and humans.
GAME DESCRIPTION:
Rule of Rose takes place in the early 1900's and is centered around a girl who mysteriously gets approached on a bus by a boy that wants her to finish reading a story to him. The boy then runs off, and the girl follows.
She realizes almost immediatley that something is off about where the boy ran to. And within a short amount of time, she gets tangled in the web of a strange group of girls who have formed a clique a follow the 'rule of rose'. The girls also like to be known as princesses, and have a higharchy. Our protagonist isn't liked by these girls, and in fact, is forced by them to do cruel and strange things in order for her to find out why she is there and how she can leave.
The settings are AMAZING. One of them is a an airship, where the game is mostly based. This is really, really cool. The rooms are beautiful and the music complements everything.
Our lead encounters various enemies, and she happens to be pretty weak, so she frequently has to flee the scene.
In the game, the story unfolds by the girl being given stories by the boy ( who approached her on the bus) and each story the girl needs to unravel. They are mostly strange ones that I guess serve the purpose of triggering omething in the girl's memory.
This game should not be missed. I highly reccommed it along with Primal, Haunting Ground, and Beyond Good and Evil, as those games have unique story lines as well. Play them all and experience what good gaming should be like!

Could've been much better...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: October 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have mixed feelings about this game. I appreciated the simplicity of the puzzles, the neat graphics, and great music. The down sides, however, are many. The main character is, frankly, a wimp, and she moves verrryy slowly. Loading times for scene changes are WAY too long...I counted almost 30 seconds for some. Bosses can be hard to defeat simply because the main character moves so slowly and is so fragile, and it becomes frustrating to keep starting over, especially if your save point is far away. I'm still not quite sure what the actual storyline is, and aside from some expected gore, the brutality of some of the scenes bothered me. It could've been a lot better and I don't think I would pay a whole lot of money for this one again. It's definitely an interesting adventure game but I think its potential to be great was lost from the start.

Creepy and Fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Rule of Rose is a great game that is definately creepy, violent, and disturbing. It has great atmosphere and is not definately not for the faint of heart. You control Jennifer, a girl whose parents die and she follows a boy from the bus to an orphanage. As you go to the building and go on an airship, the kids called "The Aristocrats of the Red Canyon" mistreat you, bully you, and even torture you. The CG sequences are so beautiful that the characters look real. I felt so bad for Jennifer because she is a victim;the CG sequences really enhance the emotion of the game. The only problems with this game is that it can be overwhelming exploring all of the areas of the places. Finding things are not easy either. But your dog Brown is a great aid. He can help you find items that you need, and he can help you when fighting by blocking them or barking which stuns the enemies for a minute. Also, combat is fun but it is very easy to miss an enemy and hordes of enemies come out at you. If you enjoy games with great stories, this is a game for you. Rule of Rose is one of the better Survival Horror/Adventure games out there and I think that everyone should play it for its creepy atmosphere and heart-breaking story.

An intriguing and haunting fairy tale

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: September 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's not hard not be drawn in by the trailer for this game. I originally wasn't interested in the game since I am not a fan of the horror genre, but it was so beautifully done, I just had to try the game for myself. The gameplay is relatively easy, especially with the help of your dog Brown. However the fighting portions can be challenging, but luckily there aren't that many encounters where you will need to fight. You can try to run in most cases. The music complements the game perfectly and the voice acting is superb. The setting and mood are fantastic, as it is set in the 1930s in the English countryside. A disturbing story about how a group of children form the "Aristocracy of the Red Crayon" and Jennifer, your protagonist needs to follow their rules or risk being hurt.

A fascinating tale that oddly reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. If you haven't at the very least seen the trailer, I highly recommend doing so. If you aren't hooked by then, then this may not be for you. The CG scenes are simply amazing, and it didn't surprise me that they were nominated for an award.

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