Rule of Rose

"The Inner Darkness"

Every once in a while does a beautiful story come around wanting to be heard. Our heroine with a heart condition (we later find out), she is so weak. A love affair, a promise long forgotten, and the clashing of two worlds - the haunting past of a left behind childhood and the unknown present. As you enter into the haunted world of the Aristocrats of the Red Crayon, our heroine (Jennifer) feels as if there is something vaguely familiar, something she has forgotten, something everyone else wants her to remember, especially the little boy with the storybooks.

Rule of Rose is story/plot driven, strategically placed movie scenes among the heavy player interaction (unlike some games that are story driven and majority movie driven with little player interaction). With only a few frustrating moments of the occasional death, I was able to play through the game without losing the atmosphere and purpose of the game. The bosses did not become stupidly impossible to beat as the problem with many other games in the genre of mystery/suspense/survival horror. This game is practically perfect and I hope more will be made in its spirit.

I only wish there was more of a social psychological explanation of what happened to the adults and the orphanage but then I realized that Jennifer relives that reality throughout the game. It's becomes obvious to what really happens - to what really happened. Poor child. It is a nightmare that no child or adult should ever live. The entire game has the feel of Alice in Wonderland meets Jacob's ladder/Lord of the Flies. A psychological journey in the death dimension of hacked up livestock, beaten and bloody bodies, and the imps who are out to get Jennifer for being *filthy*.

I think the problem with the world today is that "Rule of Rose" a PS2 Survival/Mystery/Suspense/Thriller game was banned in several nations due to it's "erotic" nature only because adults today are too wrapped up in their own sexuality qualms and would like to make everything a SEX issue.

For those who enjoy a good story on an intellectual level and enjoy the horror/thriller/mystery genre I seriously recommend playing the game. Every story needs a source of media in order for it to be told whether pen to paper, word of mouth, or in this case a video game.

It is unlike Haunting Ground, Silent Hill, and Resident Evil. It stands on its own as a sad, dark tale about friendship. While dark and sinister, violent enough to receive an M-rating it is the equivalent to a standard rated-R movie twenty years ago. I've seen PG-13 films that are MUCH, MUCH worse.

I was the kid who was picked on in grade school. It could have been much, much worse. Children can be rather cruel. I'm sure we can all empathize and relate. Poor Jennifer. Once the story has ended, you'll be left wishing for more. A good book that cannot be put down, a video game you do not want to turn off.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/08

Game Release: Rule of Rose (US, 09/12/06)