[PS2] Rule of Rose - A survivor horror fairy tale.

Release date: 9/12/06
Developed by Punchline / Shirogumi, published by Atlus.

Japanese official site with movies, screens and wallpapers.

http://www.playstation.jp/scej/title/ror/

English official site

http://www.atlus.com/ruleofrose/

Story analysis Blog

http://ruleofrosemysteries.com/



From Left to right: Wendy, Amanda, Meg, Diana, Eleanor, Brown the dog, and Jennifer.

Quote:

March, 1930. A young girl named Jennifer, whose parents were killed in a tragic airship accident, is taken to the Rose Garden Orphanage, located in a remote portion of the English countryside. What Jennifer discovers is a dilapidated building and a ragtag mob of children who call themselves the "Aristocracy of the Red Crayon." The demented residents of Rose Garden kidnap Jennifer and take her into the dark heart of an impossibly large zeppelin, on a meandering course for a distant land. Now, with the help of a canine companion named Brown, Jennifer has to find valuable gifts for the Aristocracy, or suffer a fatal punishment for her insolence...

Atlus U.S.A., Inc., a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, announced a soundtrack CD for Rule of Rose, an action-horror game for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The soundtrack will be available at participating retailers, while supplies last, by pre-ordering Rule of Rose.

"Yutaka Minobe's incredible musical score for Rule of Rose enhances the emotional intensity of every aspect of the game," said Carl Chen, Project Lead for Atlus U.S.A., Inc. The soundtrack features a half-dozen selections that stand on their own as great compositions, and as some of Minobe's best work."

Minobe's gameography includes Skies of Arcadia, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and Space Channel 5.

The track listing for Rule of Rose: Songs from the Original Soundtrack is as follows:

1. Bullying (2:06)

2. Ambient Music for Strings: "Fear" Part II (1:28)

3. The Attic (2:46)

4. Backbiting (1:56)

5. Piano Etude I (Rule of Rose) (0:53)

6. A Love Suicide ~The Theme of Rule of Rose~ (3:51)

The soundtrack CD will also include exclusive CD-ROM content in the form of Rule of Rose wallpapers, music sheets, and a Rule of Rose promotional video which debuted at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Developed in Japan by Punchline and Shirogumi, and published in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Rule of Rose is scheduled for release in September 2006.

Rule of Rose has been rated M (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Intense Violence, and Suggestive Themes.

Gametrailer's video preview of the English version of the game:

http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?fs=1&id=2271

Anyone who is looking for a survival horror that is mixed with Alice in Wonderland and fairy tales, along with watching a tragic tale about manipulative girls, preorder this now.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I've had my eye on this, even though I'm not very interested. People who downloaded the Japanese version were saying how it was pretty creepy and had some questionable content, but I've yet to see just what that stuff could be. I understand you're playing as a girl being harassed by a bunch of underaged little girls, so I can only imagine what kind of f'd up situations you'll be forced to endure as the game progresses.

I might pre-order it in a few days just to get the soundtrack CD, but if the previews provide me with enough incentive to buy it, I might just have a new survivor-horror game to play by the end of the year.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Watching the gametrailer video preview should tell you alot, along with the trailer below that link. The major theme in the game is the difference between a child's and an adult's way of thinking. This is shown through how Jennifer feels as she is a prisoner of the malicious children, whose behavior is very childlike even while being evil. Hence there are some psuedo erotic hints in the scenes ( though there is no actual sexual acts), and the story is also engaging, creepy and tragic that unfolds with hiddent clues in various places, and one must pay attention to what's happening, read the notes and talk to people to find out more on what's going on.

The only downside to this game is the combat, so look out for that. The story and setting makes up for that though, along with character relations, these girls are all manipulative, and to them status is more important than friendship, its almost like Mean Girls gone horror and set in the 1930's, cept much more horrible and there's less humour.

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Yeah, I was watching the gameplay and it seemed kind of stilted. Everything else, however, looks very interested. I'll definitely be pre-ordering this now.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I have played about half of this game at a friends house. I must warn you now. The fight system is horrid, worse than horrid even. The pussles are easy even without having the english text(they speak english though in the JP version too.). All in all a dissepointing game with some highlights.

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Quote:

Anyone who is looking for a survival horror that is mixed with Alice in Wonderland and fairy tales, along with watching a tragic tale about manipulative girls, preorder this now.

Or rather not, because it should be noted that this game is bad. Really bad. It might look interesting and unorthodox, but trust me, it's a sheer and utter disappointment in the gameplay department.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

No offense to either of you, since there's a good chance you're both right, but I'm still definitely trying this one. Everyone tried to steer away from Haunting Ground as well, and I ended up loving it. I'd just rather try the game for myself before deciding. If anything, I'll suffer through the gameplay just for the story.

FELIPE NO

I can't miss any psychological or horror game, even if its bad.
And yes i love Haunting ground,no matter how other gamers hate it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Well to say something positive my friend still plays it and enjoys it since she likes the premise and the story seems interesting. I guess I'm just to stuck on the gameplay(That infernal boss impossible not to get hit with that camera!!!).

And music fits the mood but becomes very repitive.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Rock

Or rather not, because it should be noted that this game is bad. Really bad. It might look interesting and unorthodox, but trust me, it's a sheer and utter disappointment in the gameplay department.

I DID stated in my 2nd post that the gameplay is the only downside, the thing is, people who are getting this are interested in the story, and not the gameplay. And there are people who have imported that said that the story was worth it despite the horrible gameplay.

So be warned, get this game if you're interested in the story, if you're into great gameplay, stay away.

And yeah, the music does get repetitive, great tracks, but some of them loop too fast. Though I'm personally not bothered by it.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

If it's anything like Clock Tower 3, I might be able to take some enjoyment from it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

http://www.atlus.com/ruleofrose/

English official site with interviews, movies, downloads and more.

Just read the interview, and its really interesting, I recommend anyone interesred in this game to read it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

If the gameplay's really as bad as you all say, I might hold off on purchasing and just download it. But this is Atlus publishing it ... downloading one of their games is like a taboo for me. =/

I was speaking idiomatically.

Well as long as you buy the real game later on at a cheaper price, in the end is pretty much okay. And the story is still worth the purchase, I mean it's not like Silent Hill 4 where the gameplay and the story were subpar to the previous games. This one has a good story and you have to discover clues and piece them together yourself to find out what's going on.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Gameplay aside, Rule of Rose seems fascinating. I hope the voice acting is as creepy as the story. Still, I'm not sure if it's worth my $50. How long is it?

FELIPE NO

I don't even play horror games and I was really looking forward to this one. It looks to be really similar to Haunting Ground. What's so bad about the gameplay? If you were looking for action then you're not going to get it... but is it the lack of action or is there some and it's just really poorly done? I don't mind a game being easy, I just don't want it to be tedious or stupid.

After seeing the trailer at E3, I wanted to play it just to see what it's like. I own one of the RE games and Silent Hill but I never touched them.

Plus it's Atlus, I like supporting guys like Atlus. Although I wasn't too crazy about Metal Saga or Steambot Chronicles.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

The Combat system leaves alot to be desired, its just poorly implemented, and alot of the times the camera doesn't help either,causing you to book it most of the time and only fight in boss battles, which is what most importers did anyway.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'm rather looking forward to this because of the odd atmosphere, and it's quite different that most games (that I've played anyways).

I think the gameplay will annoy me a lot, but then again, I have never played a survival horror game where I've actually enjoyed the gameplay. Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, Silent Hill etc... I severely dislike the actual playing part, hehe.

Hopefully it will be worth it!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Ok that first boss fight is hard. I only tried it once since I was too lazy to go back and save. You guys were right, the fight system is pretty awful and the camera angle doesn't help at all. It's even worse when you're low on health and Jennifer ends up sluggish.

Besides that, it's an interesting game. Nice mood and atmosphere, the cut scenes are great. The story is interesting at least.

edit: ok, I've finished the game, has anyone else with a japanese copy have been able to?

Spoiler:

I'm a little confused by the ending.... what is the relation between Jennifer and Joshua? They seem like they are the same person.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by soapy

Ok that first boss fight is hard. I only tried it once since I was too lazy to go back and save. You guys were right, the fight system is pretty awful and the camera angle doesn't help at all. It's even worse when you're low on health and Jennifer ends up sluggish.

Besides that, it's an interesting game. Nice mood and atmosphere, the cut scenes are great. The story is interesting at least.

edit: ok, I've finished the game, has anyone else with a japanese copy have been able to?

Spoiler:

I'm a little confused by the ending.... what is the relation between Jennifer and Joshua? They seem like they are the same person.

Regarding that spoiler:

Spoiler:

Jennifer is NOT Joshua, the man Gregory had a son named Joshua, but one day he died, and when he found Jennifer after she lost her parents in that airship crash, he took her in, but due to his grief he treated Jennifer like she was his dead son. Then Wendy came along and start manipulating to get Jennifer to like her and to control Gregory and basically stirring up shit., which end up creating the Aristocrat club and everything, and killing all the children through her control over Gregory.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Kairi Li

Regarding that spoiler:

Spoiler:

Jennifer is NOT Joshua, the man Gregory had a son named Joshua, but one day he died, and when he found Jennifer after she lost her parents in that airship crash, he took her in, but due to his grief he treated Jennifer like she was his dead son. Then Wendy came along and start manipulating to get Jennifer to like her and to control Gregory and basically stirring up shit., which end up creating the Aristocrat club and everything, and killing all the children through her control over Gregory.

Well, if you could explain the ending to me, that'd be great

Spoiler:

Where did you get all that? I thought about the ending for awhile, I knew there were some jealousy issues with Wendy, how there were letters between her and Joshua and then her and Jennifer. She mentioned sending Jennifer to that place? And then we get the black and white scene with the dog? It seems like there is jealousy that is tied to Brown too... ahh, it was all so interesting and so confusing.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Spoiler:

Basically, Wendy found Jennifer at Gregory's house, they exchanged letters, swore a love oath as prince and princess, and Wendy then took her away from the house to the orphanage, then Brown came along and Wendy got jealous, fueling her anger and causing her to seek revenge by ordering the other girls to treat her like crap, since Wendy is the princess of Rose.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It looks delightfully disturbing to me, if a little risque at times...

I probably will play this but not until it slams into the bargain bin. I dont usually enjoy the gameplay in survival horrors anyway, I just like the stories, but because I suck at things like Silent Hill, I never get to see the end of the stories. Resident Evil 1 through to 3 were the only survival horrors I completed, but I wouldnt say I enjoyed anything about the gameplay in them, but the stories were good.

Im an RPG fan through and through, and unfortunately S Horrors just dont have the variation in gameplay I desire.

FELIPE NO

The game is from Atlus, I don't know if it'll ever make it to the bargain bin.

Anyways, there were a lot of articles about how risque the content was in regards to the girls. I don't know, I think a person needs to really stretch their imagination to think of it as sexual. I didn't find it all that disturbing in that sense. I just thought the girls were cruel in a twisted evil sort of way.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?