Rule of Rose

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Rule of Rose

Developer(s)	Punchline
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment(JP) Atlus (US)
Distributor(s)	Ingram Entertainment (EU)
Release date(s)	^JPN January 19, 2006 ^NA September 12, 2006 ^EUR November 3, 2006 ^UK Canceled
Genre(s)	Survival horror Psychological horror
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	CERO: 15 ESRB: Mature PEGI: 16+
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2

Rule of Rose is a survival horror game for the PlayStation 2. Its plot, set in 1930s England, revolves around a nineteen year old woman named Jennifer, who becomes trapped in a world ruled by young girls who have established a class hierarchy called the Red Crayon Aristocrats. The game's graphics are heavily stylised, incorporating a series of visual filters similar to those used in the Silent Hill series. There are also similarities to Haunting Ground, another survival horror game where the main character is accompanied by a canine companion. The enemies are doll-like, yet bleed when attacked, and let out loud child-like yells. The music features heavy use of strings, while three vocal songs in 1930s style are included.

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.^[1]

1 Gameplay
2 Story
3 Characters
4 Controversy
5 Critical response
6 References
7 External links

Gameplay

Players control Jennifer, a young woman who is lead to an abandoned mansion by a small boy. After experiencing a traumatic event, she wakes up on a virtually abandoned airship which is ruled by a cruel group of children known as the Red Crayon Aristocrats. Under the threat of death, Jennifer must appease the Aristocrats by finding an offering for them each month.^[2] Whilst doing so, she must piece together clues and recall forgotten memories which will ultimately allow her to escape their clutches.

The game flows like many games in the survival horror genre: the player explores the game environment looking for restorative items, furthering the plot by accomplashing tasks and experiencing cut-scenes whilst sporadically encountering enemies and bosses.

In addition to the standard survival horror gameplay, Rule of Rose incorporates the repeated use of Brown's ability to locate items in order to further the plot.^[3] When players select an item from the inventory for Brown to locate, they can instruct him to lead the way to that item. This system is used to locate a variety of items and is an integral aspect of both game progression and finding health restoratives. Brown can also be commanded to return to Jennifer and to 'stay'.

Most items can be used to locate between one and three other types of item, be they a scrap of paper needed to proceed further in the game or a marble. These possible finds are affixed to that particular item, so in order to find the bulk of items available in any chapter, Brown must be shown various items.

Most food items and trinkets are hidden and must be uncovered by Brown, though the player can choose to avoid searching for these items in order to progress more quickly. Food is used to restore Jennifer's energy, there are different types which heal varying amounts of health. Bones and other items can be used to restore Brown's health if he becomes injured. Trinkets such as marbles and ribbons have no immediate use, but may be traded with the Aristocrats in order to obtain food and other items.

Combat is almost exclusively melee, with a variety of improvised weapons available, such as kitchen knives and pipes. Jennifer is a timid character,^[3] her melee attacks are neither powerful nor long-ranged. Evasion of enemies is often used instead of standing and fighting. With the exception of a handful of bosses, all enemies in the game are imps - skinny, almost doll-like creatures the size of small children. Their skin is a sickly grey colour, the black openings of their mouths and eyes give them a ghost-like appearance. Different animal-headed imps appear throughout the game, alongside their regular brethren.

Brown does not attack enemies, but will growl and distract both enemies and bosses, particularly the smaller imps. He can be injured to the point of collapse, however, so the player must defend Brown if they want him to continue past enemies and locate items.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Story

The game focuses on Jennifer, an "unlucky girl" who, after stumbling onto an old orphanage finds herself on a fantastical Zeppelin which appears to be run by a group of children called the Aristocrats of the Red Crayon. She must perform a variety of tasks for the Red Crayon Aristocrats while trying to understand her situation.

Characters

Amanda: The small-hearted Princess. Prior to Jennifer's arrival, Amanda held the lowest social ranking: Miserable. Initially thankful to Jennifer for lessening the ill treatment she receives, Amanda expressed remorse for following the Aristocrat Club's orders at the end of April. However, as time goes on and Jennifer succeeds Amanda's ranking, a newfound hatred grows within her.
Diana: The strong-willed Princess, ranked Duchess; the highest social placement in the Aristocracy under the Princess of the Red Rose. She is the object of affection for Meg.
Eleanor: The cold Princess, ranked Countess. She carries around an often-empty birdcage. Her special level (The Bird Of Happiness) was one in which Jennifer was to try to rescue The Bird Of Happiness by finding the combination to the many layers of lock boxes it was locked in. This, however, ends badly in the death of Eleanor's bird in which she spent the level whistling for. She doesn't say anything; just grabs the bird's corpse from Jennifer and drops it into the monthly gift box. Jennifer then finds a part of her promise to her "dear friend": "Everlasting."
Gregory M. Wilson: A man whose son died. Whether it be in part due to the aforementioned potential guilt or solely due to the loss of his son, Gregory was emotionally unstable when he rescued Jennifer from the airship. He took her back to his home; thereafter, he treated her like his son and called her by his name.
Jennifer: The poor, unlucky girl whose parents died aboard an airship. She was taken in by Gregory Wilson, whose son died. In the game, she is (or appears to be) 19. (When she speaks against The Red Crayon Aristocrats at the end of November). Brown, a yellow labrador retriever she found as a child when he was still a puppy, is found in the beginning.
Meg (Margaret): The wise-looking Princess, ranked Baroness. In September, she wrote a love letter to Diana, which went ill-received. Her special Level in which illustrates this (The Goat Sisters) is one in which she is looking frantically for something when Jennifer sees her.
Wendy: She is a very sickly girl who spends most of her time either laying in the bed in the sickbay or playing with caged animals.

Controversy

At E3 2006 Atlus announced that they would be releasing Rule of Rose in the United States^[4], following Sony's decision to pass on a US release.^[5] This was on the grounds of the game's erotic undertones involving a cast of female minors. The developers have disagreed with this, saying that the sexual themes are not the main focus and are only a small part of the game.

Release of this game raised controversies in Poland, where the conservative Ministry of Education raised questions concerning its appropriateness for minors (it's rated 16+) because of the themes of child violence and sexuality. The Ministry informed the official prosecutor's office of possible crime.^[6]

European Union justice minister Franco Frattini attacked the game as "obscene" and wrote to governments urging tighter controls on games which "glorify violence, sometimes extreme violence". ^[7]

According to news site The Register, Frattini received a letter from Viviane Reding, commissioner for the information society and media, who criticises Frattinis actions: "It is...very unfortunate that my services were not pre-consulted before your letter to the Ministers of Interior was sent out," Reding writes, reminding him of the commission backed self-regulating ratings system called PEGI that has operated across the EU since 2003.

The PEGI system of classification, according to the Reding letter, offers "informed adult choice" without censoring content. "This is in line with the Commission's view that measures taken to protect minors and human dignity must be carefully balanced with the fundamental right to freedom of expression as laid down in the Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union," writes Reding to Frattini.^[8]

The publisher has chosen to cancel the release of the game in the UK following complaints by Frattini and other EU officials, and "largely misleading"^[9] commentary from the UK press.^[10] It will however be released in the rest of Europe. Review copies of the title had already shipped to UK journalists when this was announced. The UK body which had granted the title its 16+ PEGI rating (the Video Standards Council) responded to the press and Frattini's comments thus:

I have no idea where the suggestion of in-game sadomasochism has come from, nor children being buried underground. These are things that have been completely made up. [...] We’re not worried about our integrity being called into question, because Mr Frattini’s quotes are nonsense.^[11]

The game was also banned in Australia.

Critical response

Critical response to the title has been lukewarm, with a few very positive and very negative reviews. The game has obtained a Metacritic metascore of 59^[12] and a Game Rankings average ratio of 61%.^[13] It is generally agreed that the title has an interesting plot, with The Onion observing that "aside from a few deep curtsies and an unlockable gothic Lolita costume, the characters are more sinister than sexualised".^[14] However the gameplay is widely lambasted as clumsy,^[15] archaic,^[16] and unrewarding.^[17]^[18] The press was generally divided upon how much the gameplay detracts from one's ability to enjoy the story itself. A few notable exceptions are Edge magazine, which found neither plot nor gameplay appealing "It’s just a murky brew of meaningless, exploitative dysfunction filling an empty game, and it leaves a bitter taste"^[12] and Acegamez, which not only admired the game's plot, but also found the gameplay appealing if slow, "a wonderful psychological thriller that will draw you in with its bizarrely compelling narrative, atmospheric presentation and thoughtful story-based gameplay".^[19]