red crayon aristocrats

After lots of trouble I finally finished playing the PS2 game Rule of Rose.

Here's my short review

Rule of Rose is a - let me call it "gloomy adventure" game featuring terrible controls but on the other hand great artistic value. It's a game for extremly patient players only. And I promise, even the most peaceful players will become aggressive at some parts of the game. - And there I thought videogames couldn't make a person aggressive. I was wrong.
Anyhow - when you decide to give Rule of Rose a try - don't be disappointed: On the first run the whole game / storyline and characters will make absolutely NO sense to you. Up to one point pretty late in the game, where you might get a hunch of what might be going on. Of what the game makers might have had in mind, when they made Miss Jennifer a timid weakling. Running around in a rusty old Airship. That somehow gives you an odd feeling of "wth".
At first sight, the game appears to be some psycho-thriller in a curious arthouse-movie style. But it is actually more a drama like "A little Princess Sara" , retold as a David Lynch movie. Small human imps with animal heads chasing you around dark corners. Scenes and settings that don't seem to add up. Disturbing characters. a general feel of "there's something wrong here...".
The game has a very sudden and rough ending.
OR (if you know how to / check on a walkthrough <.< ) a quite different ending, too... which is probably the "real" ending, since it gives you the chance to search for giant puzzle parts that where obviously (on purpose) missing in the storyline / background story. So that really twisted picture you had to suffer through suddenly makes sense. And you'll be like " OOoooooooooohhh, NOW I get it, duuh..... I had a feeling..."
Anyway - and that is important - Don't expect an exciting Survival Horror game when you play Rule of Rose. Becaue that's not really what you get. Though you get 15 hours of being very confused and angry =w= that's almost as good.
By the way, I started to write a first impression review before i completed the game - and it was rather harsh - but now, after i finished the game, my opinion is all different. In the end I liked this obscure game, however I would not recommend it to everyone.


Aside from that I say, Rule of Rose deserves a total rating of 7/10