Rule of Rose is an excellent horror survival game for the PlayStation 2, set in 1930s England in an old orphanage.
The point of
the game is to earn 19-year-old Jennifer's memories back, which she lost when she was 9 years old.
Her parents took her on an airship ride when she was 8, and the ship crashed into the ocean not long after it set sail for
India, and Jennifer as the only survivor. She was taken in by
Gregory M.
Wilson, who had recently lost his son and thought that Jennifer looked like his dead son, called Joshua.
Gregory locked Jennifer in the basement and called her Joshua, until a
girl named Wendy stumbled across the basement window. Jennifer and Wendy exchanged many love letters before Wendy helped Jennifer escape from
Gregory's house, taking her to the orpanage where she lived.
About half a year after she came to the orphanage, Jennifer found a stray puppy, which she named Brown. Wendy got jealous of Brown, because Jennifer was spending her time with the dog instead of her, and decided to found a club called 'The Red Crayon Aristocrats'. Wendy herself was secretly the princess, and all the other children in the orphanage were ordered to torment, bully, and torture Jennifer, so that she would run crying to Wendy.
However, Jennifer clung only to Brown, which made Wendy very angry. Almost a year after she had started ordering the Aristocrats to pick on Jennifer, she decided that either Jennifer or Brown was going to be buried alive. Jennifer, being a timid and weak
girl, allowed Brown to be beaten until he was near death, and then buried in the orphanage courtyard.
Suddenly Jennifer realized just how foolish she'd been, and find out that Wendy was the one ordering the Aristocrat Club to do everything. She slaps Wendy and tells her that she'll never forgive her, making her fall to the ground, then runs off.
Later at night, the Aristocrats call Jennifer into the classroom. They have banished Wendy from the throne and want Jennifer as their new princess. Suddenly, Wendy is seen running up to the orphanage gates, and the Aristocrats all run outside to make
fun of her, leaving Jennifer behind in the classroom.
When Jennifer makes her way outside, she sees
Gregory M.
Wilson, called 'Stray Dog' by the children because of his bizarre way of walking on all fours and growling, standing at the front door, led to the orphanage by someone resembling Joshua. All of the Aristocrats have been slaughtered, their clothes lay strewn outside of the door.
Jennifer fights Stray Dog and manages to knock him out. Then, the person who is dressed as Joshua apologises, pulling of their wig and revealing that it's Wendy. Wendy led Stray Dog to the orphanage becuase Jennifer loved Brown more than she loved her. She hands Jennifer a
gun that once belonged to Stry Dog, that Wendy had stolen from his house.
But it's too late for Wendy, and Stray Dog sees that she's not Joshua, then drags her inside and breaks her neck. Just before Jennifer is about to shoot Stry Dog, he realizes what he's done, and shoots himself just after apologising to Joshua, wherever he may be.
Thus, Jennifer is the only survivor of the brutal orphanage massacre, and is taken from the scene by police. After this, she loses all her memories from her time at the orphanage. The objective of Rule of Rose is to regain them 10 years later while Jennifer is asleep on a park bench.
Contrary to popular belief, the stroy of Rule of Rose did NOT happen on and airship, and Jennifer was not 19 at the time. The reason it is taking place on the airship is becasue it had a strong impact on Jennifer- Remember, it was where her parents died. It's a dream, and lots of people die in Jennifer's dream that never really died in actualitly. Hoffman,
Martha, and
Clara all fled the orphanage sometime between Rag Princess and the Funeral, afraid of the Aristocrat Club.
The game chapters are split up into storybooks, each with a specific month in which they took palce ten years earlier. There is a special chapter about each of the Aristocrats, and special costumes that can be unlocked when you get the good ending.
Rule of Rose has excellent graphics and an haunting, spellbinding, and tragic storyline that make up for the half-hearted gameplay and battles. A must have for any survival horror fan.
