
The story is purposely obscure, and though it offers little in the way of character development, there's enough interesting and provocative imagery to draw you in. Nothing seems to make sense, especially as Jennifer starts encountering more and more childlike enemies, but you start to get the impression that all these incidents represent episodes from Jennifer's own past.
RULE OF ROSE PLOT SERIES
The game unfolds as a series of self-contained chapters, which all seem rather disjointed. She's drawn into this little secret society of theirs, with the help of a trusty dog named Brown, whom she rescues from cruel captivity. She later awakens in what seems to be a gigantic airship of some sort and encounters a group of girls calling themselves the Aristocrats of the Red Crayon. It only gets stranger when Jennifer begins exploring the orphanage, for lack of anywhere else to go. Children with bags over their heads can be seen skulking around, hitting things with sticks. At the beginning, she gets off a bus to find herself at a dilapidated old orphanage. Rule of Rose is set during the 1930s and tells the story of Jennifer, a young English woman-or, rather, a "timid, unlucky girl," as the game likes to call her. Jennifer's got some childhood issues to work through in Rule of Rose, but the process isn't as interesting as it ought to be.

You'll wind up spending an inordinate amount of time blindly wandering through identical-looking corridors, rather than uncovering the game's intriguing plot or interacting with its strange characters.

There's just one problem: Rule of Rose isn't much fun to play. This game has got a great sense of style, like some kind of freakish fairy tale or campfire ghost story.

This is a survival horror game in the same vein as Resident Evil and especially Silent Hill, since the game's tone is more disturbing and unsettling than conventionally scary. If you think you had a rough childhood, just wait until you delve into the messed-up world of Rule of Rose.
