Rule of Rose [PS2]

The flow of Japanese horror video games has slowed recently, but that doesn't mean the genre is dead. Only resting, perhaps for another big buildup as a PS2 sendoff. So consider Rule of Rose either a vanguard or rear guard, depending on your point of view. And with all the controversy around Rockstar's Bully, it's ironic that the truly disturbing look at the cruelty of children is Rule of Rose.

We begin, more or less, in the Rose Garden orphanage, where 19-year old Jennifer arrives after her parents are killed in an airship accident. There she's quickly subjugated by the Aristocrats of the Red Crayon, which is both a scary organization of malcontent orphans and a storytelling trope meant to justify loads of fetch quests. The Aristocrats require that Jennifer bring item after item as an offering to their Prince; failure results in strict and often gruesome punishment.

The story is unsettling, and is presented in an impressive style. The characters are well-animated and generally realistic, and come to rather impressive life in the cutscenes, which are much better crafted than most. If only they didn't go on for quite so long at a stretch -- Rule of Rose isn't a very long game, and you'll often feel like it's more cutscene than gameplay.

The game is divided into chapters introduced by storybooks sprinkled throughout the game. Each book essentially provides a gateway to a new overarching fetch quest, which requires Jennifer (and you) to go through the orphanage and a large airship room by room.

And that's where Rule of Rose starts to run into trouble. While the story, characters and setting are relatively unique, the means by which they come to life is not at all. It's nice to avoid door and key puzzles, which Rule of Rose mostly sidesteps, but just being told to retrieve items, often with a lot of backtracking involved, isn't a great leap forward.