Many people say of games like Silent Hill 2: It's not that the combat sucks, it's the mechanics that fit the feeling of dis-empowerment and fear. Those people are (a bit) right.

Many that played Rule of Rose say the same of this game. Those people are wrong.

I love this game. This game is ass to play.

I'm a firm defender of game mechanics that don't fall to the most comfy common denominator. I love the early RE games and I heavily disagree that the remakes are the way they are meant to be, as fun as they are. I think tank controls and fixed cameras, auto-aiming and awkward moving during which you cannot shoot (the RE4 haters really just were wrong, I'm sorry) are all elements of interaction with a world that perfectly encapsulates the relationship intended for the player to have with the world.

These mechanics are an element like any other in games. You don't go to Yoshi's Island complaining you can't aim eggs in an over the shoulder shooter style. You don't force Mario to stay in front of the camera permanently looking forward (or else you'd get Bubsy 3D), so why this obsession to turn all the games that came before into the same archetype popularized by their younger brother, "Spanish Vacation (Gone Wrong)"?

These old Survival horror games had something different in mind. They wanted to frame the story, the action and the horror in a different way, to have full control over what you see and specially what you don't, and the controls and interactions were developed as the best set of conditions to deal with that.

Here's my secret. I lied, I don't think SH2 has bad controls, or its combat sucks ass. Sure, it could have a bit of a more generous hit detection here and there, but who wouldn't?

Back to Rule of Rose.

This game is mechanically broken. Weapons are swung in what must be a hitbox the size of a noodle, misaligned with the animation positions on the character. Enemies pushed and are pushed in a way that fully betrays the illusion that they aren't just slippery capsules in a physics calculation engine. The balance and progression of finding random objects to barter, heal or just collect is completely whack, following the fact that you can count the necessary fights with the fingers of one hand, despite them feeling eternal due to how broken all of it is.

This was not done to enhance the horror and feeling of frustration, this is a result of a tricky development on a genre the studio was not exactly familiar with. As a brief positive aside, having Brown the dog smell items to find other items is great on its own, and it'd be fun if used by a better designed game.

So to summarize:

• Fixed-camera, tank-adjacent, survival horror combat is not bad, it's good.
• Rule of Rose's combat is piss ass broken and removes all sense of horror and immersion.
• Rule of Rose is a beautiful journey through trauma, memories, the damage we can bring onto, and receive from, those we love. With incredible visuals, music and acting in every department. An original take on what might seem overtly Silent Hill 2-ish at first, never content to let you relax in the plot.

Rule of Rose, your game design might suck ass, but

I am a victim of your charms.

Pocas imágenes nutren más nuestra vena terrorífica que la estampa de un niño o niña que no encaja en la percepción colectiva de la niñez. Quizás sea la estoicidad simétrica de las gemelas en The Shining (Kubrick, 1980), los movimientos antinaturales de la niña de The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973), la resaltada palidez de Toshio Saeki en una película tan visualmente sombría como Ju-On: The Grudge (Takashi Shimizu, 2002) o la deforme menudez de los grey childs en Silent Hill (Konami, 1999). Juzgamos mentalmente como incorrecta la asociación de esos adultos en proceso, esas figuras frágiles, símbolo de pureza e inocencia, con elementos atribuidos al horror más primigenio. Prueba de ello es el terror japonés, tan fundamentado sobre figuras como el mentado Toshio Saeki o la niña de The Ring (Nakata Hideo, 1998). Los niños, tanto en el país nipón como fuera de él, protagonizan muchas veces obras de terror psicológico; al fin y al cabo, su incongruente dualidad es una ficción que se resquebraja al transformarse en máquinas de jumpscares.

Antes he aludido a Silent Hill, y es que la sombra de la franquicia de Konami es alargada. Cuando uno lee que existe un videojuego cuyo personaje protagonista, atribulado por los traumas de su pasado, vuelve al lugar donde todo comenzó para recordar, enfrentándose en el proceso a un sinfín de criaturas que simbolizan pasiones ocultas y memorias dolorosas, llega a la mente de manera instantánea la poligonal figura de un tal Harry Mason. Tan solo rebuscando en una biblioteca de juegos de culto podría emplazarse junto a Harry Mason, en esa imagen mental, aquella niña misteriosa de la que solo conocemos su nacionalidad inglesa y su nombre: Jennifer, protagonista de Rule of Rose.

RESEÑA COMPLETA EN RIRCA (Parte 1)(Parte 2)

Well, I did what I set out to do and completed this beautiful mess. It was nothing I expected from a video game and nothing I wanted from a combat system. I knew the game was banned in some countries and surrounded by a fair amount of controversy, but I went into Rule of Rose with little knowledge of the gameplay or the story. Now that I've completed the story, here is my review of the game.

The Good

• Story:

  The story in Rule of Rose was surprisingly gripping. The interaction between the characters drove most of the narrative and highlighted the cruelty children are capable of when left to their own devices. I don't want to spoil anything here, but the story deals with some heavy topics. However, sometimes it isn't always obvious what's going on. Sometimes the narrative is a bit muddy.

• Atmosphere:

  This is where the game truly shines. The story is about children and takes place in the early 20th century, so the game leans into this theme. The music in the game is top-notch and evokes a sense of being teleported back in time. The aesthetic of the locations you visit throughout the game was carefully crafted to support this feeling. The menu screens were all chalk drawings that appeared to be drawn by children. However, despite the game sitting in the horror genre, this isn't a horror game. There weren't any jumpscares or tropes typical of the genre. Instead, this was a psychological dive into the story of a damaged soul. Heavy themes abound but don't expect to be scared at any point in the game.

• Gameplay:

  RoR has one mechanic that I thoroughly enjoyed. The main character has a dog companion who will help her find items and key locations scattered throughout the world. Items in the player inventory had a "Find" option and when this was activated, the dog would search out other items or locations connected to the "Found" item. This was a clever way to help the player head to the next room to drive the story without placing a dot on a map. I loved this mechanic.

The Bad

• The title says it all. The combat in this game is extremely subpar. Hitting enemies, especially agile enemies can be an exercise in frustration. You can strike an enemy sprite dead on and not score a hit. The enemies are also generally terrible at hitting you. I had many combat moments where I swung a weapon and missed an Imp, only to have the Imp turn and dive right by me, missing my character completely. It would have been comical, if not so frustrating. Worse still, some of the bosses had a hit range where they could strike your character even when standing directly behind them. The first boss was particularly fond of this habit, swinging his weapon forward and striking me with a solid blow when I was standing behind him. Like, what the crap? In the late game, there's a weapon that deals both one-hit blows and has a big range, so some of this sloppiness is mitigated. The other frustration was the way your character would overstep items on the ground and she turns in a wider arc, so occasionally I'd have to cross the item a few times before I found a spot that would allow me to pick up the object. Annoying, but not terrible.

The Ugly

• Like my review of Kuon, the single worst part of the game is the rarity of release, which drives limited physical copies to be scarce and expensive. If you wish to play the original title on the PS2, be prepared to shell out a good-sized pile of dollars. The original game is the only time this title was released and due to the controversy and subsequent banning in Europe, this game is a rare gem.

Conclusion

• Despite the lofty expense and the infuriating combat mechanics, I think this game is worth a play if you're looking for a truly unique experience. Childhood trauma is serious and I applaud the developer for attempting to capture and explore this sensitive topic. This game is one-of-a-kind.