Summary
- Rule of Rose’s haunting narrative captivates fans despite sky-high physical disc prices, leading to a dedicated YouTube analysis community.
- Misconceptions and fearmongering plagued Rule of Rose’s 2006 release, causing bans in several countries and a legacy of controversy.
- Fans face a dilemma: shell out hundreds for a rare physical copy or settle for emulation, while holding out hope for a potential Sony remaster.
I’m in love with a horror game I have never – and possibly will never – play for myself, and I’m not the only one. Rule of Rose is a 2006 PlayStation 2 survival horror game that sports some of the most eye-wateringly high physical disc prices in the genre, so much so that curious fans are almost entirely locked out of a real playthrough on original hardware. With the success of survival horror remakes like the Resident Evil and Fatal Frame series, a Rule of Rose resurgence is improbable, but not impossible.
Rule of Rose follows 19-year-old Jennifer, an orphan reliving the countless traumas she experienced while at the Rose Garden Orphanage. What unfolds is a deeply disturbing look at the evils of hierarchy and the true influence of tyrannical dictatorship, all explored through the prism of a boarding school for young girls. While the game itself is a complex and harrowing exploration of abuse and control, there’s even more to unpack on its release, as misconceptions and fearmongering took Rule of Rose off the shelves while also creating a legacy – a legacy that YouTube has been analyzing ever since.
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How I Fell In Love With A Game I’ve Never Played
My Shelves Have An Empty Space Waiting For Rule Of Rose
It’s the phenomenal RagnaRox who first put Rule of Rose on my radar. RagnaRox creates fascinating deep-dives into horror games, and five years ago they uploaded a 1hr and 15 minute video essay on the story, combat, and history of Rule of Rose. I was obsessed. But even five years ago a physical copy was out of my price range, so instead it became a life goal of mine. One day, I will own a copy of Rule of Rose.
Binge-watching Rule of Rose videos online is basically a hobby of mine at this point: I simply can’t digest enough information about this elusive lost game. It launched just before I discovered horror games after I first beat the original Resident Evil 4 on a second-hand Wii back in 2007. After that crowning achievement I went on to explore the dense PlayStation 2 catalog of horror games, particularly enjoying Haunting Ground, and so Rule of Rose really feels like the one that got away. Looking to YouTube view counts, I’m not the only one who fell in love with the unplayable Rule of Rose.
RagnaRox is just one of many YouTube essayists with a high-performing video on the legacy of Rule of Rose. Boulder Punch, tangomushi, Honey Bat, and more all have Rule of Rose videos collectively racking up hundreds of thousands of views. It’s clear there’s an audience for this dark and obscure lost horror, with lots more than just I desperate to get their hands on the game. Not only does Rule of Rose sport an engrossing and unique narrative, but its real-world story is almost as fascinating.
Why Was Rule Of Rose Banned?
The Mistake That Started A Legacy For RoR
Back in 2006 the Italian publication Panorama published a damning discussion on Rule of Rose, condemning the then-soon-to-be-released game with a series of unfounded claims on its content. According to Time Extension, the article claimed Rule of Rose depicted explicit scenes of violence against young girls, sexual scenes, and a “bury the girl gameplay mechanic,” none of which actually appear in the game.
The article – despite being incorrect in its claims – caused an uproar that spread throughout Europe, making newspaper headlines across countries. From here, Rule of Rose was already doomed, going on to be banned in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. The outrage spread outside of gaming circles, even being discussed at the European Parliament.
The situation got even worse when it was revealed the original Panorama piece was actually plagiarized and misrepresented from an early review of the game written by Chris Darril, who went on to create the survival-horror series, Remothered. The plagiarism made an already extremely messy situation even more unfortunate, with Darril later stating he felt like a “victim” (via Time Extension). Since then, Rule of Rose and its story has become a mainstay discussion in horror circles, thanks largely in part to its cult success on YouTube in Let’s Play series and video essays.
![Remothered Broken Porcelain Header](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Remothered-Broken-Porcelain-Header.jpg)
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eBay vs. Emulation
Both Bad Options For Me
![Jennifer kneeling in front of a grave in Rule of Rose. Everything is shades of grey.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/rule-of-rose-jennifer-in-front-of-a-grave.jpg)
Thanks to its messy history Rule of Rose didn’t have a long print run, making physical copies extremely rare and, like most fans, purchasing a physical copy is not currently an option for me. Recent UK sold listings on eBay range from around £500 to £600 GBP ($635 – $762 USD) for a UK copy of the game. European versions come in a little cheaper, around £200 – £300 ($254 – $381 USD), and a graded and sealed PAL copy recently sold for £3000 ($3,800 USD).
Looking overseas garners no better results, even when scouring the shelves in the second-hand video game markets of Japan, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill PS2 release. While a few hundred for a game might be a low price for some people, it’s undoubtedly a big expense that’s far too much to swallow for most players. Myself included.
So why don’t I just emulate the game? Well, that kind of defeats the point for me. If I want to play an older game, my first port of call is sourcing the original hardware and a physical copy. This is especially true for old horror releases. There’s something magical and nostalgic about turning out the lights, setting up my old TV, and booting up my PlayStation 2 to play something like Silent Hill 2 in its original form.
It’s all part of the experience, a small piece of a long-lost part of my life that I can still hold onto. So no, emulation isn’t really something I’d consider in my pursuit of Rule of Rose – especially now that owning it is a bucket list goal for me. I want it on my shelf and in my hands one day. I want that first playthrough to be a real achievement.
Can Sony Bring Rule Of Rose Back?
An Impossible Request?
This brings me to my request for a remaster or remake (preferably the former, since it would be the most realistic experience to the original). While a remaster wouldn’t fulfill my dream of owning the original, it would still be an approachable entry point for myself and those other millions of YouTube viewers who’ve now developed an insatiable curiosity and burning desire to play Rule of Rose. And when remakes in the horror genre are at an all-time high with Capcom’s Resident Evil remakes and the upcoming Silent Hill 2 from Bloober, is now not the best time to revive Rule of Rose?
There’s also one major reason why a remaster or remake would be a better route for those interested in experiencing Rule of Rose: the combat. Rule of Rose‘s combat is notorious for being exasperatingly poor due to a lack of resources during development. According to RagnaRox, it’s “often painfully frustrating to play.“ As a person with limited patience this is the one thing that concerns me about an original playthrough of RoR, but it’s also the one thing that could be remedied in a new version.
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It’s unclear whether complexities over the rights to the game would make a Rule of Rose revival impossible – the game was developed by the now-defunct studio Punchline under Sony Japan, with Atlus and 505 Games also involved in its distribution overseas. Remastering or remaking it would likely become the role of another Sony studio, though there’s no clear candidates that spring to mind. There’s also the potential that Sony might be too afraid of the public reception of some of the darker themes in the game, especially considering how wrong its original release went.
The game’s future is unclear, but what’s certain is that it has the legacy, the audience, and the unique story needed to stand out in the oversaturated horror market in the late 2020s. I’ll still keep pursuing that original copy, but Sony, if you could release a remaster or remake in the meantime, I know a few hundred thousand YouTube fans who are waiting patiently for Rule of Rose.
![Rule of Rose](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/sharedimages/2024/04/rule-of-rose.jpg)
Rule Of Rose
Rule of Rose is a survival horror video game released for PlayStation 2 in 2006. The plot revolves around a nineteen-year-old orphan named Jennifer in 1930s England.Jennifer falls victim to the rules of the Red Crayon Aristocrat society at an orphanage from her past.
Credit: RagnaRox/YouTube, tangomushi/YouTube, Time Extension