When I decided to start this blog, a year ago, it was in part because I thought that the Rule of Rose game was in danger of being forever underestimated. And that thought made me sad.
Again and again I would read posts on forums from players who claimed that it all became clear to them once they made it to the final (“Once Upon A Time”) chapter.
Well, I doubted that.
I felt that players were overlooking the mysteries that remained after the game was completed. And I felt that there must be clues to these mysteries hidden throughout the game.
I had faith that author(s) of the game had provided the clues needed to solve the remaining mysteries. And felt that they wanted us to probe more deeply into the story. Indeed, that they would be sad if we did not. Because their hard work and cleverness would go unappreciated.
It was up to us to put in the work, find the clues, and fit them together. And only then could the game truly be appreciated for what the author(s) had made it.
Plus, I wanted to know the answers myself to the mysteries of the story that troubled my own mind.
So this blog has documented my quest to explore the mysteries of Rule of Rose.
A year’s work later, mysteries are still unsolved.
Maybe some will remain forever unsolved.
But I hope that my efforts have at least helped Rule of Rose to be better appreciated than it would have been had I not done this blog.
I think that Rule of Rose is a work of literary art. And has value as art, despite its bad reputation (which I believe to be undeserved).
And I think that it is not a waste of time for one to invest time into thinking about the story, any more than it is a waste of time to study other literary works of art.
Like other literary works, Rule of Rose makes use of symbolism, literary allusion, foreshadowing, and scenes that touch people’s emotions powerfully.
It has important themes.
Does the fact that Rule of Rose is a game, and not a novel or a film, mean that it must be dismissed as frivolous or unimportant? I don’t think so.
I think that the makers of Rule of Rose wanted to try to make a game that could stand up as literature.
But it is for the players, such as yourself, to judge if the makers of Rule of Rose have succeeded.
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