History YMMV / RuleOfRose

** Did Hoffman leave the orphanage because he was afraid that the Aristocrats [[spoiler: would try to kill him]] or did he have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment concerning his sexualization of [[spoiler: Clara and Diana]] and wanted to leave before he caused any more damage? One of the storybooks ''seems'' to imply the latter, but most fans prefer the former.
*** There's also the questions of whether or not he also sexually abused Jennifer ([[spoiler:if he tackles you during his boss fight, his movements look rather suggestive]]), and if the rabbit (Peter) represented him. If it does, than one can argue that the entirety of the "Sir Peter" chapter was the Aristocrats [[spoiler: hunting down and killing Hoffman.]]

** The Unmarried Mermaid. So much. Any of the monsters in the game, even the lowliest imp, can be pretty terrifying.

** The cutscene at the end of chapter 9 that acts as both TheReveal (Twice!) and as a WhamEpisode at the same time. [[spoiler: After defeating all the imps, you end up out in the courtyard you were in during the ending of chapter 1 where your sickly friend Wendy gets to meet Brown. Suddenly, both Wendy and Brown disappear. Once you travel to the attic (encountering several torn-apart toy dogs as you go) you activate a cutscene. It opens with imps sweeping a limp, '''dead''' Brown into the corner just before Jennifer walks in.]] As Jennifer approaches the aristocrats, she falls to her knees upon seeing [[spoiler: yet another torn-apart toy dog]]. Then you suddenly hear this childish giggle. Jennifer looks up and watches as a young girl, '''the''' princess, descends down towards her with a bouquet of roses obscuring her face. Once the princess makes it down to Jennifer, she tilts the bouquet to reveal [[spoiler: that she's Wendy.]] Amanda then gleefully informs Jennifer of [[spoiler: Brown's death]], leading to Jennifer to begin hyperventilating. Then [[spoiler: Jennifer's child self appears in place of the Jennifer we've known the entire game, stands abruptly and demands that she be "given back her friend" as she takes slow confident strides towards Wendy. Upon reaching Wendy, Jennifer [[ArmorPiercingSlap slaps her hard enough to knock her to the ground]] and proceeds to give Wendy a truly epic [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat-down]]. Once done, she stands and gives a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech truly scathing speech]] to the rest of the Aristocrats, telling them that she hates them and that they're scum. She then admits that she hates herself for allowing things to escalate as far as they have and throws the brooch Wendy had given her to the ground.]] The scene (and chapter) ends with [[spoiler: Wendy]] running out of the room in tears and the Aristocrats sufficiently frightened of Jennifer.

** There's a theory that claims [[spoiler: Brown was only a doll all along.]] This casts [[spoiler:Wendy's]] actions in a somewhat more sympathetic light, and casts an unfavorable light over [[spoiler: Jennifer's]].

** Some theories posit that the Imps are really the other children, and Jennifer only sees them as monsters because she can't cope with the idea of children doing what the imps do, hence the AnimalMotifs linking them to the rest of the Red Crayon Aristocrats. [[spoiler: Which would mean the children killed Martha, and Hoffman ran like hell so he wouldn't be next.]]
** Speaking of the Imps, were they representing the children during [[spoiler: Martha's death]] or did [[spoiler: Martha]] simply fall down the stairs and die in front of Jennifer and her mind simply added Imps in while she was reliving that memory?
** Did Hoffman leave the orphanage because he was afraid that the aristocrats [[spoiler: would try to kill him]] or did he have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment concerning his sexualization of [[spoiler: Clara and Diana]] and wanted to leave before he caused any more damage. One of the storybooks ''seems'' to imply the latter, most fans prefer the former.
*** There's also the questions of whether or not he also sexually abused Jennifer ([[spoiler:if he tackles you during his boss fight, his movements look rather suggestive]]), and if the rabbit (Peter) represented him. If it does, than one can argue that the entirety of the "Sir Peter" chapter was the aristocrats [[spoiler: hunting down and killing Hoffman.]]
** Some fans believe the Bucket Knight is a stand in for a therapist who is trying to help Jennifer sort through her memories.

*** Also, was Clara [[spoiler: raped]] or - more specifically - had she [[spoiler: an abortion]]? The sick room and the [[spoiler: slash across the mermaid princess' stomach]] point towards it, but it's never made fully clear.
** For all characters: is what can be seen in the final sepia chapter false or [[spoiler: how everyone actually was]]? If it is the latter, then it could easily be that [[spoiler: Jennifer's bullying wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed, there had never been any sexual attacks from Hoffmann and Gregory was a friendly, if shy and confused man before getting manipulated]].

* CryForTheDevil: After playing the epilogue, you'll feel deeply sorry for the two people largely responsible for all the bad things that happened in the story - [[spoiler:Wendy and Gregory. It's utterly heartwrenching to watch Wendy plead for you to stay when you know it's impossible, and listen to Gregory trying to put together a happy story to read to his dead son.]]

* DracoInLeatherPants: All the aristocrats get a bit of this, though Diana's the most frequent. She's attractive, has the most tragic backstory (and her current life isn't much better) and Jennifer notes that when away from the others she occasionally showed kindness and empathy towards her. This doesn't of course entirely excuse the fact that she's normally their ringleader in tormenting Jennifer, and that she's horrible even to her friends.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: The game's fairy tale narrative is rife with these, and each episode's storybook is an increasingly appalling version of this, all to drive home what [[HumansAreBastards monsters human beings are.]] [[spoiler: Subverted in the end, as the final, picture-only storybook closes the story on a [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]], but uplifting note.]]
* ItWasHisSled: Due to TheReveal being one of the two [[SignatureScene signature scenes]] as mentioned below the event of [[spoiler: Brown's]] death and that [[spoiler: Wendy, the only nice person in the game, is the main antagonist and the fact that Jennifer was actually just a little girl all along]] are all well known facts to gamers who actually know of the game. If walkthroughs are anything to go by then this isn't nearly as bad as other examples due to genuine reactions of surprise the gamers have during their first run through. It probably helps that people who have already played the game genuinely try not to spoil TheReveal for the people they recommend the game to.
* LesYay: A ''bunch''. And all those involved are children. Although unlike the infamous trailer would hint, the examples are [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship quite non-sexual in nature]].

** The cutscene at the end of chapter 9 that acts as both TheReveal (Twice!) and as a WhamEpisode at the same time. [[spoiler: After defeating all the imps, you end up out in the courtyard you were in during the ending of chapter 1 where your sickly friend Wendy gets to meet Brown. Suddenly, both Wendy and Brown disappear. Once you travel to the attic (encountering several torn-apart toy dogs as you go) you activate a cutscene. It opens with imps sweeping a limp, '''dead''' Brown into the corner just before Jennifer walks in.]] As Jennifer approaches the aristocrats, she falls to her knees upon seeing [[spoiler: yet another torn-apart toy dog]]. Then you suddenly hear this childish giggle. Jennifer looks up and watches as a young girl, '''the''' princess, descends down towards her with a bouquet of roses obscuring her face. Once the princess makes it down to Jennifer, she tilts the bouquet to reveal [[spoiler: that she's Wendy.]] Amanda then gleefully informs Jennifer of [[spoiler: Brown's death]], leading to Jennifer to begin hyperventilating. Then [[spoiler: Jennifer's child self appears in place of the Jennifer we've known the entire game, stands abruptly and demands that she be "given back her friend" as she takes slow confident strides towards Wendy. Upon reaching Wendy, Jennifer [[ArmorPiercingSlap slaps her hard enough to knock her to the ground]] and proceeds to give Wendy a truly epic [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat-down]]. Once done, she stands and gives a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech truly scathing speech]] to the rest of the aristocrats, telling them that she hates them and that they're scum. She then admits that she hates herself for allowing things to escalate as far as they have and throws the brooch Wendy had given her to the ground.]] The scene (and chapter) ends with [[spoiler: Wendy]] running out of the room in tears and the aristocrats sufficiently frightened of Jennifer.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: The whole game is rife with a bizarre, surrealist aesthetic that involves, among other things, roses, butterflies, mermaids, stick figure drawings, imps and dead fish floating in mid-air. Not quite all of it makes sense. There are entire websites dedicated to finding and analyzing everything from the order of beds over clutter on a table to decifering the low-res letters.

** Did Hoffman leave the orphanage because he was afraid that the aristocrats [[spoiler: would try to kill him]] or did he have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment concerning his sexualization of [[spoiler: Clara and Diana]] and wanted to leave before he caused any more damage. One of the storybooks ''seems'' to imply the later, most fans prefer the former.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: For a game released in 2006, the cutscenes are nothing short of beautifully animated and detailed.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: The whole game is rife with a bizarre, surrealist aesthetic that involves, among other things, roses, butterflies, mermaids, stick figure drawings, imps and dead fish floating in mid-air. Not quite all of it makes sense.

* CrackIsCheaper: Due to the poor sales of the game, it's nearly impossible to find a copy without spending some serious coin.

* DamselScrappy: If YouTube comments are anything to go by, fans get annoyed by Jennifer's submissive behavior by the time the third chapter rolls along.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Averted, big time. The developers hired a publicist to hype up the game in the Italian press by significantly overstating its graphic and sexual content in an effort to cause controversy. It worked a little too well once the made-up story reached the UK, where its release was canceled due to the ensuing controversy.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: The game's fairy tale narrative is rife with these, and each episode's storybook is an increasingly appalling version of this, all to drive home what [[HumansAreBastards monsters human beings are.]] [[spoiler: Subverted in the end, as the final, picture-only storybook closes the story on a [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]], but uplifting note.]]

** The cutscene at the end of chapter 9 that acts as both TheReveal (Twice!) and as a WhamEpisode at the same time. [[spoiler: After defeating all the imps, you end up out in the courtyard you were in during the ending of chapter 1 where your sickly friend Wendy gets to meet Brown. Suddenly, both Wendy and Brown disappear. Once you travel to the attic (encountering several torn-apart toy dogs as you go) you activate a cutscene. It opens with imps sweeping a limp, '''dead''' Brown into the corner just before Jennifer walks in.]] As Jennifer approaches the aristocrats, she falls to her knees upon seeing [[spoiler: yet another torn-apart toy dog]]. Then you suddenly hear this childish giggle. Jennifer looks up and watches as a young girl, '''the''' princess, descends down towards her with a bouquet of roses obscuring her face. Once the princess makes it down to Jennifer, she tilts the bouquet to reveal [[spoiler: that she's Wendy.]] Amanda then gleefully informs Jennifer of [[spoiler: Brown's death]], leading to Jennifer to begin hyperventalating. Then [[spoiler: Jennifer's child self appears in place of the Jennifer we've known the entire game, stands abruptly and demands that she be "given back her friend" as she takes slow confident strides towards Wendy. Upon reaching Wendy, Jennifer slaps her hard enough to knock her to the ground and proceeds to give Wendy a truly epic [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat-down]]. Once done, she stands and gives a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech truly scathing speech]] to the rest of the aristocrats, telling them that she hates them and that they're scum. She then admits that she hates herself for allowing things to escalate as far as they have and throws the brooch Wendy had given her to the ground.]] The scene (and chapter) ends with [[spoiler: Wendy]] running out of the room in tears and the aristocrats sufficiently frightened of Jennifer.

** JerkassWoobie: The rest of the orphans due to being a.) orphans, and b.) [[spoiler: getting brutally killed by the end of the game.]]

** Some fans believe that adult!Jennifer is just a projection, and that she is still a child in current time. The theory is that, after the incident at the orphanage, Jennifer wanted to become a grown-up so that she could be strong, brave, and capable of protecting those she cared about.
** One forum moderator staunchly refused the idea that Stray Dog [[spoiler: aka, Gregory]] killed any of the missing children, and [[spoiler: Wendy]] only blamed him for it while committing the murders directly.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: It's left unknown what ''exactly'' happened to Clara by the end of the game. Also Jennifer, for that matter.

* WarpedAesop: The game's fairytale narrative is rife with these, and each episode's storybook is an increasingly appalling version of this, all to drive home what [[HumansAreBastards monsters human beings are.]] [[spoiler: Subverted in the end, as the final, picture-only storybook closes the story on a [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]], but uplifting note.]]

* DamselScrappy: If YouTube comments are anything to go by fans get annoyed by Jennifer's submissive behavior by the time the third chapter roles along.

** The reveal of Stray Dog can be hard to take seriously too. [[spoiler: We see Gregory crawling in all fours, wearing nothing but white boxer shorts.]]

** The cutscene at the end of chapter 9 that acts as both TheReveal (Twice!) and as a WhamEpisode at the same time. [[spoiler: After defeating all the Imps, you end up out in the courtyard you were in during the ending of chapter 1 where your sickly young friends Wendy gets to meet Brown. Suddenly both Wendy and Brown disappear. Once you travel to the attic (encountering several turn apart toy dogs as you go) you activate a cutscene. It opens with Imps sweeping a limp, '''dead''' Brown into the corner just before Jennifer walks in.]] As Jennifer approaches the aristocrats she falls to her knees upon seeing [[spoiler: yet another torn apart toy dog]]. Then you suddenly hear this childish giggle. Jennifer looks up and watches as a young girl, '''the''' princess, descends down towards her with a bouquet of roses obscuring her face. Once the princess makes it down to Jennifer she tilts the bouquet to reveal [[spoiler: that she's Wendy.]] Amanda then gleefully informs Jennifer of [[spoiler: Brown's death]] leading to Jennifer to begin hyperventalating. Then [[spoiler: Jennifer's child self appears in place of the Jennifer we've known the entire game, stands abruptly and demands that she be "given back her friend" as she takes slow confident strides towards Wendy. Upon reaching Wendy, Jennifer slaps her hard enough to knock her to the ground and proceeds to give Wendy a truly epic [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat-down]]. Once done she stands and gives a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech truly scathing speech]] to the rest of the aristocrats, telling them that she hates them and that they're scum. She then admits that she hates herself for allowing things to escalate as far as they have and throws the brooch Wendy had given her to the ground.]] The scene (and chapter) ends with [[spoiler: Wendy]] running out of the room in tears and the aristocrats sufficiently frightened of Jennifer.

* ItWasHisSled: Due to TheReveal being one of the two [[SignatureScene signature scenes]] as mentioned below the event of [[spoiler: Brown's]] death and that [[spoiler: Wendy, the only nice person in the game, is the main antagonist and the fact that Jennifer was actually just a little girl all along]] are all well known facts to gamers who actually know of the game. If walkthroughs are anything to go by then this isn't nearly as bad as other exampled due to genuine reactions of surprise the gamers have during their first run through. It probably helps that people who have already played the game genuinely try not to spoil TheReveal for the people they recommend the game to.

** To say nothing of the aristocrats themselves.

* SignatureScene: The infamous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zABqwaeNZHE opening]] due to it's ability to either mindfuck or disturb first time players.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

** JerkassWoobie: The rest of the orphans due to being a.) orphans, and b.) [[spoiler: getting brutally killed by the end of the game.]]

* DamselScrappy: If YouTube comments are anything to go by fans get annoyed my Jennifer's submissive behavior by the time the third chapter roles along.

** The cutscene at the end of chapter 9 that acts as both TheReveal (Twice!) and as a WhamEpisode at the same time. [[spoiler: After defeating all the Imps, you end up out in the courtyard you were in during the ending of chapter 1 where your sickly young friends Wendy gets to meet Brown. Suddenly both Wendy and Brown disappear. Once you travel to the attic (encountering several turn apart toy dogs as you go) you activate a cutscene. It opens with Imps sweeping a limp, '''dead''' Brown into the corner just before Jennifer walks in.]] As Jennifer approaches the aristocrats she falls to her knees upon seeing [[spoiler: yet another torn apart toy dog]]. Then you suddenly hear this childish giggle. Jennifer looks up and watches as a young girl, '''the''' princess, decends down towards her with a bouquet of roses obscuring her face. Once the princess makes it down to Jennifer she tilts the bouquet to reveal [[spoiler: that she's Wendy.]] Amanda then gleefully informs Jennifer of [[spoiler: Brown's death]] leading to Jennifer to begin hyperventalating. Then [[spoiler: Jennifer's child self appears in place of the Jennifer we've known the entire game, stands abruptly and demands that she be "given back her friend" as she takes slow confident strides towards Wendy. Upon reaching Wendy, Jennifer slaps her hard enough to knock her to the ground and proceeds to give Wendy a truly epic [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat-down]]. Once done she stands and gives a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech truly scathing speech]] to the rest of the aristocrats, telling them that she hates them and that they're scum. She then admits that she hates herself for allowing things to escalate as far as they have and throws the brooch Wendy had given her to the ground.]] The scene (and chapter) ends with [[spoiler: Wendy]] running out of the room in tears and the aristocrats sufficiently frightened of Jennifer.

** JerkassWoobie: The rest of the orphans due to being a.) [[CaptainObvious orphans]], and b.) [[spoiler: getting brutally killed by the end of the game.]]

*** There's also the questions of whether or not he also sexually abused Jennifer [[spoiler: If he tackles you during his boss fight, his movements look rather suggestive]], and if the rabbit (Peter) represented him. If it does, than one can argue that the entirety of chapter 3 was the aristocrats [[spoiler: hunting down and killing Hoffman.]]

** The reveal of the Stray Dog can be hard to take seriously too. [[spoiler: Imagine Gregory crawling in all fours, wearing nothing but white boxer shorts.]]

* ThatOneBoss: Most likely [[spoiler:Clara]] from the "Mermaid Princess" chapter.

** Some theories posit that the Imps are really the other children, and Jennifer only sees them as monsters because she can't cope with the idea of children doing what the imps do, hence the AnimalMotifs linking them to the rest of the Red Crayon Aristocrats. [[spoiler: Which would mean the children killed Martha, and Hoffman ran like Hell so he wouldn't be next.]]

** The loud, looping music that plays during cleaning time in the "Funeral" chapter.

** The constantly looping music that plays during cleaning time in the "Funeral" chapter.

* MostAnnoyingSound: Olivia's crying. You only hear it two or three time but dear god can it get on your nerves quick.

** Some fans believe that adult!Jennifer is just a projection, and that she is still a child in current time. The theory is that Jennifer wanted to be a grown-up so that she could become strong, brave, and capable of protecting those she cared about.

** Some fans believe that adult!Jennifer isn't actually real, and that she is still a child in current time. The theory is that Jennifer wanted to be a grown-up so that she could become strong, brave, and capable of protecting those she cared about.

** Some fans believe that the adult Jennifer you play as isn't actually real, and that she is still a child in current time. The theory is that Jennifer wanted to be a grown-up so that she could become strong, brave, and capable of protecting those she cared about.