It seems unlikely the two sides of the game's personality - the prickly exploration of childish cruelty, and the more abject cruelty of flailing boss fights - will comfortably reconcile, making the experience dependent on how stubbornly determined you are to enjoy it.
There's a deep seam of unease to be mined by the dedicated, but progression feels too fraught for adventure gamers and too plodding for survival-horror hounds - seemingly following a trend of SCEI original titles produced on a conceptual flight of fancy, without thought to form or appeal.
To the credit of Rose's atmosphere, it can almost pull off the sensation that the contrasts are intentional: a double-dare to see its genre concessions as the Aristocrats' madness rather than failings of design.
That's possibly too generous a reading to justify a western release, although the voice acting and illustrative text are already in English (much of the dialogue is written in Japanese, however).
Originally it appeared that Rose's daring themes would limit its chances for localisation, but in the end it may be the lack of risk-taking in the game itself that locks it away as an import-only curiosity piece.
