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[GodzillaDB]

ロゼと黄昏の古城 (Roze to Tasogare no Kojou; lit. Rose and the Old Castle of Twilight)

Please note this OT is best viewed with the Dark Theme accompanied by "subsistence of darkness" from Hajime Sugie.

Information:
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: NIS America
Platforms: PlayStation Vita, Windows PC [Steam]
Release Date(s):
-- April 26th, 2016 (JPN)
-- June 23rd, 2016 (Asia)
-- April 11th, 2017 (US)
-- April 14th, 2017 (EU)
Extra Links: Official Website / Import Thread
Price:
-- $19.99 USD (Physical [Standard] & Digital Vita / Digital Steam)
-- $39.99 USD (Physical LE Vita)
ESRB Rating: Teen for Violence & Blood
Genre: Puzzle / Action Platformer
Installation Size: 912MB (Vita)

Plot Synopsis:

A girl with a cursed thorn upon her back. A round giant with a big swirl.

The two awaken in a ruined dungeon where they will help each other progress through the castle.

But the girl is unaware of the cruel fate that awaits her...

Characters:

Rose ~ A young girl who awakens inside the depths of a castle dungeon to discover a cursed thorn affixed on her back. She previously lived in a convent and valiantly tackles the treacherous puzzles in a desire to find her way back home. Unfortunately, a bond exists between Rose and the fortress that imprisons her...

Giant ~ A lumbering beast that's restricted to the confines of the castle. Once Rose happens to revive it underneath some rubble, the Giant serves as her companion in traversing the difficult traps that await them. Although the bizarre swirl face makes it hard to discern it's thoughts, the creature must be kindhearted enough to offer assistance...

Gameplay & Key Features:
In order to unravel the mystery of the "Curse of Thorns," Rose and the strange Giant must work together as a team to brave the hazardous depths of the castle. Each character has their own unique abilities between Rose's power to absorb blood and transfer it to key objects by manipulating time along with the Giant's brute strength to maneuver and throw obstacles to create a path.

• Color & Time - Without color and time, the player cannot progress, but with Rose's power you can take advantage of both these key elements.
• Blood Memories - Splatters of blood are waiting to be found all throughout the castle, and each one contains a gruesome death.
• Visual Storytelling - Collect Blood Memories to unlock the past by watching a series of vignettes pieced together by each victim's death.
• Live, Die, Repeat - Utilize both Rose's and the giant's power to solve each stage, but if death happens to cut your journey short, be careful not to make the same mistake twice.

Trailers:
-- Announcement Trailer
-- Teaser Trailer
-- Gameplay Trailer

Frequently Asked Questions:
Where can I possibly purchase this video game?
-- Physical copies were sold exclusively though NIS America's online store and they appear to currently be out of stock for both the standard and limited editions. Digital versions can be acquired through PSN (US) and Steam, respectively.

What comes with the limited edition?
-- Players who manage to purchase this variant will receive the following items:

• Physical copy for PSVita
• Collector's Box
• Soft Cover Artbook (36 pgs.)
• CD soundtrack (15 tracks)
• Double-sided rubber strap of Rose
• 5-inch stress ball of the Giant

Does this project have any relationship with another NIS title, "ntoL#NIQ: The Firefly Diary / Hotaru no Nikki"?
-- A Rose in the Twilight has been described as a "spiritual successor" to the aforementioned game. Both titles were directed by Masayuki Furuya, who additionally handled the character designs, and feature music by composer Hajime Sugie. In a conversation with Dengeki PlayStation in January 2016, Furuya expressed an awareness toward criticisms of Firefly Diary being too difficult and subsequently sought to "adjust the balance" during the production of this title. He further clarified that Rose in the Twilight isn't an official The Firefly Diary 2 as a concept for a direct follow-up was "hard to envision" and preferred the possibility of remaking the first game before taking on a second installment.

Reviews: 78 [Metacritic - Generally favorable reviews; 12 critics as of 04/12/17]

A rose is perhaps the ultimate symbol of the link between pain and romance. It’s the flower that is considered the most romantic or beautiful by many, if not most, but it also has sharp thorns; thorns that will prick you badly and make you bleed if you’re not careful with them. A Rose in the Twilight is, in its entirety, a metaphor for the rose itself; it’s a truly beautiful masterpiece, but it’s also a gothic kind of beauty, in that it’s more than happy to stab you sharply, even as you appreciate everything about it. It’s a ravishing, masterful work, that will be played by just a handful, but hopefully remembered for a long time to come. (5/5 stars)

A Rose in the Twilight does a lot of things well. It crafts a story and a world that makes me care deeply about its central character, it’s visually spectacular when it’s not killing you with its hard-to-distinguish artwork, and it touches on moods and feelings that most other games don’t even attempt to venture into. For as much creativity as there is to be found throughout those aspects, there isn’t nearly enough in the actual gameplay. If the first half played more like the second half, it would have been an outstanding experience in spite of its short length. (7.5/10)

A Rose in the Twilight has some interesting ideas, but poor execution turns it into a massive disappointment. Players won’t find brilliant puzzles to solve like in Inside or Hue, and instead are stuck playing a game that only has a strong atmosphere to offer up. That might be enough for some players, and the game is certainly gorgeous, but when the genre is filled with brilliant games, there’s little value in such a flawed one. (5/10)

Special Thanks & Citations:
-- Nippon Ichi Software and NIS America for developing and releasing A Rose in the Twilight!
-- Images and product information were compiled from NIS America's official website, Steam and Kotaku respectively to illustrate the title.
-- If you have an additional questions or comments, please feel free to send me a message whenever you desire as this thread serves as my first self-made topic.

 

[Battlechili]

>not even a single reply
And I know Steamspy is inaccurate during the first week of release, but I'm very worried that this game is selling extremely poorly thanks to having to compete against Bayonetta.

It looks like it could be an improvement upon The Firefly Diary, and it seems to be garnering even less attention than it did. ;_;
I know The Firefly Diary wasn't the best game ever, but it was still a good challenging puzzle game, and this looks like more of that.

 

[OniBarubary]

I mean, I'm gonna pick it up but much like all of these games and Yomawari, I'm going to wait on the price a bit.

 

[yella]

I'm definitely interested in it, but don't have enough cash for a purchase. Will probably buy whenever I get the funds.

 

[SarusGray]

I enjoyed Fire Fly diary regardless of its awkward controls. The story and charming graphics were great. my limited edition copy for this game just arrived so I can't wait to try it out.

 

[joe2187]

I have all the Vita LEs for all these games.

I love these puzzle games dearly. They're that mix of cute endearing and horrific and unsettling that I love.

This game in particular seems to be going in harder on killing the cute character in more and more sadistic ways, and even going so far as having suicide as a mechanic.

I still need to finish up the ending parts to HtoL#NiQ and get started the 2nd part of Yomawari.

 

[GodzillaDB]

>not even a single reply
And I know Steamspy is inaccurate during the first week of release, but I'm very worried that this game is selling extremely poorly thanks to having to compete against Bayonetta.

It looks like it could be an improvement upon The Firefly Diary, and it seems to be garnering even less attention than it did. ;_;
I know The Firefly Diary wasn't the best game ever, but it was still a good challenging puzzle game, and this looks like more of that.

I think launching this thread in the middle of the night in North America probably didn't do much in bringing awareness to the title nor garnering attention away from the "Persona 5" and "Bayonetta PC" hype trains. NIS America couldn't have done much else aside from delaying "Rose" further away from the Atlus release window, but I do hope that it sold enough to cover the appropriate costs for the localization along with incentive to continue releasing these small projects in the West. Like I previously stated in the OP, the physical copies appear to have sold out well in advance of its premier so, hopefully, that'll have some sway with future Vita games getting the retail treatment from Nippon.

"A Rose in the Twilight" certainly does feel like an improvement over its predecessor, especially in regards to controlling the protagonist more directly and I don't recall any touch screen functions within the first hour of gameplay. It does seem to have a few major fans throughout the last year for the import. I believe Kotaku had several articles dedicated to impressions and a half-hour fan review was on YouTube pretty recently with some nice thoughts, but it spoiled practically the entire experience in the process so I opted out of linking it.

I have all the Vita LEs for all these games.

I love these puzzle games dearly. They're that mix of cute endearing and horrific and unsettling that I love.

This game in particular seems to be going in harder on killing the cute character in more and more sadistic ways, and even going so far as having suicide as a mechanic.

I still need to finish up the ending parts to HtoL#NiQ and get started the 2nd part of Yomawari.

I was among the handful that missed out on the original "Firefly Diary" release so I was ecstatic when "Yomawari" bundled a bunch of the same content down the line. I know a couple of users ridiculed the move in an understandable fashion for them padding out the retail price, but I was grateful to have the double pack without destroying my wallet with online auctions. It definitely keeps with the trend of cute ladies having a dreadful experience and I feel awful every time that I've seen her die on screen. Suicide mechanic is introduced in a tutorial where you're trapped in an inescapable pit and dying reboots back to the latest checkpoint. I've had a Vita for over an entire year right now. I haven't beaten anything outside of the "Zero Escape" trilogy so I want to explore beyond visuals novels and tackle Nippon's stuff as a horror-esque puzzle trilogy.

 

[Messofanego]

I have all the Vita LEs for all these games.

I love these puzzle games dearly. They're that mix of cute endearing and horrific and unsettling that I love.

This game in particular seems to be going in harder on killing the cute character in more and more sadistic ways, and even going so far as having suicide as a mechanic.

I still need to finish up the ending parts to HtoL#NiQ and get started the 2nd part of Yomawari.

Speaking of cute and creepy on Vita, what did people think of Murasaki Baby?

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

My neon orange import Vita has a broken screen. If I can find a cheap used Vita in good condition I'm picking this up stat.

Also that Caligula game looks interesting.

 

[meppi]

Nearly missed this game as I had no idea it was getting a limited retail release in Europe.
Thanks to being on their mailing list I was able to grab a copy.
So it arrived today, but I'm a bit too busy with other games still, mainly Zelda and Isaac to open it up right now. Not to mention Yakuza Zero which should arrive next week.