This game is a standard turn-based RPG. It looks like an old SNES RPG. Story wise its pretty average and alot of the dialog is awkward at times. The music is great, there are alot of stand out tunes that feel like they came from the glory days of RPG gaming. The battle system utilizes the same mechanics as the Final Fantasy ATB. Nothing groundbreaking here, but if you enjoy RPGs, this game wont let you down.

I love RPG maker games. I hate this game. It fails to live up to what I would expect from even a free one. The first 30 minutes or so are decent, then the game becomes incredibly tedious because of dungeon design. I am about 5 hours in, and the story has barely advanced. I am okay with mindlessly tapping [space] to fight, but in this game, that is about all there is. Fight bugs, find a useless treasure, repeat. Normally I like grinding and collecting treasures, but this game makes it tedious. Enough is enough, and enough was 4 hours ago.

I'm excited to see Whisper of a Rose finally arrive on Steam. I remember playing this game way back on the developer's site. (This is why I don't have many hours of this game played yet although I am planning on playing this new, improved version as soon as work doesn't get in the way. XD) It's the first commercial game released from the developer so for those familiar with Sweet Lily Dreams, the developer's other game released on Steam, they may find some interesting details.

First, allow me to clarify that this is a RPG Maker game. It was made with RPG Maker XP, I believe. However, there are plenty of unique features in Whisper of a Rose (WoaR, for short) that make it unique from other games in the genre. For one, the graphics are absolutely beautiful and from what I've heard, the Steam release has improved on them. I like how the sprites were custom-designed, as it can get boring seeing many games made with RPG Maker use the same sprites over and over, regardless if they're free or commercial. Also, the music tracks are very beautiful. I liked listening to the various tracks and felt that they were placed appropriately in the various scenes or battles, for the most part.

For me, though, the most important aspects of a RPG game are story and gameplay, and both hit the mark for me. I liked the idea of a protagonist living a life that feels like hell, so much so that she wants to find a way to escape. I don't know if everyone has ever felt that way but I'm sure that there are some people who have. There was especially a part of the story near the beginning which I could relate to personally and that made the game more relatable to me. Then the protagonist enters the dreamworld and there, the player can see her journey as she travels to different worlds and meets various friends and allies. Of course, she'll meet enemies, too, and have to battle them to progress. I found the ending to be quite sad although I'm glad that it's unpredictable and is a bit open-ended. Players can make their own conclusions about what happens to Melrose (the protagonist) although for those who have played Sweet Lily Dreams, they'll know that Melrose does make appearances in it so they can figure out what most likely happened to her. ;)

The gameplay is great as well. As it is a RPG, there are the usual battles, side quests, and exploration. However, there are additional features as well. In the beginning of the game, when the player can choose what kind of fighter Melrose can be, there are 3 choices: paladin, warrior, and summoner. Personally, I like summoner the best, as it allows Melrose to make use of all the dream creatures she can capture and use their abilities at her will. Also, what really stood out for me is the skill tree. As Melrose and her party members level up, they earn skill points which can be used to unlock new skills for each of them. (Skill points can also be earned by completing some side quests, I think.) If I remember correctly, even if a player earns the maximum number of skill points, it isn't possible to unlock every skill/spell so the player has to be strategic in what skills/spells to unlock. There's the crafting feature as well, which allows the player to make better consumable items as well as equipment that can't be bought in the shops.

I'll amend this review if I find anything outstanding in this Steam release that wasn't present in the version from the developer's site but as it stands, I'm excited to play WoaR all over again. This game should appeal to more hard-core RPG players but fans of Sweet Lily Dreams should like it as well.

Congrats to the developer for getting WoaR on Steam and I can't wait for more future games. :D

<this is only a part of the review since I exceeded the allowed number of chars>

Role Playing fans, rejoice! One of the strongest competitors to immortal classics like Final Fantasy IV for the SNES or the PC indie titles Aveyond and Millennium has been released for your playing pleasure. How does Whisper of a Rose fare in comparison to cult classics of both the ancient generation of consoles and modern indie classics? Please, take a few minutes to read through this text to find out.

Whisper of a Rose, the debut production of RosePortal Games, is perhaps the most often updated title in their catalogue, with each new edition boasting additional content and a myriad of fixes and other updates. It's hard not to see the love for the game and its players in the actions of the developer, who despite working on two completely new titles, never forgot about the fans of the original game from 2009 that can safely be called a cult classic now.

As with most RPG titles, the vital part of Whisper of a Rose's charm and appeal is its storyline and setting. Set several years into the future, the story features a college student by the name of Melrose, who's struggling to keep her life from completely falling apart. Not only she comes from a poor and pathological family (both parents abusive towards her), but she also faces the everyday problems of school bullies targeting her and most of the other students simply not bothering to even notice her. Eventually, when she finds out about a device that would allow her to travel into a happy and colorful Dreamworld, she immediately decides to get it and use it on herself - ignoring the warning that the iDream is a mere prototype and thus there are certain risks involved with using it.

And so she ventures forth into the Dreamworld but quickly discovers that it's not the peaceful, happy place it was supposed to be. As opposed to her wishes, it's more often shaped by her fears, both those she well knows of and those residing in her subconsciousness. She is instructed to find a way out of there... and despite her understandable reservations in the beginning, she eventually realizes that she must do so.

Thus begins her journey, full of sudden twists and mortal dangers.

The synopsis above may have reminded you about The Wizard of Oz, or Carroll's Alice - and while it may be bearing many similarities to those, it's also quite original, especially in comparison to many other indie jRPG titles which feature a destined-to-save-the-world protagonist in a fantasy setting, with most of the events being quite easy to predict. Melrose's role isn't to save everyone in the Dreamworld, she's merely a bypasser who's trying to leave. Whether or not she helps some of the NPCs (there's an extensive array of tasks the player is nowhere near being forced to complete in order to progress further) is entirely up to her... or to you. It's a very interesting spectacle of how a young woman matures, with being a self-centered teenager with multiple personal issues in the beginning and becoming a decent and brave young woman not hesitating to do the right thing in the end.

This is primarily Melrose's story, and via interactions with two of her Dreamworld-born teammates, the player will soon realize that they both serve to show her character depth, however not for a moment losing any of their own. However, with the appearance of the last party member, things become even darker than before. Christina may seem like a generic tsundere deadpan snarker at first, but she is also just as well developed a character despite not being the main star of the show. Her fears are much darker than Melrose's and when they are revealed, it becomes fully clear how tragic a past she had.

If you are a sensitive person and can invest yourself emotionally into the game, you'll find many scenes genuinely moving. I did shed a tear or two while baring witness to the no holds barred beatdown Melrose's deadbeat dad gave her very early in the game, just as I did when at one point her memories were in large part erased and everything looked hopeless. I genuinely felt bad for Christina when the horror of her past became known... and it's a lot from me because I don't cry a whole lot. In fact, almost not at all.

As far as the visuals go, the game is just as awesome. It takes time (or looking into the game's file structure) to realize that this is RPG Maker XP, due to a variety of reasons: first off, there's barely any stock material left in, mostly limited to spell effects during battles and a few leftover tiles in the areas - the entire remainder of the graphic resources is completely new and fresh. And much more detailed than the RPG Maker stock resources - especially the main characters. For pixel art, this is outstandingly realistic - visible limbs, proper body proportions and vivid animation of movement - something previously unseen in RPG Maker based titles. Here's how this looks from the technical perspective: RPG Maker VX and VX Ace titles usually have their chibi characters with heads doubling the size of the rest of the body on a single tile, whereas their predecessor engine RPG Maker XP has them a bit more realistic, utilizing two tiles - out of which one is usually for the face and another for the body. Whisper of a Rose uses three tiles for a character in total. Go figure. That's not all - the enemies have been given the same treatment as well, being incredibly detailed and fully animated. After this game, I found it hard to readjust to XP standard-size humans, while VX ones became a sight absolutely unbearable for me. That's right: Whisper of a Rose is downright beautiful and will steal your heart... No love you will have! (as would a certain witch say) Not for any other game, not after this.

That's not all in terms of graphics - did I mention, there's barely any stock resource in the game? I think I did. Now imagine the fact that there's so damn many unique locations I've lost count! We have a modern city, a bare, cloudy dreamworld area, a child's dream candy-filled land, a school - both real-life and nightmarishly twisted, mountain hills, a forest, several different cave systems, a valentine-themed town and an actually unsettling marionette factory. I haven't mentioned all the areas in the first act of the game even... there's four times more areas in Whisper and all have original graphics!

There's also character avatars - something not available in the regular RPG Maker XP featureset (it was introduced as a stock feature in VX), and there's a lot of those, with more being promised in a future update. They've gotten a redesign since the original release of the game and both versions are equally beautiful. Each of the main characters has several of these avatars at their disposal, allowing them to fully show you the scope of emotions they're going through.

As for the musical score, it's very extensive and varied. Almost every location has its own main theme and many of the events have special tunes written for them as well. The musical styles are varied, but surprisingly consistent - that includes the new tunes written for this re-release. The music is mostly fresh, with a very small number of tracks being remixes of RPG Maker stocks (I think in the re-release there's just one such track left), or freely available on the internet (of those I think I know two). I've gotten the soundtrack album in the past and every once in a while I give it another whirl because even outside of the game, the enchanting soundtrack stands firm as a smash hit.

<gameplay and technical aspects of the review in another post>

As far as classic rpg's go, this is like a classic that never happened, almost like a dream (pun completely intended) the story is fresh and interesting like the true twisted face of "wonderland". The art style is impressive and the music is amazing, the gameplay is reminiscent of old school final fantasy with some current day practices. My only problem is not being able to select the resolution, my screen seems to cut off a little, but beside that little fact, I wish modern rpg's would take a step back and see what an indie can do with a little passion and a whole lot of style. I give Whisper of the Rose a 9.5.

When I first saw the trailer I was immediately reminded of Alice in Wonderland and had to get it! I haven't played far yet (and apparently the game is over 25 hours so I still have a long way to go) but here are my thoughts so far:

Story: Very interesting and bittersweet. I feel like the story was written by a 17 year old girl, but in a good way, because it makes the story and dialogue believable. You also see the story behind the other characters, and it seems like the villains are heroes in their own way. It's very good, I almost teared up at a certain scene in the beginning (no spoilers).

Graphics: Beautiful! It has a nice old school look. It doesn't look perfect and modern, but that's good, because it fits in with the entire game's "retro" feeling. I've only played a little bit and have already seen SO many different areas with a lot of variation! There's a candy land, sewers, a museum, a dark school, etc.

Music: Sounds great. Some songs are just "OK". They fit the mood but are nothing special. Other tracks (like when you fight the first boss) are absolutely amazing. I wish I could fight that boss over and over just to listen to the track!

Gameplay: The most important part! I really like that Melrose can summon a helper. It makes the beginning of the game more fun and strategic before you get the other main characters in your party. The battles are also real time so you can time your actions with the enemy! It's a lot of fun!

Conclusion: It's a really amazing game. It's right up to par with To The Moon and Skyborn for me. Actually, as a game it's WAY better! But I still have to finish it so I can't say for sure yet which of the three is best.

Whipser of a Rose is great, until you actually start playing it.

In the opening scenes, I was immediately drawn into the game. Whisper of a Rose has an immersive narrative pulling from the real world into a fantasy one with a played out but fitting transition. Everything in the game is quite symbolic of the paralells between the real world and the dream world you enter. Melrose is a unique character to follow around as far as RPG worlds go, and the cast that was starting to form as I played through seemed at least not totally cheesy (but if the super powerful person who can't control their powers! trope bothers you, red flag). Unfortunately, once the opening scenes end and you actually start existing in the game world, the reality sets in that this not an exciting adventure, it's a typical JPRG grindquest without the tension relievers most of them typically throw in.

I have to state before I get too far into this review, that I only played 5 hours of the gameplay. Maybe after the 5 hours I played, the game would magically become 200% better, but I find it doubtful. It's obvious from the get-go that the game was not very well play tested early on in the development process. If it was, the obvious feedback would have been that The areas within the game are far too large. How often do you hear people complaining about that in an RPG game? Typically when RPGs have large areas, when you go well off the beaten path, you are rewarded. This is something WoaR attempts to do, but fails miserably at.

Let me paint the picture. You are going through the dungeons with your party, spamming the attack button on small groups of enemies because it literally takes less time to do that than to cast a spell that would kill the enemies in one hit (in addition to your turns refilling, your spells have their own cast bar. You also have to wait for every other characters turn to end before your spells go off). So you're going through the area, killing off the exact same enemies over and over and over and over and over again, trying to see if the path you're traveling on is the main one or a little detour. When you get to a dead end, you see a chest. "Ah, this isn't the right way, but maybe I'll get something cool!" you may think. But no, what you'll get is a weapon or armor piece that literally increases a stat by one, or memory orbs. Memory orbs are the currency of the game. So imagine spending literally 30 minutes going through a dead end path (I'm not exaggerating, the game is that poorly planned) only to end up at a chest that gives you more of the same money that you're already frustrated of seeing... and that's it. YOu have to backtrack all the way back to the beginning of that path and find a new one.

This is all the game is in the first 4 real hours of playing it. A mindless treck through bats to find very small upgrades or useless money. That's it. I didn't even encounter a TOWN in the first 4 hours of gameplay. The game is a constant motion forward through dungeons. There was one point where I found an inn, but there was nothing to do or explore there, and there were no NPCs worth talking to (about 3 total anyways). Typically in JRPGs, towns offer a kind of tension relief their repetitive nature can sometimes cause. It gives the player a chance to relax, plan, and become immersed in the world they are exploring. Whisper of a rose ingnoring this convention in an otherwise convetional game becomes one of its greatest flaws.

I'm sad that I quit the game so soon into it. The environments are gorgeous and inventive, the story, while a bit cliche, is rather interesting and makes sense with the surroundings you find yourself in... but the gameplay is just... boring. That's all there is to it. Perhaps at some point, the game does a complete 180 and the paths becomes more linear and the combat becomes more complex, but I personally couldn't force myself to sit through any more of it after the sidequest boss I spent an hour and a half trying to find died in about three turns.... and then I realized I would have to backtrack all the way back to a teleporter just to get back into the story (would probably take at least 20 minutes to do). I didn't want to hate this game, but unfortunately Whisper of a Rose stands as a perfect example of how a great story and world can be hindered by the actual gameplay of a poorly planned JRPG.

*Edited for spelling errors and consistency.

Psssht. *facerub* Where to begin with this.

I want to start off by saying that I REALLY like Whisper of a Rose, when it isn't making me tear my hair out, but I have a hard time recommending it to anyone who wants a stroll down memory lane. Especially those that come from generation 4/5/6 Final Fantasy. Realizing this is a debut title and is going to have issues, being a fan of this type of game I plan to throw the book at it. Not out of malice, but because I really hope to see this game and future games improved from constructive criticism, rather than take on a holding pattern as a result of unwarranted praise.

In Whisper of a Rose, you are Melrose, a schoolgirl from a broken home with social issues at school who steals an iDream, an experimental device which allows you to live your dreams, from a museum in which it is to be showcased. In using it, however, she becomes trapped in an inhospitable dream world with no clear way to escape.

The story itself is well written and functional, and the characters diverse (if archetypal) but I find my relationship with Melrose to be an emotional rollercoaster. I seem to alternate between sympathizing with her plight and wanting to punch her in the face, because there are situations in which she has violent outbursts and behaves like a total b!tch on an irrational level. I mostly settle on indifference to her entirely.

The visuals, taking into account that the game was built in RPG Maker VX are very good, and I have thus far encountered no bugs or glitches that spring to mind, and experienced no crashes. However the way the interface is designed, while functional could definitely use improvement. When it is an allied character's turn, there are two visual prompts to assist in this - their 'wait bar' fills and turns red, and they flash white. Now, this is usually fine in areas with good colour contrast but in bright areas with really low colour saturation it is really difficult to tell whose turn it is, especially if two characters' wait bars fill simulatenously. Similarly, you are notified that an enemy is charging up an ability to use by the same white flash, which again is not readily apparent in low saturation areas with bright colours. I have little knowledge of the limitations of the RPG Maker interface, but in this regard I feel the battle interface could have been built better.

That said, the battle animations and particle effects for spells and abilities play out smoothly and are well done, and the diverse beastiary of enemies encountered are appropriately thematic for where they are found and the more cleverly named of them are aptly so. The game maintains an acceptable framerate, and apart from periodic pauses in isolated instances where the game informs me it is 'loading' there is no graphical stuttering.

Spells are learned inorganically and the screen on which they are learned is better described as a dark cave than a tree. It is needlessly large, and the little amount of the map that is visible on screen gives no clues as to which spells are in which direction until you stumble onto them, wandering aimlessly through it. I honestly would have rather had a cascade menu with each spell, a button press to unlock and branching menus to power up each attribute (Speed, Power, Mana Cost) than this... mess. The way in which Skill Unlock points are obtained makes some semblance of sense, however. Each one is obtained by completing a story segment, usually through defeating a boss. Though gaining Skill Upgrade points is frustrating and nonsensical to say the least, as they are loot objects in dungeons or obtained through talking to NPCs, rather than leveling up. However, the variety of spells and abilities available are fairly vast, each with different effects and power levels, and are unique to each character. I would have preferred a more heuristic approach to learning them, though.

Which brings me to the next point - magic is WAY overvalued in this game, especially during bosses with adds. At my current playtime I have 3 characters unlocked - the main character, Melrose (summoner), a mage and an archer. Melrose and the archer do little damage of any consequence with their basic attacks, and don't have enough mana to reliably use their spells to deal and recover damage. Whereas the mage, while having really high mana costs can usually wipe the field clean in one area of effect cast, and continue to do this reliably for many battles consecutively as long as the archer feeds her mana with his own abilities. A very big contrast to most other RPGs comparable to this.

The puzzles present in this game are generally very good, reaching and even exceeding complexity found in games like The Legend of Zelda. I have scratched my head for a while trying to work out exactly what to do with them, and even had to ask for help on one occasion. In this regard I give the game a very high grade.

The maps are generally well laid out, if sometimes needlessly large and complicated. I felt as if some of the areas were built to have complex routes to navigate through and multiple dead ends for complexity's sake, rather than to actually serve a purpose. Sure, some of them have treasure at the end, but others are just... there. Add to that random collision objects that pepper some of the maps and navigating them can be somewhat frustrating at times, but this is only an issue in very isolated instances and doesn't permeate the entire game. There are also frequently really long distances that need to be travelled through the world map, with no random encounters or treasure to discover to break up the monotony of trekking around the world looking for the next area entrance.

The crafting available in the game is somewhat esoteric. Recipes are found throughout the game in various places, but the materials required are often not that common without grinding and the interface for crafting is clunky at best. It's often easier to grind currency to buy items at shops and ignore crafting altogether until much later in the game, where crafting seems to be required to create relic quality equipment.

The music is okay, and what little voice acting is present is well done. I haven't encountered any audio stuttering, glitches or any other annoyances with it. The game has good KBM and gamepad support, though it seems notably easier to play with a gamepad than KBM, but that may just be me and not a rule.

My understanding is that a playthrough should take 30-40 hours, and with my 9-10 hours into it so far I believe that approximation to be accurate.

Overall, it's a decent little RPG. Though if you came hoping for something to rival titans like Final Fantasy, Legend of Dragoon, Star Ocean or Phantasy Star and take a walk down memory lane, you're probably better off spending the couple of extra dollars and getting an actual Final Fantasy game. If you just want a nice little RPG to get your turn-based fix, Whisper of a Rose is for you.

Nice art but quite frustrating. Not in difficulty sense, the game is rather easy. It’s just boring. I thought I was in for a treat as the game went through in beginning phases but it fell flat pretty quickly once it starting moving. Many of the environments are beyond annoying to navigate. Between world objects blocking you such as plants, rocks and the tiresome enemies chasing you endlessly to make you engage in a snooze fest of a battle it really starts to become a chore. Whisper of a Rose attempts at bringing in a skill tree to the genre which works but not as well as it could. You collect skill upgrades in random places or talking to random npcs, many which can be easily missed. You do not earn any skills from just leveling up so It’s nice that they did something different and encourage exploration but this game simple isn’t worth exploring. Its pointless to escape from battles because the enemies simply spawn right next to you only to engage the battle again. If you try running far away hoping you can lose them don’t bother. They can often navigate the annoying terrain better than you. If you do successfully get away you’ll only be met by another horde immediately after or during your escape. Want to find a way to that chest you see on that ledge? Well then be prepared to put 30 minutes at least trying to painstakingly get to it. First JRPG I’ve ever desperately tried not to get into any battles. Not just because they are pointless and boring but because it will cause you to level way to quickly, obliterating any challenges. 5/10

This game is really amazing, because it's beautiful in its imperfection. You can tell it wasn't made with a high budget, but everything is so detailed and original. The scenery varies greatly: there's a Candy Mountain, an underwater city, a fire city, a dark museum. I love the dark areas the most, they are actually quite creepy!

I played the earlier version of the game and purchased it immediately when I found out a new version was coming to Steam. The face graphics are completely new (I love them!), the dialogue has been re-written, the whole game feels more polished now.

The only downside to the game is that the beginning is a little bit slow, but it also allows you to sit back and take in the atmosphere and relax. Then later when more main characters are introduced the pace increases and battles become very strategic and exciting. The whole game feels like a build-up to the amazing climax (small spoiler: there's a huge battle on a sky scraper), but there are also a lot of interesting side-plots that get resolved.

What I love the most about the game is the symbolism. The whole game takes place inside the main character's "dream world" and everything there (even the quests!) are symbolic of a part of her personality, past and a part of human nature. The parent-child relationship is also an important theme that is explored throughout the game. At the beginning Melrose, the main character, seems a bit bratty and snotty but through her dream world the subject goes a lot deeper and you see her transition into a better person.

Concluding, I would definitely recommend this game! I'm going back to playing it again. :D Love that I can choose Summoner on first playthrough this time!

Okay, the game gets a few mixed reviews, but Whisper of a Rose is definitely a good addition to one's library of games. The in game art style is beautiful and shows a lot of consideration has been put into designing area's, characters, etc. There are a few rough spots though in gameplay, such as scripted scenes involving sprites getting stuck if char x moves in front of y by interference from char z. For example, in the museum's scene it is possible for Melrose to arrive at the door before the curator and thus blocking the trigger for the event's continuation.

Similarly, if you escape a battle, enemy sprites will be reset to their original spawn points. If you happen to stand next to one you'll either have to fight and win or face game-over since Melrose's sprite is immobile immediately after a fight (probably because of the item drops needing to be calculated). Sounds bad? I can be. But! Even with those flaws the game is fun to play. The battle system feels reminiscent of Lunar SSSC, with animated battlers and variable music, the three selectable classes are balanced well thus far and your first summon is cute.

I won't touch too much upon the story, as others have done that already, but like To the Moon this game has a unique appeal. I'd recommend it even to those sceptical of RM games in general.

Whisper of a Rose is probably one of the better RPGMaker comes you will come across.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVuOednLx_w
You play a female character by the name of Melrose. She is trapped in a life of hardship and no one understands her. To cope with her sorrow, Melrose turns to her imagination. Sadly, dreams must end... But not today. Melrose is about to meet her godmother and discover that the land in her dreams is real and in trouble. It's now upto you to continue her cause.

I really like this game so far. The graphics are really nice and very detailed. The music is beautiful and I like the fact that they combined a kind of real life setting and a fantasy setting. I haven't played much in the dreamworld yet, but really looking forward to the different settings there. Also, I started as a summoner and star is so cute, hoping that the other summons are also cool.

Whisper of a Rose is a good game. I clocked 30 hours on my first playthrough as a warrior and have started a second playthrough as a summoner. The game feels huge but I spend most of my time running around in search of Skill Orbs. The developer says the focus of the game is "exploring".
As I explored the game world to no end the "shift"-Key became my immediate friend. In the late-game even in battles. There ar 3 different classes to choose from but use the same Skill-Tree (with in or two skills locked). The Warrior does not have access to the "Prayer" Skill and the 2 Summoning-spells. Every class uses the same Equipment and gets the same Attack, Speed and HP Bonuses. Seriously why even bother create a Warrior-Class if the class gets no extra Skill and has the same Attack Power as the Summoner?

In short; What i like about the game:
- 3 different classes (with the useless class Warrior)
- use of skill orbs to increase Skills (Power, Cost, Speed)
- 30 hours of play time
- the music score

What I wish for:
- The Warrior gets its own special Skill or gets some noticeable Boosts

Immensely game-deprived at a certain point in time, I found Whisper of a Rose on Steam. My first thought was "It looks very pretty. Immensely pretty, in fact. Whoever made the art for this game was very good." Honestly, the trailer and blurb sounded so mundane and cliché ridden that I considered not giving this the time of day but I thought, maybe advertising the game was just harder than writing it? So I sat down and started playing it.

Four hours later, I regret this decision. The writing the bland and cliché as it gets with only the slightest hint of self-awareness (which, I will not be afraid to admit, shows promise but I don't care enough to pursue it), the combat never gets anywhere, and it takes about three hours just to get the ability to upgrade your skills.

But the WORST of it comes when you're going through Butterfly Forest. At one point, you're impeded by a group of butterflies that you're not allowed to touch else you get cursed. So what you have to do? BACKTRACK TO THE LAST LEVEL to get an item that will let you pass! U♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥h... Fine, whatever. So I go back but the game misdirects me; I get dragonfly eggs instead of dragonfly droppings. Or maybe those WERE the dragonfly droppings but I'm not using them right. Either way, I don't know how to proceed.

I can tell you now that, even if your JRPG well is so dry that your tears are literally the only things that allow it to hold any sort of liquid, Whisper of a Rose is not worth it. The art is pretty, though. Whoever made the art assets for this game, if you're reading this, you are fantastic. Sadly, good aesthetics does not a good game make and thus this game has effectively stolen $7.50 of mine that I'm never getting back.

I'm so in love with this game... :3


Story:
Although I'm new to steam, I've been a JRPG player for more than 10 years. I can say that there are some awesomely made games out there. As far as the story goes, this game is one of the best I've played, it is not your typical "save the world" thing (there's nothing bad in that though). The story is bitersweet and complicated and there is some darkness lurking through it (bullying, depression, theft etc.).

Graphics & maps:
This game maker is surely somehting special and if you see those maps I'm sure you'll say the same thing. The maps are original and amazing. I wonder how much talent can a person have if he/she is able to draw maps like that :) I really enjoy exploring them and fighting those monsters. I love how most of them are huge puzzles and the thing that you need to find your way to chests.

Characters:
At first I though that Melrose is annoying, but after I put myself in her situation I could see why she is the way she is. She's a complicated person that's been abused in her life, she's scared, depressed and searching a way to get out of her terrible reality. All other characters that I've met so far are very lovable (I've only met Hellena and Diamond so far) :)

Music:
I love the music and the thing that you can get the tracks in chests around the world. You just need to get to the station and enjoy your favorite song :)

Overall:
This game is rich with original features and highly enjoyable. I love every second that I've spent on playing it so far. I even get the funny idea to call my boss tomorrow and tell him that I'm sick so I can have a day off to spend on playing this fabulous thing ! :D Good job creator, whoever you are :) I'll be sure to try your other games as well, I'm sure they'll be awesome :)

Don't hesitate boys and girls, go and BUY this game!! :)) 10/10..so far :D

Loving the game...Not so much the strat guide in miirocle caves. Definately recommend game

This is game is very interesting and nice and easily get me play some more. But, my problem is the game on certain area. Like, some area are been block off.
When I am the Love Tower (I forgot, what is called). When came to the second going down. It won't let me go down further, and their I am stuck, and before that their is a chest can I can't block my a invisible force.
For Sure, Right about there i'll be stuck.

30 minute first impressions:

Doesn't immediately suck like Sweet Lily Dreams. Battle system is good and the exposition is fairly good, if not a little lengthy. Level design is still awful though and the main character is a regular old airhead, which is not what I really expected from someone with abusive parents. Framerate is dreadful in certain areas probably from special effects abuse or event abuse which is a common issue that RPG Maker has, the power of your machine will have nothing to do with it since it's just the engine being unoptimized for that sort of function. No graphics settings like SLD had. Mouse control is still awful.

Some nitpicks:
Despite the ridiculous handholding on everything else (In which you have to reach a certain point in the first dungeon to be able to equip items after a tutorial for that (I also don't like this)), you're never told what the three starting classes do and what their differences are. The distinction between a warrior and a paladin is very ambiguous between games and even then, when I picked the summoner, I still ended up with a sword and board at the start.

For some reason they got rid of the two main keyboard buttons I use for RPGM games.

Reused music. Can't blame them since they're a small studio but considering the quality disparity between SLD and WoaR in other aspects, I was expecting no reused tracks.

No improvement to the art style.

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Anyways, already better than SLD by miles. I'll add more to this review when I get further into the game but I'm optimistic about it. Saying yes to recommendation because my thoughts on the game are fairly positive currently, if not just a mental trick from my experience with their first game being dreadfully awful and this game being pleasantly better.

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Played until the first boss now and after it and now I really don't like it. Only buy if you REALLY like RPG Maker games because it comes with all the amateurish beginner decisions most RPGM games come with.

Good RPG so far, love the story so far. 9/10