8 Weirdest Video Game Enemies (And What They Represent)

Rule of Rose is the story of 19 year old Jennifer, as she unravels the mysteries of her past in an orphanage whilst attempting to survive a strange aristocracy ruled by children. In Jennifer's adventures, she comes across the Mermaid Princess; a girl from the orphanage named Clara, who's been tied up with ropes around her legs and suspended from the ceiling.

As this is the boss form of Clara, it seems the mermaid has injuries synonymous with self harm to reflect Clara's fragile mental state. The cause of this is suspected to be abuse from orphanage headmaster Hoffman, which is never actually seen, but strongly implied throughout the story.

This dark insinuation is what informs the Mermaid Princess's strange appearance, with her slash marks leading to a stapled surgical cut across her abdomen - one that could be indicative of a c-section from an unwanted pregnancy.

That the Mermaid Princess continually throws up could be reflective of morning sickness, too, if we continue with this path.The form of a mermaid could simply be idealistic wish fulfilment of something all young girls dream to be, but far more likely is the binding of Clara's legs in a desperate projection of stopping Hoffman’s assault.

In any case, it's a dark, horrible presentation of a terrible circumstance that has been picked apart and extrapolated on by dedicated fans since release who honed in on this reading, and goes some way to explaining how Rule of Rose was so fiercely controversial upon release.