Whisper of a Rose is a very well done RPG Maker game about a girl named Melrose who has a pretty awful life and very much wants to find some way to escape it. She finds a device called the iDream and uses that to escape into her Dream World.

But she ends up finding out that the Dream World isn't as nice as she thinks it is. After all, not all our dreams are nice and happy, there are plenty of nightmares as well.

Whisper of a Rose takes us on Melrose's trip through the Dream World. Everything in the game is based on things that happened to Melrose and her own fears and wishes. Even her own repressed memories show up at times. The settings range from rolling hills to unpleasant forests and swamps. And all Melrose wants to do is find a way home.

Overall pros:
+Lengthy game, it took me just under 30 hours to beat it, though that included having to redo some stuff when I was defeated.
+Gorgeous settings, you can barely even tell it's RPG Maker
+Wonderful soundtrack. All the music fits great with the scenes and the battle themes are just amazing. You can get the soundtrack for free at the dev's website too.
+Very responsive dev which is always a good thing.

Overall cons:
-Never thought I'd say I wanted random encounters in a game, but this game really would have been better off with them. Visible encounters just don't work here with how difficult it is to avoid enemies and how they immediately respawn with no chance for immunity to avoid the encounter. Monsters also don't stop while you grab treasure which leads to encounters you may not want. (Edit: This has been improved upon as well with a short delay between respawn and an item to avoid encounters. New Game+ mode gets an important item to allow unlimited avoiding of encounters)
-Regular battles can get lengthy and tedious. (Edit: This has been improved upon and they are much shorter as long as you aren't avoiding everything and not upgrading equipment)
-While there is a quick means of travel, it only covers limited areas and you'll be backtracking a bit for sidequests, which makes the encounter annoyances even greater because you'll get stuck fighting some monsters when you just wanted to make a quick run to grab an item.

Achievement wise, it's not an easy 100%. You'll need two full playthroughs to 100% the game and there are a few missables. It's about 30 hours per playthrough from the looks of things if you want to be sure to miss nothing. There is some replay value though since you get some new stuff on a second run and there's one sidequest that can only be finished on the second playthrough and it nets you the best summon in the game.

Still, it's a very good game and I do recommend it. It's not exactly short and sweet, but it's worth playing all the way through.

Also a little tip for anyone playing it: don't sell your initial armor for any characters. You'll need that later if you want to get the best stuff in the game. It's doable to beat the game without it, but more difficult.

Whisper of a Rose is a very well done RPG Maker game about a girl named Melrose who has a pretty awful life and very much wants to find some way to escape it. She finds a device called the iDream and uses that to escape into her Dream World. But she ends up finding out that the Dream World isn't as nice as she thinks it is. After all, not all our dreams are nice and happy, there are plenty of nightmares as well. Whisper of a Rose takes us on Melrose's trip through the Dream World. Everything in the game is based on things that happened to Melrose and her own fears and wishes. Even her own repressed memories show up at times. The settings range from rolling hills to unpleasant forests and swamps. And all Melrose wants to do is find a way home. Overall pros: +Lengthy game, it took me just under 30 hours to beat it, though that included having to redo some stuff when I was defeated. +Gorgeous settings, you can barely even tell it's RPG Maker +Wonderful soundtrack. All the music fits great with the scenes and the battle themes are just amazing. You can get the soundtrack for free at the dev's website too. +Very responsive dev which is always a good thing. Overall cons: -Never thought I'd say I wanted random encounters in a game, but this game really would have been better off with them. Visible encounters just don't work here with how difficult it is to avoid enemies and how they immediately respawn with no chance for immunity to avoid the encounter. Monsters also don't stop while you grab treasure which leads to encounters you may not want. (Edit: This has been improved upon as well with a short delay between respawn and an item to avoid encounters. New Game+ mode gets an important item to allow unlimited avoiding of encounters) -Regular battles can get lengthy and tedious. (Edit: This has been improved upon and they are much shorter as long as you aren't avoiding everything and not upgrading equipment) -While there is a quick means of travel, it only covers limited areas and you'll be backtracking a bit for sidequests, which makes the encounter annoyances even greater because you'll get stuck fighting some monsters when you just wanted to make a quick run to grab an item. Achievement wise, it's not an easy 100%. You'll need two full playthroughs to 100% the game and there are a few missables. It's about 30 hours per playthrough from the looks of things if you want to be sure to miss nothing. There is some replay value though since you get some new stuff on a second run and there's one sidequest that can only be finished on the second playthrough and it nets you the best summon in the game. Still, it's a very good game and I do recommend it. It's not exactly short and sweet, but it's worth playing all the way through. Also a little tip for anyone playing it: don't sell your initial armor for any characters. You'll need that later if you want to get the best stuff in the game. It's doable to beat the game without it, but more difficult.