The combat is easy but it's shit, I wasn't even aware people thought it was hard. I also dislike the 'combat is supposed to be bad because the protagonist is weak' defence lots of survival horror and some early WRPGs get; the animations don't convey that they're weak, panicking or uncertain. They convey that the combat is poorly designed. The story, soundtrack and presentation of Rule of Rose are absolutely stellar though. I hope you enjoy it.

@Spinnerweb i'd argue this is definitely one where the animations convey she's weak. many times she's looking away and like, timidly jabbing at the enemies.

i get where you're coming from though. no, the combat in sh2 probably isn't clunky because james is out of shape.