The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Rose Tattoo

aka: Die ungelösten Fälle von Sherlock Holmes: Das Geheimnis der tätowierten Rose, Les dossiers secrets de Sherlock Holmes - L'Affaire de la Rose tatouée, Los archivos secretos de Sherlock Holmes: El Caso de la Rosa Tatuada
Moby ID: 4407

Description official descriptions

In October of 1889, the formula for a new and extraordinarily powerful explosive disappeared from the Ministry of Defense. Sherlock's brother Mycroft, an eccentric but influential government servant, launched an official though secret inquiry into the theft, but his effort was thwarted. Just before asking Sherlock to undertake an independent investigation of the theft, Mycroft was seriously injured in an explosion that leveled the Diogenes Club. Sherlock, believing his brother had been victimized by a random gas leak, retired disconsolate to 221B Baker St. Dr. Watson, with a little luck and much effort, managed to reanimate his friend by posing one critical question: "What if the explosion that injured Mycroft had not been an accident?" The answer to this query sent Holmes down a long and twisted road of discovery. Sherlock, for the first time in his career, acknowledged that his motivation was something other than a desire for justice. With single-minded ferocity he pursued, cajoled, questioned, and confronted suspects from smug Mayfair to the pitiful and dangerous East End. Gradually, through observation and deduction, he developed a picture of a huge criminal enterprise initiated by a masterful adversary. To penetrate this perilous conspiracy and frustrate its intent he solved several capital crimes. Holmes applied his customary courage, acumen, and intelligence to these daunting tasks. In so doing he quashed a potentially volatile international incident, defended the national security, protected the honor of the royal family, exonerated the innocent and delivered rough and swift punishment to the guilty. The shocking and surprising resolution of the case made it necessary to seal Watson's precious account for 100 years. That is how The Case of the Rose Tattoo became one of the Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes.

The Case of the Rose Tattoo is part of the Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes kept by Dr. John H. Watson and the sequel to The Case of the Serrated Scalpel. Accompany Holmes as he sets foot in 50 locations and interacts with 90 characters. All the characters are costume and speech specific to Victorian London.

Spellings

  • 福尔摩斯探案2:玫瑰纹身 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Credits (DOS version)

168 People (147 developers, 21 thanks) · View all

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Translations
German Localisation
German Translation
German Voices Recorded at
  • Studio M&S - Frankfurt
Cluebook
German Translation
Special Thanks To
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 74% (based on 15 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 21 ratings with 2 reviews)

If you like playing the role of a detective you're going to love this game!

The Good
This is one of the best inventory based point and click adventures to date. It's got a plot full of twists and turns that's absolutely incredible! The graphics are great for the time and the voice acting and sound track are excellent. This is a well rounded great adventure that anyone that's a fan of adventure games is going to love. This game sported one of the most intensely dialogue driven plots I've ever seen in a game so you better get ready to sit back and listen cause you will be spending a large part of your time interrogating people for the slightest little clue.

The Bad
The only thing that I didn't really care for was the lab where you'll have to mix up all kinds of junk to do your detective work. Once you get the hang of it isn't bad but it was a bit complicated for my taste.

The Bottom Line
An excelent plot driven graphic adventure that any fan of adventure games, sherlock holmes, detective stories will love. Definately not a game for the person that wants to see some action.

DOS · by Sylven (4) · 2002

How Sequels Should be Made

The Good
This game, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Rose Tatoo (a long title to be sure), is the sequel to The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Serrated Scalpel. Improvements over the earlier title include 16-bit SVGA graphics, a more streamlined interface, general midi music and full digitized speech. The sequel is far lengthier than its predecessor.

The background graphics are very detailed and give a realistic flavor of 19th century life and architecture. The characters themselves are digitized avatars of real actors and while the facial features are indistinct and the animations repetitious, they do their job.

The music is generally well-placed and considerably varied to suit each location. Very little would have sounded out of place at the time. The voice acting is simply superb, with each actor really putting life into his or her character.

This is an adventure game and a long adventure at that. The general plot, that of a document gone missing from the Ministry of Defence, with several suspects having a motive to mislay it, is vintage Conan Doyle. Of course, the case has several plot twists and turns, too many for Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes' stories. There are a few dead-ends and many times you will have to come back later to make progress. The inclusion of real-life historical figures is also something more out of a pastiche, something only hinted at in Conan Doyle's stories. Interestingly, you begin the game playing as Dr. Watson, which allows him to show what he can do (as Conan Doyle intended, not as a buffoon.)

This might seem "uncanonical", but the game's designers make it seem natural because of their command of the time period. Rarely has a game come close to accurately detailing late-era Victoriana. Clicking on an object will reveal more than you ever wanted to know about it unless you are a student of the period. Those who are up on their 19th century European history will appreciate this game.

The interface is mouse driven and very simple. Clicking on an object brings a list of commands to choose from. This allows you only to use commands likely to work on the particular object, which is good because you no longer have to guess which command will work.

The Bad
The game is for DOS, which was seemingly a little old in 1996 and may be difficult to get running on later versions of Windows.

While the voice acting is great, it becomes quite apparent that one actor is voicing many roles, especially for the female parts.

Quite a few times during the story, you will have to analyze something in Holmes' laboratory. These sequences give you a hint but often become a tedious affair of trying every chemical until you succeed. To get to speak with the important people, you will almost always have to bypass a servant or a guard.

Sherlock and Dr. Watson walk at a snail's pace, which makes entering and exiting screens a slow process.

The Bottom Line
The best Sherlock Holmes Adventure Game ever made!

DOS · by Great Hierophant (558) · 2006

Trivia

Filming

Actor George Gregg:

I was the actor who portrayed Sherlock Holmes in the Rose Tattoo and also played Professor Moriarty. The makeup for Professor Moriarty took us three hours to complete and resulted in a look so convincing that I was almost convinced I'd aged 30 years and become thoroughly evil! A picture of me as Moriarty still graces my office wall and gives me the occasional shiver.

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  • MobyGames ID: 4407
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by smurray.

Additional contributors: -Chris, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, George Gregg, lobo rojo, Patrick Bregger.

Game added June 28, 2001. Last modified January 5, 2024.