I’ve been sent the the new Rose & Camellia Collection to take a look at by publisher WayForward. I’d seen these games pop up on my review lists from time to time and always thought they were a kind of visual novel. Not that I don’t appreciate those kinds of games but I’m a hardcore arcade gamer at heart, story-driven games have never been my thing and I knew my expertise would add nothing by attempting to review any of them.
When the email arrived, with a code for this five-game Switch collection, my initial thoughts were to write back politely declining but something in the prose caught my eye. “ludicrous one-on-one slap-fight anthology”. How can I justify my existence as a gamer if I don’t try a series of games involving slap-fights? So, as someone completely new to this series I’m giving my initial impressions rather than a definitive review. Let’s get some slap on.
My initial thoughts that Rose & Camellia is a visual novel-type title weren’t completely wrong. The basis for the story is that you play as an aristocratic young woman fighting her way through high society to become the greatest. This is played out in one-on-one encounters with each foe that must be stopped with comedy sketches of the girls bickering between themselves set between each fight.
I played through the first scenario which saw me fight my way through a snobby bunch from a long-standing Japanese family. I needed to become the head of the family to inherit the family wealth alongside my beloved husband. To take control I needed to prove my worth and stand up to the snobs as only a common woman could do. It’s all very silly and tongue in cheek, or should that be palm in cheek?
Each part of the scenario was facing off against different women within the family starting with two sisters before taking on the maid, the mother and finally a ‘secret boss’. The game plays out turn-based, each having a go at slapping each other to deplete a health bar. When the rose is shown it’s your turn. When the white camellia is shown, it’s your opponent’s turn.
Where the series shines is with its excellent use of the Joy-Cons. It becomes an extension of your hand and picks up the severity of your slaps which is indicated with a hard or soft hit. You can also dodge incoming slaps to avoid damage and this is where the real skill comes into play as you can quickly counter a successful dodge to inflict further damage on your opponent.
Play well and you have the chance to do a combo of slaps that is indicated on screen. These special moments mean you’re winning the fight and have a chance to perform a finishing move that obliterates your foe. Once you finish a slap-fight you move on to the next woman to defeat who increases in difficulty and strength.
I enjoyed the scenario I played, and after finishing it could move on to the next one that had been unlocked. Although I haven’t had a chance to try it, I feel this game would be best played in the two-player mode and would be very fun to play with a few drinks on a Friday night.
How much longevity you will get from the one-player experience will come down to how much you enjoy comedy anime. The artwork is beautiful and looks like a movie at times and this goes for the voice acting that is available in both Japanese and English. It’s also solid throughout, if over-the-top which is in standing with the game as a whole. Put this side by side with some lovely music and the overall presentation is very well executed.
It’s also worth mentioning that the difficulty does increase quite quickly and there is an art to perfecting the dodge and counter that will take time to master. I’m glad I’ve now had the chance to try the Rose & Camellia series as I was completely wrong in what it was. However, this type of game will mostly appeal to gamers who appreciate the comedy presentation style and turn-based nature of the gameplay.
This looks fun!