Forget boxing, this slapping simulation is an incredible manga parody

Game news Forget boxing, this slapping simulation is an incredible manga parody

Between manga parody…

The concept of Rose & Camellia did not come completely out of nowhere. Developed in 2007 with Flash technology, the first part already showed its desire to parody retro shôjo manga, that is to say mangas designed in the 70s and 80s aimed at young female audiences. In France, we must think of now cult titles such as The Rose of Versailles (Lady Oscar), Ace o Nerae (Game, set and match), Glass no Kamen (Laura or the passion for theater) or even Princess Sarah.

Through its title, Rose & Camellia openly parodies what was precisely the strength of these mangas : the victimization of a naive young girl, mistreated by malicious “big sisters” ready to do anything to drag the heroine through the mud. But because violence remains generally prohibited in shoujo works, it was often simply suggested by a withering look, public humiliation or worse… a well-felt slap!

…and slapping simulation!

From its beginnings, the game series Rose & Camellia imagines a high aristocratic society which takes a very dim view of the arrival of a young upstart in its social environment. The outer beauty of its members is matched only by their inner ugliness and their determination to demean as much as possible the one who dares to claim to steal their glory, their titles and their heritage.

Throughout the different chapters, the symbol of the “Rose” is embodied through a gallery of naive and caring young girls to whom it is explained that respect is only earned by force. The “Camellia” represents the adversary of the Rose, the one that one should have no scruples about beating to triumph over the injustices suffered by our protagonist. The kind of definitely sneaky plagues that proliferate like weeds in shoujo manga.

What follows is an improbable “slapping simulation” where the slaps follow one another like a sport that one would almost dare to compare to boxing as it is presented here as an art. And to better gain credibility, Rose & Camellia Collection can count on a major asset: motion gaming authorized by the Nintendo Switch.

More technical than boxing?

There are many ways to slap your opponent in Rose & Camellia Collection. Armed with a simple Joy-Con held firmly in your hand, we can play “little arm” while lacking amplitude, which results in a nice slap, too little biting to dent the life gauge of her rival. But a well-delivered slap does not necessarily succeed every time. The opponent can skillfully circumvent it by performing a dodge. To do this, it is enough to make a brief retreat which can be followed by a counterattack.

The two ladies take turns playing because this sport involves rules that must be scrupulously respected. Which in no way prevents us from place a few feints simulating the triggering of the slap before stopping his action at the very last moment. It’s funny how the opponent reacts when you simply move your hand, preparing to dodge the upcoming blow.

There is even a special technique consisting of slapping the flat of the palm of the hand to surprise the rival. The fact of gaining the upper hand can even give rise to a crazy combo called “farandole of slaps” which allows you to completely let go. Before concluding the duel with a finishing move reserved for the most deserving.

To be complete, it should be noted that the title still remains playable without motion gaming if you play for example in portable mode or with a Switch Lite. Joy-Con hits are then replaced by a simple swipe of the touch screen with the index but the title clearly loses all its interest. We therefore strongly advise against this type of handling which is both less precise and less intuitive.

From Princess Sarah to Saint Seiya

But the real strong point of the game lies in its way of shamefully parodying the most famous shoujo mangas through a gallery of rivals with an instantly recognizable design. Knowing that this concerns works that have largely gone out of fashion in our country, this can obviously only work with a very targeted audience. Clearly, if you have never heard of “Miss Papillon” (the tennis player with curls of Ace or Nerae / Game, set and match) or that the martyrdom suffered by the heroine of Glass no Kamen (Laura or the passion for theater) leaves you unmoved, move on!

We certainly also find a marked nod to Saint Seiya via Seiko character, “ambassador of Greece and knight of the Baffitaire” whose mask must be removed, but the madness stops there on the shônen manga side. Each scenario of course justifies these violent settling of scores by absurd misunderstandings and permanent bad faith. As a result, the title imposes a PEGI 16+ on itself even though it is frankly an experience for all audiences.

The La-Mulana chapter and Versus mode

Let’s be honest, while the experience is fun, it also doesn’t have the depth of a boxing simulation. The game is also very short and the duels are not very difficult to win, which means that we complete the 4 episodes in less than two hours. That is why the compilation strives to extend its proposal a little via two new elements.

The first is a bonus chapter to unlock in the options to access a real parody of La-Mulana. We won’t be surprised when we know that this is the best-known series from developer Nigoro. This chapter also calls into question the legitimacy of the heroine of La-Mulana 1 and 2 by forcing all the female stars of the franchise to gut each other.

The second addition is a welcome VS mode which allows you to slap another player on the same screen local. It is also not necessary to obtain a second pair of Joy-Con to benefit from it because each player only needs one controller to inflict a beating on their opponent. In return, the second player is forced to adapt to the mirror perspective to act, even when it is his turn to attack, but this addition remains appreciable.

Finally, for those who don’t like to do things by halves, we should mention the existence of a deluxe edition from Limited Run for which pre-orders have already been launched. Many goodies are included inside, notably the OST, which is justified by the presence of an excellent, very convincing parody theme song in Japanese version. An opening song that you can find on video in the trailer which opens this article. This boxed edition also includes a collector’s sheath, cards, a double poster as well as an acrylic Standee with the image of one of the game’s heroines.