Rose & Camellia Collection

Rose & Camellia Collection is one of those collections of gimmick games that are way better than they have any right to be. There are some downsides to it, such as only offering touch or motion control scheme options and locking games behind the completion of other titles. It is incredibly silly though, and quite a fun title to play alone or with friends.

Rose & Camellia Collection is a game that embraces its absurdity and delivers a unique experience to the Switch. It is definitely charming overall and enjoyable enough while it lasts. However, the creativity in concept doesn’t necessary translate to creativity in gameplay, and too many fights play out in pretty much the same way. Add in some imprecise controls and limited content and it winds up being a less enjoyable experience than it could have been. For players seeking a quirky, short-lived adventure filled with aristocratic slap battles, this collection may provide a few hours of entertainment. The $20 price tag does seem a bit steep for what it is, though, so it might be best to wait for these aristocrats to put on an estate sale.

While there are five games in the Rose & Camellia Collection, none of them are that long. You can finish the whole series in an afternoon. While the insane tone and style are highly entertaining, the lacking controls hold this collection back from being essential. Still, I’m glad that someone looked at this series and decided to preserve it for future generations. Nobody needs to play the Rose & Camellia Collection, but for the right price, you can have a few entertaining hours with it.

Keeping the legacy of Flash games alive is important, and in that sense I’m glad Rose & Camellia Collection exists. But its slight nature and clumsy controls make it hard to recommend with much vigor despite its charming presentation. Apart from adding some standard button controls I can’t imagine someone making a better Rose & Camellia collection than this, so if you loved the series on your computer back in the day by all means go for it. Otherwise, I’m not sure there’s enough here to chew on at the price it’s commanding.

A wonderfully bizarre premise is spoilt only by frustrating motion controls, but this is definitely the best Victorian lady slapping simulator ever made.

Effectively, Rose & Camellia Collection is an assemblage of five of the series’ six games with Joy-con play and a two-player competitive mode patched in. While the decision to preserve the now-defunct Flash games is reasonable, it feels like the publisher should have expanded the games. Inserting the catfights around an expanded visual novel would have nurtured a sense of tension and would have been a welcome supplement that would have helped justify the shift toward Rose & Camellia becoming a paid product.

In short, Rose & Camellia Collection doesn't have much to offer beyond a quick laugh, and that's just it - a QUICK laugh.

Rose & Camellia Collection gets away with a lot of its technical imperfections simply because of the strength of its concept and its solid presentation. The music and art style will keep you interested for at least a few hours – which is all it will take to complete the story mode. However, the bizarre anime logic can’t distract you from the frequent loading screens or the frustratingly imprecise controls. This one is worth picking up, but only if you catch it on a good sale.