Sobering Slap
| Sobering Slap | |
|---|---|
| Japanese | つっこみ (DQVII remake) ツッコミ (DQIX, X, XI) |
| Rōmaji | tsukkomi |
| Type | Skill |
Sobering Slap is the name of two distinct abilities in the Dragon Quest series.
In Dragon Quest IX, X, and XI, it is a restorative ability that slaps an ally out of confusion or wakes them up (much like Rude Awakening from DQVII). In addition to curing confusion and sleep, it also cures beguilement and paralysis in X and XI.
In the 3DS version of Dragon Quest VII, it prepares the user to counter a physical attack when attacked. It is similar to Follow Suit (Retaliate) from the original version of DQVII - however, unlike the latter ability, it only applies to physical attacks, not breath attacks and spells.
Appearances
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past remake
Appearing exclusively in the remakes, Sobering Slap is learned by advancing to rank 2 as a Jester. It prepares the user to launch a counter attack after being targeted by an enemy's physical attack. It is similar to Follow Suit (Retaliate) from the PS1 version, but only counters physical attacks, not breath attacks and spells. It costs no MP to use.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
This ability is learned with 32 skill points allocated into Litheness skill.
Dragon Quest X
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Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Sobering Slap can be learned by Sylvando through his Litheness panel for 8 points, but has already been learned by him when he joins the party. It can remove sleep, confusion, beguilement, or paralysis from one party member for 4 MP.
Etymology
The Japanese name for this technique, ツッコミ tsukkomi, is a reference to Manzai, a form of traditional Japanese comedy which involves there being two comedic performers.
One of these two performers is the boke, who acts foolish and/or says ridiculous things (similar to the "funny man" in Western double comedy acts). The other performer is the one delivering the "tsukkomi" to the boke's tomfoolery - which basically involves making funny commentary on the boke's behavior, or correcting their outrageous statements (similar to playing the "straight man" in Western comedy routines) - this generally leads to more confusion and/or stupidity from the boke, leading to additional opportunities for tsukkomi until the manzai act ends.
Often times in manzai, the one delivering the tsukkomi is seen giving a Sobering Slap to their idiotic "boke" partner - which may be where the English localization for this skill derives.
The skill Pratfall is called boke in Japanese, so it could be seen as a counterpart to this skill.
Trivia
The two different versions of this technique are distinguished in Japanese by the use of hiragana for the counter ability in the remakes of Dragon Quest VII, and katakana for the restorative skill from IX - XI.
