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Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Nintendo DS / DSi
Dragon Quest: Great for More than Just RPGs
5/5 stars
"Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime" ("Rocket Slime") is actually the second is a spin-off series from the main Dragon Quest turn-based RPGs. The spin-off is called “Slime Quest” in the Land of the Rising Sun, and is built on an action/adventure engine similar to the classic Zelda games pre-N64. The first "Slime Quest" game was for Game Boy Advance and never made it out of Japan, which it truly unfortunate, as I had more fun with "Rocket Slime" than I have with any other DS game to date. There was, sadly, very little coverage of this game by the gaming media at large, so I waited a very long time to purchase it simply because I knew next to nothing about it. I aim to rectify the situation and give "Rocket Slime" some of the positive press it so rightly deserves. Let the praise begin!
Presentation
"Rocket Slime" is a very nice looking game. It uses traditional 2D sprites and forgoes most fancy effects for a look that, to quote Apple, “Just Works.” I never had any problems discerning what was happening on-screen. The slime characters are delightfully designed and animated; they even sing and dance along with the traditional Dragon Quest series tune that plays when saving the game! Enemy animations are likewise smooth and filled with character. The graphics during the tank battles suffer from a small amount of flicker when too many objects are on-screen at once, but it never actually hinders gameplay.
The sound, like the visuals, is steeped in tradition. There are many classic Dragon Quest tunes and sound effects scattered throughout the game, which sound surprisingly good on the DS's tiny speakers (though I confess I played most of the game with headphones). There are also many new tunes, which are well-composed and quite catchy. I had these tunes stuck in my head for weeks, and was actually happy about it. That's a sign of good composition.
The localization deserves mention along with the audio-visual aspects of the game because "Rocket Slime" is supposed to be a funny, parody-ish spin-off, and humor can sometimes be difficult to translate, especially from Japanese to English. I was very pleased with the quality of the puns and general silliness of the English version. The names of the villagers were particularly amusing (Mother Glooperior is the name of the slime nun in charge of saving the game). "Rocket Slime" is a VERY punny game, so anyone who hates that kind of humor should probably consider whether they can tolerate the puns to get to the meat of the game. The one joke in the game that I didn't understand was why all of the enemies have Platypunk tails. It makes sense for some enemies to have them, but Drakees? Living Statues? From the screens I have seen of the first "Slime Quest" game, I presume the explanation for the tails is given there.
Story
The story of "Rocket Slime" isn't particularly deep, but it is incredibly silly. An organized crime group of Platypunks, called The Plob (like The Mob, but with Platypunks, hurr hurr) has invaded Boingburg with a massive, Platypunk-shaped tank. After knocking down all of the buildings and kidnapping 100 of the 101 slimes who live there, they leave to continue their quest for the Warrior Flute, which just so happens to be in the pseudopods of our hero, the last remaining slime in Boingburg, Rocket.
It's up to Rocket to use the Warrior Flute to reawaken the legendary Schliemann Tank, which is the only weapon powerful enough to stop The Plob and free the other slimes. Along the way, Rocket will meet a rival and collect lots of random stuff before the final showdown. The end of the game, which I won't spoil, has a couple of humorous twists, some anime references, and a big, fat punchline. Essentially, "Rocket Slime's" story is exactly that a parody should be.
Gameplay
The gameplay in "Rocket Slime" pleased me greatly. I was delighted to play a DS game that doesn't use the touchscreen, microphone, or any other DS gimmicks in any way, shape, or form. The top screen doesn't do much either, aside from displaying a map of the area Rocket is exploring, or showing the location of projectiles during tank battles.
"Rocket Slime" is divided fairly evenly between two styles of gameplay: action/adventure and tank battles. These two styles of gameplay are spliced together quite well. The transitions never feel jarring or intrusive.
The action/adventure segments are incredibly similar to the 2D entries in the Legend of Zelda series. When I first started the game I said to myself, “Wow, this game is Zelda with slimes!” Rocket explores areas looking for treasure and slimes to rescue and solves some puzzles along the way. Since slimes don't have hands, he accomplishes his mission by stretching out and bodyslamming enemies and treasure chests. Once something has been knocked into the air by an attack, Rocket can sit under it to catch it and carry it around. He can carry up to three objects at once, which can either be thrown at enemies or placed on one of the minecarts or rafts scattered liberally throughout the areas. These carts/rafts serve as direct channels back to Boingburg, with items going straight to the Schliemann Tank armory and enemies being reformed into upstanding citizens of the slime city (but they still have Platypunk tails…?). Once a certain number of enemies of the same type have been reformed, they can serve as crewmembers in the Schliemann Tank, but most of them are pretty useless compared to the slime townsfolk who can crew the tank. Many areas have a boss that is fought one-on-one. These boss battles are varied and well-designed, making them fun to play.
Most of the bosses, however, consist of giant enemy tanks (with ridiculous, punny names), which are fought using the Schliemann Tank and a crew of up to three helpers. The Schliemann Tank has two cannons, one that shoots straight across and one that shoots at an upward angle. By loading his collection of various treasure, weapons, and junk into these cannons, Rocket and his crew aim to deal enough damage to the enemy tank to destroy its armor and unlock the door to the generator room. Once the generator is exposed, Rocket must infiltrate the enemy tank and bodyslam the generator to put the enemy out of commission for good. This simple battle plan is complicated by the fact that the enemy tank is also shooting stuff at the Schliemann Tank with the same goal in mind. Battles can be fought using various strategies, ranging from knocking enemy projectiles out of the air before they hit the Schliemann Tank, to setting up machine guns for light (but unblockable) secondary fire, to infiltration and sabotage of the enemy tank's control systems (which causes enemy ammunition to catch fire for a short time after exiting the supply chamber). It is also possible to throw enemies and allies into the cannons, providing an easy way to send boarders back to their own side or send saboteurs over during a lull in the shooting. Ammunition supply is determined by the player and is setup a bit like deck-creation in a strategy card game. The number of times any given item appears in the ammo supply “deck” directly affects the frequency with which it will appear from the supply chamber. Setting up the ammo supply of the tank is a key strategy and has many fun and interesting options.
Both the action/adventure segments and the tank battling segments of "Rocket Slime" are extremely fun. There are so many different things to do that the game stays engaging from beginning to end. Some of the bonuses available for unlocking require some dedicated collect-a-thon grinding, but since they are optional, they didn't affect my enjoyment of the game in the slightest. If I didn't have any other games to play, I'd have probably stuck with the collecting and unlocked all of the rare enemy crewmen, etc.
The only real weak point in the game that might make some traditionalist Dragon Quest fans balk is the difficulty. "Rocket Slime" is not a difficult game. Coming from a series with a tradition of difficulty as long as Dragon Quest's, one would expect "Rocket Slime" to be punishing, but even the bonus tank battles that aren't part of the main quest are easy enough that I never once saw the Game Over screen. Personally, a medium-difficulty game like this isn't a concern, but it might be a problem for others.
Overall
Overall, "Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime" combines two incredibly fun styles of gameplay into one attractive, funny, and engaging package. As a Dragon Quest fan and a humorist, I found this game to be a perfect blend of what I've been looking for on the DS. I highly recommend it to everyone who owns a DS, and especially those who like Dragon Quest, Legend of Zelda, SNES games, and puns. This game had the potential to be a system seller, but was sadly undermarketed.
Presentation: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Overall (not an average): 5/5
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