Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
GOO-REAT FUN
Darran’s no fan of the main series, but he does love this cute strategy spin-off
» NINTENDO DS » 2005 » TOSE
There’s a very good chance that you haven’t played Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime. While it received a US release, it was never released in Europe, meaning many missed out on this charming spin-off of the popular Dragon Quest series.
As you can probably tell from the name, the focus of Tose’s captivating little game is on a small slime, which not only doubles up as a mascot for the Dragon Quest series, but is also one of the franchise’s most common enemies. Anyway, this particular slime is called Rocket and his hometown of Boingburg has been destroyed and its inhabitants have been scattered to the four winds. As a result Rocket must not only rescue his missing friends, but also restore his beloved home, opening up useful new shops and locations as more of his friends are rescued.
The game mechanics of Rocket Slime are neatly split across two distinct areas, a Zelda-styled overhead world and dramatic battles in gigantic vehicles called Schleiman Tanks. When you first visit a new stage you’ll hunt around the environments solving simple puzzles, as well as collecting ammo and missing slimes, which can be sent back to Boingburg by using the handy railway system. Battles, on the other hand, are far more grandiose affairs and typically see you assembling a crew from a pool of your rescued friends and loading up your cannons with as much ammo as possible. You’ll then see that ordnance fly across the screen, hopefully hitting your opponent’s tank or knocking their shells of the air. Cause enough damage and you’ll be able to assault the enemy tank and take out its protected heart-shaped engine before your foes manage to do the same to you.
It’s relatively straightforward as strategy games go, but the later battles do get quite taxing as you manage your available resources and dodge incoming slimes (both sides can use their cannons to fire slimes directly to the other tank). Despite this simplicity, I urge you to track it down, as it’s an endlessly charming and entertaining game that proves even the lowliest enemy can sometimes rise to become a hero.