Slime (Dragon Quest)
Encyclopedia
The Slime is the mascot of the Dragon Quest
console role-playing game franchise. Designed by Akira Toriyama
of Dragon Ball fame, the basic slime resembles a water drop with two large eyes and a big smile. It made its first appearance in Dragon Warrior
as the weakest enemy in the game, and usually the first the player encounters and it continues its history as a weak enemy in the series. It can be often seen representing the Enix
side of the Square-Enix merger. Its counterpart is the chocobo
, which represents Square
. The two creatures decorate the front of the official Square-Enix store, as well as its shopping bags.
The Slime is also the protagonist of its own spinoff games, Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest, a Japanese Game Boy Advance
title. It was followed by Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
, which was released worldwide, for the Nintendo DS
. These games follow a nation of slimes who are intelligent, and civilized, but also cute and somewhat comical.
The Slime shares its name with characters from other games, including many other RPGs, such as an enemy monster from Namco
's The Tower of Druaga, which was released two years prior to the first Dragon Quest game.
shells), metal slimes (with extremely high defense, give out very high amounts of experience when defeated, but tend to flee from battle and usually very hard to find), healslimes (who have tentacles and use magic, which can be summoned to help other monsters which the player is fighting), and king slimes (very large slimes wearing crowns, which come in regular, heal, spotted, and metal versions). In some Dragon Quest titles, slimes also appear as friendly NPC
s and peaceful inhabitants of cities. Friendly slimes would usually greet players with the phrase "I'm not a bad slime!". Slimes, like many monsters in the Dragon Quest series, have a certain verbal tic, "slurp". Slimes also replace certain words or syllables with the word "goo" (i.e. "human" is "gooman"), or other words relating to slime or goo, when they speak.
listed it as the most lovable blob in video games. They called the species the "equivalent of training wheels", due to how easy they are to defeat typically, but also saying that their weird smile makes players think twice about killing them. They also listed him as a character they wished they knew less about. They stated that while they started out as nothing more than things for players to kill and not feel guilty about, the playable role of a Slime in the Dragon Quest Heroes series made them realize they were more than just generic enemies.
In the January 2010 issue of Nintendo Power
, the editors listed the Slime among its Favorite Punching Bags, a list including Goomba
s and Octoroks. They wrote that "The Slimes are just so cute and friendly-looking, it's almost hard to slay them. But you know, a hero's gotta do what a hero's gotta do."
As the most recognizable symbol of the best-selling video game series in Japan
, the slime has been featured prominently in Dragon Quest-related merchandise. It now has their own section called 'Smile Slime' on the Square Enix JP shopping website. Slime merchandise includes plush
toys, pencil cases, keychains, game controller
s and a stylus
.
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
console role-playing game franchise. Designed by Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
of Dragon Ball fame, the basic slime resembles a water drop with two large eyes and a big smile. It made its first appearance in Dragon Warrior
Dragon Warrior
Dragon Warrior, known as in Japan, is the first role-playing video game in the Dragon Quest media franchise. It was developed by Chunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System and published by Enix in Japan in 1986...
as the weakest enemy in the game, and usually the first the player encounters and it continues its history as a weak enemy in the series. It can be often seen representing the Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
side of the Square-Enix merger. Its counterpart is the chocobo
Chocobo
A is a fictional creature from the Final Fantasy video game series. The creature is a large and normally flightless galliforme/ratite bird capable of being ridden and otherwise used by player characters during gameplay...
, which represents Square
Square Co.
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
. The two creatures decorate the front of the official Square-Enix store, as well as its shopping bags.
The Slime is also the protagonist of its own spinoff games, Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest, a Japanese Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
title. It was followed by Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
is an action-adventure video game developed by TOSE and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is the sequel to Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest: Shōgeki no Shippo Dan for the Game Boy Advance. It was first released in Japan, and later in North America...
, which was released worldwide, for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. These games follow a nation of slimes who are intelligent, and civilized, but also cute and somewhat comical.
The Slime shares its name with characters from other games, including many other RPGs, such as an enemy monster from Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
's The Tower of Druaga, which was released two years prior to the first Dragon Quest game.
Types of slimes
There are many different types of slime found throughout the series, including slimes in different colors, bubble slimes which look like pools of slime, nautical slimes (wearing conchConch
A conch is a common name which is applied to a number of different species of medium-sized to large sea snails or their shells, generally those which are large and have a high spire and a siphonal canal....
shells), metal slimes (with extremely high defense, give out very high amounts of experience when defeated, but tend to flee from battle and usually very hard to find), healslimes (who have tentacles and use magic, which can be summoned to help other monsters which the player is fighting), and king slimes (very large slimes wearing crowns, which come in regular, heal, spotted, and metal versions). In some Dragon Quest titles, slimes also appear as friendly NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s and peaceful inhabitants of cities. Friendly slimes would usually greet players with the phrase "I'm not a bad slime!". Slimes, like many monsters in the Dragon Quest series, have a certain verbal tic, "slurp". Slimes also replace certain words or syllables with the word "goo" (i.e. "human" is "gooman"), or other words relating to slime or goo, when they speak.
Promotion and reception
The Dragon Quest Slime has received positive reception from critics and fans. It has been called the "most prolific" of all the "memorable" monsters from the series and is one of the most recognizable characters in gaming. The Slime has also been called cute and charming by several critics, especially when reviewing Rocket Slime. GamesRadarGamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
listed it as the most lovable blob in video games. They called the species the "equivalent of training wheels", due to how easy they are to defeat typically, but also saying that their weird smile makes players think twice about killing them. They also listed him as a character they wished they knew less about. They stated that while they started out as nothing more than things for players to kill and not feel guilty about, the playable role of a Slime in the Dragon Quest Heroes series made them realize they were more than just generic enemies.
In the January 2010 issue of Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
, the editors listed the Slime among its Favorite Punching Bags, a list including Goomba
Goomba
Goombas, known in Japan as , are fictional species from Nintendo's series of Mario video games. They first appeared in the NES video game Super Mario Bros. as the first enemy players encounter. They have appeared outside of video games, including in film, television, and other media...
s and Octoroks. They wrote that "The Slimes are just so cute and friendly-looking, it's almost hard to slay them. But you know, a hero's gotta do what a hero's gotta do."
As the most recognizable symbol of the best-selling video game series in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the slime has been featured prominently in Dragon Quest-related merchandise. It now has their own section called 'Smile Slime' on the Square Enix JP shopping website. Slime merchandise includes plush
Plush
Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet.Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush...
toys, pencil cases, keychains, game controller
Game controller
A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems used to control a playable character or object, or otherwise provide input in a computer game. A controller is typically connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire, cord or nowadays, by means of wireless connection...
s and a stylus
Stylus (computing)
In computing, a stylus is a small pen-shaped instrument that is used to input commands to a computer screen, mobile device or graphics tablet...
.