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| From: Square Enix
Category: Video Games
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $11.21
You Save: $3.78 (25%)
New (21) Used (13) from $8.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 1524
Platform: Nintendo Ds
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Operating System: Nintendo DS
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0 x 0
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: 90612
Model: 90612
UPC: 662248906126
EAN: 0662248906126
ASIN: B000GA8UAQ
Release Date: September 19, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 21-25 of 25 | | « PREV | | |
 More slime! November 18, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
If you are looking for a fun game that does not take itself too seriously then this is the game to get. The tank battles in Rocket Slime are wonderfully designed and have a good amount of strategy involved. The main gameplay is somewhat like the SNES Zelda days in some sense, which is a very good thing in my book. The difficulty of the game is not too bad, so younger gamers will have no problem being successful with this title. Even after you complete the main quest there is quite a bit of stuff to collect, plus there is a tank tournament of sorts to win. I have not played multiplayer yet, but I would think head-to-head tank battles have to be some of the greatest multiplayer contests ever. I cannot recommend this game enough.
Rocket Slime is the best adventure on the DS yet October 19, 2006
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Last November's Dragon Quest VIII initiated the series' return to western shores and flew off of store shelves, offering dozens upon dozens of hours of traditional RPG gameplay and a Final Fantasy XII demo disc to boot. With that game's popularity, it's no surprise to me that SquareEnix has stuck around in 2006 to offer American gamers two spin-offs of their Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior series. The first of these two spin-offs, with the latter Dragon Quest Swords coming to the Wii in November, is Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime. This is a DS game that captures familiar Zelda-like gameplay with its own cutesy charm and intuitive control style, and it does all of this very well, rounding off one of the best DS carts to come out in 2006.
As its name implies, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime puts you in the...er...goo of a slime, one of the Dragon Quest series' most iconic monsters. Rather than serve as experience fodder as they have in previous Dragon Quest games, the slimes in this game are friendly and peaceful as they go about their slimy lives in Slimenia. One day, the Plob, an evil gang of monsters, wreaks havoc on Slimenia and captures all of the slimes. Rocket, the slime you'll take control of, remains untouched. It's up to you and your bouncy virtual avatar to save the slimes and stop the Plob. The story, while not totally original or inventive in itself, gives way to cute dialogue, funny cut-scenes, and more slime puns than you could ever imagine. In short, the story isn't the greatest but the comedy that stands above it does more than a fair amount of entertaining, and it would be a sin for me to ruin any of the humor for you.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime plays a lot like the classic 2D Legend of Zelda games. I'll just get that out of the way as quickly as possible. Don't expect a 2D epiphany while playing through this one-anyone who's touched one of those older games will be familiar with how Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime works. It would be a travesty to write it off as a copycat game, though, and it's not-Rocket Slime introduces a lot of intuitive and innovative things to the mix. While you don't use the stylus or touch screen at all, Rocket Slime has a handling perk-you only use the directional pad to move Rocket, and you'll interact with and attack things in the environment with the A button. Holding down the A button in combination with pressing a direction on the d-pad will elastically stretch out your slime, and letting go of the button will send him "Elasto Blasting" forward, knocking anything in his path into the air. By Elasto Blasting, you can "catch" objects or enemies and throw them around with the B button. This simple mechanic is what 60% of Rocket Slime consists of.
It's this simple control that will ease gamers into the gameplay, but the design of the game goes much further. Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, like the Legend of Zelda games before it, has simple control mechanics but a level design that will sometimes have you scratching your head and trying hard to figure out just what to do next. You'll interact with objects in the environment, and you'll do things like go underground through water wells and fire cannons to proceed through the environment. Anything that is found (objects, items, enemies) can also be thrown onto rail cars that are located throughout each level. This is useful for tank battles, and before I lose track and go on a tangent, I must discuss this second gameplay feature. Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime takes a bite out of Advance Wars' book and combines dual-screen battles with its adventure portions. These battles, initiated at certain times and locations throughout the game, are a lot of fun and are the more involving parts of Rocket Slime's gameplay. The items found throughout the world are used as ammunition, and you'll defend your Schlieman tank from other creatively-designed (and hilariously named) enemy tanks. These portions of the game can be very intense, as you'll fire off ammo in real-time by doing what Rocket does best-Elasto Blasting into objects, carrying them to your cannons, and throwing them into the cannons. Once the enemy tank is weakened, Rocket can travel over to the enemy tank and sabotage its engines to end the battle. These tank battles are almost always exciting, they're always fun, and they're my favorite part of the game. They've even got their own fully-featured multiplayer mode, as Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime supports the Nintendo DS multiple game card multiplayer functions.
The tank battles get much deeper about halfway through the game when you start finding bigger, more powerful items that serve as ammo; not to mention you can upgrade your tank's health meter to make it sturdier in those long-winded conflicts. Besides the ammo and health upgrades, you can actually recruit friendly slimes that have specific in-battle strengths and weaknesses. For example, Hooly, one of your slime friends, will fire himself at incoming projectiles, knocking them out of the air. Other characters will run around throughout the Schlieman tank, collecting ammo and firing away at enemies. Some characters even play a defensive role and protect the tank from intruding Plob monsters. All of these abilities are controlled by AI, but it's a great feature nonetheless, and adds a lot of depth and strategy to the already-exciting tank battles.
Visually, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime is, again, very similar to Legend of Zelda games. It has its own charm, though-it's very bright and colorful, and everything, even the Plob, looks bouncy and happy. In fact, I'd say this is one of the most ridiculously cutesy and happy games I've ever found myself being gripped by. The sprites are big, bright, and perfectly animated. Visually, you couldn't ask for more from a top-down 2D adventure game. The sound is appropriate, with cutesy music that never gets annoying. The tank battle music is fitting to the gameplay, and in hand is more reminiscent of Advance Wars.
Overall, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime doesn't go unscathed. Though there is a lot of depth to be found in the tank battle system, and the game has an undeniable pick-up-and-play feel to it, Rocket Slime ends shortly around the dozen-hour mark. The lack of WiFi multiplayer and downloadable play hurts, but Rocket Slime does have a multiplayer mode that is loaded with features like playable tanks, characters, and settings. All-in-all, for anything bad I could say about Rocket Slime, I could say about ten good things about it. As if Rocket Slime needed another piece of proof, that's a sign of a good, fun game; one of the better handheld titles this year. If your DS has been dormant since New Super Mario Bros. and Tetris DS stole the show earlier this year, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime will definitely satiate your appetite for handheld gaming until Final Fantasy III attacks this November and Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass sets sail next spring.
 Almost a sparkling gem for the DS October 13, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The game has quite a few good aspects to it. The single player asks for you to collect things like in Powerstone 1 & 2, while it also has a gameplay that resembles zelda. It also incorporates a fair level of humor that pokes fun at several things (wii, famous people, etc.). Multiplayer in this game is good and where all the benefits of furious collecting are seen. Strategies arise and the game becomes like Armored Core and how certain strats will work dominate or be dominated. I found that this game was pretty good.
But there was a couple of things that were a bit unsatisfying about this game. The multiplayer is limited to low-fi (within 30 feet) and greatly hinders the benefits of playing players across the World. There are no great incentives for collecting all the creatures in the game which devalues the end game quality.
The game is both interesting and innovative and has quite a few good aspects to it but like I said, it lacks the few things that could make this a cult classic for the Nintendo DS.
Simple, clean and hectic fun! October 9, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this game on a whim after seeing a preview for it, thinking "What's the worse that could happen?" Unfotunately the worse that happened is that a good chunk of my free time has been devoted to this game. Most of the time, it's Zelda-esque adventuring and item collecting, but embedded within that are the delicious tank battles that propel this game to greatness. A highly recommended DS title!
"No Spine, Just Guts!" The game is as good as the tagline! October 4, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Dragon Quest universe, as a whole, is a heck of a FUN place to visit. It's simply chock full of wonder, be it found in the heroes that sacrifice all to save the day, the numerous creatures that roam the land, the intricate locations themselves...or any number of the many addicting aspects of the gameplay itself that have been offered. But perhaps the best part of the deal is that potential players are offered the chance to take up the roles of these great adventurers (heck, "you" even become the hero with several nameless characters) and experience that wonder yourself through a variety of different means.
The latest opportunity to jump right in and experience a universe that millions have come to enjoy is found in the form of Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime for the Nintendo DS. In the game you play as Rocket, one of the inhabitants of Slimenia who has seen his town blasted nearly to ruins, and his family and friends kidnapped by the hands of a ruthless gang known as the Plob. To what end? That's for you to gather your gumption and find out, and it's definitely a journey worth embarking on.
It didn't take much to convince me after seeing some of the gameplay mechanics, character designs, etc. that this would be another DQ game that I was going to enjoy, but I was completely sold at two different points on the game prior to its release. The first thing to really get me on the bandwagon was a pre-release trailer by Square-Enix that animated the basic premise of the game, which I explained above. Towards the end there is a moment when Rocket is introduced to a massive tank at his disposal, and his sorrow slowly turns to hope that perhaps he can save his townfolk - and his frown turns to a smile. Once inside, we see him taking a moment to gather his bravery, by remembering his parents, before loading himself inside a massive cannon and flying through the air to attack the enemy. Sold! I knew I definitely wanted to be there to experience that adventure. The second instance came in the form of a gameplay explanation that Rocket would be able to infiltrate enemy tanks, cause massive amounts of destruction to them...and in many cases, march right up to the enemy, attack, and load them into their own weapon to find themselves flying away much to their dismay. If I wasn't already convinced, there was no question upon reading that.
A large portion of the gameplay in Rocket Slime is in the form of tank battles consisting of yourself, your crew and an opposing tank (filled with humor). Your goal is to whittle down the hit points of the opposing tank to "0" and then deliver the killing blow to the tanks engine which results in it's explosion and a reward for all your efforts. Strategy becomes a must in these battles as the enemy is just as busy trying to destroy your tank, as you are theirs. Cancelling out their attacks with your own is necessary, as is gathering up your mettle, and marching over to their tank to do some damage. The challenge grows as you progress, and executing the battles more effectively is one of the more entertaining aspects of the game. Aside from the aforementioned tank battles, much of your time is spent exploring levels throughout the game, collecting ammo for your tank, and in completing other tasks. As you travel, you encounter the many foes standing in your way and in slimey fashion, you defeat them by using the unique abilities at your disposal, namely, stretching yourself and blasting them left and right. It's a simple ability, but it holds hour upon hours of entertainment as you learn the ins and outs of what you can do, what you need to do to progress, grow stronger et al. Don't be fooled though, it's not a simplistic game for some of it's simple features - despite the playful tone - there are moments when you'll have to employ strategy to stay in the game, and you'll need to invest some time into being prepared for your next step.
The graphics in the game, as ever, are inspired by the designs of Akira Toriyama and they vividly come to life on the DS platform. If you've enjoyed the best that the Legend of Zelda has had to offer in it's top-down view, then you'll know what you have to look forward to here. And if you're new to any of these conventions, then you're still going to enjoy it I'd reckon.
If you're looking for a game that you can pick up and play anytime, that you'd like to invest some time with, or simply because it looks like a lot of fun, then you can't go wrong with this one. It's recently won widespread recognition as "Game of the Month" in several publications, including Electronic Gaming Monthly and IGN. If you're new to the world of Dragon Quest, welcome aboard - and if you're returning with this game, welcome back!
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