"Finally! Another good DS game."

To be honest I had no interest in Rocket Slime. It looked kind of lame but I am a collector and I needed it for my Squaresoft collection. Got around to playing this last week and I must admit that I am impressed with what it has to offer. Is it for everyone though?

You're some slime kid, I forget your name. Your town is kind of blown up, the magic flute is broken and some evil duck little guys have taken everyone hostage and locked them in trunks. You set out to save them, rebuild your town and unleash a hidden power to save your friends and family. The plot is pretty good but far from deep. I actually found some of the dialog to be rather humorous at times and it added to the enjoyment of the game. It's very light hearted in nature.

I usually don't care for the type of graphics that the DS can pull off but I must admit that Square Enix really did a nice job here. Not only did they bring the world to life by adding little details like leaves that can be scattered but by putting so much color into this games world it's just a breathe of fresh air. One of the more pleasing DS titles to look at.

Sound wise the game is amusing. Whimsical music sets the mood and cheesy and cute sound effects add to it even more. No voice work but eh, it's the DS and it can hardly handle it.

The control in the game is very simple. You can jump or attack. It really doesn't get more advanced than that. You can switch around what you're carrying. Tank battles are also easy to handle with simple and responsive controls.

The game has about 6 areas. Early on you can only search so much of an area but about a third through you get something that allows tank battles and then two thirds through you can break ice. This means repeat visits will be needed but it never really felt tedious to me because the areas that open after those events are rather large as well and don't feel rehashed. Warp points also help a lot.

In terms of game play it's very simple. You run around levels. You collect items (you can hold three at a time) and throw them on little cart things and it takes them to town. There are 100 slimes to save and most need to be taken back the same way. You can also collect enemies, they are used as helpers in your tank if you have enough of them.

The next big thing is tank battles. Early on it's just you throwing items in the cannons and then going over and blowing up the other tanks heart when its life hits zero. They do the same to you. Later on you can have slimes and monsters (if you take 30 back home) help in the tank and they can do different tasks like heal, attack the other tanks insides ECT.

The tank battles can become really hectic and while I never lost a tank battle there were a few times that it came really close. The game does keep you on your toes and you'll eb watching for attack to block with minor items and throwing your best weapons inbetween the enemies attacks. It can be difficult sometimes to land a solid blow.

A bit of strategy is really needed in the later tank battles but I never found the game challenging at all. It really boils down to collecting as much stuff as possible in the stages for better ammo. Later you can create items and up your tanks life as well. It is mostly up to the gamer how to play and you are rewarded for getting better items in the stages. The better the item, the harder it will be to get to the trolley.

The game took me about 7 hours to beat with 96 of the 100 slimes. I didn't play the bonus dungeon either so there is a good hour or two more content available that I didn't touch. Throw in wifi support for tank battles and the replay goes up a lot. I don't have access to wifi so I am unable to fully comment on how that works, the modes involved ect.

I would highly recommend Rocket Slime to almost anyone. It's fun, simple and great for all ages, as long as they can read. It's one of the few titles that has given me so much entertainment and fun bliss since perhaps Kirby Canvas Curse which is a good year or so old. With a recent price drop and being available everywhere still I would recommend buying this game over renting it.

Story - 8/10
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 10/10
Replay value - 8/10

Final Score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/30/07, Updated 08/31/07

Game Release: Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (US, 09/19/06)