Monday, December 22, 2014

I think it's finally time I played Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3: Taikaizoku to Shippo Dan (3DS)

After all, I've had the copy showcased in the photos below since April of last year.

Why on earth have I sat on it since then? I have no idea, to tell you the truth, although I'm guessing it had something to do with it arriving on my doorstep while I was in the middle of playing some other game that I can't remember at the moment.



Now that I've finished Fantasy Life (basically--more on that in the "Shall We Do It?" post I'll be publishing tomorrow), though, I have time to start playing Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3.

In fact, I did just that this past weekend, although I only spent about an hour with it, to be honest.



Before I say anything about how it looks and plays, though, let's talk about Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3's cover art. It's pretty fabulous, don't you think?

Now, I don't know that I'd proclaim it to be better than the cover art produced for its predecessors--see the GameBoy Advance iteration's here, and the DS sequel's here--but it's still pretty great.



This import-only 3DS game's instruction manual is similarly slick, with its pages of text peppered with loads of adorable illustrations like the ones shown in the photos above and below.

As for my thoughts on the contents of Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3's cartridge, I'm going to save most of my impressions for tomorrow's "Shall We Do It?" post (sorry), but what I can say here is that I find this game's aesthetics to be less appealing than those of its fully sprite-based predecessors. (In Slime MoriMori 3, everything is made of polygons except the characters--including enemies--and items, which are sprites.)



Thankfully, the sometimes-wonky visuals don't negatively impact its gameplay. In fact, Slime MoriMori 3 seems to play almost exactly like the DS game that's known to most in the English-speaking world as Rocket Slime so far. 

Although that's fine with me, I wouldn't complain if this 3DS title eventually differentiated itself from Square Enix's earlier Slime MoriMori efforts. Of course, I haven't experienced any of this one's ship-on-ship battles, so it's possible they'll provide the uniqueness I crave.

8 comments:

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

I think it's finally time Square-Enix localized Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3: Taikaizoku to Shippo Dan (3DS)

thegaygamer.com said...

That's a good alternate headline, Sam. Sadly, I think that ship sailed long ago. Of course, if Nintendo hadn't decided to region-lock the darn 3DS, we wouldn't have to worry about SE's lack of interest in localizing its 3DS games :|

Zach said...

omgosh I have the first two on my xmas list this year (they're super cheap if you can stand used copies) and I can't believe it's taken me this long to get into my favorite mascot character's own series! I look forward to seeing your thoughts!


As for your thoughts here already: I know how you feel, being on the fence with the hybrid 3D/2D stuff. If it's similar to DQIX then I think I could get into it, but games like Pokemon Black/White were really rough for me to enjoy because of that, especially since I was used to such a well-designed 2D setup from the previous games in the series.

thegaygamer.com said...

That's great, Zach! Should you get the first two games for Christmas, which one do you think you'll start with? I'm guessing the first, although maybe you're thinking you'll go with the second first because it's in English? (Or will you be playing through them in Japanese?)


I have the first, GBA-based one, too, by the way, but I've yet to write about it here :| I guess I'll have to snap some photos of it soon and then publish a post about it--or maybe I should wait until I've finished Slime MoriMori 3?


As for the hybrid 2D/3D aspect of this game, although it's a bit disappointing at first, I have to say that it's already growing on me.


I still wish it were all sprite-based, mind you, but the hybrid approach isn't the worst thing in the world and it isn't keeping me from enjoying the game, so hopefully you'll feel the same way should you ever pick up a copy of this one.

Zach said...

Yeah I don't mind playing through it in Japanese! But if it they are really good I'd like to be able to lend one, so I asked for Rocket Slime instead of sticking with the Japanese for all three. And yeah! Assuming I do get them, I'd like to start off with the GBA version to get a feel for everything. But I dunno, I might want a more comprehensive understanding of the gameplay since my Japanese is still childish at best...

But that would be rad to see a write-up at some point on the GBA release! At least some hot box art shots...

thegaygamer.com said...

I think it's probably a good idea to pick up the English version of the second/DS game and start with that one, honestly. That way, you'll have a good understanding of how the game plays and then you can easily go through the GBA and 3DS versions without much trouble.


Heck, I barely understand a word of Japanese at the moment, but I'm making my way through Slime MoriMori 3 right now without any problems whatsoever.


I've also spent a tiny bit of time with the GBA game, and I found that completely manageable, too.


The only issue I can think of regarding starting with the second game (Rocket Slime) is that the first game may seem like a step back, as the first game doesn't feature the tank-on-tank or ship-on-ship battles that are the hallmarks of the DS and 3DS games.

Adam Lee said...

I love everything about these DQ spin-off games. Now i just need to import the first one. So bloody expensive for those outside of the US. :3

thegaygamer.com said...

Are you talking about the GBA original, Adam, or the DS sequel (Rocket Slime)? I'm guessing the latter, because I think the GBA original isn't too pricey on eBay. Unless you're looking elsewhere? And if you're talking about Rocket Slime, I have to say that even at $50, it's easily worth it. Such an amazing game O_O