Slimes (Japanese: スライム, Hepburn: Suraimu) are a fictional species of slime monster in the Dragon Quest role-playing video game franchise. Originally inspired by the game Wizardry to be a weak and common enemy for the 1986 video game Dragon Quest, Slimes have appeared in almost every Dragon Quest game since. Their popularity led to the appearance of many varieties of Slimes, including boss characters, friendly allies, and even emerging as the protagonist of their own spinoff series. Slimes have also appeared in other video game properties, including Nintendo's Mario and Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games. Their friendliness, limited power, and appealing form have caused the Slime to become a popular character and the mascot of the Dragon Quest series. It has also been placed on a multitude of different kinds of merchandise.
Concept and design
According to Yuji Horii, the creator of Dragon Quest, the inspiration for the Slimes came from the role-playing game series Wizardry. Horii said that when it was originally conceived, the Slime was "a pile of goo", but Akira Toriyama's design came back as a tear-drop which they considered "perfect". He later revealed that Toriyama originally drew a Slime in pixel art style, but he rejected it because it lacked the artist's personal style. Horii named the monsters in the game after receiving Toriyama's designs. There are many different types of Slimes found throughout the Dragon Quest and Rocket Slime series. These include Slimes in different colors; She Slimes which are orange slimes that are slightly stronger than regular slimes and are despite their name, not always necessarily female; Bubble Slimes which look like pools of slime; Nautical Slimes that wear conch shells; Healslimes which have tentacles; gem-shaped Slimes like the Emperor Slime; cube-shaped Box Slimes; and King Slimes, which are very large Slimes wearing crowns and come in various versions such as regular or metal.
In addition, the Slime has a rare variant called the Metal Slime. Metal Slimes have multiple variants as well, including the Liquid Metal Slime and Metal King Slime. The Liquid Metal Slime is a bubbling puddle of metal slime with the Slime's face on it, while the Metal King Slime is a much larger Metal Slime wearing a crown. According to the book Dragon Quest Monsters, Liquid Metal Slimes derive from the Bubble Slime, which similarly is a puddle of slime. It tells a story of a Bubble Slime that helps a fairy, leading it to ask to live in the heavens, leading it to be purified with light. All Metal Slimes are noted for having limited health points, high speed, and high evasion, making it particularly difficult for the player to kill. It also has a high chance of fleeing the battle, explained by Horii as the monsters being shy. They are also rarely encountered. Upon being defeated, any characters present in battle gain a significant amount of experience, used to level up. In most appearances of Slimes, the creature plays an antagonist role, and occasionally appears as a boss. In some Dragon Quest titles, Slimes also appear as friendly non-player characters and peaceful inhabitants of cities. Friendly Slimes 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" (e.g. "human" becomes "gooman"), or other words relating to Slime or goo, when they speak. In 2019, Slime was confirmed to be edible and tasted like lime.
Appearances The Slimes made their first appearance in Dragon Quest as the first and weakest enemy in the game, and have made similar appearances in all subsequent Dragon Quest titles. In Dragon Quest V, the monster is an easily recruitable ally that learns a variety of magic spells. Other Slimes are able to be recruited in this game, including Metal Slimes. Various Slimes can also be recruited in the spin-off series, Dragon Quest Monsters. Slimes are also the protagonists of their own spinoff series, beginning with Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest, a Game Boy Advance title. It was followed by Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, which was released worldwide for the Nintendo DS, and the Japanese-exclusive title, Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest 3 for the Nintendo 3DS. These games follow a nation of Slimes who are intelligent and civilized, but also cute and somewhat comical. In the North American localization of the Dragon Quest games for the Nintendo DS, joking references and puns are made about Slimes. Slimes also appeared in several crossover games along with characters from Nintendo's Mario franchise, such as the Itadaki Street series. Slimes also appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a stage element on the Yggdrasil's Altar stage, as a Spirit, as a purchasable hat for Mii Fighters, and in one of the Hero's taunts and victory poses.
Cultural impact
Promotion and merchandise
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