Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest 3 First Look Impressions

With Dragon Quest IX and one of its spin-offs, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, already out to the public, it's natural to see another spin-off, the Slime Mori Mori series (recent one being Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime for the DS), make its debut on a new console. After six years, Square Enix recently opened up a website dedicated to the third installment of the humorous offshoot for the 3DS called Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest 3: The Great Pirate Ship and Tails Troupe.

What we have gathered so far from screenshots and descriptions is that battles will now take place in the sea. The slime race itself is about taking control of a classical battle ship to bring hell down on enemy pirates led by a platypus captain with a red coat, pirate hat, and seven tails. When a fight starts, players will have to control the main blue slime called Shujinko on the bottom screen to carry projectiles and load them up on the ship's cannons to fire. The actual ship battle will take place on the top screen, with the hit points of both ships on display.

Once the enemy ship's hit points are reduced to zero, you will have to control Shujinko to board the opposition using a rope. You will have to make your way to the ship's engine and sabotage it with whatever Shujinko has on his offensive arsenal. Enemies on the opposition ship will do their best in obstructing the slime. Conversely, you'll have to do the same because the enemies will also climb aboard your ship.

Of course, the blue fellow won't be alone; he will have a ship crew consisting of his slime race buddies helping him out, either to defend or tag along with him for offense. Under certain conditions, enemy sailors can also defect to your side during these battles, though at this point in time, it's not made clear how it works. Speaking of ships, players can customize their ship will all sorts of different parts from fights, which will increase stats like the ship's hit points, as well as its attack and defense rating.

This is essentially a seafarer's take on the tank battles from the last game. Players can expect the impending English localization to be filled with amusing writing and inventive names for the characters, if the past DS title is of any indication. That sort of charm, coupled with its simple-yet-custom-heavy combat and exploration segments is what made the spin-off a darling among gamers, and we predict no less from this upcoming sequel.

The Japanese version is slated to be out in 2011, though an English version announcement has yet to be made.