DS: Dragon's Quest: Rocket Slime

2014-06-07 04:03:02 pm

Hey guys! CodeRunner here! I've decided to run a DS game that I've always seen as a quirky hidden gem, Dragon's Quest: Rocket Slime. I haven't seen many people if any run it, so I decided I'd begin routing and messing with things to try and find possible exploits and/or strategies with the mech battles! If anyone is interested in running this, just let me know and we can work together to get a good run together!

Thanks and happy running,
Code

Thread title:

Delicious

2014-06-07 09:10:42 pm

The title is wrong according to gamefaqs

Skogey

2014-10-14 05:46:24 am

Hey actually had a similar thought... Were you thinking any% or a 100 Slime Run? Im working on a 100 slime run, as well as doing a casual playthrough on my youtube channel.

Tterraj42

2014-10-14 10:31:01 am

Games!

I'd be interested in seeing a run of this.

I imagine an any% run would be pretty minimal on what you collect. I don't remember any fight being particularly tough, and the fact you can wreck the other tank from the inside.. Still, very curious.

100 slime run sounds pretty cool as well, would show off a lot more of the game.

Skogey

2014-10-16 08:18:38 am

I think a race might be easier to get through though, its kind of a long game

SlurpeeNinja

2014-12-26 10:50:56 pm

Are you still thinking to run this!? Let me know, I am interested in doing this, but I have no idea where to start.. is it even possible to beat the game without collecting 100 slimes?! I think you can immediately fight the cat tank to get a bunch of equipment before you even get your tank assistants I would do that first as you get some nice items from that tank and the fire candle weapon.. Message me and we'll figure stuff out!

Bulborbish

Edit history:

Bulborbish: 2014-12-30 11:01:38 am

Bulborbish: 2014-12-30 10:56:09 am

Bulborbish: 2014-12-28 09:09:31 pm

Bulborbish: 2014-12-28 09:08:25 pm

Bulborbish: 2014-12-28 09:07:14 pm

2014-12-28 09:04:33 pm

I've done a basic run through, and this is what I have at the moment.

any% would be from confirming name to the moment you hit the heart of the final boss tank.

53 Slimes are required to save (ignoring clawtress's required tank battles) - 50 to unlock the ability to break crystal walls, and you are required to save the queen, bishop and the clawtress mechanic. Most slimes will be saved on Beach and Mountain, with a return to meadow after saving the king to get easy slimes that don't need a tank battle to get.

Best Ammo for most of the game is shuriken's, which are made by alchemizing 2 chests and 2 chimera wings together. Avoid using Firewater, Bomb-rocks, and Obelisks, as they can break in your own tank. Avoid 100ton Weights, as it slows the fire rate of the crew. Best Tank Crew is Blubba, Swotsy, and Glooperier, since they can fire the fastest out of the starting crew choices. Never upgrade HP, it is not needed for tank battles, and HP is set to 1000 for final battle if it is below 1000

Once crew is unlocked, spend every tank battle but final boss fighting inside the enemy tank, preventing them from firing ammo at your tank.

For the final boss, you need the HP in your tank to expire so it stops firing ammo at you. You must repel Flucifer before he reaches the tank room, or run is over.

Skips to look for: If we find a way to skip the 1 required crystal barrier, than we can save a huge amount of time on saving slimes.
The same trick could be used to free ducktor cid early by clipping through a sand barrier, though this is not useful unless we have a crystal wall skip.

I've done a basic run through, and this is what I have at the moment.

any% would be from confirming name to the moment you hit the heart of the final boss tank.

53 Slimes are required to save (ignoring clawtress's required tank battles) - 50 to unlock the ability to break crystal walls, and you are required to save the queen, bishop and the clawtress mechanic. Most slimes will be saved on Beach and Mountain, with a return to meadow after saving the king to get easy slimes that don't need a tank battle to get.

Best Ammo for most of the game is shuriken's, which are made by alchemizing 2 chests and 2 chimera wings together. Avoid using Firewater, Bomb-rocks, and Obelisks, as they can break in your own tank. Avoid 100ton Weights, as it slows the fire rate of the crew. Best Tank Crew is Blubba, Swotsy, and Glooperier, since they can fire the fastest out of the starting crew choices. Never upgrade HP, it is not needed for tank battles, and HP is set to 1000 for final battle if it is below 1000

Once crew is unlocked, spend every tank battle but final boss fighting inside the enemy tank, preventing them from firing ammo at your tank.

For the final boss, you need the HP in your tank to expire so it stops firing ammo at you. You must repel Flucifer before he reaches the tank room, or run is over.

Skips to look for: If we find a way to skip the 1 required crystal barrier, than we can save a huge amount of time on saving slimes.
The same trick could be used to free ducktor cid early by clipping through a sand barrier, though this is not useful unless we have a crystal wall skip.

Bulborbish

Edit history:

Bulborbish: 2015-02-25 08:48:35 am

2015-02-25 08:48:07 am

So, thought I should post my Progress on working on this route. Currently have 3:11:05 Real Time for Any%, though there is one hitch that I've been having that I want to clarify before I continue working on it.

At the moment, I am defining Any% run on beating the final boss. The issue with this is that the game doesn't go to credits unless you have collected all 100 slimes. Which Leads me to my question. Should Any% end on defeating the final boss, or upon reaching Credits?.

The Primary differences time wise is that you have to fight all the optional tank battles, and spend significantly more time on Callmeigh Bluff and the Dig Site collecting slimes. If I had to put a number on the difference in time I would guess around 2-2.5 more hours for the latter.

ais523

2015-02-27 08:51:42 pm

Given that collecting all the slimes sounds like a pretty good 100%-like definition, the any% category is only going to exist if it's only trying to beat the final boss.

DeadbeatAlligator

2015-03-19 05:17:26 pm

I would love to help with this if you still need help routing and what not, this game is one of my all time favorites

shinx7009

2015-03-19 08:19:19 pm

Well let's see what happens?

Hey, I'm new to speed Running i'm doing SADX sonic SEG. i wish i could help but i just love that game so i wish you the best of luck and i hope when your done maybe i could join!

GhostKingG1

Edit history:

GhostKingG1: 2015-05-21 02:37:29 pm

GhostKingG1: 2015-05-21 02:55:24 am

GhostKingG1: 2015-05-21 02:31:47 am

GhostKingG1: 2015-05-21 02:09:27 am

GhostKingG1: 2015-05-21 02:02:02 am

2015-05-21 01:59:50 am

Why Hello it is Me

So I've been trying to route this game myself, however there are no known runs on the internet to go by so Ive had to do most of the work myself. Here are some potential time savers I've found while test running the JP version (I think all of these are the same in English except the first:)

-JP has faster text boxes. To get through text, mash B.

-Elasto blasts (EBs for short) are faster than walking. In a 3 hour run I'd estimate that using them for movement could save anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes over regular movement, depending on how much optimally it is used.

-It is probably best to do Perry's(the shelled green slime found in Tootenschleimann's tomb) surfboard minigame. It costs about 75 seconds but nets you an orichalcum before you can even change your ammo, making it significantly better than anything you have up until you get Hellscythe. With good RNG this could potentially save minutes off the entire run since it will be in your ammo the entire game, especially early.

-Avoid grabbing Firewater, 1000t, rockbomb or obelisks, and use Cids "recommended" to quickly optimize ammo; this may require menuing later.

-If any% is being defined as once The Dark One/Flucifer is defeated, avoid saving slimes after #50. Ive yet to route which ones give the best ammo in the mail so far.

Carrying Slimes (or anything really) into cutscenes automatically sends them back to town. This includes tank battles. For instance, Bud and the Red Slime (forgot the name, playing on JP) at tootenschleimann will instantly be sent back to Boingburg once you trigger the cutscene with Cid fixing the flute and the Schleimann Tank first being entered. It only saves a couple seconds over the run but it is a time saver none the less I believe.

-Waterways are fastest, though rare.

-In the first area it is fastest to save Blubba and Swotsy by throwing while EBing, which launches them much farther than a regular throw. same with certain bombshell and rockbomb throws throughout though those need to be aimed well.

- Slime Knights are your friend. I actually think the best battle strategy after awhile is to let the enemy hit your tank to 0 (which usually only takes a short time if you leave your tank at 100 HP) because Rocket is better than his entire crew combined at throwing ammo. At the start of every fight, set Blubba and Glooperior to their non-attacking commands and lift Swotsy on your back, then spend the time waiting by locating and grabbing your Slime Knight. When your tank hits 0 and the enemies start the base race (they also stop firing after your tank hits 0), set your crew to fire, and attack any incoming enemies at the tank with the slime knight. When they all die, leave the slime knight the front door and blast the crap out of their tank. Once their tank hits 0, go raid it with the slime knight; it saves a ton of time killing their engine room. Be cautious as slime knights do fall asleep and disappear after being EB'd or otherwise attacked three times. To wake them up, throw them at a wall and catch them. It may be best to run two slime knights as they are extremely easy to get in Krakatroda and youre more likely to get one.

-During the time youre waiting for your tank to lose its HP, especially before you have Slime Knights, you can also stockpile ammo in your cannon room since 2 of your crew isn't fighting and one is on your head. Then throw the ammo when the skies are free. This I believe is the most effective way of fighting the final boss (waiting for him to drop you to zero while you do nothing but stockpile ammo), only with Slival on your head. (That said, Flucifer takes 6 hits to incapacitate and he likes to rush for the engine room which he kills in one hit. During that fight be mindful of your HP; you should only have 7 hearts by endgame and he can easily take them if you aren't careful.)

Some early fights (especially the last Tootenschleimann fight) are actually faster if you go into the enemy tank and kill your own tank from their side, then steal their stronger ammo to use on your side.

-Bottom cannon I believe is faster by a small margin. Having Swotsy and yourself there could save a few seconds since youre basically firing at the broad side of a barn.

-It can sometimes be faster, though risky, to go after their engine while the enemies are in your tank as many of them have very slow attack animations and get distracted by your crew (especially if you switch Blubba to defend) easily.

-Rockbombs will destroy three barriers in enemy engine rooms. If you don't have slime knights and you can afford to pick one up in their tank, it saves 2-4 seconds.

-Still need to test if the Goonin are better than Swotsy.

-Make a dash to their tank while your ammo is in the air if you know its gonna kill and you can do so safely.

-Still need word on whether we can find a crystal skip for Callmigh (which, if we can find a way to clip through certain things, it may allow for: some sequence breaks in Krakatroda; Saving Cid faster; requiring less than 50 slimes to beat the game; skipping 3 tank battles in Clawtress, and possibly even preemptively entering enemy tank engine rooms before their tank dies!).

I still need to dump more time in routing the game and figuring out the best path, and I'd love for there to be a bigger community for this game, so I'm willing to lend my hand to enhancing the speedruns for one of my favorite DS games.

So I've been trying to route this game myself, however there are no known runs on the internet to go by so Ive had to do most of the work myself. Here are some potential time savers I've found while test running the JP version (I think all of these are the same in English except the first:)

-JP has faster text boxes. To get through text, mash B.

-Elasto blasts (EBs for short) are faster than walking. In a 3 hour run I'd estimate that using them for movement could save anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes over regular movement, depending on how much optimally it is used.

-It is probably best to do Perry's(the shelled green slime found in Tootenschleimann's tomb) surfboard minigame. It costs about 75 seconds but nets you an orichalcum before you can even change your ammo, making it significantly better than anything you have up until you get Hellscythe. With good RNG this could potentially save minutes off the entire run since it will be in your ammo the entire game, especially early.

-Avoid grabbing Firewater, 1000t, rockbomb or obelisks, and use Cids "recommended" to quickly optimize ammo; this may require menuing later.

-If any% is being defined as once The Dark One/Flucifer is defeated, avoid saving slimes after #50. Ive yet to route which ones give the best ammo in the mail so far.

Carrying Slimes (or anything really) into cutscenes automatically sends them back to town. This includes tank battles. For instance, Bud and the Red Slime (forgot the name, playing on JP) at tootenschleimann will instantly be sent back to Boingburg once you trigger the cutscene with Cid fixing the flute and the Schleimann Tank first being entered. It only saves a couple seconds over the run but it is a time saver none the less I believe.

-Waterways are fastest, though rare.

-In the first area it is fastest to save Blubba and Swotsy by throwing while EBing, which launches them much farther than a regular throw. same with certain bombshell and rockbomb throws throughout though those need to be aimed well.

- Slime Knights are your friend. I actually think the best battle strategy after awhile is to let the enemy hit your tank to 0 (which usually only takes a short time if you leave your tank at 100 HP) because Rocket is better than his entire crew combined at throwing ammo. At the start of every fight, set Blubba and Glooperior to their non-attacking commands and lift Swotsy on your back, then spend the time waiting by locating and grabbing your Slime Knight. When your tank hits 0 and the enemies start the base race (they also stop firing after your tank hits 0), set your crew to fire, and attack any incoming enemies at the tank with the slime knight. When they all die, leave the slime knight the front door and blast the crap out of their tank. Once their tank hits 0, go raid it with the slime knight; it saves a ton of time killing their engine room. Be cautious as slime knights do fall asleep and disappear after being EB'd or otherwise attacked three times. To wake them up, throw them at a wall and catch them. It may be best to run two slime knights as they are extremely easy to get in Krakatroda and youre more likely to get one.

-During the time youre waiting for your tank to lose its HP, especially before you have Slime Knights, you can also stockpile ammo in your cannon room since 2 of your crew isn't fighting and one is on your head. Then throw the ammo when the skies are free. This I believe is the most effective way of fighting the final boss (waiting for him to drop you to zero while you do nothing but stockpile ammo), only with Slival on your head. (That said, Flucifer takes 6 hits to incapacitate and he likes to rush for the engine room which he kills in one hit. During that fight be mindful of your HP; you should only have 7 hearts by endgame and he can easily take them if you aren't careful.)

Some early fights (especially the last Tootenschleimann fight) are actually faster if you go into the enemy tank and kill your own tank from their side, then steal their stronger ammo to use on your side.

-Bottom cannon I believe is faster by a small margin. Having Swotsy and yourself there could save a few seconds since youre basically firing at the broad side of a barn.

-It can sometimes be faster, though risky, to go after their engine while the enemies are in your tank as many of them have very slow attack animations and get distracted by your crew (especially if you switch Blubba to defend) easily.

-Rockbombs will destroy three barriers in enemy engine rooms. If you don't have slime knights and you can afford to pick one up in their tank, it saves 2-4 seconds.

-Still need to test if the Goonin are better than Swotsy.

-Make a dash to their tank while your ammo is in the air if you know its gonna kill and you can do so safely.

-Still need word on whether we can find a crystal skip for Callmigh (which, if we can find a way to clip through certain things, it may allow for: some sequence breaks in Krakatroda; Saving Cid faster; requiring less than 50 slimes to beat the game; skipping 3 tank battles in Clawtress, and possibly even preemptively entering enemy tank engine rooms before their tank dies!).

I still need to dump more time in routing the game and figuring out the best path, and I'd love for there to be a bigger community for this game, so I'm willing to lend my hand to enhancing the speedruns for one of my favorite DS games.

DeadbeatAlligator

2015-07-17 07:15:26 pm

From what ive found in regards to the tank battles is that a good strategy is to just charge over to the enemy tank and just steal all of their ammo, it makes it so they cant block your attacks and you have even more ammo to shoot at them. using this strat you can kill just about any tank in the game with minimal hp upgrades.

In regards as to ammo the Shuriken is great to use. It is faster than other weapons, it does 45 damage and all you need to make them is 1xChest and 2xChimaera wing which are really easy to grab during a route

GhostKingG1

2015-07-19 01:34:25 am

Why Hello it is Me

The problem with that strategy is that by the time you get to the Krakatroda tank battles, enemies have ammo that kills you before you can even break through their tanks, so it doesn't matter whether they have ammo to fire or not. Their ammo isn't that significantly better than yours until lategame and by that time your tank is dead by the time you even make it into their tanks. However I should probably try seeing if it's better to kill lategame enemies at their own door and then raid their best ammo, leave the slime knight in their tank and then all out kill them as it rarely takes more than one or two cycles of enemies reviving and trying to invade your tank for you to have decimated their health bar.

Also Shuriken only does 20 damage (in both English and JP versions) and it takes 2 chests and 2 chimera wings, the latter of which you only find at Krakatroda. The big thing about it that's nice is that the recipe is obtained before the Krak Pot. I try to farm at least 22 of both for 11 shurikens, though I haven't gotten a consistent collecting route yet.

The problem with that strategy is that by the time you get to the Krakatroda tank battles, enemies have ammo that kills you before you can even break through their tanks, so it doesn't matter whether they have ammo to fire or not. Their ammo isn't that significantly better than yours until lategame and by that time your tank is dead by the time you even make it into their tanks. However I should probably try seeing if it's better to kill lategame enemies at their own door and then raid their best ammo, leave the slime knight in their tank and then all out kill them as it rarely takes more than one or two cycles of enemies reviving and trying to invade your tank for you to have decimated their health bar.

Also Shuriken only does 20 damage (in both English and JP versions) and it takes 2 chests and 2 chimera wings, the latter of which you only find at Krakatroda. The big thing about it that's nice is that the recipe is obtained before the Krak Pot. I try to farm at least 22 of both for 11 shurikens, though I haven't gotten a consistent collecting route yet.

DeadbeatAlligator

2015-07-19 08:04:13 pm

I was working on a route and on my second go I got around 3:45.00 for 100 slime with the English version. Not sure how that compares to any other routes but I was able to get about a "full" tank of shurikens before callmigh bluff. only problem is that my computer crashed 3 times last month so I lost everything I had written down about it

GhostKingG1

2015-07-19 10:25:11 pm

Why Hello it is Me

As far as timing goes I think the run ends as soon as your elasto-blast hits Flucifer's Heart.

As for categories, although it doesn't involve the credits rolling I still think any% can be defined as "beat the final boss", while 100 Slimes is exactly what it says on the tin.

As for shurikens, while they fly fast I think raw damage is more important than flying speed. The reason they're effective ammo is because they're easy to get and rather effective for most of the game. But even if a piece of ammo flies slower that doesn't necessarily make it slower because you should be firing three pieces of ammo at any point in time and what matters is the power of each load. As such I think it's still better to have Orichalcum, Hellscythe and the few pieces of ammo you get gifted that are worth putting in the ammo, over just a full tank of shurikens.

DeadbeatAlligator

2015-07-19 10:32:47 pm

I guess I should elaborate on what I said, I fully agree with you about the more damaging ammo. When I say "full" what I meant was that the shurikens were replacing all the lower tier ammo such as the rocks, chests, bombshells etc.

GhostKingG1

2016-01-05 06:44:55 am

Why Hello it is Me

Well, it's been a LOT longer than I initially anticipated but I did finally get a run of this game on film (sadly I'm unable to stream at the moment so Youtube is the only place I'd put it for now). This time of 3:04:07 for any% could very very easily be improved upon and is far from optimized, but this is just sort of a demo of what a run of this game is sorta like at the moment. This is on the Japanese version, played on a DS.

Really wish there was a faster way to do the final boss but his ammo auto-fires. I'm thinking it may be faster to fight it the way you were intended to do so, but I will have to check.

DeadbeatAlligator

2016-02-06 09:36:41 pm

As far as the last boss I can almost guarantee that letting him kill you right away is faster than trying to fight back. A way that you might be able to kill him faster is if you can multitask where your grabbing items and also defending. If you elatsa band and throw an item you can toss it up the stairs to Silval and also hit Don if you aim it the right way or you could stack three items on your head and just elasta into him. Another thing you could try to do and i don't remember off hand if you are able to but you could try to push him into one of the cannons which would allow you more time to shoot more ammo at him.

GhostKingG1

2016-03-06 07:19:47 pm

Why Hello it is Me

So I've been working more and more on any%, and my current PB of 2:43:46 can be found here. I also have notes in this pastebin. (I haven't edited them for grammar or completely finished them yet). I think at this point any% can be pushed into the 2:3X:XX territory with this route. Still hoping for more glitches. I've been putting off 100 Slime just because I feel the fastest way to do that is just return to Forewoods, Krakatroda, Callmigh Bluff and Flucifer's Necropolis right before fighting the final three bosses just because your tank ammo is strongest then, making those areas kind of trivial.