Slime

The Slime (スライム) is a recurring enemy in the Dragon Quest franchise. It is also the franchise's mascot, and has appeared in nearly every Dragon Quest title. In most of their appearances, Slimes are enemies, but they sometimes appear as friendly non-playable characters.

Conception and creation
"I was really hooked on 'Wizardy,' the PC game, ... There's...slime-looking characters ..., so I got the inspiration from it. I was doodling the slime-looking character and I took it to Mr. Toriyama, who did the character design, and he made it the Slime we see today."

- Yuji Horii

According to Yuji Horii, the creator of Dragon Quest, the inspiration for the Slime came from a role-playing game series called . 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".

Captain N: The Game Master
Some Slimes appear in in the Captain N: The Game Master episode "The Trojan Dragon" to battle the N Team only to lose and drop two gold coins each. The Slimes have a more menacing design than in the games and attack through spitting acidic slime.

Itadaki Street DS
In Itadaki Street DS, Slime appears as a playable character. The Slime Mask, Slime Suit, and Slime Maracas are collectible items that can be equipped on customizable characters. One of Slime's variants, Healslimes, also appear in the game.

Fortune Street
In Fortune Street, Slime along with other Dragon Quest characters return as playable characters. Like in Itadaki Street DS, Slime is a default playable character. Slime's difficulty rating is D, meaning that it is easier to beat than most other characters in the game.

Mario Sports Mix
In Mario Sports Mix, Slime is an unlockable playable character. It is classified as a Tricky type character, and besides Miis, Slime is the only character outside of the Mario or Final Fantasy franchise to appear. Slime's best stat is its power, while it suffers from weak speed and abysmal technique.

In Slime's special shot, it summons three other slimes, each one with a different color: pink, yellow, and green. The Slime is unlocked by winning 28 games. If players pick Slime 20 times in a sport, they unlock an alternate, orange version of Slime called She-Slime. The alternate color can also be unlocked by clearing a certain mission on the Star Cup. If players pick Slime 40 times in a sport or clear a certain mission on the Star Cup, they unlock an alternate, silver version of Slime called Metal Slime.

On a side note, Slime is the only character who has its name changed when its alternate colors are chosen. Slime is the only character with two alternate colors.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Slimes make an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the background of the downloadable Dragon Quest stage Yggdrasil's Altar, though they do not affect gameplay. On rare occasions, a Liquid Metal Slime may appear. Both types also appear as DLC spirits. A Slime Hat appears as purchasable headgear that can be worn by any class of the Mii Fighters. Slimes additionally appear in Hero's reveal trailer, one of his victory animations, and his down taunt.

Physical appearance
Regular Slimes are shaped like a raindrop, and have a blue body. Depending on the appearance, their body is either a darker or a lighter blue. Slimes have two eyes and a smile on their face.

Personality
Slimes most often appear as enemies. Slimes that are non-hostile 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, with Slime's one being "slurp". Slimes replace certain words or syllables with the prefix "goo" (like "human" with "gooman") when they speak.

Variants
Slimes have some of the most variations out of any other enemy in the Dragon Quest franchise. Some notable examples include: Bubble Slimes, which resemble pools of slime; Nautical Slimes, who wear conch shells; Metal Slimes, which are gray Slimes with high defense; Healslimes, which have tentacles; Emperor Slimes, which are shaped like a gem; Box Slimes, which are shaped like a cube; and King Slimes, which are very large Slimes who wear a crown.

Mario Sports Mix information

 * Character Name: Slime
 * Character Type: Tricky
 * Home Court: N/A
 * Power Statistic: 5/5
 * Speed Statistic: 2/5
 * Technique Statistic: 1/5

Fortune Street

 * North American website bio: "The quintessential quirky character of any Dragon Quest domain. Slimes are podgy and squishy and speak almost perfect "gooman.""

Trivia

 * In WarioWare: D.I.Y., a mask similar to Slime is seen behind Ashley in Ashley's Mask Boutique during the after-boss cutscene.