To the multitudes of people who responded to me- I appreciate your input and thank you for your time.
I do however remain unchanged in my opinion, which is a bit like how a Rupaul runway is critiqued- the silhouette matters. It seems to be the reason we got Piranha Plant, and a unique one at that. Majority of the responses I got cater to already fans of the DQ series- not really a way to approach newcomers with a newcomer approaching.
We could discuss theoreticals and it ultimately won’t matter.
Will x gauge interest or will it not.
If I were to weigh in on the matter. Using Slime as the playable character would be a misrepresentation for Dragon Quest.
A comfort zone for western audiences who don’t know about the series except for that one gooey, smiley character that pops up once every 20 fan rosters.
Weigh that in with what the series is about. The journey of a hero and it’s legacy throughout the series. The iconic equipment, and the fact that Erdrick’s name echoes throughout the series represents a deeper lore to the series than just the mascot.
To you it may seem like just another human character, and a swordsman to boot. But one of the sacred principles behind Dragon Quest is having the main hero ALWAYS being a human character.
Persona didn’t go for the mascot, even though it represents the MAIN SMT series and the now more popular spinoff series. So why should DQ?
On a personal level, I want to play as the character I identified with. The jnclusion is of Piranha Plant is fine because they already included pretty much every character you could possibly play as in a main Mario game. So why not go for something off left field?
Same with Pokémon Trainer. Yes, Pikachu is the mascot of the series. And the worldwide iconic value was off the charts. But when he was included I finally felt an attachment to a Pokémon character in smash. The character I played over 600 hours with, was finally there. I didn’t stick with Pikachu all of those hours, but I was controlling an 11 y-o red-capped boy who represented me giving commands to these Pokémon. Even if he sticks to using other Pokémon, it’s fine, because he’s the main face of the party of starters that are emblematic to him.
And like me, most fans of Dragon Quest will probably feel the same.
It’s a deep series, it doesn’t have to try to cater to the same people who hate the thought of a DQ character “stealing a slot” but would be a little more ok if it were the character they sometimes see pop up because one person played Rocket Slime.
Sorry if I come across harsh. I would actually be delighted to have Slime playable. But I don’t believe Slime is what the series is about. Give me a Hero first. A Villain as character, boss, or AT 2nd, and THEN we can talk about having Slime.