I really wish I liked this more than I did. It has a terrific Mega Man Legends-esque aesthetic that lends it a lot of visual charm, but once you start properly playing the game, you quickly realise that its charm can only get it so far.

Dr. Slump is essentially a series of vignettes, I assume taken directly from the manga. Lots of random shit happens. Very random. And it all feels very disconnected. Maybe that structure works better in manga form, but here, you get a very fragmented story that features a lot of humour that doesn't land. The adventure-type moments aren't too bad. Bland but inoffensive. You run around, talk to supporting characters, sometimes engage in minigames, etc. They're kinda bleh. But then you get to the more action-focused segments that are centered around platforming, and oof, let me tell you, those are a chore. Mechanically they're just no good. Like a far lesser Ape Escape. And they become more frequent the further you progress.

I always feel bad when a translation team puts in the hard work to make something like this available to a wider audience. Hilltop does fantastic work, there's no doubt about it. But it sucks when you play one of these formerly Japan-only releases and it becomes obvious why it was never localised in the first place. Dr. Slump is such a game.

Teria dado um nota maior,se os ultimos mapas nao fossem uma chatice.
Sempre vi essa personagem no budokai teikachi e nunca entendia do pq ela era tao forte,agora q terminei o jogo eu entendi.
Arale é uma personagem bem engraçada,o jogo em si é divertido,arte do akira é muito boa nesse jogo.
Os controles envelheceram bem,alguns nem tanto.
A maioria dos mapas e dos bosses sao legais.
É um jogo curtinho,mas divertido.

If I were to describe the PS1 Dr. Slump game on paper, it would probably sound like the most unappealing game in the world. You walk around, talk to people, warp to other places that webbed together in a convoluted manner, and complete their desired quests until you end up going to an action stage. Overworlds are tiny, placed in a void and can only be accessed from other overworld by menu. There is little to no voice acting, hardly any unique animations, not much in the way of side content at all, not even any NPCs that aren't the central characters, even. Yet, we only live on this Earth for so long, and this is a game you should play before you leave.
Dramatic, I know, but to put it into perspective, it's certainly a cheap game, but cheap in very clever ways. By skimping on realistic graphics, it succeeds at being one of the best-looking games for the PS1, toe-to-toe with Mega Man Legends. Who cares if the soundtrack is MIDI, it sure as hell bops, even if the main overworld song is played much too often. Despite the lack of voice acting and cinematic cutscenes a la MML, the dialogue, which is localized very well in the fan-made English patch, is funny and charming. The story clearly rushes through some of the manga's greatest hits, but it's enjoyable all the same. You cannot move the camera, but it's almost always in the place you want it to be. You aren't playing this game for much more than good times with the Penguin Village crew, and that's all it needs to be.
As for Arale's controls... could be better. They get the job done, but your jump is quite heavy and your combat options don't feel too well-equipped for some annoying enemies. There's also way too many insta-kill pits strewn about the later action stages, geez.
I suppose I'm biased due to my history with Dr. Slump, but this genuinely a really nice budget game for what it is. The fact that this was translated is a joy to behold, and it's super-short to boot. If you have 6 hours to spare, give it a shot.

your enjoyment of this game will be entirely determined by how much you enjoy dr slump. seems like that should be obvious as this is an obscure dr slump game that only got an english hack in the past couple years, but well you know.
now, the real reason i say this is for fans of doctor slump is because this game is basically going through the events of the anime/manga with the dialogue and humor in the drivers seat and the actual gameplay chilling in the back. you'll spend most of this game reading the cutscenes, or running around doing oddjobs going from A to B and back to A. and while that seems like a negative thing, honestly i never got tired of it because i love re-experiencing dr slump like this. now, little actual gameplay isnt to say there's no gameplay. there are levels at the end or each day that give you these 3d platformer-ish sections, sometimes with certain tasks like collect x amount of y, until you get to a boss. these sections are fine, but i do have my gripes with them. see, even though i described them as 3d platformer-ish, theres a reason i included the -ish at the end. half of the levels are just mazes, and these are the worst parts about the game, especially in the racist level where every 2 feet theres some barricade you need to get past and it takes 3 hits to get past and its so annoying. the bosses can also be rather hit or miss. its usually this "wtf my attacks arent hurting him what do i-oh thats what i do" and then the boss dies when you repeat the method you just did a couple of times. that said, none of them are bad. i will say this, the controls have also aged very well for a playstation game, no tank controls (not that tank controls are inherently bad), you get a good amount of abilities throughout the game, all references to the manga that feel natural as gameplay mechanics and theyre all fun to use, even the ones you never really.... ever use like sneaking or rolling. idk why those are even there. if theres one thing i will majorly criticize this game for, its the unlockables. every once in a while, you'll fill up your pep gauge from collecting poop or helping people (think leveling up in any other game, if that had no purpose) and go back to senbei for a reward.... and most the rewards are just basic options or otherwise something intrusive to the hud that serves no purpose. also costumes, but you need so many rewards before getting costumes that most will likely never see them, and those that do will likely have already done literally everything else before, and with (i believe) no new game plus, you wont have much of a use for the costume. speaking of the end, theres no ending cutscene, just credits and then post-game where a baby talks to you and says "you beat the game"
overall though, none of that ruins the game for me. this game is a must for any dr slump fans