Screen | Monochrome |
Shell colors | blue, orange, clear, blue/silver, translucent green, translucent purple, translucent yellow/black, white/blue, translucent blue, translucent teal, translucent black, silver/black |
Manufacturer | Enix |
Pet type | Pedometer |
Programming | Custom |
Release year | 1998 |
These are a pedometer pet that come with a map that the slime will travel through as you walk. How cool is that? They also feature a good number of the usual functions you’d find in a vpet. Tinkerville has a good review of how they work here:
https://tinkerville.cutthatout.com/pedometer/dragonquest
Here’s another small website that goes over how to play with them:
https://arukundesuguides.weebly.com/
![](https://vpets.thefrugalgamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/DragonQuestPedometer_all-1-1024x1024.jpg)
Basic Gameplay
In addition to the classic pet care functions, you will help the pet traverse a map that features seven different terrains by walking with it and letting it log your steps. There are grid-based maps included with the instructions, and you can chose which direction you will walk on this grid using one of the menu functions. As you walk, the pet traverses this map and you can reference where you’ve gone by looking at the coordinates it’s located at. Some of these locations will have secret items and locations, like caves, as seen in this reddit post, but I can’t tell whether or not they’re randomized or set.
Functions
- Map
- Steps
- Stats
- Food – specialty food (increases familiarity), meal (decreases hunger)
- Game
- Medicine
- Wake up
- Current evolution
There are different items you can use throughout the game to give your pet a hand up in battles or dealing with different terrain. This is needed because different slimes will take a different number of steps to cross different terrains depending on how well they are equipped to handle them. Some slimes cannot cross water without warp items, for instance. See the charts here for a reference of which slimes can do what: https://arukundesuguides.weebly.com/map-movement-and-secrets.html
Here’s a guidebook that goes over strategies in depth and talks about how the pet works. Unfortunately it’s only in Japanese, but I will try to translate and upload an alternate version soon.
Thanks to the weebly site I’ve linked above for the instruction book scans. Again, these are only in Japanese so I will try to translate and upload alternates soon.
![](https://vpets.thefrugalgamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Arukundesu1_pg1-1024x526.jpg)
![](https://vpets.thefrugalgamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Arukundesu1_pg2-1024x522.jpg)
![](https://vpets.thefrugalgamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Arukundesu1_pg3-1024x532.jpg)
![](https://vpets.thefrugalgamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Arukundesu1_pg4-1024x524.jpg)
![](https://vpets.thefrugalgamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Arukundesu1_pg5.jpg)
![](https://vpets.thefrugalgamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Arukundesu1_pg6-1024x544.jpg)
![](https://vpets.thefrugalgamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Arukundesu1_pg7-1024x521.jpg)
There were also a few follow-ups released under the names Arukundesu 2 and Arukundesu Returns. More info to come about those soon!