The Golem

"Golems" are another "monster" considered sort of an obligation in fantasy RPG's, and again thanks to their prominence in Dungeons and Dragons. Their usage or at least the name is also a little controversial, due to most media removing them from their original Jewish context. I'm not equipped to explain that in any nuanced way, but as far as Fantasy RPG Golem designs go, whatever name they go by, this one is...alright! It has a blocky torso and block feet, which stands out among the otherwise round and smooth shapes of other Toriyama designs. The head is a perfect brick cylinder, with glowing eyes in a rectangular black slot, which kind of gives me the impression of a knight helmet with a visor if the knight was also a chunk of the castle itself. This makes me realize that I don't actually see many "golems" made of bricks and blocks at all.

Most variations on the DQ Golem are only color morphs, but one classic is the chocolate Golem, its different colors indicating dark, milk, white and strawberry chocolate, with a red ribbon around its body and one of those chalky candy hearts on its forehead.

More recently, a mobile game introduced a Halloween Golem done up like Frankenstein's Monster, and I feel like there's a little more effort here. The bricks are green, with metal staples where they're cracked and degraded. Of course there's also a big bolt through the head and broken iron shackles, but especially fun is the tattered purple suit - with a bat and pumpkin pattern! - and the stripey grey pants.

A pile of bricks doesn't give me a whole lot to talk about, but it's another major icon of the series, and it's cute! Right? It's meant to look emotionless, but I immediately get kind of a sad impression, a gentle giant that doesn't really want any trouble. It helps that my first encounter with them in an actual game was sympathetic; in Dark Prince, you'll find them wandering the desert among jagged, eroded stones, which turn out to be Golems who finally wore down :(