Part 82: Monster Time Part 12 - Cave of the Past

I forgot to post the banner for the last monster update, so here it is.

Part 10

- Magicant
- Onett Under Siege



Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Part 11

- Cave of the Past

Monsters of the Cave of the Past

Here it is. The last area. Stock up on brain food lunches and grab all the magic truffles you can dig up. (Delisauce is also a good buy, as it will double the effectiveness of both.) If there's any rare items you want to seek out, go find them now.

Most of the enemies here have middle-to-high Luck, so Susan may as well ditch most of his tools (excepting the heavy bazooka and neutralizer) and fill his inventory with MBRs. Use the rockets liberally as you go through the cave, as they're only semi-effective against the final boss. Equip Susan with the Rabbit's foot so he can't be paralyzed - that way, you always have MBRs as an emergency combat solution. You may also want to keep his Diamond band to ward off Brainshock.


Ultimate Octobot
Stealing items in the final dungeon is just plain mean. As usual, the Octobots aren't hard to kill, just obnoxious - attend to greater threats first.

HP 792. Offense 163, Defense 181, Speed 44, Guts 8, Luck 24.
Weak vs Fire. Strong vs Freeze and Hypnosis. Immune to Flash.
Worth 47,876 XP and $815, with a 1/8 chance to drop a PSI caramel.

AI Routine: Each turn do one of the following at random.
(1/2) Generate a mysterious electric field: Paralyze one target.
(1/4) Fire a beam for (326 - Def) damage.
(1/4) Steal an item


Wild 'n Wooly Shambler
Okay, listen, I get the sheep disguise in Winters, where there's goats and stuff around. But... here? Why?! Anyway, they're not too tough; just be careful about using PSI in case they put a shield up. They can drop MBRs which is always nice, and since they're PSI so you can have Kim and Poo drain a little PP while you kill them.

HP 722 and PP 212. Offense 144, Defense 171, Speed 38, Guts 5, Luck 63.
Strong vs Fire and Brainshock.
Worth 33,818 XP and $906, with a 1/16 chance to drop a Multi bottle rocket.

AI Routine: Each turn do one of the following at random.
(3/4) Fire a beam for (288 - Def) damage.
(1/8) Use PSI Shield β.
(1/8) Use Flash β.


Nuclear Reactor Robot
Huzzah! Kill off the other enemies and have Poo mirror the Nuclear Reactor Robot for some free (if random) healing. Use Freeze and the bazooka to finish it off when you're done.

HP 798. Offense 142, Defense 185, Speed 46, Guts 8, Luck 12.
Strong vs Flash and Hypnosis. Immune to Fire and Paralysis.
Worth 53,142 XP and $820, with a 1/8 chance to drop a Super bomb.

AI Routine: Each turn do one of the following at random.
(3/4) Replenish a fuel supply (as Lifeup γ).
(1/4) Fire a beam for (284 - Def) damage.


Ghost of Starman
Not this shit again. Use the same tactics as before, but keep in mind Kim's limited PP supply - unlike Onett, the Cave of the Past has a boss and no rest stops.

HP 750 and PP 462. Offense 152, Defense 170, Speed 46, Guts 43, Luck 16.
Strong vs Fire, Freeze, Flash and Hypnosis.
Worth 48,695 XP and $807, with a 1/128 chance to drop a Goddess ribbon. (unique drop)

AI Routine 1: Do the following in order.
1. Use Starstorm α.
2. Flash a menacing smile (no action).
3. Whisper "3..." (no action).
4. Switch to AI Routine 2 and choose a new action from there.
AI Routine 2: Do the following in order.
1. Murmur "2..." (no action).
2. Mutter "1..." (no action).
3. Use Starstorm Ω.
4. Switch to AI Routine 1 and choose a new action from there.


Final Starman
Final indeed. These guys will kick your shit in if you give them half a chance. I recommend throwing a bottle rocket at them immediately - they can put up a power shield, so there's a small chance Susan will kill himself (esp. if he's not wearing the Rabbit's foot) but averting a Starstorm Ω is probably worth the cost of reviving him anyway. If you don't take this route, throw up a PSI Shield immediately lest he utterly destroy you with a turn-2 Starstorm. He's got a reflective PSI Shield of his own, so don't use any non-Thunder PSI on him until he swaps it out for a physical shield. And make sure you kill Final Starman first, because he can revive defeated enemies.

HP 840 and PP 860. Offense 178, Defense 187, Speed 47, Guts 25, Luck 24.
Strong vs Fire, Freeze, Flash, Paralysis and Brainshock.
Worth 61,929 XP and $915, with a 1/32 chance to drop a PSI caramel.

AI Routine 1: Do one of the first two actions at random, then one of the last two, then repeat.
1. (1/2) Use Shield β.
1. (1/2) Use Brainshock Ω.
2. (1/2) Use Starstorm &alpha.
2. (1/2) Switch to AI Routine 2 and choose a new action from there.
AI Routine 2: Do one of the first two actions at random, then one of the last two, then repeat.
1. (1/2) Use Starstorm Ω.
1. (1/2) Flash a menacing smile (no action).
2. (1/2) Use Healing Ω.
2. (1/2) Switch to AI Routine 1 and choose a new action from there.


Squatter Demon
Not sure what the hell this thing's supposed to be. Its Diamondization attack is one of the game's few Luck-based abilities. With Nass's PP reserves, though, fixing status conditions is trivial. If you're in a rush, Dragonite works wonders against the fire-weak Squatter Demons.

HP 774 and PP 60. Offense 158, Defense 198, Speed 45, Guts 25, Luck 32.
Weak vs Fire. Strong vs Hypnosis. Immune to Freeze and Paralysis.
Worth 48,311 XP and $897, with a 1/64 chance to drop a Horn of life.

AI Routine: Each turn do one of the following at random.
(1/2) Bite with its poison fangs for (316 - Def) damage: Poison target.
(1/4) Bite down hard: Diamondize one target.
(1/8) Use Hypnosis α.
(1/8) Use the Shield killer.


Bionic Kraken
It's these guys, not the normal Krakens, that drop Nass's secret weapon. They've got the normal array of attacks, but with a full, high-level party you shouldn't have much trouble putting them down (especially as they have no Freeze resistance).

HP 900 and PP 60. Offense 155, Defense 195, Speed 42, Guts 1, Luck 32.
Strong vs Fire and Hypnosis.
Worth 50,308 XP and $960, with a 1/128 chance to drop a Gutsy bat. (unique drop)

AI Routine: Each turn do one of the following at random.
(1/4) Generate a tornado, dealing (310 - Def) damage to all targets.
(1/4) Use a Crashing Boom Bang attack (as Thunder β).
(1/4) Breath fire (as Fire γ).
(1/4) Emit a pale green light (as Neutralizer).