Part 76: Monster Time Part 6

Nah, I'm intentionally keeping my levels low. Actually I might try a genuine minimum-level run at some point, just to see if it's possible.

Anyway, time for




Monsters of Winters
Susan's initial trek through Winters shouldn't be a major problem - with the Holmes hat and Pop gun there's nothing that can cause him too much grief. Watch out for Cave Boys when you reach Stonehenge, though.

When the group later returns to claim Rainy Circle, the enemies near Stonehenge will have changed. They're stronger than before, but your team of three shouldn't have trouble.


Runaway Dog
This version of the Runaway Dog has stronger attacks than the ones we met in Onett - not that it really matters thanks to the Holmes Hat's +10 Defense. If you're going to grind money to get the T-Rex bat early, the Bread rolls these guys drop will be your (forgive me) bread and butter.

HP 21, Offense 4, Defense 5, Speed 26, Luck 1.
Special abilities: Strong attack.
Weak against Fire, Freeze, Flash, Hypnosis and Paralysis.
Worth 4 XP and $3, with a 1/2 chance to drop a Bread roll.



Spiteful Crow
Same as always. They dodge your attacks, steal your precious bread rolls and give you crappy cookies in exchange. At least its attacks are pathetically weak thanks to Susan's nice starting gear.

HP 24, Offense 5, Defense 3, Speed 77, Luck 1.
Special abilities: Steal an item.
Weak against Fire, Freeze, Flash and Paralysis.
Worth 3 XP and $5, and always drops a Cookie.



Gruff Goat
The most dangerous enemy Susan can face in Winters proper - that is to say, it's the only one that can really hurt him at all. Gruff Goats are worth a nice chunk of XP, but their item drop is lousy compared to the other two.

HP 45, Offense 8, Defense 23, Speed 12, Luck 16.
Special abilities: Strong attack.
Weak against Fire, Freeze and Hypnosis.
Worth 20 XP and $9, with a 1/8 chance to drop a Salt packet.



Cave Boy
These guys hang out near Stonehenge. They're much stronger than anything else Susan has met thus far, but are also worth a lot of XP (relatively speaking) and drop nice loot. I recommend you save before fighting them.

HP 314, Offense 21, Defense 33, Speed 5, Luck 80.
Special abilities: Strong attack
Weak against Fire. Resistant to Hypnosis. Immune to Freeze and Paralysis.
Worth 618 XP and $17, and always drops a Picnic lunch.



Cave Boy
When you eventually return to Winters on the Sky Runner, the Cave Boys will still be around but will have changed their tactics a bit - namely, they've picked up the Offense/Defense lowering "shout" ability. This actually makes them less dangerous, since they're no longer attacking each turn. They're also a lot dodgier than before, and their awesome drop has disappeared. You should have no trouble dispatching these guys, but it's hardly even worth it...

HP 314, Offense 21, Defense 33, Speed 79, Luck 80.
Special abilities: Strong attack, "Shout in a loud voice."
Weak against Fire. Resistant to Hypnosis. Immune to Freeze and Paralysis.
Worth 618 XP and $17, with a 1/32 chance to drop a Double burger.



Mighty Bear Seven
A returning enemy sprite! The Mighty Bear Seven is a pretty good challenge and worth a nice chunk of XP. They hit hard, but Freeze Gamma will put them down quickly. Using the free healing machine in Dr. Andonut's lab, you can grind fairly well against the MB7's.

HP 367, Offense 85, Defense 76, Speed 11, Luck 4.
Special abilities: Strong attack.
Resistant to Paralysis.
Worth 8,884 XP and $440, with a 1/128 chance to drop a Super plush bear.




Monsters of Brick Road
The enemies in Brick Road are technically NPCs, so they don't respawn, and you can't get a red or green swirl when engaging them. If you're low on food coming in, you might want to clear a path to the save phone first, then go back for the stuff along the side routes.


Rowdy Mouse
Identical to their Giant Step incarnation, the Mice are probably the most dangerous enemy in Brick Road. Don't hesitate to choke down some food mid-battle! You don't want to have to go through the Tessie cutscene again, do you?

HP 36, Offense 7, Defense 20, Speed 5, Luck 2.
Weak against Fire and Freeze. Resistant to Hypnosis.
Worth 34 XP and $9, with a 1/32 chance to drop a Bread roll.



Worthless Protoplasm
Worthless indeed. The protoplasm doesn't have any strong attacks and can make itself feel strange. The only real danger they pose is a calling-for-help chain, which can wear away your HP bit by bit.

HP 38, Offense 11, Defense 21, Speed 27, Luck 1.
Special abilities: Call for help, "Size up the situation."
Weak against Fire, Freeze and Paralysis. Immune to Hypnosis.
Worth 17 XP and $11, with a 1/4 chance to drop a Cookie.



Mad Duck
An enemy custom-designed to not be a threat. All of the Mad Duck's special abilities revolve (ha!) around causing problems for a PSI user, which Susan... isn't. Just shoot them and move on.

HP 51, Offense 12, Defense 24, Speed 30, Luck 1.
Special abilities: "Disrupt your senses," "Make something spin around."
Weak against Fire and Freeze. Resistant to Hypnosis.
Worth 41 XP and $12, with a 1/16 chance to drop a Fresh Egg.




Monsters of Rainy Circle
On Susan's first pass, this cave is very similar to Giant Step (even the enemies are similar). It should be easier than that cave, though, since there's no boss and Susan's gear is far better than Nass's was back then.

When you come back for a second pass with Nass and Kim along, the enemies have completely changed to something more fitting Your Sanctuary. Unfortunately it's largely a waste because the boss is right there in the first room. But hey, maybe you feel like exploring?


Rowdy Mouse
Well, now we know where Brick Road got them.

HP 36, Offense 7, Defense 20, Speed 5, Luck 2.
Weak against Fire and Freeze. Resistant to Hypnosis.
Worth 34 XP and $9, with a 1/32 chance to drop a Bread roll.



Attack Slug
Oh hey, it's everyone's favorite early-game XP fountain.

HP 30, PP 6, Offense 9, Defense 2, Speed 1, Luck 3.
Special abilities: Hypnosis α.
Weak against Fire, Freeze and Paralysis. Immune to Hypnosis.
Worth 27 XP and $6, with a 1/128 chance to drop a Super bomb.



Struttin' Evil Mushroom
Thankfully not the same as the ones you see later in Milky Well. These guys can't mushroomize you; they only attack. They're still the strongest enemy in the caves. Also they're yet another enemy that drops those annoying, backpack-clogging cookies.

HP 60, Offense 15, Defense 10, Speed 5, Luck 1.
Weak against Fire and Freeze. Immune to Hypnosis.
Worth 95 XP and $15, with a 1/2 chance to drop a Cookie.



Elder Batty
The first of the enemies to appear in Rainy Circle after Susan's initial visit. They're a nice source of XP and go down fairly easily - but they can hit harder than you'd think, so stay on guard.

HP 294, Offense 66, Defense 72, Speed 33, Luck 4.
Special attacks: Strong attack, "Size up the situation," "Become friendly and affectionate."
Weak against Paralysis. Immune to Hypnosis.
Worth 4,177 XP and $371 with a 1/32 chance to drop a Double burger.



Arachnid!
Underwhelming. It gets squashed like a bug, doesn't hit very hard, and poison isn't a big deal any more (if you don't have Healing β yet you are epically underleveled). Worth good XP though.

HP 216, Offense 61, Defense 30, Speed 23, Luck 0.
Special attacks: "Sting with its poison stinger," "Shoot spider silk out of its body."
Weak against Fire, Freeze and Paralysis. Immune to Hypnosis.
Worth 4,933 XP and $296, with a 1/8 chance to drop a Jar of hot sauce.



Strong Crocodile
Ah, now here's a credible threat. You want PSI Freeze to take these guys down quick, as they can shred through Kim and Susan's HP like tissue paper. The Strong Crocodile also has the distinction of the being the first enemy to crack five digits on XP.

HP 417, Offense 85, Defense 131, Speed 17, Luck 6.
Special attacks: Strong attack.
Worth 10,122 XP and $495, with a 1/64 chance to drop a Super bomb.



Shrooom!
The master of all mushrooms, Shrooom! has absorbed the power of the Rainy Circle and is not giving it up without a fight. With a buttload of HP, high Defense, Freeze resistance, and access to Lifeup, taking this guy down could take a while. Getting mushroomized or disrupted makes matters worse, since it'll then be risky or impossible to pull off your stronger attacks. Offensively, Shrooom! has enough Guts to deliver the occasional super-strong SMAAAASH! attack. You might want to have Nass use Flash, or throw up a Shield β or two.

This is the first battle where big bottle rockets are almost essential - without them, this battle will turn into a long brawl, with plenty of chances for mushroom spores to take root. It might even be worth breaking out that Bag of Dragonite (for about 800 damage). Other than that, there's no real tricks. Initially, keep Nass on Lifeup duty and let Kim and Susan go on offense. If one of them gets shroomed, have them switch over to healing and let Nass use PSI Bacon to pick up the slack.

HP 1,700, PP 112, Offense 95, Defense 154, Speed 18, Luck 72. (Guts 32)
Special attacks: Lifeup α, "Scatter its spores," "Disrupt your senses."
Weak against Fire. Resistant to Freeze. Immune to Paralysis.
Worth 96,323 XP and $4,086.