Part 12: Bonus Update 2: The Many Faces of Cupi

Bonus Update 2: The Many Faces of Cupi

Alright, when we left off Cupi had just undergone a change to the highest tier of monster. I went through and rather haphazardly ate meat until I'd gotten all the possible variations.



Tiamat is a pretty good example of what we're going to be looking at. 4heads is a powerful attack reminiscent of Ashura's 6Arms, with a similar damage modifier. This form adds Gas and Thunder as group attacks, meaning you've got a weapon for just about every situation. O Damage is a catchall resistance that protects you against all elemental types and weapons. All in all that makes Tiamat a pretty tough monster.



Next up we have Mazin. The first thing that makes him stand out is a higher HP total and the O Change in addition to O Damage. That essentially makes Mazin strong against all elements. Quake gives an attack against all enemies and bash is a decent single target attack, but unfortunately a lot of enemies are strong against Quake. Not a bad choice, though.



In contrast, Ganesha is a good bit less impressive. The resistances aren't very good, no single target attacks really worth mentioning, and the multi-target attacks aren't anything to write home about either. Lots of HP, but that isn't going to help too much in the end. Teleport isn't bad though, as it's a lot like having an endless supply of doors. The only problem is, where are you going to go at this point?



Someone voted for Lich by saying that Liches ain't bitches, and that's certainly true. Right away you can see decent HP, a host of resistances, and a lot of attacks. A native ability to use flare is really nice, even with that small number of charges. Teleport is a nice bonus, and there's a couple of elemental group attacks to add in to the mix. Definitely a keeper.



After dealing with the undead, next we're raiding the Japanese pantheon. Susano-o is a pretty solid choice with a few group attacks, a nice resistance, and the really useful ability of being able to revive fallen party members. For that reason alone it might be worth it.



Revive is one of the few redeeming features of the phoenix, as its attacks are fairly weak and so are its resistances. You might have noticed already that 666 HP is a number that keeps coming up here.



Contrary to what we were hoping for, the Hi-Slime is another disappointment. Other than high mana it has terrible stats, and the only really decent attack is melt.



In contrast to the power of the Lich, the Revnant is pretty sad. It's pretty pathetic when a monster this high level has an attack that basically consists of stinking in the general direction of the enemy. Touch isn't a bad attack, but it has far too few uses for the only good attack the Revnant has. Heal is a good support move, but it's not enough to save this one.



At any rate, Anubis is a much better support character despite a similarly poor offense. Care, raise, and revive make a nice trio of abilities. I'm not sure of the exact difference between raise and revive, but it might be whether or not coming back costs a heart. It's kind of nice that the abilities of Anubis tie so well with the mythical powers of the Egyptian god.



By now you should have a pretty good idea of why the Basilisk is useless. His main attacks are very weak, his resistances aren't so great, and he's got nothing going beyond a bit of HP. You've seen the number of creatures with resistance to attacks like gaze, so even that's pretty useless. On the plus side its got great defense.



No. Just...no. No stats that are decent, no good attacks, no resistances, and we've already said that teleport is of very limited utility. The Gigaworm is a waste of a monster.



The Fenswolf isn't bad though, with two high stats and revive snuck in there. The defense and resistances aren't so hot, though, but tusk might not be bad.



The Ghost is a weird mix, with the handy raise ability, the ability to drain HP from enemies, and the touch ability as a backup. The resistances aren't bad, and the agility and mana are very respectable.



A more special purpose monster is the Mantis. Two swords can get some respectable damage, and drain isn't bad for self-support. Stealth and warning help to get initiative, making this one useful just to keep around.



The Scarab is similar but has less strength and none of the nice passives that made the Mantis useful. Pass.



The great old one/Semite deity fails to impress in any meaningful way. 2pincer isn't a bad idea, and whirl can hit an entire screen of enemies, but other than that these abilities can be taken or left. Resistance to poison and stone is nothing compared to, say, resistance to change. Not only that, but why a bug portrait?



Speaking of crappy monsters, the Darkrose is another one to skip. Drink is an alternative to drain, but the resistances are terrible and the stats that drive the attacks are pathetic.



Turning to demonology, the Prince of Hell (Astaroth, bad translation there) comes with Flare, good resistances, and a few useful abilities. Stats could be better, but this one can be very useful.



Lilith is another excellent choice, sporting Ashura's Sixarms attack as well as quake and a few other magic attacks powered by 99 mana. Resistance to damage makes for some staying power. Too bad she doesn't have a charm attack or anything like that.



It's interesting that the demons seem to be better overall than the deities. Nike isn't anything to write home about, and is pretty fragile with those weak resistances and that lousy defense. Skip it.



I love how Leviathan looks. That's probably the best thing that can be said about this one. It's a stereotypical sea monster with no redeeming qualities.



Which still makes it better than the steaming pile that the Beholder is. Three gazes, no resistances other than quake, and a self-destruct ability in a game where you have a limited number of lives per character? This is a deliberate troll on the part of the developers.



Kraken is similarly bad, with the only thing rescuing it being the whole 8legs attack. Ink is a bad joke to include on a list.



I think by the end of the game, monsters are best used in support. In that group, Kirin is probably one of the better choices with raise, cure, and teleport. That damage resistance also means it can be around for a while.



And finally, Jorgandr. Revive is a nice ability, teleport can be occasionally useful, and we have quake and one of the catch all resistances. 99 defense and decent HP isn't so terrible either. I'd say that Jorgandr works out pretty much a middle of the road monster.

So, that's all the monsters on the top tier. Jorgandr wasn't a bad choice, but I'd say my favorites are probably Tiamat, Lich, and Anubis.

Next time: Wrapping it up.