Rune Factory 2 - Cave and Bestiary Guide

Introduction

Rune Factory 2 is a game that spans two generations and each generation marks
a completely different game, with its own plot. In a sense, the first
generation game sets up the 'real' plot of the game, a plot that is connected
to the story in the first Rune Factory game. In the first generation, playing
a male character whose default name is Kyle, you need to establish your farm,
become familiar with the entrance areas of each Cave/Dungeon. Grow as many
different crops, tame as many monsters, catch as many different types of fish
and mine for as many different items as you can. Defeat monsters in order to
obtain all possible war trophies. Most important, however, is your social
progress. Raise every one's friendship levels and court an eligible girl. It
is only when you marry and have a child that you will be able to engage in the
actual story of Avarna and its relationship to the Sechs Empire.
In the first generation, you will be able to enter all four Caves, each of
which is connected to a specific season and contains plots for crops. Each
cave has its own complement of monsters, and these will change according to
the time of day. During the day, you will find one group of monsters
patrolling the cave. When night falls, a different group will appear.
Monsters are a vital aspect of both Rune Factory games. They serve many
purposes, from providing all Ranch products and acting as helpers on your farm
to being a source both of transport and War Trophies. A War Trophy from a
Monster often will be the object of one of the Requests on the Bulletin
Board. Although the individual who makes the Request will tell you precisely
where to find the War Trophy in question, it saves time and energy if you have
saved items in advance in your Cabinet.
Knowing which Monsters will water crops and which will harvest them can be
useful as well. If you intend to grow as many crops as possible both on your
own field and in the plots in the Cave/Dungeon areas, it is most helpful to
have a Monster working for you on your farm.
Monsters who neither produce any Ranch Products nor can be trained to work on
the farm nonetheless may be useful companions in a fight. All Monsters can be
commanded to accompany your character when he goes to any Cave/Dungeon and
they automatically will fight by your side against both enemies and Monster
Generators. Some Monsters are more powerful than others and some have far
better attack strategies than others.
In the 1st Generation game, there is one Monster who will act as a Transport
Animal, and in fact, it is one of my own personal favourites in the wild
animal kingdom. You can ride a Wolf both in the original Rune Factory and in
its sequel although the Monsters bear different names in each game.
The Silver Wolf whom you can ride happens to be one of the best fighters to
have with you in combat as well. In the 1st Generation game, he is powerful
enough to take out any Monster Generator with a single pounce. He can fell
any Monster enemies with one or two blows. His attacks are very well-aimed as
well. There are other types of Monsters who may be powerful but less adept at
aiming their attacks precisely.
Having a Monster with you in any Cave/Dungeon can save time. You may find
that, if you have crops growing in every Cave/Dungeon on the map, you will be
pressed for time to water all your Crops, perform mining operations and
interact with individuals before 1.00 a.m., the time when you need to be in
bed to avoid fatigue the next day.
Doors will be unlocked after 6.00 p.m. once the owners reach a minimum of 3
Hearts but even so, there is much distance to travel if you wish to water
every plot in every area of the Map on a daily basis. Being able to ride a
Silver Wolf will cut your travel time in half. Having him by your side in any
combat situation will save more time as he can destroy any generator while you
defeat the Monster who has been spawned initially from it. If you must
destroy the generator yourself as well as defeat the Monster before you can
water any Crops, valuable time will be spent in this preliminary activity. A
Silver Wolf can be a tremendous boon to you, a true 'boon companion'.
When you are accompanied by any Monster, you will not be able to enter any
Building, even your own Farmhouse. You must send the Monster back to the Barn
if you wish to shop in the village, although you can ride a Monster through
the Village if you are going to Blessia Island.
You actually can take the ship to Blessia Island with a Monster although he
will be left behind on the pier when you leap onto the ship. Even so, upon
your arrival, you will find he has made his own way to the Island somehow.
There are few Monsters who will help on the Farm in the 1st Generation game,
but you can tame one type of Monster who will water the field and two others
who will harvest your Crops. Remember that a Crop must stand fully ripened in
the field in order to produce a Rune Point. If you intend to use Monsters to
harvest your crops, you may wish to grow a few plots of Grass in the field as
they will not cut this and you can continue to use the fully-ripened grass for
Rune Points until you decide to cut it with the Sickle.
Note that a detailed map of the Cave/Dungeon appears on the top screen. Among
other things, it shows the location of any tillable land in the area. The
map will be incomplete in the 1st Generation and it is only as you unlock new
areas of each Cave in the 2nd Generation that the map will be expanded until
it is complete.
When you are mounted, you neither can fight nor use farm tools. Dismount to
use your Watering Can in any Cave/Dungeon area. The Monster will wait
patiently by your side until you complete your chores. (Farm work
is 'beneath' a Wolf!) As stated previously though, the Wolf is very useful
even when your only purpose in visiting the area is to tend to the crops. He
will take out the Generation instantly while you defeat the enemy it spawned,
saving you time.
One cautionary note that I will make certain I include in my General Guide is
the potential effect of combat on Crops. Using any weapon where a Crop grows
may destroy the Crop as surely as if you used a Sickle on it. In the
beginning of the game, when my attention was directed solely towards the
threat any Monster posed, I inadvertantly destroyed a couple of my Crops by
fighting the Monster on the plot where they were growing. If you do not have
9 squares filled with fully ripened Crops or Flowers, a Rune Point will not
appear. By allowing my character to flail about with his weapons on the
farming plot in the Cave or Dungeon, I lost a chance to create a Rune Point...
To be honest, in the 1st Generation, you may find that you have far more Rune
Points than you can use. It is only later that you will be able to make every
Rune Point count.

Mining and Monsters:

Where mining is concerned, a player needs to be aware of a few points. First
of all, many of the rocks in which items are found will be grouped near a
Monster Generator. Although you can smash an individual rock quickly,
ignoring combat, any rocks that are grouped near a Generator cannot be smashed
until the Generator is destroyed. In Rune Factory 2, your character in combat
will target an enemy by default if any is within range. A Monster Generator
is treated as an enemy for this purpose and a hammer, although strong, may not
be the most efficient method of destroying a generator. Use your most
powerful weapon to destroy the Monster Generator before you attempt to mine
the area with your Hammer.
In similar fashion, if an enemy is within range, when you swing your Hammer,
it will target the enemy instead of the rock. Dispatch any enemy within range
with a powerful weapon before you resume mining.

Collecting Items:

Many items can be found in all areas. Medicinal Grass and Antidotal Grass, as
well as Weeds, Branches and Stones will be found in every area of the map.
There are Coloured Wild Grasses that are specific to particular seasons,
however and therefore will be found only in Caves/Dungeons connected to their
season. White Grass, a Winter Grass, is found only in the Padova Mountains.

Appearance of Items in the 2nd Generation:

You may discover that there are some differences in the appearance of ores and
gems in the 2nd Generation. As more rocks containing ores and gems are
accessible, you may find fewer valuable Gems and Ores in the rocks closest to
the Entrance. More rocks will contain Scrap Iron than in the 1st Generation.
In the 2nd Generation, you will discover new Rune Crystals in the Caves that
appear as jagged blue rocks and when smashed, contain a Rune Point. Pale
blue Rune Flowers in the Caves/Dungeons can be cut with a blade or a sickle
to obtain Rune Points as well.
With new healing spells and monsters that can afflict you with status
ailments, you will find that you need all the Rune Points you can create with
crops or otherwise find on the map.

Tilling your Fields

There are advantages and disadvantages to tilling all plots on the map. If
you till every square in your own field, wild items no longer will appear
until the ground restored to its natural condition. This means that you no
longer will be obliged to dispose of weeds, branches and stones but it means
that no wild grasses or other useful items will appear either. The same holds
true in any Cave/Dungeon. When you till every square in a Cave, you will be
able to grow more crops, but you no longer will be able to find the wild items
specific to that season. The Clinic does sell ALL items found in the Wilds,
however, so if you need a specific wild item in a pinch, you can buy it
there. The money made from shipping Crops far outweighs the disadvantage of
paying for an item at the Clinic. Buying items from any merchant or shop
moreover will raise the Friendship level of the owner/merchant.
A note of warning should be made about coloured stones that appear only in
tillable fields in Cave/Dungeon areas. They tend to be blue or purple in
colour and are poisonous. If you stray too close to one, you will be
poisoned. Make certain that you keep a few Antidotal Herbs in your Rucksack
until you can neutralize all the poison squares in the Caves. Natalie
sells 'Antidote Potion' at the Clinic for 325G but it is unnecessary when a
single Antidotal Herb should suffice early in the game.
Natalie sells 'Neutral Agent' for 100G. This will destroy the poison
completely, transforming the square into untilled soil.

2nd Generation Cave Plots

As you gain access to new areas in the Caves/Dungeons in the 2nd Generation,
you will find more land that can be tilled. In some cases, you must till
every single square on a screen and grow crops until all are fully mature in
order to satisfy an Altar/Stone Guardian requirement before it will dissolve
its barrier for you.
As your Father's tools no longer take a charge, you will need to forge better
tools if you wish to be able to water crops in the Caves. Crops on your own
field can be watered by the more efficient Monsters in the 2nd Generation.

Qualities of Monsters:

Each monster whom you tame will arrive in your barn with a Friendship level of
zero. Although a monster with zero hearts can be set to work in your field,
provided he has the capacity, his skill will be poor and little will be
accomplished. In like manner, although a monster with zero hearts will
produce Ranch Products, provided he has the capacity to do so, the product
will be small until heart levels increase.
Fortunately, Monster Heart levels increase rapidly if you use the Brush on
your Monsters daily. A monster with 0-3 Hearts will produce Small product;
with 4-7 hearts, will produce Medium Product and with 8-10 Hearts, will
produce Large Product.
Each Monster has specific skills and capacities, however, so part of the
strategy of taming monsters should be to fill your barn with monsters with the
most useful skills. In the first Generation game, you can find a monster
with each Skill that you need. The Cockadoodle will produce Eggs, the
Buffamoo will produce Milk and the Wooly will produce Wool. You can use a
Silver wolf for transport. A Goblin Pirate will water your crops and an Orc
will harvest them.
In terms of working on the farm, even Monsters at 10 Hearts will be rather
inefficient. They always begin work in the same spot, in the top northwest
corner of your field and move across the field, one square at a time. If you
wish to achieve the maximum benefit from any 'farmhand', therefore, you should
plant crops in the top half of your field first.
Even after a full season of working in the field at 10 Hearts in the 1st
Generation, a Monster set to water the Crops would water only about one-third
of the field, beginning after 4.00 p.m. and racing back to the Barn before
8.00 p.m. They are fun to watch, though!
Monsters inherited in the 2nd Generation will keep their Heart Levels.
Furthermore, in the interim period of 9 years between 1st and 2nd Generations,
their Skill will have increased enormously. In the 2nd Generation, two
Monsters set to water your Field can cover the entire field daily for you.

Monster Care:


You can see the heart levels of your Monsters when you access the Friends Page
of your Farm Menu, but you will not see any other details about them. To see
how much Feed you have, what products or tasks can be obtained by your
Monsters as well as which Monsters will give products on any given day, look
at the billboard to the right of the Monster Barn. Here you will see a List
of all the Monsters you own. A shadow of an icon signifies the potential of a
Monster to perform a task or give a ranch product. If the icon is black
(filled), it signifies that you will be able to obtain the product now.
The size of the product depends on the heart level of the Monster. From 0-3
Hearts, the Monster will give Small Product. From 4-7 Hearts, you will obtain
Medium Product. From 8-10 Hearts, you will obtain Large Product.

Tips for Farm Help


When Monsters help with farm labour, they do so in a very specific manner,
beginning in the northeast corner of your field, moving square by square
towards the west. They will work the squares row by row, each time beginning
the row in the east and moving towards the west where the shipping container
and farmhouse stand.
A monster who waters crops will water every tilled square, whether or not any
crop is planted currently in that square. You therefore are advised to
organise your planting by filling the plots at the top of your field first.
A monster who harvests will do so in the same way, beginning in the northeast
corner whether or not any ripened crops actually are there. As monsters are
limited in the amount they can accomplish, you may find that any ripened crops
in the lower half of the field will remain standing at the end of the
Monster's workday.
Tilled soil unplanted with any crop will remain tilled throughout the seasons
and will not acquire any wild items, weeds, stones or branches. It is only
untilled soil that draws items to it.
Crops left standing at the end of the season will become 'Withered Grass' on
the first day of the next season. Withered Grass can be collected like weeds,
but when collected, leaves the soil untilled. If you wish to keep the soil
tilled, use your sickle on the crops on the last day of the season.
Incidentally, you only can assign two monsters to any farm task. You
therefore can assign two tame Monsters to water the fields and another two to
harvest the crops. If you attempt to assign a third, you will obtain a prompt
to the effect that this will not be permitted.

Introduction to the 2nd Generation

10 days after you initiate the School project with Byron, it will be
completed. Your character has to walk towards the door of the new School,
however, in order to set the event in motion that will take the game to the
2nd Generation.
When the School is finished and the Event occurs, nine years will pass during
the Event and your character, on a stormy night, finally will remember his
identity and his original (lost) purpose. He will leave during the night,
without a word of explanation to any one. Your child, however, will find him
on the verge of his departure and before your character leaves, he will give a
plot item to your child. This is an ancient book. It will not go into your
Rucksack but into the Plot Items section of your Farm Menu.
When next you resume control of the game, it will be in the person of your
child. When he/she descends the stairs from the bedroom, a little Event will
occur, prompting him/her to go to the Chest to the left of the fireplace that
formerly could not be opened. Here your child will find his/her father's set
of tools, now rusted alas.
You now are determined to find your Father. That is your primary quest in the
2nd Generation. To do this, you will be required to improve all your Skills,
attend School daily in order to learn 'Recipes' for cooking, forging,
accessory-making and pharmaceuticals and explore the areas of the
Caves/Dungeons that your Father could not access.
In order to be able to create the best Weapons and Tools at the Forge, you
will need to obtain War Trophies from the new Monsters that appear in the 2nd
Generation. Fragments of Tablets that will lead you ultimately to your Father
are 'won' by completing the tasks or riddles set by each of the Altars/Stone
Guardians in the four seasonal Caves. Ultimately, there is a 'Boss' Monster
in each Cave to defeat for the last fragment of each Tablet.
When you have all the fragments from every broken Stone Tablet, you will hold
the key to your Quest of finding your Father.

2nd Generation Barn Options:

When you speak to Byron in his house now, you will find a new list of options:
Expand the Barn
Expand the School
The option to expand the Monster Barn that was refused to you in the 1st
Generation now will be available. Options to expand the School by building a
Library, a Workshop and a Dojo will be available as well. The prices are:
Any Barn Expansion: 50 Wood and 5,000G
Any School Expansion: 100 Wood and 10,000G


Monster Barn Expansions:

You can order more than one expansion of the Monster Barn, giving you more
than sufficient space to tame as many Monsters of as many different varieties
as you wish.
All Tame Monsters from the 1st Generation will be retained in the 2nd
Generation and, unlike the other characters, their Heart Levels will remain
the same. If, therefore, you had 16 Monsters at 10 Hearts in the 1st
Generation, you will find yourself with the same 16 Monsters at 10 Hearts when
you play as your child.
You will need the Barn expansion, however, as there are many new varieties of
Monsters now, including those who make Honey and others who are capable of
pulverising the boulders and stumps in your Field.
Your Rusty Tools no longer will take a Charge and any work done by your father
in the field will have been eroded in the passage of years. You therefore
need to forge better tools or tame Monsters in order to be able to clear and
till your entire field, as a random number of Stumps and Boulders will have
appeared in the passage between 1st and 2nd Generations.

Bestiary

Monsters are organized according to the Caves in which they appear. Those
that appear in the 1st Generation are listed first and those that appear only
in the 2nd Generation will be listed second. Those Monsters that you were
able to encounter in the 1st Generation will be found often in slightly
different l locations in the same Cave in the 2nd Generation but are not
listed twice. Furthermore, on screens where only a single Monster appeared in
the 1st Generation, in many cases that Monster will be joined by a new variety
of Monster in the 2nd Generation.
The Altars/Stone Guardians that are found in each of the Caves are listed
subsequently with the task or riddle each demands before the barrier it has
created will dissolve, allowing your character access to a new path.

Cave and Monsters Guide, 1st Generation:

In the first generation, you will be able to enter all four Caves, each of
which is connected to a specific season and contains plots for crops. Each
cave has its own complement of monsters, and these will change according to
the time of day. During the day, you will find one group of monsters
patrolling the cave. When night falls, a different group will appear.
Monsters are a vital aspect of both Rune Factory games. They serve many
purposes, from providing all Ranch products and acting as helpers on your farm
to being a source both of transport and War Trophies. A War Trophy from a
Monster often will be the object of one of the Requests on the Bulletin
Board. Although the individual who makes the Request will tell you precisely
where to find the War Trophy in question, it saves time and energy if you have
saved items in advance in your Cabinet.
Knowing which Monsters will water crops and which will harvest them can be
useful as well. If you intend to grow as many crops as possible both on your
own field and in the plots in the Cave/Dungeon areas, it is most helpful to
have a Monster working for you on your farm.
Monsters who neither produce any Ranch Products nor can be trained to work on
the farm nonetheless may be useful companions in a fight. All Monsters can be
commanded to accompany your character when he goes to any Cave/Dungeon and
they automatically will fight by your side against both enemies and Monster
Generators. Some Monsters are more powerful than others and some have far
better attack strategies than others.
In the 1st Generation game, there is one Monster who will act as a Transport
Animal, and in fact, it is one of my own personal favourites in the wild
animal kingdom. You can ride a Wolf both in the original Rune Factory and in
its sequel although the Monsters bear different names in each game.
The Silver Wolf whom you can ride happens to be one of the best fighters to
have with you in combat as well. In the 1st Generation game, he is powerful
enough to take out any Monster Generator with a single pounce. He can fell
any Monster enemies with one or two blows. His attacks are very well-aimed as
well. There are other types of Monsters who may be powerful but less adept at
aiming their attacks precisely.
Having a Monster with you in any Cave/Dungeon can save time. You may find
that, if you have crops growing in every Cave/Dungeon on the map, you will be
pressed for time to water all your Crops, perform mining operations and
interact with individuals before 1.00 a.m., the time when you need to be in
bed to avoid fatigue the next day.
Doors will be unlocked after 6.00 p.m. once the owners reach a minimum of 3
Hearts but even so, there is much distance to travel if you wish to water
every plot in every area of the Map on a daily basis. Being able to ride a
Silver Wolf will cut your travel time in half. Having him by your side in any
combat situation will save more time as he can destroy any generator while you
defeat the Monster who has been spawned initially from it. If you must
destroy the generator yourself as well as defeat the Monster before you can
water any Crops, valuable time will be spent in this preliminary activity. A
Silver Wolf can be a tremendous boon to you, a true 'boon companion'.
When you are accompanied by any Monster, you will not be able to enter any
Building, even your own Farmhouse. You must send the Monster back to the Barn
if you wish to shop in the village, although you can ride a Monster through
the Village if you are going to Blessia Island.
You actually can take the ship to Blessia Island with a Monster although he
will be left behind on the pier when you leap onto the ship. Even so, upon
your arrival, you will find he has made his own way to the Island somehow.
There are few Monsters who will help on the Farm in the 1st Generation game,
but you can tame one type of Monster who will water the field and two others
who will harvest your Crops. Remember that a Crop must stand fully ripened in
the field in order to produce a Rune Point. If you intend to use Monsters to
harvest your crops, you may wish to grow a few plots of Grass in the field as
they will not cut this and you can continue to use the fully-ripened grass for
Rune Points until you decide to cut it with the Sickle.
Note that a detailed map of the Cave/Dungeon appears on the top screen. Among
other things, it shows the location of any tillable land in the area.
When you are mounted, you neither can fight nor use farm tools. Dismount to
use your Watering Can in any Cave/Dungeon area. The Monster will wait
patiently by your side until you complete your chores. (Farm work
is 'beneath' a Wolf!) As stated previously though, the Wolf is very useful
even when your only purpose in visiting the area is to tend to the crops. He
will take out the Generation instantly while you defeat the enemy it spawned,
saving you time.
One cautionary note that I will make certain I include in my General Guide is
the potential effect of combat on Crops. Using any weapon where a Crop grows
may destroy the Crop as surely as if you used a Sickle on it. In the
beginning of the game, when my attention was directed solely towards the
threat any Monster posed, I inadvertently destroyed a couple of my Crops by
fighting the Monster on the plot where they were growing. If you do not have
9 squares filled with fully ripened Crops or Flowers, a Rune Point will not
appear. By allowing my character to flail about with his weapons on the
farming plot in the Cave or Dungeon, I lost a chance to create a Rune Point...
To be honest, in the 1st Generation, you may find that you have far more Rune
Points than you can use. It is only later that you will be able to make every
Rune Point count.

Rune Flowers:

A secret source of Rune Points is the Rune Flower, a beautiful pale blue
flower that you will find only in hostile territory. You may believe that it
is nothing more than a part of the graphic landscape as you will not be able
to pluck it by pressing 'A'. Use a Sickle instead to cut it and a Rune Point
will appear.
This is vital in the 2nd Generation when Monsters are more powerful and more
plentiful in every Cave/Dungeon area. Knowing where the Rune Flowers grow and
being able to access them quickly may mean the difference between health and
defeat, as you will need your Magic in the 2nd Generation, both in the form of
spells that restore health and those that are weapons against the enemies you
encounter.

Rune Crystals:

In the 2nd Generation only, you will encounter a new rock in locations that
previously were inaccessible. These are Rune Crystal rocks. Smash a Rune
Crystal with your Hammer to uncover a Rune Point.

Mining and Monsters:

Where mining is concerned, a player needs to be aware of a few points. First
of all, many of the rocks in which items are found will be grouped near a
Monster Generator. Although you can smash an individual rock quickly,
ignoring combat, any rocks that are grouped near a Generator cannot be smashed
until the Generator is destroyed. In Rune Factory 2, your character in combat
will target an enemy by default if any is within range. A Monster Generator
is treated as an enemy for this purpose and a hammer, although strong, may not
be the most efficient method of destroying a generator. Use your most
powerful weapon to destroy the Monster Generator before you attempt to mine
the area with your Hammer.
In similar fashion, if an enemy is within range, when you swing your Hammer,
it will target the enemy instead of the rock. Dispatch any enemy within range
with a powerful weapon before you resume mining.

Monster HP

The HP of any Tame Monster will increase according to the amount of time he
has spent with you. For example, a newly tamed Silver Wolf will have a total
HP of 65 but a Silver Wolf in your care for over a full season may have a
total HP of 200. You can raise a Monster's Heart Level to 10 in less than a
fortnight, but even apart from Heart Levels, there is a significant difference
between a Monster who has been tame for 10 days and one who has been tame for
two full seasons.

Collecting Items:

Many items can be found in all areas. Medicinal Grass and Antidotal Grass, as
well as Weeds, Branches and Stones will be found in every area of the map.
There are Coloured Wild Grasses that are specific to particular seasons,
however and therefore will be found only in Caves/Dungeons connected to their
season. White Grass, a Winter Grass, is found only in the Padova Mountains.
Poison squares that resemble brightly coloured rocks will be found in the
tillable plots in the Caves/Dungeons at the start of the game. Do not stray
too close to them or you will be poisoned. Eat an Antidotal Grass to restore
your health. The effects of poison are to bleed you gradually of your HP.
You will lose a few points of HP at a time continuously until you pass out, so
the sooner you eat the Antidotal Grass, the better.
A Scorpion's sting can inflict Poison but Poison from its attack is a rare
occurrence early in the game. Again, carry Antidotal Grass in your Rucksack
for use in any emergency.

Tilling your Fields

There are advantages and disadvantages to tilling all plots on the map. If
you till every square in your own field, wild items no longer will appear
until the ground restored to its natural condition. This means that you no
longer will be obliged to dispose of weeds, branches and stones but it means
that no wild grasses or other useful items will appear either. The same holds
true in any Cave/Dungeon. When you till every square in a Cave, you will be
able to grow more crops, but you no longer will be able to find the wild items
specific to that season. The Clinic does sell ALL items found in the Wilds,
however, so if you need a specific wild item in a pinch, you can buy it
there. The money made from shipping Crops far outweighs the disadvantage of
paying for an item at the Clinic. Buying items from any merchant or shop
moreover will raise the Friendship level of the owner/merchant.
A note of warning should be made about coloured stones that appear only in
tillable fields in Cave/Dungeon areas. They tend to be blue or purple in
colour and are poisonous. If you stray too close to one, you will be
poisoned. Make certain that you keep a few Antidotal Herbs in your Rucksack
until you can neutralize all the poison squares in the Caves. Natalie
sells 'Antidote Potion' at the Clinic for 325G but it is unnecessary when a
single Antidotal Herb should suffice early in the game.
Natalie sells 'Neutral Agent' for 100G. This will destroy the poison
completely, transforming the square into untilled soil.

Qualities of Monsters in 1st Generation:

Each monster whom you tame will arrive in your barn with a Friendship level of
zero. Although a monster with zero hearts can be set to work in your field,
provided he has the capacity, his skill will be poor and little will be
accomplished. In like manner, although a monster with zero hearts will
produce Ranch Products, provided he has the capacity to do so, the product
will be small until heart levels increase.
Fortunately, Monster Heart levels increase rapidly if you use the Brush on
your Monsters daily. A monster with 0-3 Hearts will produce Small product;
with 4-7 hearts, will produce Medium Product and with 8-10 Hearts, will
produce Large Product.
Each Monster has specific skills and capacities, however, so part of the
strategy of taming monsters should be to fill your barn with monsters with the
most useful skills. In the first Generation game, you can find a monster
with each Skill that you need. The Cockadoodle will produce Eggs, the
Buffamoo will produce Milk and the Wooly will produce Wool. You can use a
Silver wolf for transport. A Goblin Pirate will water your crops and an Orc
will harvest them.
In terms of working on the farm, even Monsters at 10 Hearts will be rather
inefficient in the early stages of the 1st Generation. They always begin work
in the same spot, in the top northwest corner of your field and move across
the field, one square at a time. If you wish to achieve the maximum benefit
from any 'farmhand', therefore, you should plant crops in the top half of your
field first.
Even after a full season of working in the field at 10 Hearts, a Monster set
to water the Crops would water only about one-third of the field, beginning
after 4.00 p.m. and racing back to the Barn before 8.00 p.m. They are fun to
watch, though!

Monsters in the 2nd Generation:

The Bestiary Section that follows lists all Monsters that are found both in
the 1st and the 2nd Generations. Monsters listed in the 1st Generation
section will be found in the 2nd Generation of the game as well, but in the
2nd Generation, they will be joined on most screens by new Monsters. You
therefore will find the Caves much more challenging in the 2nd Generation.
Fortunately, you will be able to obtain healing spells at the start of the 2nd
Generation which will enable you to recover HP and cure status Ailments as
well as the 'Escape' Spell that will allow you to return instantly to the
entrance of any Cave.
It is when you encounter some of the 2nd Generation Monsters that you will
realise that none of the time spent in the 1st Generation was wasted. You
have a far better chance of surviving any encounter with a 2nd Generation
Monster if you raised your Skills to the highest levels in the 1st Generation!
As far as tame Monsters are concerned, those whom you had in the 1st
Generation will be transferred to the 2nd Generation and will keep their Heart
Levels. You therefore should have 16 Tame Monsters with 10 Hearts each in
your Monster Barn at the start of the 2nd Generation. Once you reach the 2nd
Generation, you will be able to expand your Monster Barn to collect new
Monsters as well, including those who produce Honey.
Furthermore, Tame Monsters inherited from your Father who work on your Farm
will have much more skill and efficiency at the start of the 2nd Generation
than they had in the 1st. After all, 9 years have passed! Two Monsters set
to water your Field, if both have worked since the 1st Generation, now should
be able to water every plot in the field!

1st Generation Monster List:


Trieste Forest, Spring Cave:

Items: Aquamarine, Emerald, Earth Crystals, Scrap Iron, Iron, Medicinal Herb,
Antidotal Herb, Bamboo Shoot, Red Grass, Orange Grass, Yellow Grass, Black
Grass
Apples grow on a tree in the northeast corner of the third screen. You can
pick four apples from the tree once every four days.

Day Monsters:

Pomme Pomme: Sometimes it looks just like an apple with its round body, but
it's too big… Skill: Charging; Attibute; None; Found in Trieste Forest during
the day. Will not work. War Trophy: Apple
Orc: Not very bright, but curious and active. May visit the town out of
curiosity. Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Earth. Will harvest. Found in
Trieste Forest during the day. War Trophy: Cheap Cloth
Orc Archer: Calm and laid back personality. It works at one speed: Slow.
Skill: Rapid Attack; Attribute: Earth. Found in the daytime in Trieste
Forest. Does no farm work. War Trophy: Arrowhead

Night Monsters:

Wooly: Special feature is its fluffy fur. Well vented, it stays cool in
summer. Skill: Tackle; Attribute: None. Found in the night in Trieste
Forest. Provides Wool if you have clippers. War Trophy: Fleece
Ant: Wanders around aimlessly, sometimes suddenly remembering to attack.
Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Earth. Found at night in Trieste Forest.
Will harvest crops. War Trophy: Insect Skin
Spider: Scurries about quickly, overcoming its prey with speed and ferocity.
Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Earth. Will not work on the farm. War
Trophies: Strong String

Trieste Forest, 2nd Generation:

In the 2nd Generation, you will find the same Monsters in Trieste Forest as
haunted the screens in the 1st Generation but additional Monsters will have
joined them. New Monsters are as follows:
Day:
Orc Archer: 55 HP. Calm and laid back personality. Works at one speed:
Slow. Skill: Rapid Attack; Attribute: Earth. Will not help on farm. War
Trophy: Arrowhead.
Orc Hunter: 65 HP. Forest hunter. Very few can creatures can evade an Orc
Hunter's arrow. Skill: Rapid Attack; Attibute: Earth. Will not help on farm.
Big Mushroom: 70 HP. A gigantic mushroom as tall as a person. Emits poison
powder if it senses danger. Skill: Poison Powder; Attribute: Earth. Will not
help on farm. War Trophy: spore
Night:
Tricky Mushroom: 105 HP. Monster mushroom that glows fluorescent. Glowing is
the way it communicates. Skill: Poison Powder; Attribute: Earth. Will not
work on the farm. War Trophy: Spore
Flower Blossom: HP: 76. It fires seeds from its mouth and is very sensitive
to sound. Skill: Cure; Attribute: Earth. Will not work on the farm. War
Trophy: Plant Stem
Leaf Ball: 85 HP. A floating plant monster. It likes sunny places. Skill:
Sonic Wind; Attribute: Wind. Will not work on the farm.
Killer Ant: HP: 61. The ant chief. Can even chew through rock with its well-
developed jaws. Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Earth; Will work on the
farm, helping with the harvest, or pulverising large boulders. War Trophy:
Speckled Skin
High Orc: HP: 91. Very cautious, lives deep in the woods. Highly territorial
and aggressive. Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Earth; Will help with the
harvest.

Summer Cave: Blessia Island

Here you will find Oranges on a tree, Red Grass, Amethyst, Fire Crystal, Scrap
Iron, Bronze, Ruby
Wild Grasses: Medicinal Herbs, Antidotal Herbs, Black Grass, Green Grass,
Yellow Grass, Orange Grass, Indigo Grass, Blue Grass

Day Monsters:

Goblin Pirate: Thinks he's the strongest. Actually weaker than Goblin
Captain. Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Fire; Found during the day on
Blessia Island, at the entrance. Will water your crops. War Trophy: Quality
Cloth
Goblin Gangster: A crazy rascal who flings around knives and tries to pick
fights. Skill: Knife Throw; Attribute: Fire; War Trophy: Skull

Night Monsters:

Scorpion: Hides in the sand to hunt its prey. Stores a powerful poison in its
tail. Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Darkness. Found on Blessia Island
near entrance at night. Will not work on the farm. War Trophy: Scorpion Tail
Shadow Panther: A rare beast that can walk on two legs. Skillfully uses its
front legs to eat. Skill: Tackle; Attribute: Darkness. Will not work on the
farm. War Trophy: Panther Claw

2nd Generation, Blessia Island:

Day:
Tortoise: 107 HP; Has a large shell on its back. Withdraws into its shell if
in danger. Skill: Charging; Attribute: Water; Will water your crops. War
Trophy: Tortoise Shell
Troll: 267 HP; Massive creatures of enormous strength. One punch can smash
nearly any enemy. Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: None. Will destroy
boulders on farm. War Trophy: Giant's Fingernail
Night:

Flower Lion: 65 HP; Sprouts impressive leaves that look like a lion's mane.
Skill: Cure; Attribute: Fire. Will not work on the farm.
Giant Beetle: 110 HP; Lifts and throws enemies with its horns. Its aim is to
defeat Hercules in a fight. Skill: Charging; Attribute: Wind; Will destroy
boulders on the farm.
Blood Panther: 100 HP; Can run extremely fast. It's speed is unsurpassed.
Skill: Tackle; Attribute: Darkness; Will not work on the farm.

Messhina Valley, Autumn Cave:

Messhina Valley: A pretty lonely place, but good for growing Fall Crops.
Danger Level: 2 Stars
Here you will find Grapes on a vine near the Entrance. Gems and Ores that can
be mined here include Wind Crystal, Scrap Iron, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Sapphires
Wild Grasses include: Medicinal Herb, Antidotal Herb, Red Grass, Yellow Grass,
Orange Grass, Black Grass

Day Monsters:

Goblin: Sly little monsters that like to sneak behind and attack from the
rear. Skill: Back Stab; Attribute: Fire; Found in Fall area in daytime. Will
harvest. War Trophy: Power of Warrior.
Goblin Archer: It lacks composure and tends to drop its arrows everywhere.
Skill: Rapid Attack; Attribute: Fire. Found in Fall area during daytime.
Will not work. War Trophy: Cheap Bandage
Buffamoo: Gentle and calm, it doesn't attack people, but try not to make it
mad. Skill: Head Butt; Attribute: None. Found in Fall area in
daytime.Provides Milk if you have Milker. War Trophy: Small Milk

Night Monsters:

Goblin: Sly little monsters that like to sneak behind and attack from the
rear. Skill: Back Stab; Attribute: Fire; Found in Fall area both in the day
and at night. Will harvest. War Trophy: Power of Warrior
Goblin Archer: It lacks composure and tends to drop its arrows everywhere.
Skill: Rapid Attack; Attribute: Fire. Found in Fall area both during the day
and at night. Will not work. War Trophy: Cheap Bandage
Cluckadoodle: Makes a loud cry early in the morning, so it's been used as an
alarm for ages. Skill: Nonstop Pecking; Attribute: None. Found in western
area of Autumn cave during the night. Will produce Eggs if you have a
Basket. War Trophy: Small Egg

2nd Generation Monsters, Messhina Valley

Day:
Buffalo: Agitated by the sight of red, this beast is large enough to ride
on. Skill: Charging; Attribute: None. War Trophy: Bull Horn. Can be used
for transport. Will demolish boulders on farm.
Blackbird: Though black like the night, its poor vision keeps it active during
the day. Skill: Charging; Attribute: Wind. Will clear lumber from field on
farm. War Trophy: Bird Wing
Queen Bee: A Queen Bee that rules the hornets. Gracefully flies around the
skies. Skill: Rapid Attack; Attribute: Wind; Produces Honey if you use a
Basket.
Night:
Chipsqueek: HP: 90. A charming little creature. It is always eating
something. Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Earth. Will not work on the farm.
Hornet: HP 50. Works feverishly for the queen bee. Relentlessly stings the
enemies. Skill: Rapid Attack; Attribute: Wind; Produces Honey if you use a
Basket.
Queen Bee:

Padova Mountains, Winter Cave:

Here you will find Water Crystals, Diamonds, Sapphires, White Grass, Orange
Grass, Red Grass, Yellow Grass, Yellow Grass, Black Grass
Orc Viking: A brutal orc warrior. Acts violently for his own satisfaction.
Skill: Serial Attack; Attribute: Water; Wields a double-headed axe; Found in
the Winter Cave during the day. Will not work. War Trophy: Shoulder Piece
Silver Wolf: Wolf that lives in the snowy mountains. Hard to tame due to its
wilf nature. Skill: Tackle; Attribute: None; Can ride it if you take it out
of the barn. War Trophy: Wolf Fang

Night Monsters:

Ogre Viking: Hurls two hand axes, but doesn't have very good control. Skill:
Tomahawk; Attribute: Water. Found in Padova Mountains at night. Will not
work for you. War Trophy: Glue
Silver Wolf: Wolf that lives in the snowy mountains. Hard to tame due to its
wolf nature. Skill: Tackle; Attribute: None; Can ride it if you take it out
of the barn. Found in Padova Mountains both during the day and at night. War
Trophy: Wolf Fang

Padova Mountains, 2nd Generation:


Day Monsters:

Dorado: 100 HP. Can live on land or in water. Too heavy to catch with a
fishing rod. Skill: Water Gun; Attribute: Water. Will water crops on farm.
War Trophy: Fish Fossil.

Gates and Altars in the Caves

As previously stated, your character will be unable to unlock any of the gates
or Altars in the four Caves in the 1st Generation of the game. He will be
restricted to those areas in each Cave/Dungeon that are accessible initially.
It is only when your Child becomes the main character in the game that you
will be able to explore every area in each of the Caves. Altars act as
barriers and must be dissolved if you wish to pass. Your character, by virtue
of being a child and not an adult, can slip through the gates without any
problem or need for further actions.
In the quest to find your father, you must collect all the Fragments of the
Stone Tablets in each of the four Caves. Each tablet is of a different colour
and each colour is specific to one Cave. Obtaining all the fragments of a
single Stone Tablet will not have any substantial effect, however, in terms of
advancing the plot. It is only when you have collected all the Fragments of
all four of the Tablets that you will be able to progress to a new area.

Cave Altars:

Each Altar in a Cave is 'dissolved' by a different method. Stand in front of
the Altar and press 'A'. You will be given a clue or hint as to what is
needed to dissolve the barrier. When you dissolve a barrier, you will
receive a Fragment of the Stone Tablet. When you defeat the 'Boss' Monster
of any Cave, you will obtain another Fragment. The order in which you obtain
the Fragments is irrelevant. You can defeat the 'Boss' Monster at any point
in your exploration of any Cave.

Trieste Forest Altars:

1st Altar, in Aegis Falls:
Requests three of the vegetables that are the same colour as 'cherry
blossoms'. Take three Pink Turnips to the Altar and 'give' them to it by
pressing 'A'. The barrier will dissolve, giving you access to a new path.
2nd Altar, at River Stream:
'There's a bright, fiery, red fruit that grows in the trees of Trieste
Forest. Bring me 12 of them.'
This refers to Apples. You can obtain Apples as a War Trophy randomly from
Pomme-Pommes or collect them from the Apple Trees in the Forest. They can be
different levels of fruit, although you will be forced to give a few at a time
if they consist of more than one level. Simply press 'A' to 'give' the Apples
to the Altar and it will dissolve.
3rd Altar, at Great Tree:
Here the Altar will instruct you:
'Go to the Trieste Forest – Mushroom Patch and defeat 4 Tricky Mushrooms.
They appear at night.'
Tricky Mushrooms, like their daytime cousins, can send out puffs of poison in
their attacks. Make certain that you have an Antidotal Herb or the Medication
Spell in order to be protected from the results of any poisonous attack.
Defeat four of them and the barrier will dissolve.
4th Altar, Ruins:
Here you will not be required to perform any action whatsoever, but will be
given some rewards in recognition of your strength in the form of some special
Recipes for Cooking and a fragment of the Green Stone Tablet.
Boss Enemy: Terror Tree
The 'Boss' Monster of Trieste Forest is on the Wooded Paradise screen. As
soon as you enter this screen in the 2nd Generation, the Boss Battle will
commence. The Terror Tree actually is easier to defeat than some of
the 'ordinary' Monsters that you will encounter in other Caves in the 2nd
Generation. If you have obtained 'Cure' before you engage this Monster, you
will have no problem whatsoever. If you do not have Cure, your existing
Recovery Potions (and you should have 3 in the 1st Generation) should be more
than sufficient to heal any damage the Giant Tree causes. If your Skill
levels are high and you have a Shield and decent Accessories, you will have
all the advantages you need. I found that Fireball worked well on this
Monster and defeated it quickly. As always, equipping a Rod or Staff doubles
the effect of any Magic Spell.

Blessia Island Altars:

1st Altar: You need to give 6 Pineapples to this Guardian in order to
dissolve the barrier:
Actual Message: A Summer Fruit. It's thorny and difficult to hold. Bring me
6 of them. But I'll only take them at night.
Me: (Only at night? I'll have to be careful!)
I went back, dumped 6 pineapples on it and it disappeared, giving me a Blue
Fragment.
2nd Altar: To dissolve this barrier, defeat 3 Death Stalkers at the North
Beach screen.
Actual Message:
Go to BLessia Island – North Beach and defeat 3 Death Stalkers, the stealthy
night hunters!
Me: (Death stalkers?)


Messhina Valley Altars/Stone Guardians:

1st Altar:
Part I: Defeat 3 Buffalo in the Giant Boulder Area. You will find them only
during the day.
Actual Message:
Defeat 3 Buffalo at Messhina Valley – Giant Boulder! They disappear after
sunset.
When you have completed this requirement, a new one will appear at the same
Altar:
1st Altar, Part II: You must defeat 4 Queen Bees at night in the Holy Statue
area, near the Altar itself.
Actual Message:
Defeat 4 Queen Bees at Messhina Valley – Holy Statue! They only show
themselves at night.
Note that you need not complete both requests in the same visit or even the
same day. Once you have completed the first requirement, the 2nd one will
appear and you will not be required to defeat the Buffalo again.
2nd Altar: Sow crops in every square in the Holy Statue field area. Every
square must ripen, producing Runes before the requirement will be met.
Spinach is the fastest growing Autumn Crop but if you wish to profit from
multiple harvests, grow Yams.
Actual Message:
Sow crops in all of the fields at Messhina Valley- Holy Statue. Remember,
they must all be fully grown. Any kind of crop will do.
Me: (All the fields? Isn't that a lot?)