Monster Crown, the latest game from Studio Aurum, is a loving homage to the monster-catching games popularized by Nintendo’sPokemonseries. It boasts many ofthe turn-based, RPG systemsthat made those games beloved by fans around the world andadds a few additional features of its ownthat give the game its own distinct style.
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But with all that’s packed into this indie game, it can be expected thatmany players won’t experience everything it has to offer. From overlooking useful systems to disregarding coveted items, here are some of the common mistakes players make while journeying through the world ofMonster Crown.
10Leaving Party Experience On
Party experience can be a valuable tool for boosting up an entire monster team and keeping them at the same level.It also comes in handy when trying to build up a weaker monster to catch them up to the rest of the team.
However,it splits any earned experience among the entire party, slowing monster development down. This can cause problems when running into stronger monsters and tamers down the line. With all the experience scattered, players can find themselves without any strong monsters to rely on.
9Keeping The Same Team
ThePokemonseries of games encourage players to take their Pokemon with them on their entire journey, training and evolving them to take on powerful opponents.Monster Crownencourages the opposite, noting early on thatsome monsters will always be weaker compared to others.
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Players might be inclined to hold on to monsters they’ve spent time with, butMonster Crownisn’t as concerned with the emotional connections between tamer and monster asits triple-A counterpart. The breeding system reinforces this, as it suggests thatplayers should be replacing their monsters with their more versatile offspring.
8Not Breeding
Breeding in thePokemongames is a fun addition that sees most of its use from the competitive community to create Pokemon that know rare and powerful attacks.Monster Crowntakes this style of breeding and makes itall but necessary to survive in its harsh world.
Players familiar withPokemon’sstyle of breedingmight think thatMonster Crown’s system can be ignored without repercussions,but breeding inMonster Crownis far more vital. Players who overlook the breeding system will have a difficult time taking down the game’s tougher enemies.
7Missing Chief Tamers
Monser Crownis not a game that’s interested in holding players' hands, and this is evident in how much attention it draws to the Chief Tamer in each town. It’s all tooeasy to breeze through a town without any character even mentioning the local Chief Tamer, a sharp contrast from thein-depth theming the Gym Leaders get inPokemongames.
The problem here is thatmonsters can’t grow past certain level gates without defeating each Chief Tamer, essentially halting progress until the Chief Tamer can be found. Most of them blend in with the general populace of each town, but a few require some creative exploration to actually reach.
6Getting Too Far Ahead
There aren’t many obstacles inMonster Crownthat requirespecific abilities to overcome, soit’s all too easy for players to get ahead of themselvesand end up in an area that they’re not properly trained to handle.
The story moves through each new town quickly, urging players on to the next location shortly after they’ve made it to the current one. Buteach new region also features stronger monsters and tamers, and if players haven’t spent some time training they might find themselves overwhelmed.
5Overlooking Dropped Items
The world ofMonster Crownis littered with items across every region, but they can be pretty easy to overlook.They often won’t stand out from regular pieces of the environment, and the game doesn’t offer any clue that these items can be interacted with.
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But picking up dropped items, including healing items, lost backpacks, and even stat-boosting medicine isthe best way to restore a depleted inventory and stock up on easy money. Items are also randomly generated, so there’s no limit to how many a player can find.
4Not Forming Pacts With New Monsters
It can be tempting to stick with a solid team through the whole game or swap monsters out with their freshly hatched offspring, butnot capturing new monsters limits the effectiveness of any monster team. New monsters will have different attacks, base stats, and offer a wider range of breeding options.
Even if the player has no interest in bringing this new monster into their active party,having a strong monster in reserve can come in handy for later on in the game. It can take the place of a monster that hasn’t been holding up in battle, or be used in breeding to create an even more powerful counterpart.
3Paying For Healing
Monster Crownleans heavily on the grinding aspect of any RPG, and it might seem prudent for players to simply visit the local healer in town and pay them for their services. But money isn’t easy to come by inMonster Crown,andthere’s a free way to heal monsters without having to go too far out of the way.
If players return to the Farmthey can visit the bed in their room and heal their entire party for no charge. It’s a freely available service that’s only a short Storklift ride away, and it’s a far preferable healing option than paying out $15 every time the party starts getting a little fatigued.
2Not Using Monster Scan
Monster Crownintroduces two abilities the player’s lead monster can perform while following them around in the overworld: standing still and Monster Scan. Monster Scan isby far the more useful featureasit allows players to skip battles entirely while still earning all the experience and rewards.
It’s an easy ability to just ignore because this functionality isn’t clearly explained, and getting it to work isn’t always easy. But its utility is undeniable asit drastically reduces the time and tedium of grindingout experience for the team.
1Not Checking Base Stats
A monster’s stats dictate how much damage it will deal out, how fast it’ll do it, and whether or not it can take a hit from enemy monsters. A monster with high stats will always beat out weaker monsters, buthaving high stats currently doesn’t mean they’ll always be that way.
Thecombat in this kind of RPGis based on the stats of these monsters, and not paying attention to them can result in players investing time and resources in monsters that don’t have great battle potential.Finding monsters with good potential early on can prevent a lot of frustrationtoward the end of the game.
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