Seventh Cross Evolution - Strategy Guide (Page 02)
Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Seventh Cross Evolution - Strategy Guide (Page 02).
There are two things that help keep you from abusing this too dramatically,
however:
* If you keep sending identical grids to your DNA, the effect will lessen
and the body part generated won't be as nice. (You DO keep the previously
generated part, mind you -- you'll just be generating Arm 7s instead of
Arm 15s in subsequent attempts, for example, and the stat gains will
drop accordingly.)
If you modify the color of a design but leave it otherwise unchanged and
resubmit it, the degradation appears to slow down (if not stop entirely).
Thus, if you get a real prize-winner of a body part, you can submit it
in every color if you choose to get large all-around stat gains. Then
modify it slightly and do it again... and again... and so on, building
stats steadily even if you probably can't use the generated parts yet.
Resubmitting an identical design (in color and shape) is the real
quality-killer.
* After a certain number of evolutionary attempts, the number of EVPs
required goes up. The first jump is from two to five, then to ten, and
so on. You know how RPGs let you beat on easy creatures in the beginning
to gain levels, but then raise the experience required so that you have to
find and defeat bigger foes to advance? This is the Seventh Cross
version of that. One does not become a badass via crab-bashing alone.
3.7 Determining optimum grid patterns for generating body parts
Selecting colors for desired stat-gains is relatively straightforward.
Figuring out what kinds of body parts you will obtain, on the other hand,
is the most complicated and obscure part of Seventh Cross Evolution. If
you're looking for a complete explanation, good luck, because there are a
lot of rules still waiting to be discovered and/or thoroughly explained.
The same designs can return different results at different times.
In general, your first few attempts won't generate much of anything.
The manual hints that the part-creating process is an artificial life
algorithm that "learns" -- in other words, it'll be dumb as a doorstop
at first. Draw anything that comes to mind and build whatever stats seem
appropriate at first (again, I recommend defense and attack power); if you
get something useful, so much the better, but no part-generation is a
total failure (since you'll be building stats).
Try all sorts of designs -- you might be surprised at what you find.
Geometric shapes, mirror-images, symmetrical designs, little random
u-shapes here and there, random dots, large blobs, your initials,
photo-negative designs (full grids with dots missing to form patterns),
you name it... and there is a surprising simplicity to the top-level
part designs, if you can find it. (Some hints follow in the Spoiler
section at the end of this document.)
Your initial aim is to build some arms and legs that your undernourished
Origin creature can use -- better legs to give you some much-needed
mobility, and better arms to let you beat on the crabs that will be
slicing your Origin up repeatedly. Once you can kill the crabs, beetles
and other predators in the pond instead of being killed by them, your
REAL growth period begins. As frustrating as the initial randomness of
parts can be, new parts are cheap at first, so keep trying. Throw a
handful of random dots around the grid, see what they generate, then
try something different. Trying to get too complicated at first
leads to frustration (and to not being able to get out of the damn
pond for a while, because you can't find any decent legs. Keep in
mind, though, that you can finish the Pond AND the next area without
once setting foot on dry land, so fins (or other legs with Sea movement)
will do nicely).
If a design creates something that's ALMOST useful (say, a leg that's
too powerful for you to use right now, or one that's underpowered for
your liking), try modifying it just a little bit and resending it.
Add some dots, remove some dots, connect the dots, whatever it takes.
If you seem to be creating nothing but low-level parts, remember that
(a) that's supposed to happen, since you're just starting out at this,
and that (b) you NEED low-level parts in the early stages, because you
don't get many nutrients from scarfing down sea cucumbers.
The idea behind all of this is that there are "ideal" designs for each
body part type. Through trial, error and repetition, you will be working
towards these designs by figuring out which of your creations are
closer to them (and thus get better ratings). Sounds complicated? It is.
And still a bit random. Again, don't expect good results for quite some
time, but even mediocre results will get you started. After a while, you
may start generating 25-30s even when you're not trying for them
specifically.
3.7.1 Legs
Various types of legs will provide you with different movement types,
and also propel you at varying speeds. A fish-tail, for example, will
be swifter in the water but won't get you onto dry land. Crab legs
can reach lots of places but are slow and unwieldy. Different types
will be useful at different points in the game.
For reference, I obtained Leg 3 (Blade Crab, a beginner's set of legs
providing several movement choices) by scattering some small u-shapes
around the grid. Your mileage may vary.
3.7.2 Arms
The primary purpose of arms (at least at first) is to bludgeon enemies.
Thus, you'll want arms that have some striking power. Arm 3 (High Fish)
is a decent starting point for fledgling Origins. Arm 4 (Sea Worm)
gives you a projectile weapon instead of hand-to-hand fighting, which can
be very useful.
3.7.3 Bodies
Bodies tend to affect defense and healing, most increasing both.
Exceptionally dense bodies may limit movement speed due to the extra
weight.
3.7.4 Heads
Get a better head on your shoulders and a whole new world opens up --
ExPower attacks. These are the "magic" of Seventh Cross Evolution, and
will quickly become very powerful weapons.
Better heads generally grant higher levels of intelligence, which open
up ExPower attack forms and increase your EPs (which are necessary to
use them). The higher your INT, the more attack forms you will have
available to you. Of course, some heads serve different purposes...
some may increase your combat ability but be much less intelligent than
others. As always, you will tailor your part choices to your current
needs. Heads can also boost your E-Attack strength (damage done by
magic) and/or your Dexterity.
3.8 ExPower Abilities
As you may have noticed by now, attacking hand-to-hand works nicely on
smaller creatures, but there are lots of things in the world bigger
than you. This is where attacking from a distance can come in handy...
not to mention healing. The ExPower abilities (accessed via the
ExPower command on the B-button menu) allow you do to a whole lot more
than just bludgeon your enemies.
Which abilities are available to you depends entirely on your Intelligence
level. The higher it is, the more abilities (and more powerful versions
of abilities) become active. If your Intelligence drops (say, if you
swap out an intelligent head for a dumber-but-tougher one), the ability
gains will vanish as well. To use an available ExPower ability, select
it from the menu and hit the A button.
3.8.1 Offensive Abilities
The attack forms available to you depend on your Intelligence level.
Most of these are based on the elements, as is the general rule with RPGs.
(All INT-required numbers here are approximate, as I'm still experimenting.)
ATTACK COST IN EPs INT REQUIRED
-------------------------------------------
Fire 1st 5 ~20
Fire 2nd 60
Fire 3rd 100
Fire Max 150 (increasingly harsh firebolts)
Water 1st 8 ~20
Water 2nd 30 ~35
Water 3rd 75
Water Max 110 (cold and ice -- with an area effect!)
Poison 10
Toxin 20 (poison attacks)
(Note: Both Poison and Toxin affect YOU. Whether they do anything to
the enemy or not is open to debate, but I haven't killed anything with
them yet. What's the point? Beats me.)
Lightning 1st 12 ~35
Lightning 2nd 50 ~80
Lightning 3rd 100
Lightning Max 120 (electrical zaps)
Wind 1st 3 ~20
Wind 2nd 45
Wind 3rd 85
Wind Max 180 (whoosh!)
Death Curse 50 (about what it sounds like)
Death Curses 150 (ditto)
Keep in mind some environmental restrictions on attacks -- for example,
Fire attacks aren't possible under water. Lightning 1st is recommended
at first, as it conducts nicely in water and is pretty economical for
the punch it packs.
ExPowers are usable from a distance, i.e. as soon as a lock-on indicator
appears with a green arrow. (A red arrow is required for hand-to-hand
attacks, and a yellow arrow indicates any arm-based projectiles are in
range.)
3.8.2 Defensive Abilities
There are a few non-offensive powers that help, as well:
POWER COST IN EPs INT REQUIRED
------------------------------------------------
Low Heal 2 start with this (cures some minor damage)
Heal 10 ~50 (cures a lot more damage)
High Heal 40 (cures a load of damage)
Full Heal 150 (cures all damage)
(NOTE: no Heals can be used when poisoned)
Purification 15 ~20 (cures poison/toxin)
Teleport 5 ~20 (warps you to the 1st monument)
Force Shield 100 (rapidly depleting shield,
stops some incoming damage)
Suicidal Explosion 300 (If you're dumb enough to try
this, I'm not going to stop you.
I suppose as a last-gasp
attack vs. a Boss it might
have a use, but who'd have 300
EPs left by that point?)
3.8.3 Registering an ExPower ability
When you select ExPower from the menu, you can view pages of available
powers. Select your favorite with the Y button to highlight it.
This power will be activated whenever you hit the Y button in combat
(or any time, in the case of defensive powers). You can use a power
without registering it, of course, by selecting it with the A button
instead of with the Y button. Only one power can be registered to the
Y button (hence not needing the menu to be activated) at a time.
//////////
4.0 First Stage - The Pond
By now, you're probably getting a little bit bored with the Pond.
There are new areas to explore, once you've built yourself up to a point
where you can deal with what's between you and them...
Enemies:
Sea Cucumber (harmless), Slug (harmless), Squid (harmless), Beetle
(moderate danger), Crab (as I'm sure you've found, a royal pain at first)
4.1 Becoming the baddest crab-killin' SOB in the whole damn pond
The first half-hour of Seventh Cross Evolution can be a very painful
experience, particularly if you don't "get" the Evolution process.
The preceding sections have (presumably) helped in that regard.
Once you've made several laps of the pond, built up your EVPs by whacking
helpless sea cucumbers and evolved some new parts, you may be ready for
some revenge.
It really doesn't matter _what_ parts you generate, as making them in
the right colors will let you beat the crabs in any of a number of ways.
For example, building up Intelligence and E-Attack will let you blast
crabs off the map with Fire 1st (as long as you're not completely
underwater). Building up Attack will let even your feeble arm-stubs
kill crabs eventually. Building up Defense will give you the needed
HPs to survive crab hits while you're doing all that.
Let the parts you generate dictate which stats you build in this early
stage. If you get a Head you can use that increases Intelligence and/or
E-Attack, focus on those two stats and use your ExPowers against the
crabs. If you get Arms with good power, concentrate on building up Attack.
If you get Legs with Sea mobility, by all means use them -- they'll help
you run away from the crabs and get some breathing room, then turn around
and let 'em have it. A decent Body will give you the HPs you need to trade
hits and survive, letting you take your time building the other stats.
A set of Arms with a projectile attack (say, Lvl 4 Sea Worm) will let you
crank up your Defense and attack without using EPs. It's better at first
to excel in one or two areas than to be well-rounded; you can easily fill
in the gaps later on in your development.
This is a matter of attrition, not of battle skill. By building stats,
you will reach a level where you can kill crabs in one shot and survive
a hit from them if they should strike first. There's no big red light
that flashes when you're ready; you just have to know when it's time.
And when it is, go out and beat the living hell out of every crab you
can find. They're yummy, they crunch nicely, they give you protein for
body parts, and it's cathartic fun. Enjoy the crustacean carnage until
you've satisfied your lust for revenge. You'll need to stay in the
Pond for a while anyway, building up body parts (and stats) by generating
parts with your hard-earned EVPs.
4.2 Preparations for the cave
You may have noticed a large opening at the far end of the Pond area,
and perhaps have ventured into it at least once. If you did, you got
your head handed to you in a small paper bag unless you ran quickly,
because that's where the area boss hangs out. Suffice it to say that
you'll want to be well prepared before you tangle with him (AND have a
pretty good defense), and that a Head upgrade will come in handy,
because ExPower attacks are your keys to success for the near future.
4.3 First Stage Area Boss - The Worm
When you think you're ready, register your favorite distance-zap
(Lightning 1st works pretty well if you've boosted your E-Attack stat
a little) and head for the cave at the far end of the Pond. You'll
know you're there when you get a "Now Loading" screen and the music
gets more intense.
Before you lies a very ugly creature, which looks like a giant worm
of some sort. It'll come straight at you like a freight train, and
hits very hard. This is why you just read about ExPower attacks --
you want to hit this thing from a DISTANCE. Do so. Fry it with
Lightning 1st as fast as it'll let you. (Having built up Intelligence
and E-Attack is a prerequisite to this, of course, but this is the
easiest way to win this fight.)
Of course, it has a distance attack that can sting a bit... but it's not
nearly as fearsome as its bite. If you're well-prepared, you can trade
shots (preferably getting in the first one) until it falls.
I dropped it with three Lightning 1st blasts, taking some damage from its
zaps along the way. Keep in mind that if it gets close enough to take
a bite, you're likely dead. You may get some mileage out of trying to
dodge/back away while you're pounding the Y button -- just don't back
out of the cave in the process, or you'll have to reenter and try again.
Kill it, and the center monolith (the one with a fossilized fish on it)
turns blue. This monolith has the same Evolution and Save options as
the first, but adds a new option: TELEPORT. Save if you like, then
select this to be transported to a new (and very wet) area to explore.
Each monolith here leads to a new area, but you must activate each one
by whacking the boss in the previous area (hence the storyline just
got a whole lot more linear). The areas are very similar in design
to the one you just completed, i.e. area-with-monolith, additional
areas, boss area, five or so creature types wandering around, so if
subsequent descriptions sound rather brief it's due to repetition.
NOTE: Behind the five monoliths in this room is a hole in the wall.
Do NOT go in there. Inside is something you don't want any of.
Not yet, anyway. Trust me on this one. Side quest.
//////////
5.0 Second Stage - The Sea
Teleporting leaves you in a wide-open area containing a monolith
(which you can use to teleport back to the worm's room, if you like)
and some waist-deep water. A little exploration will demonstrate that
the water gets a lot deeper than that.
5.1 Sloping cavern
Once you explore past the waist-deep water you start in, you'll find a
deep sea cavern with lots of the usual rocks, coral and obstacles.
One wall has a deep dark inviting hole in it, which isn't recommended
quite yet for exploration. In this area, you'll find:
* small fish (easily killed, but hard to catch up to)
* sea horses (not too difficult, they don't seem to attack)
* small brown manta rays (which bite hard and generally poison)
Use Lightning 1st liberally, chow down, run away if you get poisoned
(since it's easy to get blindsided in this wide-open area; keep turning
at all times) and keep building those body parts. The manta rays in
particular are stronger than anything you've faced so far, so you'll want
to stay here for a while and build attack and Defense values before
proceeding too far.
5.2 Larger sea cavern
Going through the hole will lead you to a much larger cavern, with
lots of nooks and crannies to examine. Unfortunately, there are also
a lot of enemies here, including two new ones that are dangerous:
* swordfish (electrically charged, though Lightning does hurt them)
* sharks (or big tuna, it's hard to say) (heavy bite, distance attack)
Needless to say, continuing to build up your stats is highly recommended.
If a stat is quite deficient, use the repeated-generation trick mentioned
in the Evolution section (create a high-level body part in one color,
change colors, repeat, cycling back and forth between two colors you
want to build up) for as long as your EVPs will hold out.
Be careful in this area -- it's VERY easy to get attacked from behind,
as everything's wide open, and opponents will attack in numbers quite often.
There is a pitch-black area at the very bottom of this cavern. Is there
a way to light it up? I haven't found any way yet, but... hmmm.
(NOTE: If you search around the top of the pitch-black cavern, you may
find a steep upward path leading to the usual black gateway to another
area. If you get there and hear some intense-sounding music, GET OUT.
Another side-quest boss. This is not the usual level boss, and it
will tear you to shreds if you get too close.)
Somewhere in this cavern is a cliff wall with a gap, similar to the hole
that led you into this area (a fairly straight path leading to it, not
sloped sharply). Entering that hole leads you to the next boss... and
his friends.
5.3 Second Stage Area Boss - The Big Ray
When you enter the new area and the boss music starts playing, you
may be surprised when you're attacked by some red seahorses. Don't
blow your whole wad of EPs on them, as they're just sidekicks. None are
that dangerous, but these are there to distract you from the BIG fish
that's following them, which is sort of a cross between a manta ray and
a swordfish that's been fed a lot of growth hormones. The sidekicks
also seem hardier than the average of their ilk, and have some relatively
minor pecking attacks (minor except when you let four or five of them get
close at once), which can be a pain when it comes to aiming your attacks
at the right critter. (Which would be the BIG critter, who's more
dangerous than the rest of the combined.)
Take out those you can from a distance to begin with, but once you see
the big ray approaching pump your best magic (Lightning 2nd works okay,
use better if you have it) into him hard. Don't be afraid to use High Heal
if you have it, as you'll probably need it to survive the encounter unless
you've levelled-up your stats quite a bit. As usual, his hand-to-hand
attacks are much stronger than his zaps.
(When I beat him, I had Head 12 (Lizard), Arm 7 (Insect), Body 4
(Tube Snake) and Legs 30 (Man). INT was at 182, E-Attack at 167.
371 HP, 403 EP.)
A cubbyhole in the bottom of the boss's area leads to yet another
monolith, this one in green. When you teleport using it, a short FMV
follows. Strangely, it's of a winged angel-being wasting turtles with rays
of some sort. This is not typical angel behavior, IMHO, so I'm sure
we'll be seeing more of her later.
//////////
6.0 Third Stage - The Jungle
6.1 Entrance area
This stage features some drier terrain, though some streams do
pass through it. It also features a mushroom near the monolith that
gives one of the rarer nutrients, NeuroBio (+1 per mushroom). There
is a second mushroom in the next area as well, and you can keep
walking back and forth to stock up on NeuroBio if you really want to.
In addition, there is a round yellow item at the far end of the second
area that gives +1 HardCell. Between this and the mushrooms, dedicated
players can build up enough points to start using some advanced parts.
New creatures include:
* an eel (which stays in the water)
* a fin-backed lizard with a distance spit
* a frog-like lizard with a poisonous bite
This first area isn't that large. Follow a hole in the left cavern
wall to reach...
6.2 Second jungle area
More creatures join the fun:
* a large brown reptile (rather durable, and spits at you)
* an ANNOYINGLY fast frog with a fan-neck (spits fire & tongue-lashes)
* and more fin-backed lizards.
Each area has a doorway to the boss's lair -- one is passable
easily, one is through swamp. Whichever way you get there,
you'll end up facing...
6.3 Jungle Bosses - Twin Frogs
...two really big frogs. Deal with them as you would any other
bosses, i.e. hit hard with magic and don't be afraid to heal
yourself when needed. Concentrate on one frog until it's dead,
then go after the other. They bite reasonably hard, but that's
about it.
This unlocks yet another monolith (located behind the big mountain
at the far end of this area).
Once you teleport using this monolith, you get yet another FMV.
This time the angel's whacking what look like ostriches. She blows
away a handful of them, then vanishes. Again, no rhyme or reason is
provided for this yet.
//////////
7.0 Fourth Stage - Badlands Area
This area is rather mountainous, with some plants and trees
sticking up here and there. Not particularly inviting terrain.
The gameplay is about the same as always... wander, wander,
whack whack shoot zap, collect corpses, find the exit to the
next area. This time there are three areas before you reach
the boss, instead of two.
7.1 Mountain Area 1
The hills make it difficult to see where enemies are coming from
sometimes. No matter, you should be armed to the teeth by now.
* Vultures (more like mini-pterodactyls, really)
* Lizards
If you have Float movement, you can make your way over to an
island with a semi-hidden exit. This will take you directly
to Mountain Area 3.
7.2 Mountain Area 2
More of the same, but with some new critters:
* Cobras (toxin bite, freezes both HPs and EPs for a while)
* Giant Tortoises (I haven't gotten close to one of these yet, but
they're rather durable.) These are the turtles you saw the
angel-being frying in a previous FMV.
7.3 Mountain Area 3
And still more. The boss is in one of the entrances in the
tall spire in the middle; the other entrance takes you back to
Mountain Area 2.
Now add:
* Energy Lizards (these throw an arc of energy your way)
7.4 Area Boss - Fire-Breathing Dino
As you walk through this door, you'll hear a rumbling sound that's
not very promising. A rather large dinosaur comes charging over,
packing fire breath that does a lot of damage. (To say nothing of
his bite, naturally.) Take him out as you would any other boss,
again... I had Force Shield by this time, so I tried it out and it
deflected enough damage to seem helpful. A couple of Lightning Maxes
and a hand-to-hand parting shot knocked him over.
Next FMV - You guessed it, the angel's gettin' busy again. This
time the prey appear to be armor-covered tigers.
//////////
8.0 Fifth Stage - The Valley
This looks like a quiet mountain valley -- lots of trees and grass,
streams, the kind of place you'd want to go for a picnic. Except for
the way the local birds keep dive-bombing you, that is.
8.1 First Area
Lots of tall cliffs with narrow paths between them, with grassy areas
between them. The exit is tucked into one of those narrow openings.
Enemies:
* a rather generic bird
* a more mechanical-looking bird
* a long-necked bird
All of these (basically, every enemy in the game at this point) have
some sort of distance weapon. I have yet to find any particular
vulnerabilities, i.e. whether they're throwing energy or fire or
poison or something else seems all the same to you.
The birds' corpses finally start providing Hard Cell and Neuro-Bio
nutrients on a regular basis, so you can try out some of your more
exotic body parts at last.
8.2 Second Area
Similar terrain.
More enemies:
* a very small, seemingly harmless bird
* a walking ostrich that shoots electricity (but didn't fare too
well against the angel earlier in the game)
* more of the mechanical birds
The entrance is tucked away in another narrow path, a little more
rounded than the one you just came out of.
8.3 Third Area
An undefended cave within a mountain with lava running through it.
You must have Float movement to pass (which means you need legs like
Shell Kite or Evil Wise).
8.4 Fifth Stage Area Boss - Big Mecha-Bird
You face off against an entire bird sanctuary here in a glade --
a handful of sidekick birds defending a BIG mecha-bird. The
henchmen (henchbirds) fall pretty quickly, but the big bird doesn't.
Force Shield will come in quite handy. (Its hand-to-hand attacks
don't seem that terrible, so don't be afraid to get close if you're
strong that way, saving your EPs for High/Full Heal and Force Shield.)
No FMV this time, but the last monolith opens up.
//////////
9.0 Sixth Stage - Barren Future
The landscape here is oddly barren, with a few trees and other
landmarks here or there.
9.1 Future Grassy Area
Just to annoy you, the landscape appears wide-open and available
for travel, but invisible force fields wall off this area. Oddly,
the enemies seem to have no trouble passing through these barriers.
At any rate, the exit is in one of the rocks near the green pools
of water, facing away from the monoliths.
Enemies include:
* An ape that hurls rocks
* An aardvark
* A kangaroo
* A mean-looking black yak
9.2 Future Desert Area
Lots of sand dunes, giving the natural creatures some cover. Travel
across the desert to find the gateway to a wide-open grassy area that
seems strangely deserted.
* An armored tiger (yep, yet another Angel victim come to meet you)
* A VERY hardy mantis that I only encountered once. I blasted it
a dozen times with my arm weapons, but nothing seemed to drop
it. One final Wind Max took it out, and it seemed to give a
lot of nutrients.
9.3 Deserted Valley
This area is a huge, grassy valley that seems deserted. When you exit
and return to the desert, however, you will be attacked by...
9.4 Area Bosses - Twin Golems
Two big and burly rock golems (sort of like rock-armored apes) come at
you, with a smaller ape as a sidekick. Yes, I said two. It is imperative
that you take one of them out BEFORE they both start pounding on you, as
your Force Shield can't take the strain for long. Once one is dead, the
other seems to lose some strength and winning becomes largely academic.
Once you have downed the Golems, DON'T GO BACK TO THE VALLEY YET. You
definitely want to heal first (you'll need to build your EPs back up,
though you can take your time about it).
9.4.1 Storyline turning point
When you reenter the valley at full strength, there seems to be a flag
set for the storyline depending on certain things. A spaceship will
enter, depositing the ray-blasting angel in your path, who'll you have
to fight. HOWEVER...
Under certain circumstances, a human female wearing strips of fur
(think back to any woman in any caveman movie you've ever seen) may
creep out to take a look at you before the angel arrives.
Possible triggers for this include:
* you enter this area as a "pure" creature (all four body parts you have
equipped are from the same creature)
* you have created (but are not necessarily wearing) all four Level 30
(Man) parts. (I highly suspect that this is the deciding factor.)
If the female appears, the Angel will appear and start blasting away
at her; she runs away, at which point the Angel turns its attention to
you. If the female does not appear, a voice from the spaceship will
harass you about being a genetic mutation first.
You have one chance to save the female, if she appears. If you defeat
the Angel then and there (no dying, no fleeing the room and returning),
the female will reappear later on. If you die or retreat, the female
gets whacked by the Angel and you continue as if she'd never existed.
9.5 Area Boss #2 - Neo Bionoid (Angel)
She's been whacking mutated animals left and right, and now she's
come for you. Just what you needed... and her rays are just as
painful as they looked.
Force Shield will keep you around long enough to heal and retaliate.
I recommend using your best projectile weapon (Arm-based) so that
you can save your EPs for healing and shields, as usual. Keep
blasting and she will fall eventually.
The Angel will fall and blast open a cave entrance here in the Valley.
//////////
10.0 Side Quests
10.1 Giant Butterfly
With seemingly nothing left besides the newly-opened cave,
I returned to the room with the multiple monoliths
(where you first fought the Worm) to explore the area behind it
once more. What I found there was a giant butterfly-like insect
with some MAJOR destructive powers. It doesn't move until you
get close to it, but once you get within range, it starts whipping
out multiple energy rays that can blow you away quickly.
All I can say is this: beef up your stats severely, keep Force
Shield up as much as possible, hit B the instant you are hit
(so that you can throw out either another Force Shield or a
Heal), stay outside of hand-to-hand range if possible, and
blast with a good projectile weapon (I used Evil Wise).
Even then, it's a tough fight -- and possibly not a necessary one,
though it seemed rich in nutrients once it died.
10.2 Giant Crustacean
On my second time through the game, I found yet another "secret"
boss. This one was a giant crustacean of some sort, and it killed
my new creature with one blow. This one was found by investigating
the pitch-black crater in the Sea level; by circling around its edge,
I found an upward path leading to yet another water area, this one
with the intense boss-music. The crustacean levitated out of a
volcano-like structure, then bushwacked me from behind.
This monster tends to zap you with powerful Water attacks, and is
just as durable (maybe more so) than the butterfly. Even so, follow
the same approach (it's a big pile of points, so accumulate a bigger
pile and zap it to death with Evil Wise arms) and it should fall.
Make sure your Defense and Attack scores are nearly maxxed out.
//////////
11.0 The Hidden Cave
With the butterfly out of the way, return to the scene of
your duel with the Angel. A cave should have been blasted open
by the Angel's fall to earth.
Inside is... wait for it... a secret laboratory.
11.1 Plot exposition
Access the computer in this room to learn the REAL plot of
the game, along with what you are, how you got here and how the
planet got this way. There's a lot of redundancy (particularly
in the first report), but it does clear up a lot of issues.
(Press the A button to speed up the scrolling lines.)
So now you know what you are, how you got here and who
sent the Neo Bionoid that attacked you. Now what?
Well, a mysterious new monolith with a skull on it has appeared next
to the cave. Dare you investigate? Of course you will -- you've got
nothing better to do. (Though I will say that if you encountered the
human female, you really ought to switch to some low-nutrient-cost body
parts before teleporting via this monolith. Fair warning.)
11.2 Inside the laboratory
This leads to some REALLY CREEPY FMVs. By the way, for a game
that's been strictly mindless fighting up to this point,
there's sure a lot of talking going on right now, isn't there?
After the scientist is done chattering away about the future
and your lack of future, an earthquake blows open the polar
ice caps again. What happens next depends on whether you
encountered the human female in the valley right before fighting
the Neo Bionoid:
* If you did not encounter the female, or if she was killed by the
Neo Bionoid (i.e. you lost or fled in your first encounter with it),
you will follow the Creature ending path (11.2.1, ending 1).
* If you did encounter the female and defeated the Bionoid on your
first try, you will follow the Human ending path (11.2.2, ending 2).
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