Monster transformation is a new gameplay mechanic featured in Dark Chronicle. It is an ability unique to Monica Raybrandt, and acquired after talking to Jurak, at the end of Chapter 2 in the Rainbow Butterfly Wood, after entering the "Rainbow Falls" floor. Monica and Maximilian automatically received the Badge Box item afterwards, after which they purchased the Himarra Badge from the Woody Tailor for 500 Gilda. Monica then explained that she could use these badges to to turn into the related monster, and thus acquire the Sundrop they needed to forcefully speed up the growth of the Lafrescia Flower, and find the Rainbow Butterfly. When Monica used the ability and found a Himarra monster to talk to, she immediately received a Sundrop from it, as they were "coming out of its ears".
Monster transformation lets Monica talk to monsters of the same type, which gives valuable insight and information into their daily life, as well as hints and tips on them in general.
Transforming into a monster for the first time on the PlayStation 4 port grants you the bronze trophy "Shapeshifter".
Gameplay[]
Monster Badges[]
The Himarra Badge.
Monster transformation serves as the unique ability belonging only to Monica, in contrast to Maximilian's Ridepod. It requires the Badge Box, in which she can store collected badges, which are acquired with the use of Gift Capsules. Gift Capsules can be bought for 400 Gilda from either the Woody Tailor, or Claire's Place!, or just invented (although this is more expensive). A Gift Capsule then has to be placed into an active item slot, as it is a throwable item, and loaded with three of the required items for the monster you intend to use it on. If done correctly the monster will show a music note, and then drop the related monster type badge upon its defeat. The Undead and Windup Badges are unique in that they require you to simply kill one of the monsters with the right item (Holy Water and Bomb respectively).
The actual monster you start with is not necessarily the same as the one you chose to please with a Gift Capsule. You can please a Death Mouse or Ram, but the Badge always starts with a Sewer Rat.
Note that some flying or quick monsters can make you miss your Gift Capsule, which can be disastrous when throwing expensive items around. Using a Heart-Throb Cherry can make this easier, as it inflicts stop.
Out of a total of twelve Badges, two of them do not represent a monster. These are the Moon and Sun Badges, which are received from Donny after gaining (respectively) 600 and 700 photography points with the camera, and then talking to him as Max. The Moon Badge allows Monica to stay transformed for longer periods of time, and the Sun Badge raises the attack and defense power of the transformed monster.
Obtaining all badges on the PlayStation 4 port grants you the silver trophy "Monster Master".
Monster Transform[]
After acquiring a Badge, Monica can transform into the monster using the 
button, and if need be can switch to a different Monster Badge using the Monster Transform option in the 'Character' menu. This also serves as an access point to the Badge Box, letting you view all your badges and their monster's statuses. Monsters get an attack and defense stat, which increases with their level. The same goes for the title, which changes after every six levels, finalizing at 91. Since Monica transforms into the monsters, they use the same hit points. Other stats shown are Monster Morph and Experience, the former of which is always 64, and serves as a counter for how long you can use the monster. If Monster Morph runs out the monster will 'die', forcing you to pick another, or switch back to Monica. Exiting the dungeon will cause the counter to be reset.
Experience works the same as weapons and the Ridepod, and is increased by picking up a slain enemy's ABS. Although a monster will always list its experience as a maximum of 100, this does not correspond with the actual ABS number dropped by enemies. Instead, the 100 should be seen as 100%, with the actual ABS value required increasing exponentially.
Lastly, each monster also has access to one or two attacks, which are used with either the 
or 
buttons.
Class change[]
The maximum level is 99, and when a monster gains 25 levels they gain the option to class change, allowing said monster to attain a stronger form, the same as those encountered during normal gameplay. For their second class change some also get the opportunity to change into a different species altogether. The Beast-type Badge is unique because it is the only one that grants the option to change at level 26, namely the Ram alongside the Beach Rat. This is then followed by another species change at level 51, where the Beach Rat, can also change into the Hunter Fox alongside the Castle Eater.
Choosing one class will cause you to miss out on the other class path entirely. Regardless of your choice, you can still use older (if available) forms of your selected monster species. For example, if you have a level 76 Castle Eater, you can still use the Sewer and Beach Rat forms, although these are still weaker, with lesser stats.
Evolving a monster into its final form on level 76 on the PlayStation 4 port grants you the silver trophy "What? Your Monster is Evolving!".
Monster Drops[]
After each evolution at 26, 51, and 76, you also gain a Monster Drop, a unique item only used for synthesis on weapons due to the large amount of weapon attributes each one grants. Each 'tier' of Monster Drop is stronger than the next, with the weakest from the first evolution granting only +4 to all stats, the second granting +5, and the third granting +6. One weapon attribute per each Monster Badge's Monster Drop is also slightly higher than the rest, granting respectively +6, +9, and finally +12. Typically these are related to the Badge itself, such as Beast (attribute) for the Beast type Badge. Lastly, the Synth Point cost also increases from two, to three, to four, with each respective Monster Drop.
At 76 all evolutions also grant five of the same gemstones, one kind for each Badge type. Notably the three Diamonds required for the Card-type Badge are not recuperated from the same Badge at level 76, but instead from the Flora Badge.
Combat[]
As might become evident upon transforming into a monster, they are incredibly weak compared to Max, Monica, or the Ridepod. Leveling them is also entirely optional, as they have no story relevance otherwise and the only benefits to doing so are a chance at medals requiring all enemies to be slain with monster transformation. Most monsters will have one or two close range melee attacks, with a few others also being able to use ranged attacks. Some have additional status effects as well, such as the Froggy's Venom attack causing poison. Some melee attacks can also knock enemies over, such as the Sewer Rat's Headbutt move. Not all monster transformations also gain access to all their original abilities, such as the Ram's charge attack, which is absent entirely.
Due to how weak the monster transformations are, leveling them requires either very long grinding in weaker dungeons, or by exploiting the slow drop time of ABS by killing strong monsters in the Moon Flower Palace or Zelmite Mine. If you kill an enemy as Monica and quickly switch to a monster you can rapidly level them up without actually using them for combat.
The Reptile Family Badge's Gemrons are typically considered the strongest monster transformation, due to their ability to fly, small size, and especially their very high rate of fire for their ranged attacks. Other decent contenders are the Darkling Badge's Miss Gourgon (at level 51) due to its ranged attack that causes petrification.
One notable function of transforming is that you can quickly turn into a monster that is friendly to the one that you are fighting, effectively letting you flee safely. Note that monsters will still execute their attacks, and thus hurt you, if they have already started it.
Lists[]
Monster Badges[]
Note that only the first monster is listed for each respective class, you can still get the Beast-type Badge from the Ram Z enemy using Premium Chicken, even if it cannot be used in monster transformation. The below table also only shows the first monster opportunity.
| Icon | Badge | Requires | Monster | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Beast | Cheese | Sewer Rat | Underground Channel |
| Premium Chicken | Ram | Starlight Canyon | ||
|
Windup | Kill with a Bomb | Bomber Head | Mount Gundor |
|
Aquatic | Battan | Froggy | Underground Channel |
| Evy | Goyone | Ocean's Roar Cave | ||
|
Flora | 400 Gilda | — | Woody Tailor |
|
Magical Creature | Sturdy Rock | Statue | Ocean's Roar Cave |
|
Darkling | Gold Bar | Spider Lady | Rainbow Butterfly Wood |
| Ruby | Auntie Medusa | Ocean's Roar Cave | ||
|
Reptile Family | Wind Element Fire Element Chill Element Thunder Element Holy Element |
Wind Gemron Fire Gemron Ice Gemron Thunder Gemron Holy Gemron |
Starlight Canyon |
|
Spirit | Gooey Peach | Pixie | Rainbow Butterfly Wood |
|
Undead | Kill with Holy Water | Skeleton Soldier | Rainbow Butterfly Wood |
|
Card | Diamond | Diamond | Moon Flower Palace |
|
Moon | Photography Lvl. 7 | — | Donny |
|
Sun | Photography Lvl. 8 | — | Donny |
Classes[]
| Badge | Level 1 | Level 26 | Level 51 | Level 76 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beast | Sewer Rat | Beach Rat | Castle Eater | Death Mouse |
| Hunter Fox | Smiling Wolf | |||
| Ram | Savage Ram | Bandou | ||
| Windup | Bomber Head | Triple Cracker | Danger Bomb | Sweet Dynamite |
| Aquatic | Froggy | Geron | Gamal | Plutos |
| Moon Goyone | Mariner | |||
| Flora | Himarra | Balalla | Stormflower | Mandora |
| Mallone | Scarecrow | |||
| Magical Creature | Baron Balloon | Flotsam Balloon | Count Balloon | Duke Balloon |
| Guardia | Dark Keeper | |||
| Darkling | Spider Lady | Shiva | Spider Lady | Bambamchoo |
| Miss Gourgon | Mrs. Gourgon | |||
| Reptile Family | Wind Gemron | Ice Gemron | Thunder Gemron | Fire Gemron |
| Holy Gemron | ||||
| Spirit | Pixie | Sylph | Faerie | Imp |
| Undead | Skeleton Soldier | Hornhead | Master Jacket | Rare Jacket |
| Whitebeard | Oyakata | |||
| Card | Club | Heart | Diamond | Spade |
| Joker |
Titles[]
| Lvl | Beast | Windup | Aquatic | Flora | Magical Creature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Needy Kid | Trainee Soldier | Tadpole | Young Bud | Rookie Puppet |
| 7 | Just Left Home | Windup Soldier | Frog In A Well | New Leaf | Bogus Magician |
| 13 | Independent | Mech Private | Swamp Master | Forest Helper | Revived Magician |
| 19 | Newbie Animal | Mech Prv 1st Cls | Sea-Man | Bizarre Flora | Dark Magic |
| 25 | Lone Wolf | Mech Sergeant | Waverider | Jungle Fighter | Wizard |
| 31 | Steel Fang | Mech 2nd Lt. | Drifting Diver | Nature's Servant | Magic Soldier |
| 37 | Pack Leader | Mech Captain | Aquamarine | Photosynthesizer | Magic Knight |
| 43 | Forest Watchman | Soul of Steel | Ocean Killer | Emerald Beast | Dark's Servant |
| 49 | Boss | Mech Major | Ocean Menace | Forest Watchman | Dark Visitor |
| 55 | Forest King | Mech Colonel | Water Crown | Amazonian Fury | Warlock |
| 61 | Golden Fang | Iron Fist | Ocean Star | Flowers Galore | High Sorcerer |
| 67 | Jungle King | Windup Hero | Aqua-power King | Forest King | Nostradamus |
| 73 | Invincible Lion | Mech General | Lord of the Blue | Plant King | Executioner |
| 79 | Beast Master | Mech Com General | Asleep at Sea | The Sun's Child | Dusk's Servant |
| 85 | Legendary Beast | Metalizer | King Poseidon | Nature Protector | King of the Dark |
| 91 | God of the Land | Ultimate Weapon | Lord of the Deep | Sun King | Lord of Darkness |
| Lvl | Darkling | Reptile Family | Spirit | Undead | Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gloomy | Baby Dragon | Cute Little One | Half-Dead | Paper Card |
| 7 | Lover of Dark | Dragonling | Mischievous Kid | Soul-Eater | Wooden Card |
| 13 | Dweller of Dark | Teddy Dragon | Child Star | Dark Manipulator | Plastic Card |
| 19 | Grim Reaper | Young Dragon | Nymph | Idol Worshipper | Iron Card |
| 25 | Black Jack | Regular Dragon | Dream Bringer | Dead Servant | Silver Card |
| 31 | Ogre Child | Brave Dragon | Dream Protector | Decaying Ogre | Gold Card |
| 37 | Black Phantom | Dragon Ace | Moon Faerie | Black Distortion | Platinum Card |
| 43 | Dark Baron | Buff Dragon | Fairytale | Blood Spirit | Crystal Card |
| 49 | Daemon Fang | Dragon Fighter | Heaven's Servant | Death Road | Rare Metal Card |
| 55 | Ogre | Dragon Warrior | Star Disciple | Dark's Casualty | Rune Card |
| 61 | Daemon | Dragon Champ | Heaven's Guide | Nirrti | Miracle Card |
| 67 | Dark Watchman | Dragon Commander | Sky Protector | Hellmaster | Jack |
| 73 | Hell's Child | Dragon Master | Spirit's Aide | Nothingness | Queen |
| 79 | Yum Kimil | Dragon King | Nymph King | Dark Abyss | King |
| 85 | Rulr of the Dark[a] | Grand Dragon | Great Spirit | Hades | Ace |
| 91 | Bringer of Chaos | Dragon God | Spirit King | Maumet | Royal Flush |
Notes[]
- ↑ This is not a typo. It is accurate to the game text due to a 16 character limit on monster title names.