0
Black
and
White
by The Masked Moogle
Contents:
I. Introduction
A. Version History
B. Disclaimer
C. Introduction
D. What is Black and White?
II. The Creatures
A. The Creatures
B. Creature Combat Tips
III. Concluding notes
A. Conclusion
B. Credits
I. Introduction
A. VERSION HISTORY:
-4/17/01 Well, Easter was fun, but now back to the grind. This time
around I
updated a few of the Creatures' and added the Rhino's Special. I
got a huge
tip about how the Creatures also have variations in their
dodging abiltiy,
so most of the Creatures are revamped. I've also added a
Creature Appearance
section to each Creature so people can geta rough idea of what
they look like.
Alternatively you can look around for screenshots, though due to
legal
constraints I can't give any web pages. I'm also looking into a
tip I got about how a Creature's
intelligence is separated into Miracle learning ability and
common
sense. If I figure anything out I'll put it in (any help is
appreciated).
-4/14/01 AHHHHHHH!! This time I received at least 30 e-mails about
how I was wrong with the Tiger. It's fixed already! Leave me
alone,
it's Easter:) Now that that's out of the way, in this release,
I've added
the Creature Combat tips section, added info on the Ogre and
Rhino,
and updated a few of the Creatures. Also fixed more of the
spacing and
tweaked the format a bit. I never knew people who write FAQ's
get this
much e-mail! Thanks for the feedback, anyway. Getting pretty
close to
a full version!
-4/13/01 Ahhh!! I received at least 6 e-mails about how I
was wrong on the Tiger, so I’ve updated that section.
Also added the Cow’s real dance. Working on the Ogre and
Rhino, expect those tomorrow. Prepped the rest of the
FAQ for this. It takes a while to get accurate stats on
most of the Creatures (but for some it’s obvious). And
added the Chimp's Proficiency out of Battle. Changed it
to a .txt format to fix the spacing problems. Lots of
work to do; thank goodness (or evilness, it is a Black
and White FAQ) it's a weekend.
-4/10/01 Decided to cheat a little bit and unlock the Wolf
via a cheat (the file hacking one). So I added the info
on him. Also updated the Tiger, Leopard, and Ape’s
combat ability. I’m considering adding the Ogre and
Rhino, but I don’t like cheating...
-4/9/01 Added Battle info on the Brown Bear and Polar Bear,
and the dance for the Gorilla.
-4/8/01 Added info on the Gorilla, updated the Mandrill and
the Ape, and added the Creature dances.
-4/6/01 The first release! Basically outlined the skeleton,
and added some base info. Expect more soon (like
tomorrow..?)
B. DISCLAIMER: You know the drill. You are not permitted to make copies of
this without
the author’s permission, sell it without written consent from the author, blah
blah blah...
So don’t do anything funny and no one gets hurt. I have a lawyer in the family!
C. INTRODUCTION: Well, this is my first attempt at an FAQ and I know it’s
doomed to fade
into obscurity, but what the heck, I might help a few people. This isn’t a
walkthrough or tips
on micromanagement or anything, it’s meant to give an overview of the
Creatures,
their abilities in battle, abilities as a town-manager, etc. If you need a
walkthrough or
general tips, RHagenstrцm has written an excellent one, or buy the guide. Well,
enough of that!
D. WHAT IS BLACK AND WHITE: This is another popular topic on the Message
Boards.
Black and White is basically a completely new kind of game. Some people call it
a strategy,
but then again some people call Shen Mue an RPG. Black and White is kind of a
cross between
a Sim- game, a Theme- game, Pokйmon, Dungeon Keeper, and a bunch of other
games. (Of course,
the thought comes to mind that you probably already know what the game is if
you’re reading
an “In-Depth FAQ”, but I’ll quit rambling now.) Put simply it’s a god
simulation. You are a god.
You can either manipulate and subvert your followers or be a benevolent,
kind god and feed and clothe them. Either way they worship you, that gives you
power to create
Miracles (like spells), you use your Miracles to get new worshippers, until you
get to the
enemy god’s Citadel and destroy him. However, you can’t operate unless people
“Believe” in you,
which you can make them do either by being kind or killing the odd Villager in
the middle of a
festival. To top it all off you get a Creature, which is where Pokйmon ties in.
Your Creature can do basically everything you do, but you have to train him to
do it.
He can change his appearance to match his Alignment (evil-good and everything
in between),
which doesn’t necessarily match yours (and often doesn‘t, as will be discussed
later).
He will also grow over time. When he first starts out he’ll only be a few times
bigger than a
Villager. But eventually he’ll be accidentally stepping on houses :~) There are
16 Creatures,
each with moderately different traits and very different appearances. Some are
better at
watching after your villages, some are better at burning them to the ground
(along with all the
Villagers), but just guide these guys into an enemy village...
Well, you probably get the point. Overall it’s an extremely fun and addicting
game, albeit with a few stability issues. But Lionhead is *supposedly*
releasing a patch soon which should fix some of that. As they say, “Onward and
outward!”
II. The Creatures
A. The Creatures
This is the real fun of the game. There are 16 different Creatures. These
are:
Ape Tortoise
Cow Zebra
Tiger Brown Bear
Leopard Polar Bear
Wolf Sheep
Lion Chimp
Horse Mandrill
Rhino Ogre
Another Creature that many people thought was in the game is the
Crocodile. This was
nixed in the early stages of development. It might be back, but as for now you
can't get it.
The Creatures are arranged below in alphabetical order. The basic format
is this:
Creature Name
How to Unlock
Natural Alignment
Appearance as Neutral:
Appearance as Good:
Appearance as Evil:
Dance
Relative Strength
Relative Out-Of-Battle Speed
Relative Intelligence
Proficiency in Battle
Proficiency out of Battle
Overall Notes
The Creature Name and How to Unlock are self-explanatory. The next point
is somewhat
controversial, but in my experiences it is pretty reliable. Natural Alignment
is basically
what your Creature is inclined to become, good or evil. So, basically, if you
left it alone
overnight with 0 training what alignment it would be in the morning. A lot of
people say it’s
random, but from what I’ve seen it stays constant for each creature. I believe
this is related
to whether it’s meant as an attacker or a defender. (By the way, this is just
my opinion, but
the perfect combination is a good Creature and an evil player. This way you can
skip all the
tedious micromanagement and concentrate on the fun stuff (killing!!) while your
Creature can
watch the towns without you having to worry. Of course, that’s just my opinion,
and some of the
evil Creatures look awesome.) The Appearances are self-explanatory.
The Dance is self-explanatory. The next points are relatively self-explanatory,
and are based
on a scale of 0-10. They are just my (and helpers’) speculation,not based on
the numbers from
the website or strategy guide. Note that these can change dramatically based on
your training
(besides intelligence, and some creatures’ limits are lower than others’).
Strength, for
instance, can be supplemented by carrying rocks around.
Speed is increased by running laps around the island. This doesn’t directly
raise the creature’s
speed, but lowers his fatness, which in turn raises the speed (but lowers his
battling ability).
Proficiency in Battle is based upon a number of factors. One, how strong he is
and how easily
he gains strength. Two, how quickly and how powerful his actual attacks come
off, and ease of
use in battle. These can be tough to judge, but I’ll do my best and any help is
welcome.
My e-mail’s at the end of the FAQ. Proficiency out of battle is based on how
quickly he learns,
how much he cares for the Villagers, how likely he is to wander off (partly
based on training,
but Creature has a factor in that too), etc. These won’t be numerical values,
but detailed
(as detailed as I can, anyway) descriptions. Finally, an overall view at the
Creature. Whew,
finally, you’re saying, the good stuff!
1. Creature Name: Ape
How to Unlock: Chosen at beginning of game
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: An orange monkey. Looks pretty neat when it's fat.
Appearance as Good: A happier orange monkey.
Appearance as Evil: A red and blue monkey.
Dance: A macarena looking thing
Relative Strength: 3/10
Relative Speed: 6.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 9/10
Proficiency in Battle: Not bad. The delay time on his moves is
average but the Special Move is excellent (almost an instant
hit). His Range is OK but he just isn’t strong enough for it
to be much use.
Proficiency out of Battle: May not be so good, as the Ape supposedly
has a tendency to wander off or be distracted and not feed
himself properly. However, he does learn pretty quickly, so it
might be a worthwhile trade-off.
Overall: The Ape is probably the best Creature to start off with if
you’re playing good. It learns miracles (and how to use them)
really quickly, which basically balances out any of its
personality problems.
2. Creature Name: Brown Bear
How to Unlock: Completion of “Pollution Clean-up” Challenge in Land5
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: A brown bear.
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Coming Soon
Dance: Disco Inferno! See the Winamp plug-in.
Relative Strength: 7/10
Relative Speed: 5.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 6.5/10
Proficiency in Battle: One of the best battlers. His moves look
surprisingly reminiscent of martial arts for a bear; I’d have
expected wrestling moves. I haven’t seen the Special Move, but
the rest seem pretty good.
Proficiency out of Battle: Slightly above average. He learns Miracles
at a moderate rate and if you train him a little he will watch
after your Villages. Really there aren't any glaring deficiencies
here.
Overall: An excellent all-around Creature. Pretty smart, very
strong, and great in battle. No real problems here.
3. Creature Name: Chimp
How to Unlock: Bring the witch in Land 3 a child
Natural Alignment: Neutral
Appearance as Neutral: Um.. A chimpanzee.
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Looks like a little gremlin. I imagine some of the more
mischievous
gods would like this.
Dance: A macarena looking thing
Relative Strength: 3.5/10
Relative Speed: 7/10
Relative Intelligence: 10/10
Proficiency in Battle: Put bluntly: terrible. He has a very short reach,
the moves have quite a bit of delay, and it's nearly impossible
to get him up to full strength. Probably THE worst.
Proficiency out of Battle: Probably THE best. He learns Miracles the
fastest of any Creature. He can pick up Water in 2 showings;
Water Increase in 4. He learns MegaBlast at 1% each time! If you
equip the Learning Leash while doing something, he'll always pick
it up after one try! What more do you want?!
Overall: Coming Soon
4. Creature Name: Cow
How to Unlock: Chosen at beginning of game
Natural Alignment: Good
Appearance as Neutral: A brown cow.
Appearance as Good: A black and white spotted cow.
Appearance as Evil: A red, bony, bull-looking animal.
Dance: A River Dance!
Relative Strength: 2.5/10
Relative Speed: 4/10
Relative Intelligence: 6/10
Proficiency in Battle: Coming Soon
Proficiency out of Battle: Pretty good. He's naturally nice to Villagers
and learns Miracles pretty decently. Plus the good form looks a lot
better than the evil.
Overall: Don’t be fooled by the low stats. Though the cow starts off
with low stats, he has the potential to increase rather
rapidly. This coupled with an above-average intelligence (and
inherent lovability) makes him a pretty good all-around
creature.
5. Creature Name: Gorilla
How to Unlock: Downloadable, then see Creature breeder in Land 1/4
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: Hmm... I dunno, this is a stumper. A gorilla, maybe?
Appearance as Good: Eww, it looks like a flower.
Appearance as Evil: A silverback! Looks pretty cool.
Dance: Disco Fevah!
Relative Strength: 8/10
Relative Speed: 6/10
Relative Intelligence: 3/10
Proficiency in Battle: The Gorilla’s a pretty good fighter. Besides
the inherent strength, its attacks are pretty good. They have
some delay but are powerful, long reaching, and will stun the
enemy, either knocking them to the side (aim for the legs, it’s
great for disorienting a human opponent), away, or stunning
them in place. Not to mention the very fast Special Move. An
excellent choice as a fighter.
Proficiency out of Battle: Below average. He learns miracles slowly,
won’t be very happy moping around the house, and has a knack
for over-eating; when the sheep runs out, bye-bye Villagers.
Keep him on the offense. Besides, the good incarnation looks
stupid.
Overall: One of the best fighters and attackers. Not too good as
a town-watcher though. A pretty good Creature overall.
6. Creature Name: Horse
How to Unlock: Downloadable, then see Creature breeder in Land 1/4
Natural Alignment: Good
Appearance as Neutral: A blue and grey horse.. Sorry, I'm not up to date on
my horse
breeds.
Appearance as Good: A unicorn with the same color scheme as the neutral
horse.
Appearance as Evil: An ugly, filthy, smelly donkey.
Dance: An Irish tap dance
Relative Strength: 4.5/10
Relative Speed: 9.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 7/10
Proficiency in Battle: The Horse isn’t really that good of a
fighter. His strength needs to be worked on pretty often to
keep it high, and his attacks aren’t very powerful. The Special
Move is a double kick with the hind legs, but the first kick
does no damage, so it’s much too slow to be of any use in a
fight. His other attacks come at a pretty average rate of
speed, but nothing special. Note he has a good sweep (target
legs at medium range) that can pretty easily be followed up
with a step forward and a few close-up attacks. He may be able
to hold his own against some of the Creatures, but it’ll take
work.
Proficiency out of Battle: This is where the Horse really shines.
After a little bit of training, you can let him off his leash
and he will wander about healing Villagers, supplying the
Village Store, all the while managing to keep himself in good
health. It’s perfect for leaving on overnight, if you have no
qualms about missing 10 years of your Creature’s life and/or
being a cheater.
Overall: The Horse is an excellent all-around Creature. It’s best if
used defensively, as its VERY high speed allows it to get from
Village to Village quickly, and he will automatically have a
caring and compassionate nature. Mediocre in a fight, it’s
probably best to teach him some good offensive miracles and
have him keep his distance from the enemy’s Creature. A great
choice overall, though, I don’t understand why it’s not more
popular.
7. Creature Name: Leopard
How to Unlock: Downloadable, then see Creature Breeder in Land 1/4
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: I need help on this one!
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon (I really do need help on this one..
seriously guys)
Appearance as Evil: Somewhat like a puma, but more evil looking.
Dance: A break-dance!
Relative Strength: 7.5/10
Relative Speed: 8/10
Relative Intelligence: 2/10
Proficiency in Battle: An excellent fighter. He has a pretty nice
reach on most of his moves (shoot for the back-flip, it’s
great). The Special Move, which is sort of like a jumping
slash, doesn’t go forward very far but can be used to jump over
sweeps if you know they’re coming (like if you’re fighting a
cheapo who does one move over and over).
Proficiency out of Battle: Avoid putting him in this role. He's not as
dumb as the Tiger (please don't e-mail me with insults over this
comment!), but still pretty dumb. He'll pick up Miracles very slowly
and won't take training very well. If you really want a good Leopard
it'll take quite a bit of work.
Overall: The strength and speed are enticing, but it simply isn’t
worth the lack on intelligence. But you could get around this
by training an earlier Creature and switching to him. Besides
the lack of Intelligence, a very effective Creature.
8. Creature Name: Lion
How to Unlock: Complete the Land 5 Lion Puzzle, where you must guide
a blind lion to its meal of mutton.
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: Beats me... a male lion, perhaps?
Appearance as Good: A happy male lion.
Appearance as Evil: An angry looking, evil male lion. (I say male because of
the mane.)
Dance: Coming Soon
Relative Strength: 8.5/10
Relative Speed: 7/10
Relative Intelligence: 6.5/10
Proficiency in Battle: Coming Soon
Proficiency out of Battle: Coming Soon
Overall: The lion is arguably the most powerful Creature. He learns
relatively fast, has an excellent Strength stat, and is pretty
fast. However, good luck getting him...
9. Creature Name: Mandrill
How to Unlock: Downloadable, then see Creature Breeder in Land 1/4
Natural Alignment: Neutral
Appearance as Neutral: A baboon! Well, actually, there's a difference
between a mandrill
and a baboon, but to keep it in layman's terms, I'll say baboon.
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Coming Soon
Dance: A macarena looking thing
Relative Strength: 5/10
Relative Speed: 6/10
Relative Intelligence: 5/10
Proficiency in Battle: Another average score. His attacks have a
delay, and don’t do too much damage, but they don’t do too
little damage either. The Special Move comes off very quickly
but is short range.
Proficiency out of Battle: Yet another average score. It'll take him
a little while to pick up Miracles but he trains rather well.
An all-around Creature.
Overall: Purely average. With work, though, he can become very
powerful (also looks pretty nice).
10. Creature Name: Ogre
How to Unlock: Hack him
Natural Alignment: Evil... very Evil
Appearance as Neutral: A one-eyed green bearded caveman.
Appearance as Good: A slightly taller one-eyed green bearded caveman.
Appearance as Evil: A slightly shorter one-eyed green bearded caveman (lazy
Lionhead).
Dance: From what I can tell, it's none. Apparently we aren't supposed to use
the Ogre.
When I had him dance for a crowd he just started shaking (stage fright
:). My guess
is that since the AI Ogres will never dance Lionhead felt no need to
program a dance.
If anyone else has had different results please tell me.
Relative Strength: 6/10
Relative Speed: 5.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 4/10
Proficiency in Battle: Pretty good. You can usually guess what he's going to
do because
most of the moves are natural human moves, which makes him pretty easy
to control.
I haven't tried the Special Move yet but some other useful ones are his
sweep (aim
for legs at medium range) and sidekick (aim for torso at medium range).
Also, I dunno
if this is just from lack of training, but when I took him into battle
and gave him
a command to attack he just shuffled back and forth for a few steps
before attacking.
Any more info would be appreciated (e-mail me and I'll send you a map
to switch to
him).
Proficiency out of Battle: Not so good. Mine would never be good. I'd leash
him to the
Town Center with the Compassion Leash and he'd just sit down ("Your
Creature has
nothing to do so he is sitting down.") Keep him on the offense. I
imagine he'd be
much happier kicking things in (like me :).
Overall: I'm still in the preliminary testing phase with this one. From what
I can tell
he's a pure offense Creature with average stats. Any assistance would
be much
appreciated.
10. Creature Name: Polar Bear
How to Unlock: Complete the boat Challenge in Land 1 and they’ll
get marooned on Land 5 complete with the Polar Bear.
Natural Alignment: Evil (not too sure)
Appearance as Neutral: A polar bear (for those who lost their memory since
buying Black and
White, it's a white brown bear)
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Coming Soon
Dance: Disco Inferno!
Relative Strength: 6.5/10
Relative Speed: 7/10
Relative Intelligence: 4/10
Proficiency in Battle: See Brown Bear
Proficiency out of Battle: See Brown Bear
Overall: Should be pretty much like the Brown Bear. I’ve only tested
him once, so any help would be appreciated.
11. Creature Name: Rhino
How to Unlock: Hack him until Lionhead releases a patch
Appearance as Neutral: A rinosirus! (Me smart.. ME WANT FOOD!!!)
Appearance as Good: It's light blue, it's happy... it's stupid!
Appearance as Evil: It's dark red, it's spiky... it's awesome!
Dance: Coming Soon
Natural Alignment: Coming Soon
Relative Strength: 7/10
Relative Speed: 6/10
Relative Intelligence: 1.5/10
Proficiency in Battle: He's basically a slower, more powerful Horse. Expect
the same
average moves but with MUCH more strength. Just never use the Special
Move; it's
useless.
Proficiency out of Battle: Coming Soon
Overall: These are preliminary estimations on my part. I've only used
him once and haven't had time to do extensive testing. Any help
would be much appreciated (e-mail me and I'll send you a map so
you can switch to him).
12. Creature Name: Sheep
How to Unlock: Complete the Sheep Challenge in Land 1
Natural Alignment: Good
Appearance as Neutral: A sheep/goat (depending on the fatness).
Appearance as Good: A golden lamb.
Appearance as Evil: THE MOST AWESOME CREATURE IN THE GAME!!!!! Picture
Resident Evil..
now picture that Lambchops puppet show! YES!!! YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!!
Dance: Coming Soon
Relative Strength: 3.5/10
Relative Speed: 6.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 7/10
Proficiency in Battle: Don’t be fooled by the low strength! The
sheep can bring it up fast, so don’t worry about that. As for
his moves, the Sheep rivals the big cats and the Turtle. His
Special Move comes off very quickly and is very powerful,
leaving the enemy stunned and wide open to a long-range low
kick. At close range he has a very effective jab which comes
off almost instantaneously. Just be careful not to click to low
and do the uppercut! Really, the sheep can stand up to just
about anything they can throw at you.
Proficiency out of Battle: Another strong point for the Sheep. A
pretty good intelligence stat means that this Creature will
learn miracles rather quickly, and learn to use them well too.
He’s naturally good and will watch after your Villagers without
you having to tell him. The Villagers love him, too! What’s
not to like? Oh, yeah, if you can, you should avoid letting
him go good. Put bluntly, THE EVIL SHEEP IS AWESOME!!!
Overall: The Sheep is an excellent Creature. It looks cool, learns
fast, fights well... He’s the perfect Creature! Well, he does
have a minor problem with not eating right, but that can be
fixed by a good bout of training or even hand feeding if you
have the time. Pick the Sheep! It’s the best! (In case you
haven’t noticed, the Sheep is my favorite Creature)
13. Creature Name: Tiger
How to Unlock: Chosen at start of game
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: A tiger. Looks REALLY dumb when it's fat.
Appearance as Good: A lighter colored, shiny Tiger.
Appearance as Evil: A hunched over, vermilion tiger with big claws.
Dance: A break-dance!
Relative Strength: 7.5/10
Relative Speed: 8/10
Relative Intelligence: 0/10 (yes, 0/10)
Proficiency in Battle: He’s probably pretty good but I don’t like
the style. His moves have a pretty short delay but not enough
reach to be safely used. He does do quite a bit of damage,
though.
Proficiency out of Battle: OK, due to popular demand, I am updating
this. Apparently the Tiger isn’t so bad as I once thought.
I’ve received 40+ e-mails about why the Tiger is good (some
helpful and constructive, some not...) so I’ll say this. A
lot of people don’t like the Tiger because he’s too dumb.
Apparently, though, many say that he learns just as well
as the Ape. Though I must disagree with that, I admit he’s
not as bad as I said. He’ll only eat 1 or 2 Villagers before
getting the hint and if raised correctly will watch after
your towns. Well, tell that to my old Tiger!
Overall: I’m upgrading the Tiger to average. He’s pretty good in
battle and will usually listen if you want him to be good.
I guess it varies pretty badly, though, ‘cuz mine doesn’t do
anything I tell him. Best I can say if you want the Tiger is
good luck.
14. Creature Name: Tortoise
How to Unlock: Helping boy guide fish into net on Land 4
Natural Alignment: Good
Appearance as Neutral: An ordinary turtle.
Appearance as Good: A rainbow turtle.
Appearance as Evil: A spiky, dark red turtle. Yes, I know the difference
between a
turtle and a tortoise.
Dance: Another break dance (from what I've heard)
Relative Strength: 4/10
Relative Speed: 5/10
Relative Intelligence: 8/10
Proficiency in Battle: The Tortoise is one of the best fighters.
His attacks, though lacking brute strength, come out lightning
quick. Against smaller Creatures he has an overhead kick
which, if you want to be cheap, can be used over and over in
an infinite-hit combo. Against larger Creatures, he has a
sweep which is almost an infinite hit combo. The only real problem
is the slow dodging speed. You pretty much CAN'T dodge, though
this can be circumvented by quick blocking. If you wanna win
and don’t really care much about your own personal likes and
dislikes (or fun, for that matter), go with the Turtle.
Proficiency out of Battle: This is where the Turtle is SUPPOSED
to be good, but Lionhead gave him REALLY unbalanced moves so
basically he's great in both areas. The Turtle naturally watches
after Villages, impressing them, dancing, etc. He picks up Miracles
very quickly and trains pretty well. Only possible
problem is a low speed. Another *sigh* great point for the Turtle.
Overall: The Turtle, despite its weaknesses, is still pretty cheap. A lot
of people like it (and for good reason, the evil form looks pretty
cool)
and it's THE best battler. I recommend against it though. There's no
real reason,
I'm just tired of seeing Tortoises in multiplayer!
15. Creature Name: Wolf
How to Unlock: Hack him... lol
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: The best of the 3.. Looks like an omnipotent timber
wolf.
Appearance as Good: Eww... A purple chihuahua.
Appearance as Evil: A black doberman pinscer.
Dance: Break dance!
Relative Strength: 8.5/10
Relative Speed: 8/10
Relative Intelligence: 6/10
Proficiency in Battle: After working with my Wolf a bit more, it appears
he's actually a pretty good fighter. He has an excellent strength
stat and dodges with more agility than most Creatures (besides the
Horse). Avoid getting too close as it's dangerous. Instead stay at
medium range and use his sidekick move (aim for torso) or backflip
(aim for head). Also the Special Move is very useful for jumping
over sweeps and countering enemy Special Moves. He also has a swipe
move
which only works up close but is useful for pummeling a blocking
opponent.
Proficiency out of Battle: Average here. He learns miracles pretty
quickly and won’t eat villagers (unless you tell him to, but
that’s up to you...), but has a natural tendency to.. um..
kick things. Plus the good form looks terrible.
Overall: An above-average Creature overall. He’s still probably my
second-favorite, though. Now how about a normal Dog Creature?
C’mon, Lionhead, get it together! How could you leave out a
plain Dog when you have a Wolf?
16. Creature Name: Zebra
How to Unlock: Solve the Indian lady’s riddle in Land 2
Natural Alignment: Neutral (not too sure)
Appearance as Neutral: A zebra.
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Coming Soon
Dance: Irish tap dance
Relative Strength: 4.5/10
Relative Speed: 9.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 7.5/10
Proficiency in Battle: I think it’s just like the horse.
Proficiency out of Battle: Ditto.
Overall: It’s basically a horse clone. Whichever skin you like
best...
B. Creature Combat Tips
Always get stuck being hit over and over? Have a superior Creature
but just
can't seem to win any battles (like me :)? Well, fear no more Grasshopper! Here
are
a few tips on how to do better straight from the skull of The Masked Moogle.
-Always start the Battle off with a Fireball or Lightning Miracle. I usually
use Fireball
since the gesture is easier. There's really no defence against this for
the opponent
if you make sure to pull it off at the beginning stage where the camera is
swinging
around. Expect the opponent to do the same, though. If you get knocked out
of your
motion, don't worry, he'll catch fire later in the battle from being too
close to you.
-Don't queue up a huge sequence of moves. This is for 2 reasons: 1)If you're
facing an
inexperienced opponent, it's EXTREMELY annoying and will take all the fun
out of
the game for both of you. 2)If you're facing an experienced opponent they
can just
time a block/counterattack and knock you out of it. I usually keep my
queues to a max
of 3. Also, when you're making a queue if you want to add a sweep be
careful not to
accidentally click on the ground. With the camera constantly swinging
around in a Battle
this can be pretty difficult.
-Know your Creature's moves. If he has terrible range but attacks fast, stay in
close! If
he does a lot of damage but has a big delay on his attacks, then time your
hits until
you know you'll get it in. If your Creature's great at dodging, utilize
every opportunity
to sidestep and counterattack.
-Against human opponents and later Lands in the story mode it becomes very
important to
dodge. You can often get caught in a really annoying flurry of hits when
you block
and a well-timed dodge also allows a counterattack.
-NEVER FORGET TO HEAL! This can completely save you in a battle. If you're
getting your face
pounded in, try to get one lucky hit. When he's stunned take a couple
steps back and
do the Heal gesture. A lot of people have trouble pulling it off quickly;
just remember
this. Do one half of the heart, pause a second, and go up the other half.
It doesn't
even have to be very accurate.
That's about all I can think of at the moment. If anyone else can think of
another one,
don't hesitate to e-mail me! I love feedback! (well... all things in
moderation)
III. Concluding Notes
A. CONCLUSION: Well, that’s about it. It’s going to be updated as often as
I can get it,
so check back often. If there’s any other info you want added here, anything I
don’t know that
you do, any feedback, basically anything you have to say send it to me at:
vinedrai@hotmail.com
As I said earlier, this is my first FAQ, so any tips will be much appreciated.
I’ll be sure to put you in the credits section. Thanks!
B. CREDITS: Many thanks to:
Whatnoaaa for help with the Ape and its downsides.
Qualos for help with the Leopard and its downsides.
The Bear for telling me to add the dances, as well as info on the
Horse’s, Leopard’s, Bears', and Tiger’s dances.
Ryan Romaine for telling me the Cow’s dance.
Haveacigar for help with the Tiger’s good points.
Fallen Angel for help with the Tiger’s good points.
Ruel Flores for help with the Tiger’s good points.
Tim Morcus for “help” (if you’d call it that) with the Tiger’s good
points. From now on please, only CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.
Skeezik for help with the Tortoise's dance.
Darkwater40k for a tip to add the Appearances section.
fini
and
White
by The Masked Moogle
Contents:
I. Introduction
A. Version History
B. Disclaimer
C. Introduction
D. What is Black and White?
II. The Creatures
A. The Creatures
B. Creature Combat Tips
III. Concluding notes
A. Conclusion
B. Credits
I. Introduction
A. VERSION HISTORY:
-4/17/01 Well, Easter was fun, but now back to the grind. This time
around I
updated a few of the Creatures' and added the Rhino's Special. I
got a huge
tip about how the Creatures also have variations in their
dodging abiltiy,
so most of the Creatures are revamped. I've also added a
Creature Appearance
section to each Creature so people can geta rough idea of what
they look like.
Alternatively you can look around for screenshots, though due to
legal
constraints I can't give any web pages. I'm also looking into a
tip I got about how a Creature's
intelligence is separated into Miracle learning ability and
common
sense. If I figure anything out I'll put it in (any help is
appreciated).
-4/14/01 AHHHHHHH!! This time I received at least 30 e-mails about
how I was wrong with the Tiger. It's fixed already! Leave me
alone,
it's Easter:) Now that that's out of the way, in this release,
I've added
the Creature Combat tips section, added info on the Ogre and
Rhino,
and updated a few of the Creatures. Also fixed more of the
spacing and
tweaked the format a bit. I never knew people who write FAQ's
get this
much e-mail! Thanks for the feedback, anyway. Getting pretty
close to
a full version!
-4/13/01 Ahhh!! I received at least 6 e-mails about how I
was wrong on the Tiger, so I’ve updated that section.
Also added the Cow’s real dance. Working on the Ogre and
Rhino, expect those tomorrow. Prepped the rest of the
FAQ for this. It takes a while to get accurate stats on
most of the Creatures (but for some it’s obvious). And
added the Chimp's Proficiency out of Battle. Changed it
to a .txt format to fix the spacing problems. Lots of
work to do; thank goodness (or evilness, it is a Black
and White FAQ) it's a weekend.
-4/10/01 Decided to cheat a little bit and unlock the Wolf
via a cheat (the file hacking one). So I added the info
on him. Also updated the Tiger, Leopard, and Ape’s
combat ability. I’m considering adding the Ogre and
Rhino, but I don’t like cheating...
-4/9/01 Added Battle info on the Brown Bear and Polar Bear,
and the dance for the Gorilla.
-4/8/01 Added info on the Gorilla, updated the Mandrill and
the Ape, and added the Creature dances.
-4/6/01 The first release! Basically outlined the skeleton,
and added some base info. Expect more soon (like
tomorrow..?)
B. DISCLAIMER: You know the drill. You are not permitted to make copies of
this without
the author’s permission, sell it without written consent from the author, blah
blah blah...
So don’t do anything funny and no one gets hurt. I have a lawyer in the family!
C. INTRODUCTION: Well, this is my first attempt at an FAQ and I know it’s
doomed to fade
into obscurity, but what the heck, I might help a few people. This isn’t a
walkthrough or tips
on micromanagement or anything, it’s meant to give an overview of the
Creatures,
their abilities in battle, abilities as a town-manager, etc. If you need a
walkthrough or
general tips, RHagenstrцm has written an excellent one, or buy the guide. Well,
enough of that!
D. WHAT IS BLACK AND WHITE: This is another popular topic on the Message
Boards.
Black and White is basically a completely new kind of game. Some people call it
a strategy,
but then again some people call Shen Mue an RPG. Black and White is kind of a
cross between
a Sim- game, a Theme- game, Pokйmon, Dungeon Keeper, and a bunch of other
games. (Of course,
the thought comes to mind that you probably already know what the game is if
you’re reading
an “In-Depth FAQ”, but I’ll quit rambling now.) Put simply it’s a god
simulation. You are a god.
You can either manipulate and subvert your followers or be a benevolent,
kind god and feed and clothe them. Either way they worship you, that gives you
power to create
Miracles (like spells), you use your Miracles to get new worshippers, until you
get to the
enemy god’s Citadel and destroy him. However, you can’t operate unless people
“Believe” in you,
which you can make them do either by being kind or killing the odd Villager in
the middle of a
festival. To top it all off you get a Creature, which is where Pokйmon ties in.
Your Creature can do basically everything you do, but you have to train him to
do it.
He can change his appearance to match his Alignment (evil-good and everything
in between),
which doesn’t necessarily match yours (and often doesn‘t, as will be discussed
later).
He will also grow over time. When he first starts out he’ll only be a few times
bigger than a
Villager. But eventually he’ll be accidentally stepping on houses :~) There are
16 Creatures,
each with moderately different traits and very different appearances. Some are
better at
watching after your villages, some are better at burning them to the ground
(along with all the
Villagers), but just guide these guys into an enemy village...
Well, you probably get the point. Overall it’s an extremely fun and addicting
game, albeit with a few stability issues. But Lionhead is *supposedly*
releasing a patch soon which should fix some of that. As they say, “Onward and
outward!”
II. The Creatures
A. The Creatures
This is the real fun of the game. There are 16 different Creatures. These
are:
Ape Tortoise
Cow Zebra
Tiger Brown Bear
Leopard Polar Bear
Wolf Sheep
Lion Chimp
Horse Mandrill
Rhino Ogre
Another Creature that many people thought was in the game is the
Crocodile. This was
nixed in the early stages of development. It might be back, but as for now you
can't get it.
The Creatures are arranged below in alphabetical order. The basic format
is this:
Creature Name
How to Unlock
Natural Alignment
Appearance as Neutral:
Appearance as Good:
Appearance as Evil:
Dance
Relative Strength
Relative Out-Of-Battle Speed
Relative Intelligence
Proficiency in Battle
Proficiency out of Battle
Overall Notes
The Creature Name and How to Unlock are self-explanatory. The next point
is somewhat
controversial, but in my experiences it is pretty reliable. Natural Alignment
is basically
what your Creature is inclined to become, good or evil. So, basically, if you
left it alone
overnight with 0 training what alignment it would be in the morning. A lot of
people say it’s
random, but from what I’ve seen it stays constant for each creature. I believe
this is related
to whether it’s meant as an attacker or a defender. (By the way, this is just
my opinion, but
the perfect combination is a good Creature and an evil player. This way you can
skip all the
tedious micromanagement and concentrate on the fun stuff (killing!!) while your
Creature can
watch the towns without you having to worry. Of course, that’s just my opinion,
and some of the
evil Creatures look awesome.) The Appearances are self-explanatory.
The Dance is self-explanatory. The next points are relatively self-explanatory,
and are based
on a scale of 0-10. They are just my (and helpers’) speculation,not based on
the numbers from
the website or strategy guide. Note that these can change dramatically based on
your training
(besides intelligence, and some creatures’ limits are lower than others’).
Strength, for
instance, can be supplemented by carrying rocks around.
Speed is increased by running laps around the island. This doesn’t directly
raise the creature’s
speed, but lowers his fatness, which in turn raises the speed (but lowers his
battling ability).
Proficiency in Battle is based upon a number of factors. One, how strong he is
and how easily
he gains strength. Two, how quickly and how powerful his actual attacks come
off, and ease of
use in battle. These can be tough to judge, but I’ll do my best and any help is
welcome.
My e-mail’s at the end of the FAQ. Proficiency out of battle is based on how
quickly he learns,
how much he cares for the Villagers, how likely he is to wander off (partly
based on training,
but Creature has a factor in that too), etc. These won’t be numerical values,
but detailed
(as detailed as I can, anyway) descriptions. Finally, an overall view at the
Creature. Whew,
finally, you’re saying, the good stuff!
1. Creature Name: Ape
How to Unlock: Chosen at beginning of game
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: An orange monkey. Looks pretty neat when it's fat.
Appearance as Good: A happier orange monkey.
Appearance as Evil: A red and blue monkey.
Dance: A macarena looking thing
Relative Strength: 3/10
Relative Speed: 6.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 9/10
Proficiency in Battle: Not bad. The delay time on his moves is
average but the Special Move is excellent (almost an instant
hit). His Range is OK but he just isn’t strong enough for it
to be much use.
Proficiency out of Battle: May not be so good, as the Ape supposedly
has a tendency to wander off or be distracted and not feed
himself properly. However, he does learn pretty quickly, so it
might be a worthwhile trade-off.
Overall: The Ape is probably the best Creature to start off with if
you’re playing good. It learns miracles (and how to use them)
really quickly, which basically balances out any of its
personality problems.
2. Creature Name: Brown Bear
How to Unlock: Completion of “Pollution Clean-up” Challenge in Land5
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: A brown bear.
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Coming Soon
Dance: Disco Inferno! See the Winamp plug-in.
Relative Strength: 7/10
Relative Speed: 5.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 6.5/10
Proficiency in Battle: One of the best battlers. His moves look
surprisingly reminiscent of martial arts for a bear; I’d have
expected wrestling moves. I haven’t seen the Special Move, but
the rest seem pretty good.
Proficiency out of Battle: Slightly above average. He learns Miracles
at a moderate rate and if you train him a little he will watch
after your Villages. Really there aren't any glaring deficiencies
here.
Overall: An excellent all-around Creature. Pretty smart, very
strong, and great in battle. No real problems here.
3. Creature Name: Chimp
How to Unlock: Bring the witch in Land 3 a child
Natural Alignment: Neutral
Appearance as Neutral: Um.. A chimpanzee.
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Looks like a little gremlin. I imagine some of the more
mischievous
gods would like this.
Dance: A macarena looking thing
Relative Strength: 3.5/10
Relative Speed: 7/10
Relative Intelligence: 10/10
Proficiency in Battle: Put bluntly: terrible. He has a very short reach,
the moves have quite a bit of delay, and it's nearly impossible
to get him up to full strength. Probably THE worst.
Proficiency out of Battle: Probably THE best. He learns Miracles the
fastest of any Creature. He can pick up Water in 2 showings;
Water Increase in 4. He learns MegaBlast at 1% each time! If you
equip the Learning Leash while doing something, he'll always pick
it up after one try! What more do you want?!
Overall: Coming Soon
4. Creature Name: Cow
How to Unlock: Chosen at beginning of game
Natural Alignment: Good
Appearance as Neutral: A brown cow.
Appearance as Good: A black and white spotted cow.
Appearance as Evil: A red, bony, bull-looking animal.
Dance: A River Dance!
Relative Strength: 2.5/10
Relative Speed: 4/10
Relative Intelligence: 6/10
Proficiency in Battle: Coming Soon
Proficiency out of Battle: Pretty good. He's naturally nice to Villagers
and learns Miracles pretty decently. Plus the good form looks a lot
better than the evil.
Overall: Don’t be fooled by the low stats. Though the cow starts off
with low stats, he has the potential to increase rather
rapidly. This coupled with an above-average intelligence (and
inherent lovability) makes him a pretty good all-around
creature.
5. Creature Name: Gorilla
How to Unlock: Downloadable, then see Creature breeder in Land 1/4
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: Hmm... I dunno, this is a stumper. A gorilla, maybe?
Appearance as Good: Eww, it looks like a flower.
Appearance as Evil: A silverback! Looks pretty cool.
Dance: Disco Fevah!
Relative Strength: 8/10
Relative Speed: 6/10
Relative Intelligence: 3/10
Proficiency in Battle: The Gorilla’s a pretty good fighter. Besides
the inherent strength, its attacks are pretty good. They have
some delay but are powerful, long reaching, and will stun the
enemy, either knocking them to the side (aim for the legs, it’s
great for disorienting a human opponent), away, or stunning
them in place. Not to mention the very fast Special Move. An
excellent choice as a fighter.
Proficiency out of Battle: Below average. He learns miracles slowly,
won’t be very happy moping around the house, and has a knack
for over-eating; when the sheep runs out, bye-bye Villagers.
Keep him on the offense. Besides, the good incarnation looks
stupid.
Overall: One of the best fighters and attackers. Not too good as
a town-watcher though. A pretty good Creature overall.
6. Creature Name: Horse
How to Unlock: Downloadable, then see Creature breeder in Land 1/4
Natural Alignment: Good
Appearance as Neutral: A blue and grey horse.. Sorry, I'm not up to date on
my horse
breeds.
Appearance as Good: A unicorn with the same color scheme as the neutral
horse.
Appearance as Evil: An ugly, filthy, smelly donkey.
Dance: An Irish tap dance
Relative Strength: 4.5/10
Relative Speed: 9.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 7/10
Proficiency in Battle: The Horse isn’t really that good of a
fighter. His strength needs to be worked on pretty often to
keep it high, and his attacks aren’t very powerful. The Special
Move is a double kick with the hind legs, but the first kick
does no damage, so it’s much too slow to be of any use in a
fight. His other attacks come at a pretty average rate of
speed, but nothing special. Note he has a good sweep (target
legs at medium range) that can pretty easily be followed up
with a step forward and a few close-up attacks. He may be able
to hold his own against some of the Creatures, but it’ll take
work.
Proficiency out of Battle: This is where the Horse really shines.
After a little bit of training, you can let him off his leash
and he will wander about healing Villagers, supplying the
Village Store, all the while managing to keep himself in good
health. It’s perfect for leaving on overnight, if you have no
qualms about missing 10 years of your Creature’s life and/or
being a cheater.
Overall: The Horse is an excellent all-around Creature. It’s best if
used defensively, as its VERY high speed allows it to get from
Village to Village quickly, and he will automatically have a
caring and compassionate nature. Mediocre in a fight, it’s
probably best to teach him some good offensive miracles and
have him keep his distance from the enemy’s Creature. A great
choice overall, though, I don’t understand why it’s not more
popular.
7. Creature Name: Leopard
How to Unlock: Downloadable, then see Creature Breeder in Land 1/4
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: I need help on this one!
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon (I really do need help on this one..
seriously guys)
Appearance as Evil: Somewhat like a puma, but more evil looking.
Dance: A break-dance!
Relative Strength: 7.5/10
Relative Speed: 8/10
Relative Intelligence: 2/10
Proficiency in Battle: An excellent fighter. He has a pretty nice
reach on most of his moves (shoot for the back-flip, it’s
great). The Special Move, which is sort of like a jumping
slash, doesn’t go forward very far but can be used to jump over
sweeps if you know they’re coming (like if you’re fighting a
cheapo who does one move over and over).
Proficiency out of Battle: Avoid putting him in this role. He's not as
dumb as the Tiger (please don't e-mail me with insults over this
comment!), but still pretty dumb. He'll pick up Miracles very slowly
and won't take training very well. If you really want a good Leopard
it'll take quite a bit of work.
Overall: The strength and speed are enticing, but it simply isn’t
worth the lack on intelligence. But you could get around this
by training an earlier Creature and switching to him. Besides
the lack of Intelligence, a very effective Creature.
8. Creature Name: Lion
How to Unlock: Complete the Land 5 Lion Puzzle, where you must guide
a blind lion to its meal of mutton.
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: Beats me... a male lion, perhaps?
Appearance as Good: A happy male lion.
Appearance as Evil: An angry looking, evil male lion. (I say male because of
the mane.)
Dance: Coming Soon
Relative Strength: 8.5/10
Relative Speed: 7/10
Relative Intelligence: 6.5/10
Proficiency in Battle: Coming Soon
Proficiency out of Battle: Coming Soon
Overall: The lion is arguably the most powerful Creature. He learns
relatively fast, has an excellent Strength stat, and is pretty
fast. However, good luck getting him...
9. Creature Name: Mandrill
How to Unlock: Downloadable, then see Creature Breeder in Land 1/4
Natural Alignment: Neutral
Appearance as Neutral: A baboon! Well, actually, there's a difference
between a mandrill
and a baboon, but to keep it in layman's terms, I'll say baboon.
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Coming Soon
Dance: A macarena looking thing
Relative Strength: 5/10
Relative Speed: 6/10
Relative Intelligence: 5/10
Proficiency in Battle: Another average score. His attacks have a
delay, and don’t do too much damage, but they don’t do too
little damage either. The Special Move comes off very quickly
but is short range.
Proficiency out of Battle: Yet another average score. It'll take him
a little while to pick up Miracles but he trains rather well.
An all-around Creature.
Overall: Purely average. With work, though, he can become very
powerful (also looks pretty nice).
10. Creature Name: Ogre
How to Unlock: Hack him
Natural Alignment: Evil... very Evil
Appearance as Neutral: A one-eyed green bearded caveman.
Appearance as Good: A slightly taller one-eyed green bearded caveman.
Appearance as Evil: A slightly shorter one-eyed green bearded caveman (lazy
Lionhead).
Dance: From what I can tell, it's none. Apparently we aren't supposed to use
the Ogre.
When I had him dance for a crowd he just started shaking (stage fright
:). My guess
is that since the AI Ogres will never dance Lionhead felt no need to
program a dance.
If anyone else has had different results please tell me.
Relative Strength: 6/10
Relative Speed: 5.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 4/10
Proficiency in Battle: Pretty good. You can usually guess what he's going to
do because
most of the moves are natural human moves, which makes him pretty easy
to control.
I haven't tried the Special Move yet but some other useful ones are his
sweep (aim
for legs at medium range) and sidekick (aim for torso at medium range).
Also, I dunno
if this is just from lack of training, but when I took him into battle
and gave him
a command to attack he just shuffled back and forth for a few steps
before attacking.
Any more info would be appreciated (e-mail me and I'll send you a map
to switch to
him).
Proficiency out of Battle: Not so good. Mine would never be good. I'd leash
him to the
Town Center with the Compassion Leash and he'd just sit down ("Your
Creature has
nothing to do so he is sitting down.") Keep him on the offense. I
imagine he'd be
much happier kicking things in (like me :).
Overall: I'm still in the preliminary testing phase with this one. From what
I can tell
he's a pure offense Creature with average stats. Any assistance would
be much
appreciated.
10. Creature Name: Polar Bear
How to Unlock: Complete the boat Challenge in Land 1 and they’ll
get marooned on Land 5 complete with the Polar Bear.
Natural Alignment: Evil (not too sure)
Appearance as Neutral: A polar bear (for those who lost their memory since
buying Black and
White, it's a white brown bear)
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Coming Soon
Dance: Disco Inferno!
Relative Strength: 6.5/10
Relative Speed: 7/10
Relative Intelligence: 4/10
Proficiency in Battle: See Brown Bear
Proficiency out of Battle: See Brown Bear
Overall: Should be pretty much like the Brown Bear. I’ve only tested
him once, so any help would be appreciated.
11. Creature Name: Rhino
How to Unlock: Hack him until Lionhead releases a patch
Appearance as Neutral: A rinosirus! (Me smart.. ME WANT FOOD!!!)
Appearance as Good: It's light blue, it's happy... it's stupid!
Appearance as Evil: It's dark red, it's spiky... it's awesome!
Dance: Coming Soon
Natural Alignment: Coming Soon
Relative Strength: 7/10
Relative Speed: 6/10
Relative Intelligence: 1.5/10
Proficiency in Battle: He's basically a slower, more powerful Horse. Expect
the same
average moves but with MUCH more strength. Just never use the Special
Move; it's
useless.
Proficiency out of Battle: Coming Soon
Overall: These are preliminary estimations on my part. I've only used
him once and haven't had time to do extensive testing. Any help
would be much appreciated (e-mail me and I'll send you a map so
you can switch to him).
12. Creature Name: Sheep
How to Unlock: Complete the Sheep Challenge in Land 1
Natural Alignment: Good
Appearance as Neutral: A sheep/goat (depending on the fatness).
Appearance as Good: A golden lamb.
Appearance as Evil: THE MOST AWESOME CREATURE IN THE GAME!!!!! Picture
Resident Evil..
now picture that Lambchops puppet show! YES!!! YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!!
Dance: Coming Soon
Relative Strength: 3.5/10
Relative Speed: 6.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 7/10
Proficiency in Battle: Don’t be fooled by the low strength! The
sheep can bring it up fast, so don’t worry about that. As for
his moves, the Sheep rivals the big cats and the Turtle. His
Special Move comes off very quickly and is very powerful,
leaving the enemy stunned and wide open to a long-range low
kick. At close range he has a very effective jab which comes
off almost instantaneously. Just be careful not to click to low
and do the uppercut! Really, the sheep can stand up to just
about anything they can throw at you.
Proficiency out of Battle: Another strong point for the Sheep. A
pretty good intelligence stat means that this Creature will
learn miracles rather quickly, and learn to use them well too.
He’s naturally good and will watch after your Villagers without
you having to tell him. The Villagers love him, too! What’s
not to like? Oh, yeah, if you can, you should avoid letting
him go good. Put bluntly, THE EVIL SHEEP IS AWESOME!!!
Overall: The Sheep is an excellent Creature. It looks cool, learns
fast, fights well... He’s the perfect Creature! Well, he does
have a minor problem with not eating right, but that can be
fixed by a good bout of training or even hand feeding if you
have the time. Pick the Sheep! It’s the best! (In case you
haven’t noticed, the Sheep is my favorite Creature)
13. Creature Name: Tiger
How to Unlock: Chosen at start of game
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: A tiger. Looks REALLY dumb when it's fat.
Appearance as Good: A lighter colored, shiny Tiger.
Appearance as Evil: A hunched over, vermilion tiger with big claws.
Dance: A break-dance!
Relative Strength: 7.5/10
Relative Speed: 8/10
Relative Intelligence: 0/10 (yes, 0/10)
Proficiency in Battle: He’s probably pretty good but I don’t like
the style. His moves have a pretty short delay but not enough
reach to be safely used. He does do quite a bit of damage,
though.
Proficiency out of Battle: OK, due to popular demand, I am updating
this. Apparently the Tiger isn’t so bad as I once thought.
I’ve received 40+ e-mails about why the Tiger is good (some
helpful and constructive, some not...) so I’ll say this. A
lot of people don’t like the Tiger because he’s too dumb.
Apparently, though, many say that he learns just as well
as the Ape. Though I must disagree with that, I admit he’s
not as bad as I said. He’ll only eat 1 or 2 Villagers before
getting the hint and if raised correctly will watch after
your towns. Well, tell that to my old Tiger!
Overall: I’m upgrading the Tiger to average. He’s pretty good in
battle and will usually listen if you want him to be good.
I guess it varies pretty badly, though, ‘cuz mine doesn’t do
anything I tell him. Best I can say if you want the Tiger is
good luck.
14. Creature Name: Tortoise
How to Unlock: Helping boy guide fish into net on Land 4
Natural Alignment: Good
Appearance as Neutral: An ordinary turtle.
Appearance as Good: A rainbow turtle.
Appearance as Evil: A spiky, dark red turtle. Yes, I know the difference
between a
turtle and a tortoise.
Dance: Another break dance (from what I've heard)
Relative Strength: 4/10
Relative Speed: 5/10
Relative Intelligence: 8/10
Proficiency in Battle: The Tortoise is one of the best fighters.
His attacks, though lacking brute strength, come out lightning
quick. Against smaller Creatures he has an overhead kick
which, if you want to be cheap, can be used over and over in
an infinite-hit combo. Against larger Creatures, he has a
sweep which is almost an infinite hit combo. The only real problem
is the slow dodging speed. You pretty much CAN'T dodge, though
this can be circumvented by quick blocking. If you wanna win
and don’t really care much about your own personal likes and
dislikes (or fun, for that matter), go with the Turtle.
Proficiency out of Battle: This is where the Turtle is SUPPOSED
to be good, but Lionhead gave him REALLY unbalanced moves so
basically he's great in both areas. The Turtle naturally watches
after Villages, impressing them, dancing, etc. He picks up Miracles
very quickly and trains pretty well. Only possible
problem is a low speed. Another *sigh* great point for the Turtle.
Overall: The Turtle, despite its weaknesses, is still pretty cheap. A lot
of people like it (and for good reason, the evil form looks pretty
cool)
and it's THE best battler. I recommend against it though. There's no
real reason,
I'm just tired of seeing Tortoises in multiplayer!
15. Creature Name: Wolf
How to Unlock: Hack him... lol
Natural Alignment: Evil
Appearance as Neutral: The best of the 3.. Looks like an omnipotent timber
wolf.
Appearance as Good: Eww... A purple chihuahua.
Appearance as Evil: A black doberman pinscer.
Dance: Break dance!
Relative Strength: 8.5/10
Relative Speed: 8/10
Relative Intelligence: 6/10
Proficiency in Battle: After working with my Wolf a bit more, it appears
he's actually a pretty good fighter. He has an excellent strength
stat and dodges with more agility than most Creatures (besides the
Horse). Avoid getting too close as it's dangerous. Instead stay at
medium range and use his sidekick move (aim for torso) or backflip
(aim for head). Also the Special Move is very useful for jumping
over sweeps and countering enemy Special Moves. He also has a swipe
move
which only works up close but is useful for pummeling a blocking
opponent.
Proficiency out of Battle: Average here. He learns miracles pretty
quickly and won’t eat villagers (unless you tell him to, but
that’s up to you...), but has a natural tendency to.. um..
kick things. Plus the good form looks terrible.
Overall: An above-average Creature overall. He’s still probably my
second-favorite, though. Now how about a normal Dog Creature?
C’mon, Lionhead, get it together! How could you leave out a
plain Dog when you have a Wolf?
16. Creature Name: Zebra
How to Unlock: Solve the Indian lady’s riddle in Land 2
Natural Alignment: Neutral (not too sure)
Appearance as Neutral: A zebra.
Appearance as Good: Coming Soon
Appearance as Evil: Coming Soon
Dance: Irish tap dance
Relative Strength: 4.5/10
Relative Speed: 9.5/10
Relative Intelligence: 7.5/10
Proficiency in Battle: I think it’s just like the horse.
Proficiency out of Battle: Ditto.
Overall: It’s basically a horse clone. Whichever skin you like
best...
B. Creature Combat Tips
Always get stuck being hit over and over? Have a superior Creature
but just
can't seem to win any battles (like me :)? Well, fear no more Grasshopper! Here
are
a few tips on how to do better straight from the skull of The Masked Moogle.
-Always start the Battle off with a Fireball or Lightning Miracle. I usually
use Fireball
since the gesture is easier. There's really no defence against this for
the opponent
if you make sure to pull it off at the beginning stage where the camera is
swinging
around. Expect the opponent to do the same, though. If you get knocked out
of your
motion, don't worry, he'll catch fire later in the battle from being too
close to you.
-Don't queue up a huge sequence of moves. This is for 2 reasons: 1)If you're
facing an
inexperienced opponent, it's EXTREMELY annoying and will take all the fun
out of
the game for both of you. 2)If you're facing an experienced opponent they
can just
time a block/counterattack and knock you out of it. I usually keep my
queues to a max
of 3. Also, when you're making a queue if you want to add a sweep be
careful not to
accidentally click on the ground. With the camera constantly swinging
around in a Battle
this can be pretty difficult.
-Know your Creature's moves. If he has terrible range but attacks fast, stay in
close! If
he does a lot of damage but has a big delay on his attacks, then time your
hits until
you know you'll get it in. If your Creature's great at dodging, utilize
every opportunity
to sidestep and counterattack.
-Against human opponents and later Lands in the story mode it becomes very
important to
dodge. You can often get caught in a really annoying flurry of hits when
you block
and a well-timed dodge also allows a counterattack.
-NEVER FORGET TO HEAL! This can completely save you in a battle. If you're
getting your face
pounded in, try to get one lucky hit. When he's stunned take a couple
steps back and
do the Heal gesture. A lot of people have trouble pulling it off quickly;
just remember
this. Do one half of the heart, pause a second, and go up the other half.
It doesn't
even have to be very accurate.
That's about all I can think of at the moment. If anyone else can think of
another one,
don't hesitate to e-mail me! I love feedback! (well... all things in
moderation)
III. Concluding Notes
A. CONCLUSION: Well, that’s about it. It’s going to be updated as often as
I can get it,
so check back often. If there’s any other info you want added here, anything I
don’t know that
you do, any feedback, basically anything you have to say send it to me at:
vinedrai@hotmail.com
As I said earlier, this is my first FAQ, so any tips will be much appreciated.
I’ll be sure to put you in the credits section. Thanks!
B. CREDITS: Many thanks to:
Whatnoaaa for help with the Ape and its downsides.
Qualos for help with the Leopard and its downsides.
The Bear for telling me to add the dances, as well as info on the
Horse’s, Leopard’s, Bears', and Tiger’s dances.
Ryan Romaine for telling me the Cow’s dance.
Haveacigar for help with the Tiger’s good points.
Fallen Angel for help with the Tiger’s good points.
Ruel Flores for help with the Tiger’s good points.
Tim Morcus for “help” (if you’d call it that) with the Tiger’s good
points. From now on please, only CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.
Skeezik for help with the Tortoise's dance.
Darkwater40k for a tip to add the Appearances section.
fini