EEEEEEEEEEE NNNNNNNNN EEEEEEEEEE VV VV OOOO LL UU UU TTTTTTT II OOOO NNNNNNNNNN __________ VV VV OO OO LL UU UU ------- -- OO OO NNN NNNN EEEEEEEEEE VV VV OO OO LL UU UU TTT II OO OO NNN NNNN EEEEEEEEEE VVVV OO OO LL UU UU TTT II OO OO NNN NNNN EEEEEE VV OOOO LLLLL UUUU TTTTTTT II OOOO NNN NNNN EEEEEEEEEE NNN NNNN EEEEEEEEEEE -THE WORLD OF SACRED DEVICE- NNN NNN by: Jonothon Ortiz date: 12/30/99 - v.1.0 01/02/00 - v.1.1 (3 days ahead of schedule!!) 01/03/00 - v.2.0 (minor revision but Important!) 01/05/00 - v.3.0 (finished dungeon boss strategies + weaknesses!) 01/05/00 - v.3.1 (minor update) 01/09/00 - v.3.2 (added more boss strategies + 1 dungeon tip) 01/10/00 - v.3.3 (infinte naolin gold and a long overdue TP tip) 01/28/00 - v.3.4 (final finished version) 07/06/01 - v.3.5 (updated email address) email: sidephase@therealms.net *************** SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THE READERS well guys, apart from FLOODING my box(!!!ROFL-my email providers weren't happy with the volume of mail I received!!) EVERYONE of you helped in some small way to either finishing this general FAQ or with each of the supplemental FAQs. I'd like to thank you very much for your show of support for this FAQ, being the first one I've ever written. AS far as future FAQs, I still have Pepper, Gre, and Chain so I'm not done yet!! PLUS there are STILL a ton of items left! I still haven't been able to sort out all the emails of items and artifacts so as soon as that's done ;) I will not respond to anymore emails on this general FAQ unless it's something that I outright missed due to time constraints =o( but emails with 'thanks' and support are always welcome and greatly appreciated =o) Most important, above all the support everyone showed me, was Jesus Christ - whom I would not have been able to make this FAQ with. Praise and thanks to you =) *************** This FAQ can currently be found at: http://www.gamefaqs.com <---Always the first to get updated! http://www.xcheater.com <---Regularly updated! http://www.gameadvice.com <---Regularly updated! or http://vgstrategies.about.com or http://www.gamewinners.com http://dreamcastdomain.cjb.net If it's not from these sites then someone hasn't read my COPYRIGHT information! *special note: cheatcc.com, thanx for emailing me to use this FAQ and *then never putting it up nor letting me know that you weren't going to *use it after all ;) if it was a simple homepage but sheeeeeeshhh..... *SO, for everyone else out there, it's fine if you don't want to use it *but please don't email me telling me that you ARE going to and then *not use it without letting me know - I do go to the sites that use *this FAQ to check up on it and make sure it's being used properly. *And I know that I am not the only one. *We write the FAQs for everyone's use and we all enjoy doing it. *Please don't take advantage of that by leading us in a wild goose *chase - Thanks ;) *************** v.3.4 -finished everything and am going to work on the supplemental FAQs v.3.3 -added 'infinte naolin gold' -added 1 "Enhancing Character" tip -updated copyright & credits v.3.2 -added some suggested 'quick beat' exp. levels on boss strategies (marked with a *-from stevenc@vt.edu and crunyon@naxs.net- thanks for the input guys!) -added a new tip in the dungeon tips ;) v.3.1 -added some information to Monograptus v.3.0 -fixed version updates in this section (chuckle!) -added 7 new tips -updated ALL boss strategies v.2.0 -added an IMPORTANT new dungeon tip -added 3 boss strategies v.1.1 -added 6 new tips -fixed definition for "BILL" -added references to upcoming FAQs -updated boss strategies -updated copyrights *************** I don't know about the rest of the US gamers, but the JIP versions FAQs of EVOLUTION were a bit off and didn't explain certain situations well. This FAQ was written for the US version of EVOLUTION and assumes you have an understanding of how the game works and how to do the basics. This FAQ does -NOT- cover dungeons since each dungeon when described by Nina are self-explanatory for what type of element (fire, ice, water, earth) you will be going up against and since the dungeon layouts for each level are completely random, as well as what items you receive in them. BTW, the US version is considerably harder in some areas than the JIP version. *************** Index: 1- Introduction to Evolution 2- Character outline and intro's 3- Secrets and tips 4- Boss Strategies 5- Copyright Information & Credits *************** =======////////////// Introduction to Evolution Evolution is the first US RPG (yayyyy!) for the Dreamcast. In this world, there had been a cataclysmic war several centuries back in which civilization had to rebuild itself out of. As the centuries moved on, civilization thrived but the technology that exsists is a pale shadow to what was before the war. "The Society" is the scientific and research global group that has formed to try to recapture the lost technology and improve (or fix) what parts of the ancient technology they still have. The most common of the ancient technologies that is still successfully in use are the Cyframes. The Cyframes are bionic attachments (whether or not neurological remains to be seen) that enhance the user greatly. Those who own and use cyframes are "Adventurers"; the Adventurers are responsible for going into ruins and dungeons in order to find relics for the Society to study. In this world you play as Mag Launcher, the head and last surviving (?) member of the once-famous Launcher Family, whose adventuring exploits and discoveries are now marred by a lot of debt to the Society. Mag lives with his caretaker, Gre Nade, and with Linner, his companion. Gre has been in the service of the Launcher family for decades but Linnear is a girl that showed up at Mag's doorstep with a note from Mag's father telling him to protect Linnear. That note was the last Mag heard from his father after his parent's last adventure. =======////////////// Character outline and intro's 1. Mag Launcher Mag is the hero of the game. He uses a Hand cyframe that's capable of anything with the right part attached to it. His strength is in his defense capabilities so you usually want to keep him in the middle line (more on this in "Secrets and Tips"; more about MAG in my in-depth FAQ for Mag Launcher). 2. Linnear Cannon Linnear is the game's heroine. She does not use a cyframe but has a lot of battle techniques, such as first-aid and status-change. She is the weakest of the bunch so ALWAYS keep her in the back line. (more on Linnear in my in-depth FAQ for Linnear Cannon) 3. Chain Gun Chain is the only offspring of the Gun family. She uses a sword cyframe that's capable of a lot of damage if upgraded and has the right parts attached to it. Keep'er in the middle. 4. Gre Nade Gre is Mag's butler and caretaker. He does not use a cyframe but uses a VERY cool rifle (every hit looks like a sniper hit!). His battle techniques involve variations of an axe kick (the Spirit Attacks). Gre is EXTREMELY useful because he can also modify and (temporarly) upgrade Cyframes in BATTLE. VERY useful. He also has limited first-aid and a lot of nice status changes. Can go anywhere 5. Pepper Box Pepper is an experienced adventurer that Mag runs into during his relic hunting. She uses a cannon cyframe (which becomes weaker as the game goes on =o( ] but has EXCELLENT attack techniques, two of which use all her Fighting Points into a mega attack (i've personally scored over 10,000 points off a boss using this plus Gre's "Maximum Upgrade"). Back/Middle line. =======////////////// Secrets and tips ---Character Tips 1. Mag's Hand cyframe is the most useful out of all the cyframes; he can literally do anything with it. Always keep Mag with the most udpated cyframe and you more than likely may find more attachments to Mag's hand than for any of the others so always keep Mag with the most slots (so far I have found 8 parts for Mag's Hand!) 2. Linnear only has 3 actual damage-inflicting techniques: the pain, exploding, and mega boom box. Use the TP to get these attachs asap AFTER she has received at least half of her first-aid techniques. 3. Both Gre and Pepper have the least amount of damage reduction when they attack from the back line. Use this to your advantage when fighting bosses! 4. Chain has 2 very good attacks that can wipe out heavy numbers of enemies or at least knock their life down so low they will be easy to kill: the V-blade and the X-blade. Both of these attachs are part of the BLADE cyframe attachment. Each attack allows Chain to hit enemies in a "V" area or in an "X" area for a relative low amount of FP. (Both attacks allow up to 6 targets) 5. Mag will eventually find a "Steal" hand attachment; power it up because it can take FP from an enemy and pass it around the team. It can also kill an enemy in one hit using the "Two birds with one stone" technique ;) 6. It's better to heal using Linnear during a battle than using an item. Just make sure that you refill her FP asap. 7. Study your special skills well and know what you are using and why. If you can do this you can even beat the bosses while being at very low levels. 8. Each character can place themselves in either the front (line 1), middle (line 2), or the back (line 3). Line1 gives you more attack but less defense, Line2 gives you average, Line3 boosts your defense but lowers your attack. Learning to place a character within a specific rank a lot of times can make the difference between losing and winning. ---Enhancing Characters 1. "Boosters" are cyframe attachments that enhance anything from attack to agility by anywhere from +5 to +72. You won't find a +72 until you've paid off your debt but you will find anything up to +57 (or at least I have) so keep looking! (note: I will have a Booster Techniques FAQ up soon) 2. ALWAYS explore a dungeon more than once. You will ALWAYS find new and better items each time. 3. Equiptment found in dungeons tend to be stronger than the ones you buy. If you are full of items, throw away stuff you won't need like fire balls or ice balls. 4. Some artifacts can be processed into new itmes for Mag and the others to use. Linnear is the one that has the most advantage from this; her weapon upgrades usually come from finding insect shells. Early in the game (first dungeon!) you should be able to upgrade it from getting the shell from a Millipede (or any other shelled insect). 5. Always sell extra armor and items. This is another great way for earning money for enhancements. 6. Make sure you've equipped to the max your characters and have stored away any extra items you may need for future use (REMEMBER: STORE 3 ANTI-POISON ARMOR OR ACCESSORY THAT GRE, CHAIN, AND PEPPER CAN AT LEAST USE ONE OF [i.e. one article for each]) 7. Whichever characters you do not have with you while you are in the dungeon also accumulate TP. Check back with them often and update their skills list. If you are responsible with this you will get their skills quickly. If you don't then they are going to reach their 9999 TP maximum value and will NOT be able to gain more TP. Usually, after one or two dungeon trips is a good time to check on them. Can you imagine having someone sit there with 9999TP for about 2 hours when they could have had 9999 TP 3 times in the same amount of time??? So CHECK UP! ;) (*reminded to add this tip by adam_stern@yahoo.com and I'll admit to being * a bit slow on this I knew this tip wayyyy back in version 1.0...but * I actually thought this was in the Evolution instruction booklet * (which probably also tells you that I only read the little booklet once * ...maybe =X LOL) and did not put it in because of that. Sorry folks!) ---Item Tips 1. Keep any Naolin or Mannolin "Royal" or higher. You can't buy these and they are hard to come across. 2. IF you find a Rare Item named "Green Moss" HOLD IT FOR THE VERY LAST BOSS! It will refill your FP (perfect for Pepper's "Pepper Flash" Attack!) +this is a rare item. 3. The "Suspicious Rag" artifact will give you an accessory named "BILL" which prevents blocking and keeps one from being affected by spells. 4. Save at least 3 anti-poision accessories or armor for the very last boss. Make sure that Mag, Pepper, Chain, or Gre can each use at least 1 of the 3 anti poison accessories. 5. Always keep at least one or two items that can get rid of ANY status effect and two Red Vipers for Linnear. 6. Once you pay off your debt Nina will give you a +72 Attach Booster ;) 7. After the last dungeon, remove all items from Linnear that can be of use to another character. You won't be using her again after that point. 8. The quality of items in each dungeon (i beleive) also has to do with how long you've spent inside the dungeon and how many levels you have. 9. In case you haven't found it yet, there is a door directly to the right of the staircase when you enter Mag's house; inside this door is a storeroom. You can store any extra items (up to 100!) inside it. MUCH later on you can do the same with the seaplane. 10. The more items you process in the Society, the more items and rare items you will find. 11. Infinite Naolin Gold! In the last level of the game, inside the infirmary with only one soldier laid out on the bed there will be a medical cabinet which will allow you to take as many Naolin Golds as you want! Also, check the boxes in front of the medical cabinet for an item ;) ---Dungeon Tips 1. IMPORTANT!!!! The dungeon you pick at the beginning influences which dungeon gets blocked off by the 8th Imperial Army as the game progresses. That also may mean (unverified) that certain items you will NOT get in the game until AFTER you beat the game, when the extra blocked-off dugneon becomes selectable. 2. Each creatures' infliction of damage depends directly to what level MAG and ONLY MAG is. The stronger MAG is, the stronger the creature is going to be. 3. Pay attention to the order of 'wait time' between your next character and enemies. If you beat an enemy inbetween two characters you will speed up the wait time of the character below the enemy. 4. You can NOT go down a floor. Make sure you COMPLETELY finish the map for each floor to make sure that you've found EVERYTHING. (thanks to ensollfisk@hotmail.com for bringing this up! =o) ) 5. You've got about 3 seconds to sneak up behind an enemy who's spotted you. They will usually just sit there and wave their arms or tail or whatever. Circle around them and catch them from behind. 6. Traps "CAN" be your friend; some replenish health,FP, or Make Monsters Weaker. The beneficial traps can only be found by walking everywhere or by using the Trap Search item. They are always grey and have a circular symbol that looks like a chinese coin (beneficial trap detection submitted by Dragon9@ix.netcom.com) However, most do cause Darkness, Confusing, Damage, Alert all Monsters, Strengthen all Monsters, or Warp to Another Area. 7. If an alarm sounds in a room full of monsters, WATCH YOUR BACK! 8. Warp out if you're full of items. Upon returning, go back a floor or two and see if any new stuff shows up ;) 9. Always save before fighting the boss. That way, if you loose you can start in the same room which will have a warp out of the dungeon. 10. Some bosses have attacks that hit one whole line. Find out which line they attack and keep your party off that line. 11. Inside the "Blind Ruins" dungeon there are mechaphoebas; these monsters are very strong if you are less than 60 levels and will warp away if they see you. However, they give you 712 (or 718, 732) experience points each. To catch them, you can do one of two things. a. stockpile on Chameleon Colors so you can sneak up on them. b. use a Thermo Search to see where it's going and try to catch it. In battle pay attention to where it is in it's line and wait time. They tend to run away so kill it as soon as possible. If it's right after Linnear and is on the back line it will more than likely run so use one of Linnear's music techniques to lure it one line forward. Multiple Mecahphoebas have not tried to run away from me yet. 12. Cyframe upgrades for attachments can be expensive after the second upgarde. Try to find as many antiques and relics as possible. 13. When you are inside Eugene's ship, there will be three areas with enemies that you can kill repeatedly: the guard that runs away to the wall, one in the emergency room, and the room with four guards laying on the beds around the mess hall area. If you are low on EXP.Levels keep attacking these; especially since every other soldier you meet will NOT come back, even if you exit and re-enter the level. 14. The game is NOT over after you beat it; new levels await. =======////////////// Boss Strategies *Correction: each bosses' infliction of damage depends directly to what level MAG and ONLY MAG is. The stronger MAG is, the stronger the boss is going to be. *I've had an email report that a gamer has been in a different dugeon name and boss than those listed here. It could be possible that the dungeon that the 8th army occupies is also random. If this is verified I'll update this section and give credit to the emailer who verified it and the person who asked me about it =o) ^the above rumour has been verified by me. Please see "Dungeon Tips" -this was first reported to me as a possible 'game glitch' by Bolt Kicker (X-tremeboy@gamerplanet.com) *I am lining up the bosses out of memory from which dungeon I fought them in. Any corrections (if any) ARE aprpeciated. I am still not sure if bosses are random in each dungeon. ***NOTE: The Descent Ruins level was picked from a new game. I still have -NOT- verified ANY rumour about random bosses. Also, I tried my hardest to get in and out of that dungeon as quickly as possible so my level for beating the boss in the first dungeon may or may not be a good idea to follow. In the first game I played, this dungeon was blocked by the 8th Imperial Army. Descent Ruins :Monograptus :weakness: Mag's ROCK Parts and a lil' of that good'ol Water & Ice ;) -----================ can cause blindness, strong normal attack, a wicked lightning bolt attack and a boomerang gear. If you have found the Lightning Blade for Chain make sure she's equiped with it. Mag better have his Thunder Shield ready too. When the screen says "Monograptus is recharging" he's getting ready for a lightning bolt attack. To neutralize it, move everyone to the middle line and try to keep'em off the back line, where the Lightning attack hits. Monoraptus also has decent defense so be ready for a tough battle. >> I was at level 11..I do NOT recomend this level; try being at 23; I barely got out of the fight intact. Chain was down to 1/6 of her life and Linnear was dead...LOL AND, of course, Chain took 2k out of my pay (sigh) so go with Gre >>can be beaten as low as 9 Heaven Ruins :Rafflesian :weakness: LIGHTNING -----================ this boss will try to suck you in if you are on the front line for damage. Use the "Moving Hands" parts if you have it to manuever people out of the way and concentrate your heavy attacks on the boss. Use Linnear to heal ONLY and to attack if she needs to replenish FP. If you don't have the "Moving Hands" keep moving characters away from the front. This one was my first boss. >>I was around level 23 >>can be beaten as low as 9* Shade Ruins :Shadenischus :weakness: ICE -----================ kinda tough. It can nail your whole back row for damage using an ice attack. Also it has a targeting attack that can take off mega damage. This one was my second boss. >>I was around level 37 >>can be beaten as low as 20 Sheol Ruins :Pannam Aohitori :weakness: ICE -----================ this one is EXTREMELY tough. Whenever it flaps its wings with that powder it's defense goes up so you want to drop it's defense often. The middle(?) line gets hit with a spray that can cause confusion so be prepared for that. It also has a flying attack that can take of heavy damage. This was my third boss >>I was around level 60 >>can be beaten as low as 35 Blind Ruins :Mandasks :weakness: LIGHTNING -----================ it's a sea monster with no arms and a bolt on his forehead. He can crush everyone with a flip attack (Total Crush) for mega damage and has an earthquake attack. He also has a standard attack and a paralyzing attack. I saved this one for last and was MEGA tough. >>I was around level 87 >>can be beaten around level 50* Eugene type One :the dork of the game ;): -----================ He has a special sword attack that can inflict major damage and seems to have an endless supply of Minnalonin 3000, which gives him 3000 HP back. Kill the soldiers sorrounding him as soon as possible and concentrate your heavy attacks on him. Watch out for his status change attack and for him to increase his levels! I found Pepper and her Suction Cannon incredibly useful for Eugene; if he pumps himself up use her Defense Suction technique; it will drain his defense and give it to Pepper. Be quick to use whatever status enhancements you give your characters (Max Cyframe Level, etc. etc.) because Eugene Type One also has a large "Ancient Eye" collection. (Ancient Eye will remove any and all status changes, good or bad, to each character.) Another trick is his Pistol Attack; this one is another Damaging move but takes a bit longer for him to use (two turns or so). He is quick also so try to slow down his wait time. When you beat Eugene Type One you receive the "Apple Grass" - save it for Eugene Type two. And yes, this does mean that you can go back to the Sea Otter to replenish your life and store/retrieve any extra items plus raise levels. >>I was on level 93 >>can be beaten around level 55* Eugene Type Two :dork type two: -----================ man O man do I HOPE you've saved those anti-poison articles!!!! Eugene Type Two is Eugene inside what looks like a generic E-Frame ripoff. However, while in that exo-suit, he is QUITE powerful. He has 3 deadly attacks - a slash with his claw, a "Beat Up" attack in which your character is picked up and thoroughly smashed, and his "Rolling Gun" attack, which hits everyone for damage AND causes a pretty strong poison. If you have the anit-poison stuff you should be fine; otherwise, you're in for a long haul of a fight. I will have to suggest (altho I don't like to; each gamer is different) the team of Pepper, Gre, and Mag. Mag will be able to take Linnear's place with the healing and with the "Steal Hand" he can steal FP from Eugene Type Two and pass it around. Gre will be able to enhance each character so they do more damage and will be able to revive Mag (or anyone else; altho make sure that Mag has been given a fresh "Wake-UP Call" from Gre so he will recover from dead with 100% life!) Pepper, for a change, is going to be your main attacker. Make sure she can refill her FP quickly (either by using Gre or an Item) so she can use her "Pepper Flash" attack on Eugene. Of course, outfit her with the highest Attack Boosters when you get there. >>I was on level 95 >>>can be beaten around level 60* =======////////////// Copyright Information & Credits ---Credits +My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for saving me from the pit of hell. John 3:16 is more than just a football phrase folks; read more about Jesus and how He can save you and change your live at: http://chick.com +My loving gift from God, my Fiancee Carla for putting up with all the time I gave this game while she was visiting. Thanks Honey! +RoadDoggJJ5585 for playing certain sections ofthe game while I was doing schoolwork and for using the V-Blade and X-Blade effectively - thanks man! +UBI Soft, E.S.P., and Sting for creating such a great game. Keep up the good work and keep steering RPGs from the lameness that is magic! +This information was written by Jonothon Ortiz on Dec. 30, 1999 - 2000, out of PURE FRUSTRATION AT THE TOTAL LACK OF DECENT FAQs FOR THE US VERSION OF EVOLUTION! ---Copyright Information +This FAQ is copyright 1999-2000 by Jonothon Ortiz. +No reprinting or copying of this FAQ for profit is allowed unless prior contact is made and an agreement is reached. +You MAY freely pass out this FAQ as LONG AS IT IS NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM FOR NON-PROFIT USAGE AND I AM AT LEAST EMAILED ABOUT WHERE IT"S GOING TO BE! +You MAY use sections of this FAQ within your FAQ as LONG AS YOU GIVE ME CREDIT FOR WHATEVER AREA THIS FAQ HELPED YOU WITH YOUR FAQ! (also, contact me if you did use it and I will add your name to the bottom of this FAQ as a reference to your FAQ.) + The name "EVOLUTION" and subtitle "THE WORLD OF SACRED DEVICE", all names used for respective game characters, and all other names used are copyrighted by UbiSoft, Sting, and E.S.P.