Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince's four-monster synthesis, story, and Reverse Search detailed

■ Grandparents Matter! Create Rare Creatures with Four-Monster Synthesis!

With less than a week to go until Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince releases on Friday 1st December, we’re taking this opportunity to reveal a special way of synthesizing rare monster types. It’s called “four-monster synthesis” and requires a little long-term planning, with players needing to keep track of a monster’s grandparents. Finding these four-monster combinations could prove decisive in battles against other monster wranglers.

Example of Four-Monster Synthesis

Four-monster synthesis creates a new monster based not on the parents, but on the child monster’s grandparents. If the four grandparent monsters meet the requirements, they can combine to create a rare monster regardless of what the child’s parents are. This four-monster synthesis uses two canniboxes, a well wisher and a bag o’ tricks—all monsters from the material family—which combine via their offspring to create a mimic.

■ Gear Up for Release with New Story Information!

Our adventure begins in the town of Rosehill, where monsters and dwarfs live in harmony. Psaro has been cursed by his father, the Master of Monsterkind, and is unable to harm any creature of monster blood. So to achieve his goal of ruling over the monster realm, Psaro must become a monster wrangler, befriending monsters and commanding them to fight in his stead.

While still in Rosehill, Monty, a father-figure to Psaro, will ask a series of questions which will determine which of a selection of four monsters you’ll start your adventure with. If you don’t get the monster you want first time, fear not, as you can simply start the questions over.

Monsters You Can Start With

—Platypunk

A scheming monster from the beast family. The Naturalist talent provides it with abilities to weaken opponents.

—Fright Bulb

A plant-like monster from the slime family. The Soothesayer talent enables it to cast a variety of healing and support spells.

—Mud Mannequin

A monster in the material family that’s made of mud. It can learn a range of dances from the Dancer talent.

—Cruelcumber

An animated vegetable from the nature family. The Blowy Slasher talent teaches it wind-elemental spells and abilities.

Before Psaro can become a fully fledged monster wrangler, he needs training, and that’s where Fizzy comes in. Listen to her words of wisdom as you traverse the plains of the human world, fighting the local monsters and gaining valuable experience.

—Fizzy: The Effervescent Expert of Monster Wrangling.

—1. As the seasons change, keep an eye out for differences in the environment. The sparkling seasonal sprites will indicate where an item or environmental change will appear.

—2. Many monsters will only come out during a specific season. Explore the plains again after completing your basic training to see if you missed any monsters first time round.

With his training complete, Psaro returns to Rosehill where Monty suggests he visit the Endor Colosseum to test his new skills in a Monster Megabrawl. See if you can emerge victorious in the Category G and F tournaments!

—Win three consecutive matches to be crowned champion of a category. You can’t issue orders during a match, so be sure to set your tactics beforehand.

—Spells like Sizz and Woosh are great for damaging all your enemies at once, but restorative spells like Heal, which can be learned from talents such as Willing Helper and Aquapothecary, are key to surviving.

—Rose: A Kind-Hearted Elven Girl

—Winning Category G will lead to a chance encounter with the elven girl Rose.

Rose possesses a special ability that enables Psaro to reach the monster realm of Nadiria. The first place the pair visit is the lower echelon of the Circle of Conquest, where monsters from the demon and undead families run amok. In the distance looms an ominous building, the Maulosseum, where Nadiria’s greatest monster wranglers congregate to do battle. Does Psaro have the mettle to compete with monsterkind’s best?

—Towards the central region of this Circle you’ll find the lumbering lizard, a monster that’s considerably stronger than others in the area. You’ll have a better chance of defeating this powerful foe once you’re a little stronger yourself.

—Once Psaro becomes champion of Category G in the Maulosseum, his reputation in the lower echelon of the Circle of Conquest will grow and the local monsters will become easier to scout.

Monsters of the Circle of Conquest, Lower Echelon

—Lunatick

—Lumbering Lizard

—Skeleton

—Ghost

—Putrefido

With the Maulosseum behind him, Psaro continues on his quest. The adventure has only just begun!

—Find new monsters with the Reverse Search feature!

When you return to Rosehill after conquering Category G at the Maulosseum, you’ll gain access to the Altar of Amalgamation where monster synthesis takes place. From there, you can use the Reverse Search feature to find monsters you’ve yet to encounter in the wild and discover the combinations needed to synthesize them. Keep this handy feature in mind when you’re looking to grow your roster.