Okay, here’s a lengthy article diving deep into the introduction and first steps of Azure Dreams (PS1), focusing on a walkthrough perspective. This will cover the initial setup, town exploration, basic monster-catching mechanics, and the first few floors of the Monster Tower.
Azure Dreams (PS1) Walkthrough: Introduction & First Steps – Scaling the Heights of Fortune
Azure Dreams, a unique blend of rogue-like dungeon crawling, monster collecting, and town-sim elements, captivated players on the original PlayStation. It presents a surprisingly deep and addictive experience, hidden beneath a charming, albeit simplistic, exterior. This walkthrough aims to guide you through the crucial introductory phase of the game, ensuring you’re well-equipped to tackle the challenges of the Monster Tower and build a prosperous life in Monsbaiya.
Part 1: Welcome to Monsbaiya – The Town of Beginnings
The game opens with a beautifully animated cutscene introducing Koh, our protagonist, and his father, Guy, a legendary monster tamer who ventured into the perilous Monster Tower and never returned. Koh, now of age, is determined to follow in his father’s footsteps, uncover the mysteries of the Tower, and hopefully find his lost parent.
1.1 The Initial Conversation and Tutorial:
- Waking Up: The game begins with Koh waking up in his home. You’ll be prompted to name him (we’ll stick with “Koh” for this walkthrough).
- Meeting Ghosh: Your first interaction is with Ghosh, your family’s long-time servant and a sort of mentor figure. He provides basic information about the Monster Tower, the dangers it holds, and your father’s legacy. He emphasizes the importance of Familiars (monsters you can tame) and their role in your success.
- Inventory Basics: Ghosh gives you a small amount of starting money (500 Gold) and a single Pita Fruit (used to heal Familiars). He explains the basic inventory system:
- Items: Consumables, equipment, and quest-related objects.
- Equipment: Items you can equip to Koh (initially, you’ll only have basic clothing).
- Familiars: A list of the monsters you’ve tamed, their stats, and abilities.
- Money: Your current gold, essential for buying items, upgrading your home, and contributing to the town.
- Options: Allows you to save your game (highly recommended to do frequently, especially before entering the Tower), adjust settings, and view records.
- The Importance of Saving: Azure Dreams is a rogue-like. This means that if Koh falls in the Tower, he loses everything he’s carrying, including money and items. The only things that persist are:
* The levels of the monsters safely stored in your home.
* The familiars you had when you are defeated in the tower. You will find them waiting for you at home.
* Any progress you’ve made in town (building upgrades, relationships, etc.).
* Your collected monster eggs.- Because of this, saving frequently, before entering the Tower, is absolutely critical.
1.2 Exploring Monsbaiya – Your First Look:
After the initial tutorial, you’re free to explore Monsbaiya. This is crucial for several reasons:
- Meeting NPCs: Talking to townsfolk provides valuable information, hints about the Tower, and potential side quests. Some NPCs are more important than others (we’ll get to those).
- Understanding Town Layout: Familiarize yourself with the key locations:
- Your Home: Where you start, store Familiars, and save your game. You can also expand and upgrade your home later.
- The Item Shop: Sells basic items like Pita Fruits, healing potions, and basic equipment.
- The Fortune Teller (Mia): Located near the town entrance. She can give you hints about your current fortune, which can subtly influence events in the Tower. More importantly, she’s a potential love interest.
- The Temple: This serves a crucial, but initially locked, function: fusing monsters.
- The Library (Nico): Another key location and potential love interest. Nico can provide information about monsters and the Tower.
- The Restaurant: Can provide food later in the game, restoring HP and potentially providing other benefits.
- The General Store: Sells a variety of items, some of which are more useful later in the game.
- The Casino: A place to gamble your money, with the potential for high rewards (and high risks). You need to build it first.
- The Racetrack: You can be on monster races. You need to build it first.
- The Arena: Allows you to battle in tournaments, this is unlocked as you explore further into the tower.
- Kefin’s House: Kefin is a key character, a rival of sorts, who will also be venturing into the Tower.
- The Tower Entrance: The central focus of the game, located at the northern edge of town.
- Gathering Information: Pay close attention to what NPCs say. They often drop subtle clues about monster weaknesses, hidden treasures, and effective strategies.
1.3 Key NPCs and Early Interactions:
- Ghosh: Your primary source of early-game information. Return to him after each Tower run for advice.
- Mia (Fortune Teller): Speak to her regularly. Her fortunes can be vague, but they sometimes hint at beneficial events or item spawns in the Tower. Building a relationship with her (by giving her gifts and talking to her) is a significant part of the game.
- Nico (Library): Another important love interest. She provides valuable monster data and lore. Like Mia, building a relationship with her is key.
- Selfi (Item Shop): You’ll be interacting with her frequently to buy supplies.
- Kefin: Your rival. He’ll often be seen entering or leaving the Tower. You can sometimes encounter him inside.
- Wreath: One of the girls you can give gifts to. She is found walking around near the restaurant.
1.4 The First Trip to the Item Shop:
Before venturing into the Tower, it’s wise to spend your initial 500 Gold wisely. Here’s a recommended starting purchase:
- Pita Fruits (x3-4): Essential for healing your Familiars. Don’t go into the Tower without at least a few.
- Escape Scroll/Wind Crystal If you can only afford one, get this item. It is a one use item that will automatically take you out of the tower, useful if you find yourself in a sticky situation.
- Herb: It will restore some of Koh’s HP.
Do not buy expensive equipment yet. Your initial focus should be on survival, not dealing massive damage.
Part 2: The Monster Tower – Your First Foray
2.1 Entering the Tower:
The Monster Tower is a randomly generated dungeon, meaning its layout, monster spawns, and item placements change every time you enter. This is a core element of the rogue-like gameplay.
- Preparation: Before entering, ensure you have:
- At least 3-4 Pita Fruits.
- An Escape Scroll/Wind Crystal.
- Saved your game at home.
- The First Floor: The first floor is relatively easy, designed to introduce you to the basic mechanics.
2.2 Basic Combat and Movement:
- Turn-Based System: Azure Dreams uses a turn-based system. Every action you take (moving, attacking, using an item) constitutes a turn. Monsters also take turns. This means you need to think strategically about your positioning and actions.
- Movement: Use the D-pad to move Koh one square at a time.
- Attacking: Press the “X” button to attack a monster directly adjacent to you.
- Using Items: Access the menu to select and use items.
- Familiars: Initially, you won’t have any Familiars. Your first goal is to find a monster egg and hatch it.
2.3 Finding and Hatching Your First Familiar:
- Monster Eggs: Monster eggs are randomly found on the Tower floors. They appear as colored orbs.
- Egg Colors and Types: The color of the egg corresponds to the element of the monster inside:
- Blue: Water
- Red: Fire
- Green: Wind
- Purple: Special
- Hatching: To take an egg you must have room in your inventory. Koh can only carry 5 items at a time when starting. To hatch an egg, you need to take it back to your home in Monsbaiya. Simply go to the incubator in your house (the glowing spot) and select the egg to hatch it.
- Your First Familiar – The Kewne: The Kewne is one of the most likely first Familiars.
- Type: Wind
- Abilities: It’s relatively weak initially, but it learns the “Spin” attack, which can hit multiple enemies.
- Choosing your first familiar: You can control what familiar you get on the first floor by picking up the colored egg of the monster type you want. If you want a Kewne, pick up the green egg.
2.4 Familiar Commands and Combat:
- Summoning: Once you’ve hatched a Familiar, you can summon it in the Tower.
- Command Menu: When a Familiar is summoned, you have several command options:
- Go: The Familiar will move and attack independently. This is generally the best option for letting your Familiar gain experience.
- Come: The Familiar will follow Koh closely, attacking enemies that get near.
- Wait: The Familiar will stay in its current position.
- Magic: Allows you to select and use a Familiar’s special abilities (if it has any).
- Item: Allows you to use an item on your familiar.
- Familiar HP and MP: Familiars have their own HP (health points) and MP (magic points). Keep an eye on their HP; if it reaches zero, the Familiar will be knocked out and you will have to revive them at your home. MP is used for special abilities.
- Leveling Up: Both Koh and his Familiars gain experience by defeating monsters. Leveling up increases their stats (attack, defense, HP, MP).
2.5 The First Few Floors – Strategy and Survival:
- Floors 1-3: These floors are relatively straightforward. Focus on:
- Finding a monster egg and hatching it.
- Letting your Familiar do most of the fighting to gain experience.
- Using Pita Fruits sparingly to keep your Familiar’s HP up.
- Collecting any items you find, especially healing items and equipment.
- Escaping the Tower (using the stairs to the next floor or an Escape Scroll/Wind Crystal) before your Familiar’s HP gets too low or you run out of supplies.
- Early Monsters: You’ll encounter monsters like:
- Slimes: Weak, basic enemies.
- Picket: A wind element. They attack with gusts of wind.
- Griffons: A stronger Wind-type monster.
- Blobs: A Water-type monster.
- Flames: A Fire-type monster.
- Elemental Weaknesses: Monsters have elemental weaknesses and strengths. While not crucial in the very early game, it becomes increasingly important later on.
- Wind beats Water.
- Water beats Fire.
- Fire beats Wind.
- Dangers
- Traps: Traps are hidden on some squares. They can damage Koh, inflict status ailments, or teleport him to a random location. Try to identify patterns in the floor tiles to spot potential traps. Stepping on them will trigger the trap.
- Monster Houses: Some rooms are “Monster Houses,” filled with a large number of enemies. These can be very dangerous early on. Avoid them if you’re not prepared.
- Running Out of Supplies: The biggest threat early on is simply running out of Pita Fruits or healing items. Be conservative with your resources.
2.6 Returning to Monsbaiya and Repeating the Cycle:
- Banking Your Gold: When you return to town, any gold you’re carrying is automatically deposited into your savings.
- Hatching Eggs: Hatch any eggs you’ve found.
- Restocking: Buy more Pita Fruits and any other essential items.
- Talking to NPCs: Check in with Ghosh, Mia, and Nico.
- Saving: Always save your game before re-entering the Tower.
- Saving Monsters: Put the monster you acquired from the tower in one of your monster holding pens. This way, you will still have a monster to take with you the next time you go to the tower.
Part 3: Building a Foundation – Early Game Progression
3.1 The Importance of Familiars:
Your success in Azure Dreams hinges on your Familiars. Here’s why:
- Combat Power: Familiars are far stronger than Koh, especially in the early game. They are your primary means of defeating monsters.
- Elemental Variety: Collecting different types of Familiars allows you to exploit elemental weaknesses.
- Monster Fusion: Later in the game, you’ll unlock the ability to fuse monsters, creating even more powerful hybrids. This is a core mechanic for long-term progression.
- Unique Abilities: Different Familiars have unique abilities, some of which are essential for overcoming certain challenges in the Tower.
3.2 Early Familiar Strategies:
- Kewne (Wind): A solid starting Familiar. Focus on leveling it up and using its “Spin” attack.
- Griffon (Wind): Can be obtained by hatching a green egg, generally found on earlier floors.
- Flame (Fire): A good choice for dealing with Wind-type enemies.
- Blob (Water): Useful against Fire-type enemies.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment: Try hatching different eggs and see which Familiars you prefer.
3.3 Expanding Your Home:
- Home Upgrades: You can expand your home by talking to Ghosh and selecting the “Expand Home” option. This costs money.
- Benefits of Expansion:
- More storage space for Familiars.
- More room for furniture and decorations (which can have gameplay benefits).
- Improved aesthetics (it just looks nicer!).
- Early Expansion: Prioritize expanding your home at least once or twice to increase your Familiar storage capacity.
3.4 Building Relationships:
- Love Interests: Monsbaiya has several female characters that Koh can build relationships with: Mia, Nico, Wreath, Fur, Cherrl, Patty.
- Giving Gifts: You can give gifts to these characters to increase their affection for Koh. Different characters prefer different gifts.
- Talking Regularly: Speak to them whenever you see them in town.
- Benefits of Relationships:
- Potential marriage (a significant event in the game).
- Access to special items or information.
- Improved town development.
3.5 Early Game Goals:
Your primary goals in the early game should be:
- Hatch and Level Up Familiars: Build a team of 2-3 Familiars, focusing on different elemental types.
- Reach Floor 5 of the Tower: This is a reasonable early-game milestone.
- Expand Your Home: Increase your Familiar storage capacity.
- Start Building Relationships: Talk to Mia and Nico regularly and start giving them gifts.
- Accumulate Gold: Save up money for home expansions, items, and town development.
- Learn the Basics: Master the combat system, Familiar commands, and the importance of saving.
Part 4: Tips and Tricks for Beginners
- Conserve Pita Fruits: Don’t waste Pita Fruits on minor injuries. Let your Familiar’s HP regenerate naturally if it’s safe to do so.
- Use the “Go” Command: Letting your Familiar roam freely (“Go” command) is the most efficient way for it to gain experience.
- Identify Traps: Look for subtle differences in floor tiles to avoid traps.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Run: If you’re low on health or supplies, use an Escape Scroll/Wind Crystal or head for the stairs. It’s better to lose your current loot than to die and lose everything.
- Explore Thoroughly: Check every room on each floor for items and eggs.
- Experiment with Familiars: Don’t be afraid to try out different monster types.
- Talk to Everyone: NPCs often provide valuable information.
- Save Frequently: This cannot be stressed enough. Save before every Tower run.
- Prioritize Getting a Wind Crystal/Escape Scroll on your first trip to the tower.
- Bring your familiar home after every tower trip so they can level up.
Conclusion: The Path to Mastery
This walkthrough covers the crucial introductory phase of Azure Dreams. By mastering these fundamentals – monster catching, combat, town exploration, and relationship building – you’ll be well-prepared to delve deeper into the mysteries of the Monster Tower, uncover your father’s fate, and build a thriving life in Monsbaiya. Remember that Azure Dreams is a game of exploration, experimentation, and strategic thinking. Embrace the rogue-like elements, learn from your mistakes, and enjoy the unique charm of this PS1 classic. The journey to becoming a master monster tamer is a long one, but with patience and perseverance, you’ll conquer the Tower and achieve your dreams.