Walkthrough And FAQ - Guide for Jade Cocoon 2

			Jade Cocoon 2 
				Walkthrough and FAQ(Well... mostly)
		This guide is not completely spoiler free. I will mark them, 
though.

I. Contents:-
	~Legal Junk
	~Revision History
	~About JC2
	~Parameters and stuff
	~Tiny strategy hints on going up BH level
	~Hints and Misc. Info
		-Small things on merges
		-Small things on Genuses
	~FAQ
	~Credits

II. Legal Junk
			-----------------------------------------

	This document was created by Rocky Valkryie and Copyright of him. I think 
so.
If you're going to use it, or plagarize from it, well... at least do it right. 
Okay?
Contact information: [email protected] Please don't flood my mailbox, or 
I 
might get mad and send you a crapoload of stuff back. If you have questions, 
suggestions,
or corrections, send them there. Otherwise, just leave me alone. Please? ;_;
GameFAQs is copyright of Jeff "CJayC" and Jade Cocoon 2 belongs to Genki/Ubi Soft 
and
I do not claim it for my greedy paws. I think that's all. (All rights reserved.)

			-----------------------------------------

III. Revision History
	-Today. 01/28/02 Started. Okay then.
	-Today. 02/02/02 Update #2. 

IV. About JC2
			----------------------------------------

	I've heard people complain about this game without knowing what it is. 
Meaning,
they complain that Jade Cocoon 2 is not the traditional RPG they expected. Meh. 
Jade 
Cocoon 2 is, in my opinion, part of the Monster-Raising sub-breed of the RPG 
genre. Jade
Cocoon was the great RPG back in the day, for the PSX that was compared to 
Pokémon 
excessively. But so what? It was a good game, and so is this. JC and JC2 are 
close to 
being incomparable, though, because they're so different; I think this game is 
most
comparable to Digimon World 2. (opinion, don't stone me to death) Easy solution:
Don't like Monster-raising, don't buy JC2. Enough rambling.

			----------------------------------------

V. Parameters and stuff

	This part is pretty XDable, since it seems so simple. Meh, but I'll 
explain
anyways. Here goes:
	-Skill(SK) are physical attacks like Shockwave and Life Blast.
	-Magic(MG) are magical attacks like soldote and vahludide
	-Hit Points(HP) are how much your overall endurance is. It's factored with
the VIT and SPR to calculate how many hits you can take.
	-Mana Points(MP) are the points you use to use abilities. If you run out 
of
these, you'll stop using abilities and start using your beasts' normal attacks.
	-Strength(STR) how much damage your beast can deal with SK type attacks.
	-Wisdom(WIS) is how much damage your beast can deal with MG type attacks.
	-Vitality(VIT) physical defense; defense against SK attacks.
	-Spirit(SPR) magical defense; defense against MG attacks.
	-Speed(SPD) these measure a few things. 1)The average of all the beasts on
one side of the formation decides who goes first. 2)This measures your accuracy 
and
evasiveness. 3)This also seems to(I'm not 100% sure) measure the chance for you 
hitting critically.
	~Poison- Deals either 20 or 30 damage per post-turn.
	~Stun- This beast is temporarily immobilized.
	~Sleep- This beast is temporarily useless. Until it wakes by itself or it
is hit.
	~Confusion- There is a chance that this beast will hit itself or one of 
its
teammates.
	~Dark- Your beast suffers from lowered accuracy. 
	~KO- Your beast is knocked out. 
	~Stone- Your beast is turned to stone and is useless till the stoning is
removed.


VI. Tiny strategy hints on going up BH level

Level 1- I don't think there IS one. But if there is, it should've been easy.
Level 2- At this point, you should be able to manage for your 1st merges. So, my 
advice is
that since you have 3 beasts anyways, give them all fire-type moves and kick their
butts in 1 turn each. It should work well.
Level 3- 4 on 4. I think it should go a bit like this: Wind side should have a 
sleep-
inducing move, and one beast to attack. Then pummel away with the fire side.
Level 4- Same as level 3, but possibly with support on the Earth or Water side.
Level 5- Tough. I'd fill up the whole of the fire and earth row. Try to get that 
one snake-
like gara's move, the one that raises power every turn, on 2 beasts, and get a 
barrier
move on another one. Think that's all.

VII. Hints and Misc. Info

			+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
			| 	   Small things on Merges	  |
			+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lesson 1: Evolution
On the status screens of the divine beasts, there is an evolution bar at
the top right corner. The two red spaces are the goals that need to be
reached in order to reach the next step of evolution. If you've passed
or are on the first red space, you'll be able to evolve into the 3rd
form, and if you reach the final space, the red one, you'll be able to
fully evolve you beast. This is how the evolution bar change is 
determined: First, take the evolution power of the seed beast. Then if
the original monster and seed beast genus is the same, add 1 to that, 
if it is also the same species, add another 1 to that. That is the number 
of bars the evolution bar goes up. The only other modifier is if you merge
a beast with a beast other than the original beasts elemental type. In 
this case, subtract 1 from the evolution power number to get the points gained. 
When exactly you merge is determined by your exp. level and how many turns
the beast was used in the battle. 

Lesson 2: Modifiers and Moves
First up, modifiers. There are positive ones, like water power, strength up 3
and others, and negative ones, like stun x, late bloomer and etc. They 
disappear 4 merges after they are created. You cannot have more than one of 
the same modifier, but you can have more than one of the same type. 
Ex: You can't have 2 Strength up 3s, but you can have Strength up 1, Strength 
up 2, and Strength up 3. Next, moves. You can have a total of 2 moves, in 2 
different formations. You cannot get a move of the complete opposite element 
of the beast's own natural element. You also cannot have 2 moves of the same 
element. You cannot have 2 moves of different elements. Ex: If you have a 
fire-type mau, you cannot have a water move, and you can't have an earth move
and wind move at the same time. If you have an earth move and merge the fire 
mau with a wind beast, you lose the earth move and gain the wind one.

Lesson 3: Control
There are 2 modifiers that completely control the evolution of a beast. 
Larvalize, which leaves your beast in its larval stage till 4 merges later, and 
imago, which leaves your beast in its latest possible adult form till 4 merges 
later. That means, if it is possible for the beast to go to it's final form, it 
will put it in its final form to stay. I have not tested what happens when both 
are put on the same beast, so if someone can tell me, please do.

Lesson 4: Chromes
I don't exactly know what causes this and etc. I DO know, though, that there 
is some randomness to it. I've only experienced 1, and here's what I observed:

Its speed went up from 48 to 265
Its HP went down from 358 to 186
(obviously) it changed from green to chrome
Magic attacks did not affect it(it makes the GUARD thing)
Hit-all magic spells did, though
No status ailments affected it
It didn't get hit very much
It guards against its own spell(Mitrea)

I'm not sure this is all or if any of this makes any sense, but that's what I
got.

Lesson 5: Power
I repeatedly misunderstood this part, so I redid it based on what I know. That
isn't much, but it's what I know. =/ Merging at level 20 will result in a specimen
with higher stats. No argument there. But, if you merge at level 20, you wasted 
time to get those higher stats because you could have taken a quicker time
to gain small levels at the next merge. For example, if you had 2 identical
beasts, and they reached level 15 at the same time, if you merged one and 
didn't merge the other, what you'd have gained in merging at level 20 would be
wasted, because all levels up are the same and you just used more time to 
level up in a higher level. Meaning if the level 15 one level to level 20, the
merged one might have gained enough to get to level 13 or 14. So, you should
merge at level 15. I believe that that is Svenn's theory. Goryus' theory, I 
think, is that you should level to level 20, because it makes you have higher
stats altogether, just until the point where the difference is insignificant
and you can freely merge at level 15. My theory is the opposite: Merge at level
15 till you can evolve into the 4th form, giving it ONLY good modifiers, then
only merging it at level 20 for power. Whichever method you choose, more power
to you.

			+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
			| 	   Small things on Genuses	  |
			+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Alcos are fast, most have medium-high strength and/or wisdom. But they run out of 
MP fast, and and die pretty quickly too. You can use these well in the corners, 
since you can use their speed well in speeding up more than one formation. I 
prefer keeping them in the Water/Wind corner, since the water beasts tend to be 
slow, and give them samaklina and Vahludide. Good modifiers are MP up 3, Mp up 2, 
Hp up 3 and Str up 3.

Bugs are great. They're strong, fast... and when used properly can Stun their way 
to a quick victory. But they die quicker than a dying horse on PCP. I tend to use 
2 of the mosquito ones to stun punch(or something like that) to death. The other 
varieties are mediocre, but do well to do status-ailment inflicting moves. Good 
modifiers include Str up 3, Str up 2, Spd up 3, and Spd up 2. If I'm not 
mistaken, 
Speed up your evasion, so...

Nas have ultimo-high wisdom, making them probably the greatest MGers, and they 
can 
take magic attacks well, too. But when hit with physical blows, they can be 
pretty 
crappy. Give it Vit up 3, Hp up 3, Wis up 3 and Spd up 3. They also can be great 
in the corners with Vahludide and Ulvilude. Strong.

Slimies... I don't know. I don't like these. At all. But they tend to have pretty 
high HPs and MPs. I'm give them recovery stuff, like that reviving move, 
medinite, 
sehlamite, tishalite or any others like those. Give them Mp up 3, Hp up 3, Spr up 
3, 
Vit up 3 so they'll last long in battle.

Garas are very physical. They're like the physical version of Nas, but without 
the 
ultimate power. Good HP, as well. They can be either the physical power in the 
water 
rows or simply the support platform you need in the earth row. I like to give 
them 
Mitrea and sit them right in the middle of the earth row, with things like HP up 
3, 
Vit up 3, Spr up 3 and MP up 3 to make its stay a memorable one.

Leifs have good power and spirit, and when used properly, you may actually be 
able 
to use tackle and all those moves. With boosts on its Vit and maybe speed or 
attack, 
they can be some of the more useful beasts you can get. They're good for middles 
of 
rows... maybe the middle of the earth row, or even the fire row. I tend not to 
put 
them in the water row because They don't really fit in there. They're very good 
at 
absorbing blows if given the proper modifiers. 

Kus are very versatile. They're fast and strong. The little ones with the spikes 
are very good MG users, the boar ones are very strong, and the dog-looking ones 
are sort of good with both. Very very good. Kus should be given Spd up 3, Spd 
up 2, Str/Wis up 3 and Str/Wis up 2. I like to give Kus Berserker, as well. 
They're very good, and especially useful in the middles of the rows.

Ogs are strong and have high HP. They can kill a lot of things in very short 
times. 
I tend to give them the Fire/Earth corner to make full use of their great HP and 
Strength. Give them strength modifiers and maybe speed modifiers. Then give them 
very strong hits, and if you have one of the kus in the middle of your fire row, 
you should be dealing major damage very quickly. 

Maus are well-balanced. And look weird. They're good in a lot of situations. I 
find
that they are useful in almost any situation. You can put them in corners as well 
as middles. Depending on where you want to use them, use modifiers to match the 
positions. And the moves, too.

Dracs are my favorites. Strong, good MG power, high HP and MP, actually my 3 
highest
HP beasts are Dracs. Dracs are somewhat slow, though, if you have to nitpick, but 
the Wind type Drac is quite fast, and if you give it HP up 3, Str/Wis up 3, Speed 
up 3 
and Speed up 2, it'll be near-perfect. The earth-type Drac is also very good. 
Give it 2 
HP modifiers and 2 Str modifiers and stick it in the middle of the earth 
formation with
a strong hit, and if you have mitrea, it will be over faster than I can sing 
yakee doodle. 


VIII. Frequently Asked Questions 


1. Is there an 'Eternal Corridor' like in Jade Cocoon 1?
A) Well, not exactly, no. After finishing the game and getting the ending, etc. 
you 
will gain acess to 4 new forests, and 4 forests after those. But that's about it. 

2. What is the most powerful monster/best species?
A) There is none. You can certainly choose favorites, but they are all pretty 
good. 
If you're still looking for the ultimate monster, chances are you've already 
found 
yours and you're just still looking.

3. How come when you merge, you don't change the appearance like in JC1?
A) Well, with the number of beasts and the alternate colored ones, and all those 
names, it's quite possible that the makers ran out of memory space. There are a 
lot 
of great-looking graphics as is, and of course, there's the voice acting thing, 
which 
takes up a world of memory. I'm just speculating, though.

4. My main character(Kahu) evolved into a kalma and kicked some beast arse. 
Should I be worried?
A) Not that I know. When you lose your middle-beasts, opponent beasts attack you 
and 
this _may_ trigger you to evolve temporarily and kick the carp out of the 
opponent 
beast. It misses a lot, at least for me. I have not had an experience where this 
is 
negative, but if it ever does turn out that way, tell me.

5. How do the characters in the game know about stuff outside the game?
A) Like when Choco mentions you using game enchancers? Or when Nico says you 
looked 
stuff up in the internet? Well... they must be psychic or something.

6. Is there anything to do after beating the game?
A) Indeed. There's plenty to do. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone, though. 
Just
you wait and see. There's plenty more.

7. How does the battle system work?
A) Well... you have up to 3 beasts on each 'side' and they each have up to 2 
moves.
They can use one move per turn/per side. It is turn based, and you attack by 
sides.
Depending on the side, the move used will be different. You can NOT choose who you
will attack and you can't use normal, plain attack-like moves. You just keep 
using 
up all your MP, till it's gone, then you attack with the normal attack.

8. So can I make my beasts just attack with their normal attacks?
A) Well, actually, you can. Just waste their MPs, or use either: a)Man 2 Man book
or b)Battle Tiara. I believe both work. They can be used up, though. I'm not sure
if I got the names right, and I'll correct myself if they aren't.

EXTRA! BECAUSE OF A LOT OF PEOPLE ASKING THIS QUESTION, I'VE DECIDED TO GIVE A 
COMPREHENSIVE SECTION ABOUT THE FINAL BOSS. *SPOILER WARNING* TURN BACK NOW!!!

			FINAL BOSS- PART 1(LEVANT & WATER DRAC)
	Levant turns evil when he summons the evil in you, and so you must beat 
him to the crapper. First comes a Levant/Water Drac combination. Very evil. I 
would alternate using the fire side(on the Drac) and either the wind side or the 
earth side, depending on which side you have stronger attacks on(on Levant) and 
use the water side to heal when neccessary. Try not to use your books yet. It's 
not as bad as the impending battle, though. These two alternate, so it is very 
bad.
When you hurt the drac suficciently, it'll alternate back to Levant and when it
changes back to Levant, a great deal of its HP comes back.(not all) When you're
done, there's no resting period, and there's no chance to give the beasts any
HP or MP replenishing items in between.

			FINAL BOSS- PART 2(Lillith Kalma +Mini Kalmas)

	What comes out is a FULLY-EVOLVED kalma. Pure evil. And it summons 2 
kalma 
which will evolve in a matter of turns and so if you don't kill it in the first 
turn, you'll have plenty of trouble. They'll keep evolving, getting healed, 
getting 
stronger. And if they're the earth ones, ouch. Every time you kill the smaller 
kalma, they'll be summoned again. The larger one is even tougher, and it changes 
color every now and then. Suggested tactic: Hopefully you brought plenty of 
attack 
up and inciting books and it should end well. Also, make sure that one of your 
fire 
beasts has an all-hitting move like soldote. Inciting book+Strong MG 
user+Inciting 
book= First turn smaller-kalma kill. That will leave your 2 other strong 
attackers 
a chance to hit the bigger kalma. Do this till you run out of MP. Hopefully you 
still 
have some books left, too. Now switch to the water side and stall out. Tishalite 
is 
useful to have. Switch back when the MP is up again and repeat the Inciting 
book+Fire 
formation thing. When you run out of books or one or two of your fire formation 
beasts 
die, switch to the wind side. If you have good strong attackers here, that's 
really good. 
When they run out, turn to the earth side. When all else fails, stall out with 
the water 
side to replenish your attackers. That's all my advice. 

IX. Credits

	Svenn([email protected]) For dedicating so much of his valuable time 
to JC2,
for helping me and correcting my mistakes. Also, he provided a good part of 
knowledge
of the misc. stuff I have on here. Thank you.
	Goryus([email protected]) He's the best. And he provided me with a couple
thousand answers on the JC2 boards which helped me get at least slightly 
enlightened.
	GameFAQs(www.gamefaqs.com) If this is on there, then CJayC deserves 00ber 
thanks.
	Genki and/or Ubi Soft(www.jadecocoon2.com) They made the game, so they 
deserve
like 70% of the thanks. ;p