One of the biggest moments in any monster catching game is choosing your starting monster. Whether this critter sticks with you to the end or warms your digital bench depends on various factors. But even so, that first introduction is always exciting. In Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, your starting monster depends on a little questionnaire from a strange, old man named Monty. He wants to know what kind of monster you would like, such as how big, how fuzzy, how lovable, or how weird. Dragon Quest's bestiary is simply entirely composed of weirdos, but I digress. Here’s what you need to know.

Starting monster questions and answers

For this exercise you get an initial question, then the path of sorts branches depending on your answers. This process can end after only two answers in a couple cases, but generally takes three. Regardless, there are four possible monsters: Mud Mannequin, Cruelcumber, Fright Bulb, and Platypunk.

Cruelcumber

Answers: Lovable, not compact, not weird OR Not lovable, sleek, not weird

Fright Bulb

Answers: Lovable, compact

Mud Mannequin

Answers: Lovable, not compact, weird OR Not lovable, sleek, not weird

Platypunk

Answers: Not lovable, furry

Which starting monster is the best?

Ultimately, picking a starting monster doesn’t make a tremendous difference. You can obtain each one later throughout the game anyway, and chances are you’ll synthesize them away in no time. Unless you’re weird like me and love Cruelcumber and keep him around the whole time despite his low rank. You can synthesize monsters and choose to keep one of the parents, but keep on building Talents and points to keep buffing them up. So it's not a totally bad idea, unless you want to build a team for the meta game. But for funsies? Focus on your favorites.

Bias aside, if you put a gun to my head, Cruelcumber is probably the best monster of the starting monsters. That’s because it comes with agility-boosting Talents to help it act first in battle, along with multi-target spells like Woosh. This unhinged little weirdo has good utility for breezing through early battles. But again, you'll be finding and fusing new monsters in no time, so you won't be hurting for options at all.

On the other end, Mud Mannequin probably has the least utility of the bunch, because status ailments are pretty pointless that early in the game. Fright Bulb is more magic-friendly, while Platypunk is a stocky little bruiser.

Stay tuned for more Dragon Quest coverage from yours truly, hopefully! Or take a look back at my Infinity Strash review for other slime-covered adventures.