Cassette Beasts brings a fresh spin to the monster-collecting RPG genre with its creative mechanics and retro-modern aesthetic. Set in the mysterious world of New Wirral, players can transform into recorded monsters, fuse creatures for unique combinations, and explore a sprawling open world filled with puzzles, challenges, and vibrant characters.

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If you’re new to Cassette Beasts, this guide will walk you through the core mechanics and concepts, ensuring you’re ready to embark on your journey. From recording monsters to mastering the fusion system, we’ll cover all the basics you need to know before diving into this exciting adventure.

Welcome to New Wirral

New Wirral is an island filled with strange monsters, quirky characters, and secrets waiting to be uncovered. Your journey begins when you wash ashore and meet the locals in Harbourtown, your base of operations. While exploring, you’ll encounter various monsters that can be recorded onto cassette tapes and used in battles by transforming into their forms.

The island is an open-world environment, encouraging exploration. You’ll need to use specific monster abilities, like swimming, climbing, or gliding, to access certain areas. These traversal skills, learned from recording specific monsters, are key to solving puzzles and discovering hidden dungeons.

Transforming into Monsters with Cassette Tapes

One of the standout mechanics in Cassette Beasts is the ability to record monsters and transform into them during battles. Instead of traditional capturing, you’ll use your cassette recorder to “tape” a monster, gaining access to its abilities and elemental type.

• Recording Monsters: Recording isn’t guaranteed to succeed, especially against stronger foes. Higher-quality cassette tapes or certain upgrades (available later in the game) can improve your chances.
• Transformation: Once recorded, you can transform into that monster during combat. Your character adopts its stats, abilities, and elemental strengths/weaknesses.

Recording monsters isn’t just about combat; it’s also a way to expand your toolkit for exploration. For example, some monsters teach abilities like dashing, breaking obstacles, or gliding, which are essential for accessing new areas.

How to Record Monsters in Cassette Beasts

Recording monsters is how you gain new transformations, allowing you to take on their abilities and elemental types in battle. To record a monster, you’ll use a cassette tape during combat. Once the recording starts, you’ll need to survive several turns while the tape fills up. During this time:

• The target cannot be defeated even with attacks that would beat it.
• The target can’t escape

The success rate of recording depends on several factors, such as the target’s health. The lower its HP, the faster the recording progresses. Moreover, dealing damage during the recording process further speeds it up. Inflicting debuffs like Poison or Burn increases the recording rate, since it also deals damage over time. Status debuffs can also help by making the target more susceptible to harm during the recording process. Upgraded tapes (available later in the game) improve your chances.

To speed up the process, focus on weakening the monster as much as possible. Debuffs and strong attacks are your best tools. Once the recording is complete, the monster is added to your library, and you can transform into its form in future battles!

Understanding the Fusion System

Fusion is one of Cassette Beasts’ most innovative features, allowing you to combine two monsters into a powerful new form. Unlike other games where fusions are limited to specific pairs, Cassette Beasts lets you fuse any two monsters, creating unique combinations with blended stats and abilities.

You’ll unlock the fusion ability early in the game through the main story. Once activated, you can fuse your monster with your partner’s during battles. Fusions grant stat boosts and access to special abilities that can turn the tide in challenging fights, especially against bosses like Archangels. However, fusions are temporary and should be reserved for tougher battles, as losing a fusion means losing both monsters for the rest of the fight.

Building strong relationships with your companions also enhances fusion power, making it a crucial mechanic to explore as you progress.

The Combat System in Cassette Beasts

Cassette Beasts features a strategic turn-based combat system with a unique twist: it uses Action Points (AP) to govern moves. Each monster gains 2 AP at the start of their turn, which can be spent on abilities. Monsters also gain 1 AP if they strike a target with their elemental weakness. Moreover, some elemental synergies can generate more AP per turn. Stronger moves require more AP, so balancing resource accumulation with well-timed attacks is key. You’ll control two monsters (yours and your companion’s), making team coordination essential, especially in tougher fights like Archangels.

Skills in Cassette Beasts are tied to stickers, which define each monster’s moveset. You can equip, swap, and upgrade stickers to tailor your monsters to your playstyle. Abilities range from offensive moves (like Fire causing Burn or Lightning inflicting Conductive) to defensive skills (such as shields or status-clearing). Status effects and buffs/debuffs play a major role—use debuffs like Poison to weaken enemies over time or buffs like AP Boost to enhance your team’s capabilities.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when fighting monsters:

• Save AP for high-cost abilities during critical moments or spend them steadily for consistent damage.
• Experiment with stickers to find the best combinations for your monsters.
• Use elemental buffs and debuffs strategically, such as Water extinguishing Fire or Plant leeching health from Earth.
• Reserve fusions for tough battles to maximize damage and survivability.

Mastering AP, stickers, and elemental effects will give you an edge in New Wirral’s challenging battles!

Elemental Affinities

Cassette Beasts uses a unique approach to elemental interactions, blending real-world physics with traditional RPG mechanics. There are 14 elemental types, and each has specific buffs, debuffs, and interactions with other types. Learning how these affinities work is essential for building a strong team and tackling tougher battles.

Here’s a breakdown of all the elemental types and their effects:

• Beast
  

• Buffs/Debuffs: Has limited interaction with other types but can inflict “Shattered” on Glass, causing damaging shards to scatter during melee attacks.
• General Role: Functions similarly to “Normal” types in Pokémon games—solid and reliable with minimal weaknesses.

• Air
  

• Buffs: Boosts Astral with “AP Boost” (extra ability points) and Lightning with “Multitarget.”
• Debuffs: Extinguishes Fire, uproots Plant (drains AP), and causes a Resonance debuff on Glass that can knock it out after three hits.
• Matchups: Great against Fire and Plant; weak to Earth and Ice.

• Fire
  

• Buffs: Grants “AP Boost” to Astral, “Air Wall” to Air, and “Healing Steam” (HP recovery) to Water.
• Debuffs: Melts Metal, burns Plant and Poison, and can apply Poison Coating to Plastic or Water Coating to Ice.
• Matchups: Strong against Metal, Plant, and Poison; avoid Water and Earth types.

• Earth
  

• Buffs: Boosts Astral with “AP Boost.”
• Debuffs: Extinguishes Fire, buries Plastic (lowers Speed and Evasion), and forces Unitarget on Lightning (removing multitarget potential).
• Matchups: Effective against Fire and Plastic; vulnerable to Water and Plant.

• Water
  

• Buffs: Heals Plant (Healing Leaf), grants Bulk Up (defensive buffs) to Ice, and Conducted (multitarget potential) to Lightning.
• Debuffs: Erodes Earth (lowers defenses), extinguishes Fire, and corrodes Metal (reduces defenses).
• Matchups: Excels against Earth, Fire, and Metal; avoid Lightning and Plant types.

• Plant
  

• Buffs: Creates Smoke (raises Fire evasion) and potentiates Poison (boosts offensive stats).
• Debuffs: Leeches Earth and Water (drains HP), and grounds Lightning (removes multitarget).
• Matchups: Best against Earth and Water; weak to Fire and Poison.

• Lightning
  

• Buffs: Causes Static on Plastic (emits Lightning damage when hit) and boosts Multitarget for allies.
• Debuffs: Electrifies Air, Ice, Metal, and Water, causing Conductive (extra damage and chain reactions).
• Matchups: Devastates Air, Ice, Metal, and Water; watch out for Earth and Plastic.

• Ice
  

• Buffs: Grants Multitarget to Lightning.
• Debuffs: Chills Air (lowers accuracy) and causes Water Coating on Water types, which forces a turn to be skipped (Flinch).
• Matchups: Effective against Air and Water; vulnerable to Metal.

• Metal
  

• Buffs: Multitarget for Lightning and Berserk for Astral (prevents non-damaging moves).
• Debuffs: Shatters Glass, lowers defenses for Earth and Ice, and disrupts Astral.
• Matchups: Great against Astral, Glass, Ice, and Earth; avoid Fire and Water.

• Plastic
  

• Buffs: Causes Smoke (evasion buff) for Fire types and distracts Astral with AP Drain.
• Debuffs: Forces Unitarget on Lightning and drains AP from Astral.
• Matchups: Strong against Astral and Lightning; weaker against Fire.

• Poison
  

• Buffs: Fuels Fire (AP Boost) and tips Metal and Earth, making them take contact damage.
• Debuffs: Poisons Plant types and drains Astral’s AP.
• Matchups: Best against Plant, Metal, and Astral; watch out for Fire.

• Glass
  

• Buffs/Debuffs: Insulates Lightning (forces Unitarget).
• General Role: A fragile type with powerful offensive moves, but it’s easily shattered by Air and Metal.
• Matchups: Deals heavy damage but requires careful use against common counters.

• Astral
  

• Buffs: Boosts Astral allies with “AP Boost.”
• Debuffs: Drains AP from Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.
• Matchups: Good against Air, Fire, Water, and Earth; avoid Metal and Poison types.

• Glitter
  

• Buffs/Debuffs: Coats enemies with Glitter, regardless of type.
• General Role: An unusual type with universal utility but lacks offensive or defensive perks.

Using Elemental Interactions to Your Advantage

Understanding these interactions will let you plan effective strategies:

• Pair types that cover each other’s weaknesses, such as Lightning (good against Water) and Earth (resistant to Lightning).
• Focus on abilities and stickers that enhance your team’s synergy.
• Keep an eye on elemental buffs and debuffs, as they can drastically change a battle’s outcome, especially when paired with the fusion system.

By mastering the elemental affinities and their interplay, you’ll be well-equipped to tackle New Wirral’s toughest challenges.

Exploring New Wirral and Its Puzzles

The open-world design of Cassette Beasts encourages exploration, with plenty of secrets and puzzles to discover. Many areas require specific monster abilities to access:

• Gliding: Record a bird-like monster to soar across large gaps.
• Swimming: Find aquatic monsters to explore underwater areas.
• Magnetism: Learn Electromagnetism to manipulate metal objects and solve puzzles.

As you travel, keep an eye out for NPCs with exclamation marks above their heads. They often provide useful rumors about hidden locations, side quests, or Ranger Captain whereabouts.

Companions and Relationships

You won’t have to face New Wirral alone. Early on, you’ll team up with a companion who will fight alongside you in battles. Building relationships with these characters isn’t just about story progression—it directly impacts gameplay. As such, the closer you are to your companion, the stronger your fusions become.

Each companion has a personal questline that reveals more about their backstory and unlocks additional benefits, like faster fusion cooldowns. Moreover, if you want to share the adventure, the game supports two-player co-op, letting a friend control your companion in battle.

Tips for Getting Started

If all of this sounds a bit overwhelming, don’t worry! Here are a few quick tips to help you get started:

• Focus on Exploration: Don’t rush through the main story. Explore the world, record new monsters, and experiment with fusions.
• Save Resources: Items like Rewinds (which revive monsters) and crafting materials are limited early on, so use them wisely.
• Visit the Ranger HQ: This is your hub for upgrades and information. Use Fused Material (a rare resource) to enhance your gear and improve recording success rates.
• Try Both Starters: Whether you choose Candevil or Bansheep, both have unique strengths. Each can evolve into powerful forms, so pick the one that matches your playstyle—or experiment with both later in the game.

For more useful info in this game, please make sure to check out our Cassette Beasts tips and tricks. Cassette Beasts blends nostalgia with innovation, offering a fresh take on the monster-collecting genre. With its dynamic battle system, engaging fusion mechanics, and an open-world design full of surprises, this game offers countless hours of fun.

If you want the best experience, try playing Cassette Beasts on your PC with BlueStacks. It lets you enjoy the game on a larger screen with customizable controls, making your adventure through New Wirral even better. Download BlueStacks today and get started!