The Sewer Rat, Beach Rat, Castle Eater, and Death Mouse are Beast monsters encountered in Dark Chronicle. They are human-sized rats, wielding a large object with their tail.
Characteristics
Appearance
The Sewer Rat has a dark gray color and holds a large branch. The Beach Rat has dark yellow fur, wields an anchor, and is the only variant to wear clothing, namely a cap and some sort of swimming pants. The Castle Eater has dark crimson fur and holds a fork in its tail. The Death Mouse has a lilac fur color and sinister red eyes; it is the only version that does not hold an object, instead featuring a scythe-like appendage grown at the end of its tail, functioning as a sharp blade.
Personality
When spoken to by a player transformed into a monster, these rodents reveal a deep affinity for cheese—specifically "gooey cheese"—though the Sewer Rat laments that toothaches often prevent them from eating it.[1] They possess a surprising amount of social drama, gossiping about individuals like Mrs. Chuneko's baby,[2] romantic triangles involving Chutan and Chuniter,[1] and the flirtatious habits of Churik, who chases girls despite his short legs.[2][3] Generally, they view humans as unfair aggressors who use guns and pollute nature, though the Death Mouse acknowledges human culture by referencing the "Year of the Mouse".[4]
Each variant expresses unique lifestyle struggles: Beach Rats in Ocean's Roar Cave operate as a disorganized "3rd battalion" concerned with their swimsuits and cramping tails,[3] while Castle Eaters in the Moon Flower Palace describe themselves as friendly "old-timers" who struggle to lift their heavy giant forks and play croquet with the elderly.[2] Conversely, the high-level Death Mouse in the Zelmite Mine is plagued by stress, dreaming of being buried in cheese and working out on a wheel to cope with the strong monsters nearby.[4]
Gameplay
Appearances
The Sewer Rat first appears in the "To the Outside World" floor of the Underground Water Channel, and then again in "Battle with Rats". The Beach Rat appears on the "Tank and Boss" and "Water Monster" floors of the Ocean's Roar Cave. The Castle Eater appears on the Moon Flower Palace floors "Ancient Wind" and "Zombie Zone". The Death Mouse lastly only appears on the Zelmite Mine's "Road to Truth" floor.
Combat
The Sewer Rat and its variations only possess two short-range melee attacks, neither of which can pierce a block. One of them is a spin attack, where it spins around and makes a horizontal swipe with its tail, hitting anything in a wide arc to the front. This attack has some slight range advantage over its second attack, in which it simply drops to all fours and makes a headbutt, which only hits a target directly in front of it, but is quicker than the spin move.
Because of its melee-only moveset it is vulnerable to long-range attacks, although it can sprint to close the distance. Swords are the only melee weapon with extra bonus damage (120% bonus) for all types. Most also share a large weakness (200% bonus) to the Flame and Beast attributes. The latter two variants, the Castle Eater and Death Mouse, are resistant to clubs/wrenches, and guns that fire either bullet or beam projectiles (80% less damage).
Monster transformation
The Sewer Rat, and its stronger variations, can all be appeased with a Gift Capsule filled with three chunks of cheese. Killing an appeased Sewer Rat or one of its variants will result in a Beast Monster Badge drop, which lets Monica Raybrandt use monster transformation to turn into a Sewer Rat herself. As a Sewer Rat she can transform into a Beach Rat or Ram at level 26, and as a Beach Rat again into either the Castle Eater or Hunter Fox at level 51. This makes it the only monster badge with more than two different class change options.
The Sewer Rat starts out incredibly weak, being only barely survivable in the early floors of the Underground Water Channel. It also only possesses the same melee strikes as its real version, those being the Log Strike (Spin Attack) and Headbutt attacks. Both being short range attacks means that it is permanently crippled against fast and ranged enemies, and is altogether unable to attack those that fly too high. Its only upside is that its Headbutt move will knock down humanoid-sized and smaller enemies, letting you keep them down indefinitely in a one-on-one fight.