Sonny is the iOS version of the cult favorite RPG of the same title, and while Android players don’t have a version of this game just yet, iPhone and iPad owners can now enjoy this version of the original RPG reimagined and refined for the mobile experience. This means turn-based combat that would require astute strategies and mastery of skills, as you try to survive in the bizarre world of the titular character. The game centers on a character named Sonny who has his “mind intact (but) his memories missing,” searching for the truth and trying to save the world from mutant zombies, techno-beasts, and other enemies.
Whether you’re familiar with the original game or not, this is a reimagined game, so there are more than a few different things you’ll need to adjust to. So how can you save the world, destroy more enemies, and help Sonny survive? It won’t be easy to do all that, but our list of Sonny tips, tricks and strategies can help you do as well these things, and at least simplify things, especially if you’re new to the game and have just downloaded it for you iDevice.
1. How Does Focus Work?
If you see the blue bar underneath each character, that represents their Focus. What is this, and what’s in it for you as a player? Simply put, Focus allows any character to act once the blue bar fills up completely. So if you don’t want an enemy character to act, make sure to use your skills to inflict effects and slow or stun them. And if you want to regain your focus, make sure to outfit your team with the right gear and effects that specifically replenish the Focus bar faster; that’s going to allow you to get more offense in against the enemy.
2. Shuffle Your Party Around
You may want to replace one party member with another if you’re having trouble against certain enemies in the game. Sometimes, you may need a hero who can provide the right kind of buff or debuff, and other times you may need some heavy hitters to do a lot of damage against hardier enemies. The type of effects they deal out could also play a part in your choice of party members. Feel free to swap characters in and out depending on the situation, and if you’re not sure what’s going to work, you can always experiment.
3. How To Unlock Skills In The Game
Once you level up, that’s going to earn one skill point for Sonny, and you can use that to upgrade a skill you already have, or unlock a new one. The latter is usually recommended over the former, particularly in the early goings where you need all the skills you can get. Upgrading a skill can only do so much in most cases, but adding a new skill will add to your arsenal and give you more options in the battlefield. We wouldn’t really recommend one skill over the other, as different enemies can be taken out faster with different skills per enemy.
While still on the topic of skills, you should also remember that some of the characters, Sonny included, have skills that allow them to heal themselves and debuff negative statuses. You should use those healing skills at the right time; typically, you want to predict when your party members would likely heal up, as this will prevent any wasted turns healing Sonny. And when it comes to the Regenerate skill, it’s only capable of debuffing one random effect if he’s got more than one.
4. You Can Change Your Skill Set Around
With your in-game currency, you can choose the option to reset your skill points and get a new set of skills. If you’re in the experimentation stage and still trying to learn the game, this is a good idea. Or maybe you want to see how a certain skill set works, or you’ve reached a point where you’ve made the wrong upgrades and can’t undo the damage you have done. But there’s a catch to all of this – your first “re-spec” will only cost one in-game dollar, but that nominal fee will progressively go up each time you play around with your skills.
5. Don’t Brute-Force Yourself Against The Enemy
It might sound like the best thing to do – you’ve got the perceived edge in terms of power, so why not mash some buttons (or mash your iPhone’s touchscreen in lieu of actual buttons) and attack with reckless abandon? That, unfortunately, is a simplistic approach to things that doesn’t work too often, except maybe if the enemies are particularly weak. Instead of brute-forcing your way against the bad guys, take note of the attack patterns and special abilities of your enemies and use some tactical strategy to deal with them accordingly.
6. Equip Each Character Wisely
In Sonny, you want each character to be outfitted with the right equipment – aside from weapons, that also includes armor and accessories. And there’s also some strategy involved here – sometimes, a heavier weapon with better stats might not be worth it if there’s a smaller weapon that doesn’t do as much damage, but benefits you in terms of the speed of attack. You also need to save those heavier pieces of armor for your squishier characters. Make sure to visit the shops in each new land you reach, as all new areas come with new shops and new equipment to choose from.
7. How To Make Your Equipment Better
You should always be looking to improve your equipment, and you can do this by enhancing them. You’re allowed to enhance each piece of equipment a maximum of five times, with the cost of doing so increasing progressively. But the expense is worth it, as you’ll get a random boost for the item being enhanced each time you do so. This may come in the form of a stat increase, or it could also mean a more impactful effect. Oftentimes, it’s best to stick to what’s tried and tested, upgrade those items, and hold off on buying new equipment unless you’re sure it could benefit your heroes and turn out much better than what they currently have.
8. All About Effects
We told you about effects in brief in some of the above mentioned tips. But what are they, and why are they so important in this game? Effects are best described as those things inflicted by your skills on top of the damage. For instance, the Wound skill obviously does damage against an enemy, but also increases the chances of your party members singling out that enemy and helping Sonny out in doing damage. (We haven’t mentioned this yet, but you’re only able to control Sonny directly, and you cannot control his party mates in battle.) There are also skills that can stun enemies or slow their Focus regeneration, which could allow you to gain some bonus rounds on an enemy that’s otherwise hard to defeat, as the effects inflicted by those skills may prevent them from acting.
9. Learn More About The Game Through Training
Training doesn’t sound like the most exciting thing to do in the game, but it’s a great way for you to level up faster, find new items, and earn extra currency. This is a no-stakes game mode where you can fight random enemies from the zone you’re presently in. This should expose you to different types of enemies, and as there aren’t any stakes in this mode, you can also test strategies out to see if they’ll still be plausible once you’re playing the game like you usually do.
And this ends our detailed guide for Sonny. Do you know more tips and tricks for the game? Feel free to leave us a message in the comment section!