Minotaurus monster line

A Minotaurus visualized on the primary promotional art of the original Golden Sun.

The Minotaurus, Minos Warrior, and Minos Knight are species of monsters found in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. These monsters, resembling humanoid bulls with axes, are palette-swapped variants of each other that have differing levels of power and defense and are fought in different locations in the game. This monster line is notable because all three of its variants can drop a unique piece of equipment not findable anywhere else, so all three of them are worth abusing the Random Number Generator against.

Minotaurus

Minotaurus redirects here. For the Psynergy, see Minotaur.

A Minotaurus is a variant with pink skin. Statistically, this monster has 268 HP, 276 Attack, 84 Defense, 123 Agility, and 18 Luck. In terms of resistance, it has a Venus Resistance rating of 152, a Mercury and Mars Resistance rating of 100 each, and a Jupiter Resistance rating of 48, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Venus-based offenses with a Venus power rating of 110.

In battle, the Minotaurus uses these battle commands:

• Attack: Used 5 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.
• Power Crush: Used 3 out of 8 times, this is a Monster Skill where the monster charges forward while cloaked in a large yellow orb of energy, and powerfully tackles into a targeted Adept with a large orange explosion, either dealing a Venus-based attack equal to its normal physical attack multiplied by 1.2 or reducing the target's HP to 1.

Felling a Minotaurus yields 318 EXP, 207 coins, and there is a 1/64 chance the monster will randomly drop a Tartarus Axe, a unique and powerful axe (at that point). If it is felled by the attack effect of an offensive Jupiter Djinni, its rewards increase to 413 EXP and 269 Coins, and the chance it will randomly drop its item becomes 1/16. Minotaurus are found in Tundaria Tower and Ankohl Ruins.

In the two dungeons it is fought in, it has the highest offensive capability, solid HP and Defense, and average agility, though in Tundaria Tower the Magicore has more HP. With a move that may also lower an Adept's HP to 1, it is a respectable damage dealer. The Tartarus Axe, the Minotaurus' drop, is a strong weapon until late in the Great Eastern Sea portion of the game.

Minos Warrior

A Minos Warrior is a variant with blue skin. Statistically, this monster has 353 HP, 397 Attack, 130 Defense, 164 Agility, and 20 Luck. In terms of resistance, it has a Venus Resistance rating of 152, a Mercury and Mars Resistance rating of 100 each, and a Jupiter Resistance rating of 48, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Venus-based offenses with a Venus power rating of 110.

In battle, the Minos Warrior uses these battle commands:

• Attack: Used 4 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.
• Power Crush: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Monster Skill where the monster charges forward while cloaked in a large yellow orb of energy, and powerfully tackles into a targeted Adept with a large orange explosion, either dealing a Venus-based attack equal to its normal physical attack multiplied by 1.2 or reducing the target's HP to 1.
• Sack: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Monster Skill that increases the user's attack rating by 25%.

Felling a Minos Warrior yields 525 EXP, 276 coins, and there is a 1/64 chance the monster will randomly drop a Clotho’s Distaff, a unique Staff. If it is felled by the attack effect of an offensive Jupiter Djinni, its rewards increase to 682 EXP and 358 Coins, and the chance it will randomly drop its item becomes 1/16. Minos Warriors are battled in Mars Lighthouse, as one of the "final" random monsters of the mandatory game.

The Minos Warrior may seem pretty strong and durable among monsters in Mars Lighthouse in general, but it is outperformed in all statistics by the Aka Manah encountered later, and the Fire Bird is generally the most damage-dealing monster in the dungeon. Its rare drop is not considered an ideal piece of endgame equipment, merely something to sell for many coins if you happen to get it, so unless you use the Random Number Generator it may not be worth trying to get the Minos Warrior to drop it normally.

Minos Knight

A Minos Knight is a variant with green skin. The Minos Knight has 454 HP, 517 Attack, 170 Defense, 175 Agility, and 21 Luck. In terms of resistance, it has a Venus Resistance rating of 152, a Mercury and Mars Resistance rating of 100 each, and a Jupiter Resistance rating of 48, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Venus-based offenses with a Venus power rating of 110.

In battle, the Minos Knight uses these battle commands:

• Attack: Used 4 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.
• Power Crush: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Monster Skill where the monster charges forward while cloaked in a large yellow orb of energy, and powerfully tackles into a targeted Adept with a large orange explosion, either dealing a Venus-based attack equal to its normal physical attack multiplied by 1.2 or reducing the target's HP to 1.
• Sack: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Monster Skill that increases the user's attack rating by 25%.

Felling a Minos Knight yields 577 EXP, 294 coins, and there is a 1/128 chance the monster will randomly drop Riot Gloves, arguably one of the best pieces of equipment in The Lost Age. If it is felled by the attack effect of an offensive Jupiter Djinni, its rewards increase to 750 EXP and 382 Coins, and the chance it will randomly drop its item becomes 1/32. Minos Knights are battled in the optional Yampi Desert Cave.

The Minos Knight is definitely one of the more respectably powerful random monsters fought in Yampi Desert Cave, but while its ability to take hits is pretty good, the less commonly encountered Flame Dragon has over 200 more HP, so that makes these two enemies the "main" ones to watch out for. Its rare drop is the single best hand-or-arm-based piece of armor in the game for Adepts that focus on melee combat, increasing the chance to produce weapon Unleashes significantly, and an "ideal" endgame party has multiple Adepts equipped with this glove. This makes the Minos Knight one of the most common targets of Random Number Generator abuse in the game.

Cultural references

Origin: Greece

The Minotaur was a bull-headed humanoid monster in Greek mythology. It was kept hidden in a labyrinth in the palace of King Minos designed by Daedalus and was given seven youths and seven maidens from Athens as an annual sacrifice.