Stripes

Dragon Quest monster Stripes

Art by Akira Toriyama Japanese ゴンズ Romaji Gonzu First appearance Dragon Quest VII Old localization Gonz

Stripes is a boss encountered in Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past.

He and his partner Rashers are lackeys of Cardinal Sin that guard the entrance to Alltrades Abbey.

Characteristics

Stripes is an enormous beastman that wears the pelt of a tiger like a disguise. In battle, he uses his sharp claws and strong tail to overpower his opponents. He has a red demonic face poking out of the tiger pelt's mouth that has large eyes and a fang-filled mouth. Stripes and his fellow guard Rashers delighted in the newfound power granted to them by Cardinal Sin to prey on the unfortunate human adventurers that happened to find themselves in the Western Cave. However, the two guards are not very intelligent as they were able to be fooled by the thief Fingers with a simple ruse. He relies on nothing more than brute force and the power stolen from the humans wishing to change their vocation at the Abbey. In the first battle against the pair, Stripes is capable of breathing out fierce flames and using wind magic, but he loses this ability when High Priestess Jacqueline removes the powers granted to him by Cardinal Sin.

History

The Demon King sent Cardinal Sin to take over Alltrades Abbey due to his recognition that it could produce a Hero that was capable of standing up to him and to steal the powers and abilities of the unsuspecting travelers making their pilgrimage to the temple in order to change vocations. The foul priest stationed Stripes and Rashers to guard the entrance to the Precipice Pass and magnified their strength to prevent any humans from crossing the Western Cave.

Boss Encounter

Stripes (first encounter) (ゴンズ Gonzu)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack	Defense
	30,000	∞	79	35
Agility	Experience	Gold	Tame Rate
64	N/a	N/a	N/a

Bestiary No.	#292 (3DS only)
Spell(s)	Swoosh
Skill(s)	Recovers 100 HP per turn Slashes with his claws (125% damage) Flame Breath
Location(s)	Western Cave
Item(s) Dropped	N/a

Evasion	Frizz Resistance *	Sizz Resistance *	Fire Breath Resistance *
1⁄64	0%	0%	0%
Bang Resistance *	Crack Resistance *	Ice Breath Resistance *	Woosh Resistance *
0%	0%	0%	0%
Strike/Rock Resistance *	Zap Resistance *	Drain Magic Resistance *	Whack Resistance *
100%	0%	100%	100%
Poof Resistance *	Poison Resistance *	Burning Breath Resistance	Fuddle Resistance *
100%	100%	100%	100%
Snooze Resistance *	Dazzle Resistance *	Fizzle Resistance *	Ban Dance Resistance
100%	15%	100%	100%
Stun Resistance *	Sap Resistance *	Army Resistance *
15%	15%	50%

3DS version changes

HP is unlimited.

Stripes (second battle) (ゴンズ Gonzu)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack	Defense
	400	0	79	35
Agility	Experience	Gold	Tame Rate
64	294	320	N/a

Bestiary No.	#292 (3DS only)
Spell(s)
Skill(s)	Desperate attack Slashes with his claws (125% damage) Gives a vicious flick with his tail (125% damage)
Location(s)	Dungeon of Descent
Item(s) Dropped	N/a

Evasion	Frizz Resistance *	Sizz Resistance *	Fire Breath Resistance *
1⁄64	0%	0%	0%
Bang Resistance *	Crack Resistance *	Ice Breath Resistance *	Woosh Resistance *
0%	0%	0%	0%
Strike/Rock Resistance *	Zap Resistance *	Drain Magic Resistance *	Whack Resistance *
100%	0%	100%	100%
Poof Resistance *	Poison Resistance *	Burning Breath Resistance	Fuddle Resistance *
100%	100%	100%	100%
Snooze Resistance *	Dazzle Resistance *	Fizzle Resistance *	Ban Dance Resistance
100%	15%	100%	100%
Stun Resistance *	Sap Resistance *	Army Resistance *
15%	15%	50%

3DS version changes

None

Strategy

The first battle against Rashers and Stripes in the Western Cave is completely unwinnable in all versions of the game, due to both monsters having a combination of exceedingly high HP and simply recovering too much HP per turn for the party to make a dent. In the original Sony PlayStation version of the game, it was theoretically possible to beat the two if the party's levels are raised to an absurdly high amount, but it makes no impact on the story as the game will act as if the party has been defeated in any case. In the Nintendo 3DS version, Rashers and Stripes have an unlimited amount of HP, so it is impossible to try defeating them.

The second time the party faces Rashers]] and Stripes, High Priestess Jacqueline negates the stolen power granted to them by Cardinal Sin and the temple guard Eustace joins in order to face them on equal footing. Stripes will no longer be able to cast magic or use his [[Flame Breath]) on the party, but he can still land Desperate attacks and use his claws and tail to inflict heavy damage. The battle will still be difficult as the party still has not regained their lost abilities and spells, forcing them to rely on Medicinal herbs and the Salvation stone to keep everyone healthy. The player should focus on taking out Rashers first as his Sandstorm can be a nuisance. As long as the party stays regularly healed, the beastly duo will eventually be defeated.

Gallery

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  Boss encounter in the 3DS version.

See also

• Rashers
• Caper tiger
• Shabby cat
• Weartiger
• Tigergram