Array or Database?

I have made an role-playing game in php and I was wondering what would be the fastest way to load monsters?

I could either store monsters in a database or make an array() of monsters stored inside an external file... but which solution would be the fastest?

If it would be faster to load from an external file... how do I code it?

Thankz!

Go with the database option, the beneifts far outweigh a static file...

Fastest: static file with an array
Best: database.

Static files will cause you problems sooner or later. That is not a possibility, it's a fact. Use the database.

Thanx for your replies! I'll take it under consideration!