Review By Egan Click
Monster Hunter is a franchise with a loyal and growing fan-base going on 11 strong years. #4 Ultimate, is the definitive edition of the fourth generation and it's unbelievable. The game is published and developed by Capcom. It's completely bonkers in Japan and North America usually only gets the special editions such as this one. It's an action role playing game but way more then that. It's frustratingly hard, there is crafting, there is resource management, there is character progression, and last but not least there is fighting.I started playing Monster Hunter when it came out on the wiiu specifically because it was recommended to me by my oldest brother Kane. He loved the third one for the Wii. I actually got it at midnight when everyone else was getting God of War. Playing it solo for a month, I didn't really get it. Fighting was really hard right off the gate. Nothing was explained while I was accumulating massive amounts of mushrooms and herbs that I didn't know what to do with. I was getting monster parts but I was mostly dying miserably. My brother and I eventually played online and he explained it thoroughly and by the end of the summer, I had 200 hours in and 160 primarily with him.
You start the game off as a nobody with a lot of options. The game has 14 different weapons you can pick from. From swords, to lances, to hammers, to guns. Each weapon has it's own distinct feel and it's perfect usage. The Long Sword (my weapon of choice) is strictly offense and for cutting off monster's tails. It ebbs and flows as you hack and slash around a monster, evading and swinging with the X and A buttons to fulfill combo's and bring up your spirit meter. Other weapons are used to bash in monsters skulls like the hammer. Some are used primarily for defense where you can use your R button to block monsters attacks. There are support weapons to buff your teammates such as the Hammer Horn. Last but not least there are ranged weapons like bows and bowguns to shoot from a distance. All the weapons feel completely different. This is why most people say MH has a steep learning curve because right off the gate you have to find a weapon that works for how you want to play the game. You can always change weapons but a weapon can not change you.
The premise is simple. Towns folk need your help and you are the hunter that is better then all other hunters. So they give you quests to do. You accept the quests and march forth to take on whatever lies beneath the shadows, up in the sky, or standing right in front of you as big as a dump truck. You run around a stage that is broken up into many parcels of land that are also numbered. First you must find the monster. Lying around you is supplies to help you do so. Look in this shrubbery and you get herbs. Look in these mushrooms and you find blue mushrooms. Mix the two and you get a potion. Over here is a bees nest where you get honey. Mix those with the potion and you get a mega potion. There's mining, fishing, bug catching also. Every single thing you collect is useful in some form or another. This is a thing you MUST do. Getting through the game just fighting monsters is down right impossible. This part of the game used to seem tedious to me. Why couldn't I just buy it all? But once you get in the pathos of the game, you being this lone hunter out in the woods by yourself, you begin to realize that these town folk don't get out much.
There are shops to purchase items at. Most of the basic items like regular potions and a few miscellaneous, such as herbs, shrooms, and bugs can be bought with money you obtain while completing quests. There is also a blacksmith where you upgrade your equipment or forge new weapons and armor. The first real intriguing thing about Monster Hunter to me was the sheer amount of weaponry and armor you can craft. Lets say I want to get the best new sword I have knowledge about, well I can't just buy it or find it. I must kill the monster that the resource list calls for. Then when I wear that armor, the skills and resistances I get mimic that of the monster I murdered. Also the items acquired will resemble the LOOKS of the monster slain. I have this cool paralysis long sword that came from a Najarala that looks like it's mid section. Other places to go in town are the Chef's Stand, this is where you get buffs that help you in battle such as resistance buffs, health buffs, attack buffs, defense buff and other special daily skills. Another notable place of interest is the guy that takes your caravan points (points you get for saving the town) lets you multiply your items while you are away questing.
In case the title didn't make you aware, Monsters are a big part of the adventure. The game does a fantastic job starting you with the easy guys and making you work your way up to the tougher ones. All the monster designs are fantastic. There are some that resemble dinosaurs such as the Great Jaggi. Others that resemble dragons (wyverns) like Rathalos. The Nersycalla that is a 25 foot spider, a fact I know because the game tracks each and every monster handily that you kill. Almost like a "Pokedex" of sorts. Each one is different, and most importantly, some don't look or act like anything you could see in our world. Each monster has it's own complex system of attacks. Some are more protective but hit you much harder. Some are erratic and aggravated. Some fly and hit you with their tails while they spin and flip around. Getting to know the monster and it's attack sequence and how to dodge and evade and where to hit and when to hit and where to be when he is attacking is another reason they say MH has a steep learning curve. You might kill a monster easily once but next time it might catch you by surprise and completely reshape it's attack.
Online works perfectly. To join or setup a gathering hall is as easy as using the touch screen and going to the world map and selecting it. Then you are there and can set up pass codes, join friends rooms or just have it open and ready for individuals to join you for some battling. I didn't have any connectivity issues or lag or drops or anything to make me roll my eyes at. To leave the room you just do it as easy as getting into the room. It's seamless and easy. Online is up to 4 players at a time. It offers different quests then the ones you do in single player and you can actually solo it too. This is where end game content lays and where the gnittiest of grittiest monsters hang out. This is where you get the evolved monsters or as I like to call them, the Hybrids. Sure there was a Zinogre which is a giant electric raccoon but now it's a Stygian Zinogre and it has dragon damage.
One of the coolest features of the game are your sidekicks or felines. Everyone loves cats and Japan is no exception to that rule. You start off the game with one which you name and love and it levels with you and you actually make equipment for as well. Making equipment is new and really cool. They added a whole island in this game where your cats hang out and go on there own adventures. While looking for monsters, you can find little villages of felines that let you recruit cats to join your squad. You can take up to 2 of them with you at a time and they all have different abilities to help you along the way. At the island there is two fun mini games to play. In one, you select 5 cats and go fishing. The mini game is simple and you just shoot your net at schools of fish and the goal is to try and get as many schools to join together to catch as many as possible. In this you get scrap (which makes equipment) and an assortment of fish for various crafting opportunities. Next up, you send your cats out on their own 3 monster adventure. You pick five again and each cat has a Yellow, Blue or Red specialty. This mini game is just a game of rock scissors paper where you take a yellow cat to defeat a red monster. It's set at a relaxing pace and is a breath of fresh air after coming back from an arduous hunt. It's also super cute because the cats are cut out and on Popsicle sticks like it's a children's puppet show.
The DLC in this game is FREE. Once a week for who knows how long they introduce new quests for the gathering hall. These can include arena quests which are just simply killing a monster in 1 zone. Or the quest can introduce a new monster to tackle. With DLC being a big money grab for most developers and publishers, I have to give the biggest tip of my hat to Capcom for giving this much content away for nothing. It is unheard of and appreciated by all of us monster hunters.
Final Thoughts
Monster Hunter is a one of a kind classic. The fighting is compared to no other game. The content for 40 bucks is SILLY. To complete this game and get everything there is to get would take a die hard fan well over a thousand hours. This is the quintessential pure action game. With everything there is to do all surrounding one easy premise that is go and kill a monster, game designers take notes. This game is addicting, this game is brutal, this game is boss. On my personal list of GOTY.
Pros
+ Nearly endless amounts of content
+ No bugs or connectivity issues
+ Monsters are fresh, imaginative and unique
+ Plenty of options to choose from to fit your individual play style
+ Looks great and takes complete control of the New 3DS's c-stick.
Cons
- You aren't playing it yet.
Score
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