Monday, April 22, 2013
Monster Hunter: the Testimonials Continue
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I’m one of the many people who got drawn into the series when Tri came about, sinking hundreds of hours into the game. It had such a lasting effect on me that I eventually went out and picked up a copy of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for the PSP, sank hundreds of hours into that, imported a copy of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, sank hundreds of hours into that, then picked up a Wii U and Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate.
And, yes, I’ve put hundreds of hours into that!
But what exactly is it
about the series that’s so engrossing? There are few games that really compare in
how obsessed I get, and it’s hard to say what exactly I find so alluring. It’s
really not just one factor, there’s a lot about the game that I really enjoy.
One of the main things
that Monster Hunter delivers is challenge. When I play a game -- especially a
game with action/real time combat -- I like a challenge. Having that sort of
experience really gets me into figuring out all sorts of quirks present in the
gameplay. Monster Hunter provides that, where players are met with a wall they
need to climb. At first, it’ll be rough and the player might barely scrape by,
but as time goes on, you’ll keep playing and noticing different elements,
adapting new strategies, and you eventually overcome that wall.
For instance, the Barroth
was a common wall people had when they first came to Monster Hunter Tri. It’s a
dinosaur that’s pretty reminiscent of a pachycephalosaurus, but switch the
domed skull with a snow plow and give it the ability to use mud as armor and
projectiles. Prior to this monster, you’d see a number of raptors, birds, and
leviathans. Somewhat threatening, but nothing that posed a huge challenge.
They’d growl, try to slap you, tackle you, or maybe have some cool tricks up
their sleeves, like clapping explosions or summoning minions to help them out.
However, when you get to the Barroth, you’ll meet a number of new elements.
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| The Barroth |
First off, when he sees
you, he lets out a deafening roar that flinches you and forces you to cover your
ears. No monster before it had anything like that, and it could come as quite a
shock. Second, if you beat up a monster enough, it gets mad and hits harder and
moves faster. However, when you enrage a Barroth, he lets loose another
deafening cry, and starts hitting like a truck. He’ll cover you in mud, ram you
with his thick skull, and give you a ton of grief.
My first attempt was
pretty rough, where I consumed a large amount of healing items and barely
scraped by, having taken 40 or so of the allotted 50 minute time limit. Nonetheless,
I would return to the fight and pick up on various quirks. He’d charge at you
and end with a swing of the tail, so not only do you need to get out of the way
of the charging skull, you’d also need to keep an eye out for that tail. Maybe
roll out of the charge’s path, then wait for the tail swing, and launch an
attack.
This is one of Monster
Hunter’s greatest strengths as a game. It offers great challenge, and allows
for the player to become more skillful and grow as a hunter. Furthermore, this
growth is reliant on the player’s own skill. There are a lot of games where
certain difficulties can be overcome with things like overleveling, stocking up
tons of healing items, and other methods. In Monster Hunter, you’re always
limited on your healing items. Additionally, the only way you can really level
up is to get better equipment, and to get better equipment, you have to defeat
stronger monsters.
In the end, it’s all
about how you, as a player, can improve yourself.
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| The armor made from the Barroth, after a victory |
Another great aspect about
the game that comes after the monster slaying is the equipment forging. It is
incredibly satisfying to take down the monster that was your nightmare, and
turn it into a stylish armor set, or to even incorporate the parts into your weapon
to make it an even stronger one. This is another fun aspect that expresses growth
as a player, since your new equipment is often the reward for overcoming the
challenges presented in the game.
The designs of the
monsters and the designs of the equipment are another great part of the game.
You can pick up a pair of minichainsaws and use them as dualswords, you can
forge a hammer made out of a giant stone fist, and you can even catch a fish to
wield as a greatsword.
To complement your weapon
choice, you can dress up in all sorts of wonderfully designed armor sets, from reliable
leather to the classical dragonforged set, or from the funktastic Techno Space
Viking to the set reminiscent of Ezio and the Assassins. There are a ton of
fantastic designs in this armor, as well as in the monsters themselves. It’s
not hard to be completely engrossed in picking out what looks cool or what
looks great to show off to your friends, and is another shining component of
Monster Hunter.
These are just two of the
elements of the game that I really enjoy, but there are many more. If you’re a
fan of action games, especially of the Capcom sort, I highly encourage you to
check out the series. If you’re already an avid fan, then I hope to see you in
the hunt.
- By Alex Han, of the Teamwork Podcast
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Stay tuned, folks… More Monster Hunter testimonials coming soon!
(And if you want to submit a testimonial of your own, hit me up!)
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Posts
Another lovely testimonial, Brad. Thanks for sharing these! I have to admit they've continued to pique my interest in this series. Although I've long told myself I'd wait for MH4's US release to jump into the series, I may have to start with MH3U after all...
LOVING this series of reflections.
Thanks Brad for making this happen, and thank you Alex and Nick for sharing two very cool stories.
Similar deal with me: I was intrigued with the potential of MH when I first heard about it, put-off when I finally gave it a try on PSP, and then, for whatever reason, gave it a second try and was HOOKED.
I currently do the lion's share of my gaming on my trusty 3DS (although my PSP still sees a lot of action; I could play Persona 3 forever) and I'm thinking of picking up a copy of MH3U.
In your experience, how viable is the game as a single player experience?
That was the brick wall I eventually hit with MHFU -- too many of the upper-tier quests felt impossible for a solo hunter like myself.
Is MH3U any better in this regard?
Bryan> Jump in NAO!!!
TPB> it's totally viable as a singleplayer. I always complete the campaigns in every version that I play, and those are singleplayer only so they're absolutely possible. It may take a bit of work to get the right gear and to mix and match certain things, but it can definitely be done.
As for MH3U, I think it's probably got the best difficulty curve out of all the MH games I've played. It starts out very gently (some series vets have complained it's TOO easy) but I think it's just right, and it gradually gets harder as you go.
The interesting thing I've noticed is that it's quite possible to get by with just a few sets of armor and weapons... there have been some subtle tweaks that reduce the need to grind out equipment in the early hours.
in any event, I would say this is probably the easiest MH to solo, and the easiest one I played. I've heard that MHP3rd is easier, but since that one never came to America, I can't say.