As many of you people know, I fully embrace my geekitude. I'm sort of a tech guy, I've built a computer (and will probably do so again in the future), I play video games, I enjoy comic books (aka graphic novels, but I'm not that pretentious) and their movie/show adaptations an other such ilk. Of such pursuits, that which engrosses me most deeply are the video games. The ones I prefer are often fairly complex, have at least some intriguing story, and challenge me to improve my performance in order to progress. While I'm sure I could jus spew a list of he games I play (spoiler: there's a lot), I will instead focus on a particular series that has (somewhat) recently become a favourite of mine. That's right folks, I'm gonna talk Monster Hunter.
FYI I'm probably gonna wax poetic about this and not give any real insight into me personally, but it's also probably gonna be a good starter's guide to Monster Hunter. If you don't want to read my rambling A) Why are you here? and B) Feel free to skip this post.
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The Monster Hunter series, as its name implies, is a series of games in which you hunt monsters. Shocking, I know, you never would've guessed that such was the case. What a simple premise for such a complex game. The balance between the simple and the complex is what, in my opinion, makes the games so impressive and gives them lastability. Now to discuss what I find so enthralling about these games.
1. The Weapon System
The key to getting anything done in Monster Hunter is finding a weapon type that you're comfortable with. This is absolutely a vital component as no two weapon types behave or feel the same and most of your ability to hunt revolves around using your weapons properly. You want to find something that suits your playstyle. Do you like hitting harder than anything else and you are okay with moving slowly andblocking when necessary? The great sword is probably a good choice for you. Want to move more quickly, focus on more of a hit-and-run playstyle while boosting your damage through landing combos? The Longswords (or Katanas, depending on who you talk to) may suit your needs. I'd do a brief summary of currently available weapon types at the end of this section.
Another reason why you need to find a weapon type you're comfortable with is due to the tailoring of Armor Skills that will undoubtedly happen, which I'll delve into later. Fortunately, in the latest (North American) release of Monster Hunter (3 Ultimate), you start off with one of every weapon type so you don't have to go out scrounging for materials to make them or stuff to sell to buy some new types. As such, go ahead and test them all out, you may find you prefer playing with ranged weapons, or maybe you find that you like literally mashing face with a hammer. There are enough differences between weapon styles that no two weapons feel alike, so switching to a different type almost feels like playing a different game since you have to re-learn how to approach each hunt. Frankly, it's very well executed and provides a lot of replay value to the series.
2. The Crafting System
Crafting armor and weapons is an integral part of the game, making weapons that suits your needs and armors that compliment your playstyle is one of the most central components of the series. Want to know the best part? You use the parts you carve from the monsters you hunt to make them, and following that logic, the armors and weapons utilizing parts of specific monsters resemble said monsters. For example, say you manage to stumble upon (and proceed to slay or capture) a Lagiacrus. Using the parts that you gathered from it you can make both armor and weapons that not only look like it, but have attributes that make sense. Keeping with the example, Lagiacrus are monsters that shoot lightning, so the armor you make from it is lightning resistant and the weapons do lightning damage. The armor also decreases your fire resistance. So using the knowledge that damage resistances on the armor coincide with the actual monster's resistances you can then tailor your weapon choice to more efficiently hunt the monster. This tends to mean hunting other monsters to get the the parts you need, which might require different weapon damage types, and so on and so forth. It's a massive cycle, for me anyway, but I'm crazy. You could always go for high neutral damage and not exploit any monster's weakness, I guess. That's not how I do it, but I'm crazy (and Longswords tend to have pretty decent elemental damages).
So yeah, endless cycle of weapon crafting, sometimes requiring rare materials that are kind of a PITA to get, but overall a very engrossing system that had you plan what you hunt and how you hunt it ahead of time. Oh, and depending on whether you kill or capture a monster you have different likelihood a of getting different parts, so if you need something specific you might have to change what your planned outcome is. I, personally, find capturing the easier and often more beneficial hunting method, but to each their own.
3. The Hunts
Considering that they're the majority of the gameplay, it's probably a good thing that the actual hunting is enthralling and not repetitive. With all the hunting monsters for parts and hunting the same type of monster for parts, one would think that it would get feeling excessively grindy, but no two fights are the same. Sure the monsters only have a select moveset, but the likelihood that both you and the monster do exactly the same thing every time is virtually nil. As such, you can't just remember patterns and be in the right place according to the timing of the fight (much unlike a lot of MMORPGs out there). There's things to learn to improve your performance like finding safe zones during certain attacks and learning how to dodge through attacks, but that's all skill and reaction development rather than strict memorization of times events. So even though you've gotta keep fighting Brachydios for gems to make that last piece of the G-rank armor set (which is what I'm currently doing) you're a lot more reliant on your developed skills (and maybe out-gearing it, that helps a bunch) than anything else to make sure you succeed.
4. The Learning of the Game
As with most modern games, there is some sort of tutorial to teach you the game basics. In MH3U, you start off doing minor things that will prove immensely beneficial in the future but may not have anything to do with your actual hunts. It introduces you to gathering and carving to get materials to either combine into consumables or use in crafting weapons and armor along with movement, basic attacking (what button to press mostly) and navigating maps. After that they basically just throw you into the water with little to no knowledge of how to actually use anything or what you'll need to accomplish your hunts. I'm mostly talking about how to use your weapon properly, 'cause the low rank quests start you off in the base camp with helpful supplies that give you a clue as to monsters' weaknesses, but if you don't know how to use your weapon effectively you'll still not do very well.
Aside from the introduction there is constant learning to be done as you progress through new monsters and new ranks. Every new monster you face has a new moveset, so learning on the fly and being observant is necessary to succeed. You need to be able to figure out what it's tells are, they always telegraph what they're going to do. Always. Your job is to learn the signs and react properly by either getting out of the way or readying a block, or, if you're ballsy enough, timing specific attacks to avoid taking damage while dishing it out in kind. This is easier with some weapon types than others (guard-lancing is great at it [yes there are different types of lancing, there's multiple different techniques for everything]), and it's often a good strategy after you've learned how monsters move and attack. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you talk to), as you move to higher ranks and take on tougher versions of the monsters you've seem before, they get new things added to their moveset, along with moving faster, doing more damage, and having more health. So it takes longer, hurts more and your reactions need to get faster. I love how this game forces you to get better as you progress, no artificial improvement here. You actually need to improve your performance in order to get better gear. It's a brilliant if sometimes frustrating design that is very well executed and something that I wish other game designers would learn from.
5. Breaking Their Spirits
So I mentioned how all the monsters have different movesets and how they have tells/telegraphs/signs, but one of my favourite features that monsters all share is the breaking of parts. Every monster that gives three or more carves has at least one part that can be visibly broken. Spikes snapped, wings torn, tail tips chopped clean off, horns broken, armor plating smashed off. There's quite a few ways to injure monsters and they can even effect how you handle and approach the monster. Cutting the tail off not only nets you another carve but diminishes the reach of the tail swing (which is basically universal, slight variation between each monster due to size differences), giving you extremely useful escape room and letting you approach with less caution. There's something so satisfying to stop a monster in its tracks by hitting it hard enough to break its wing or face, watching what once caused you strife reel back in pain.
6. The Monsters Themselves
There's a lot of monsters and lots of variety between them. From small, Velociraptor-like monsters to Mountain Sized Dragons, from flying fire-breathing Wyverns to sea-bound giant serpents with plenty of variety in between. The monsters themselves are one of the key features of the series, if they or their armors are not compelling you won't want to hunt them. Sure there's some that seem kind of silky, but all the hunts are challenging (at least the first time you try them) but balanced enough to give you a fighting chance while you're still learning them. Figuring out strategies and learning new fights while appreciating the designs of monsters themselves and how their appearance matches their moveset is one of my favourite parts of advancing through the game. Plus, as you trump the monsters you gain confidence and in the knowledge that you can indeed beat them and you start fine-tuning your approach, getting better with each attempt. It's personal progression that may only be visible to you but it is very noticeable when you go from almost failing (or actually failing a quest) to barely letting a monster touch you, and you move on to the next monster and start all over, though using skills you've picked up from prior hunting excursions to improve your odds.
Finale
I flippin' love Monster Hunter. It's an exquisite blend of challenge, depth and simplicity, ranking highly amongst the best designed games I've personally experienced, with unmatched replay value and longevity. That's my opinion anyway, you should give it a try and form your own.
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Well that took longer...and was longer, I guess, than anticipated. I seriously enjoy Monster Hunter though. Seriously. Anywho, that's it for now.
Cheers
~Cam
