Japan Weekly: Famitsu Sheds Light on Monster Hunter Stories

Very quiet week. As a Wii U only owner, especially so. If Monster Hunter Frontier G ever comes West it certainly won't be on the Wii U. Wii U has nothing for the next few months until the controversial Paper Mario: Colour Splash.

Ridable Deviljho, now the games worth buying, shame of you for not knowing its English Name

lol...those monsters aren't new. xp
That's Zamtrios, Deviljho, and Barioth.

A deviljho... Better be prepared to be eaten by one in this game.
It's a fact you cannot escape.
Nothing escapes his appetite.
NOTHING!
Escape while you can... But know that you cannot escape forever.

@Mopati Just wanted to say, I love your avatar

@Megumi_Sagano

Yeah I facepalmed pretty hard when I saw that part.

This is the only Monster Hunter game I have had any genuine interest in. I want it so, so badly.

@KIREEK
"This is the only Monster Hunter game I have had any genuine interest in"

Should really try to rectify that come this Friday, when MH Generations drops. There's a reason people love MH so much. I invite you to come find out why!

@JaxonH I've played quite a few in the past. They just don't seem to do it for me (a lot of it has to do with the atmosphere) and leave me wanting more PSO. Ironically PSO got stagnant for me with the Portable series until Phantasy Star Zero came along (this was long before PSO2). This game gives me PSZero vibes. I'm very particular about what I want from grind-heavy games.

Edit: I can definitely understand why people love the games in the series thus far though. They are fantastic games and very addictive.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE yeah its drowning in "controversy"

@KIREEK
Ah, you're a Phantasy Star gamer.

Tell me, what's the best game to play for someone who doesn't know anything about the series? I know I have Phantasy Star II (Genesis) on 3DS. Pretty sure it's an English translation (unless it was officially localized, Idk). Either way it's English. Is that a good one to play or no?

Keep hearing about PS Online but, Idk. What say you. Best game? Isn't there one on SegaCD?

@RoomB31

@SLIGEACH_EIRE
Every game has "controversy" of some sort. Name one game released in the last year where certain people didn't kick up a fuss about one thing or another.

Think the average gamer is sick of drama queens fluffing up talk about "controversy" instead of just playing games and being excited for games. And if a game is bad, then people will say so after they personally play it. Not before.

@KIREEK I'm with you on that couldn't get into Monster Hunter series, even after countless demo attempts. Probably due to me playing too many MMO's in my youth. Stories on the the hand already has me interested enough that its a no-brainer, day one purchase.

That Ibirujo looks awesome- I really love the art and world of monster Hunter, but I am a bit pathetic in that I feel great guilt in killing anything for fun.

I know it's a virtual water dragon, or gigantic penguin with ten eyes. I know it's not real. But somehow the animals in Monster Hunter seem a little too real in their behaviours- defending themselves in painful, desperate animations.

I'm not sure if I'm alone, but something happened to me, somewhere deep in my soul a little piece of something broke when I killed that Stegosaur-y thing that was minding his own business.

Why does this series stir within me such moral turmoil??

Then again, it is great fun.

God, I'm a Monster.

@JaxonH I would highly recommend playing II (which over time I've considered to be my personal favorite) but ironically I wouldn't start there. While II has the best story (in my opinion of course as I prefer dark and bleak fare), it's very difficult. Check out IV if you have the opportunity without having to deal with some archaic design choices and really REALLY unforgiving battles (II is notorious for that). IV really showcases the best of everything about the series and it has a stand-alone story so no need to worry about missing a major arc from the earlier games.

III is notoriously hated by a good amount of Phantasy Star fans, though I like it a lot. It makes some very unique design choices that I won't spoil. PS1 also falls into this category to some extent. A good way to play the first three games in one convenient place is the Game Boy Advance "Phantasy Star Collection".

As far as the Online games (basically everything after 1999), I love the original PSO to bits. It (and every other online iteration, pretty much) is basically completely unrelated to the single player games. You can actually play the original for free on the PC via high-regarded and reputable private servers - this version is known as "PSO Blue Burst". It's very much like monster hunter in a lot of ways and excels both in terms of coop and single player progression. The games that came after PSO Ep I and II (except for PSOIII which was a card battle game, and a surprisingly damn good one) built off of this formula. Strangely enough, I think the original one holds up so well that it can actually be categorized as a timeless classic. The more recent ones are also excellent but PSO is better than excellent in my biased opinion.

Sorry for writing so much- felt like giving a thoughtful answer ^^.

@KIREEK
Ok I just realized I have all 4 (first for Master System and 2-4 for Genesis).

I'd prefer playing any other version than GBA, cause GBA virtual console has no restore points. And the GBA emulation is kinda iffy on 3DS.

I coulda sworn there was a PS for SegaCD. Maybe I'm imagining it. How is PSO for offline single player? Since obviously that's all there is left now. And what platforms can you find it other than PC. It's on GameCube, right?

@SLIGEACH_EIRE - Okay, that sums up Paper Mario's situation way too much at this point...they shoulda stopped at #3, but they just kept going...and we have no one to blame but ourselves...

@JaxonH - If you don't mind playing on PC, I recommend playing with Private Servers. There are others besides that one, btw, that's just the one I used for a time, though I'll admit I have no idea how populated they still are, especially at lower levels.

@Nin10doh

Monster Hunter isn't one of those games you can try for half an hour and decide whether it's fun or not.

It's more a game where the fun comes from having mastered a weapon or two, knowing all the mechanics and skills and putting that expertise to use in highly skill based boss battles.

It's more a game where you have to purpose it in yourself that you're going to learn it, and learn it competently, and you won't really know if it's for you until you do. Which is why a lot of people say demos don't represent the game that well. They do give a nice taste of the hunt, but, the thrill of the hunt comes from your preparedness which is only earned through previous hunts.

Idk. I remember playing MH3U and dropping it after a couple hours. It wasn't until my coworker bought a Wii U who was a MH fanatic and talked me into hunting online with him that I really gave the game a real go. And the rest is history.

"Monster Hunter isn't one of those games you can try for half an hour and decide whether it's fun or not."

...there aren't a lot of games that fit that mold, honestly. Not any good ones, at least, since that would imply that the game never really evolves from those first 30 minutes.

That said, Monster Hunter has a high bar of entry, and you'll pretty quick whether or not you have the stomach for it. You may not be able to figure out whether or not you like it in that timespan, but you'll know for sure how thick your skin is when you encounter a big monster for the first time, and you get thrown around like a ragdoll while they're surrounded by a dozen little annoying things that constantly try to interrupt you while you're aiming your Bowgun, because you thought "oh hey, a gun! That should be really helpful when I'm hunting dinosaurs!" before you found out that you have to make the ammo yourself from nuts and animal guts...........if you still wanna play after that, then you're officially one of us: insane.

@CanisWolfred Some games give you a simple set of rules, games like Devil may cry or Shank 1 & 2 come to mind, a lot of older titles like mega man did this as well. Monster hunter is a game that starts of rather slow and has a steep curve from learning to mastering it. I think it is due the number of rules there are to follow, a hack 'n slash game feels right or wrong from the get go and how that feels and is evident from the first few enemies you'll face. But a half hour in monster hunter 4 is just learning the ropes and you might have killed one jaggi by then. I like to see that dark soul and monster hunter are the same type of game. A type of game that doesn't reward you with flashy finishers and superbly style combos but with thrilling battles with monster who's corpse could be your next house!

@JaxonH I'm not aware of a SegaCD version, but I I could certainly be wrong. I know there were remakes of Phantasy Star I and II that were released as something called the Sega Ages collection for the PS2. We never got those over here but I have yearned for an official localization.

I can attest to the decency of the PSP/Vita play of the "Sega Genesis Collection" (a backward compatible PSP title). The PS3 version is also great for home play. From what I remember, all four of the original games are included (but I could be wrong about the inclusion of Phantasy Star 1).

Regarding PSO and its single player appeal, I think it's fantastic. There is a branching story that gives you enticing hints about what's going on in the world, some surprisingly deep characters and a genuine sense of achievement when you level up (particularly after you hit level 100) .

The nice part about the gamecube version is that it features split screen local multiplayer. This is one of the reasons that it is considered one of the best versions of the games released. You can also connect to private servers to this day with ease on the gamecube version so long as you have the Gamecube or Wii broadband adapters. Not sure if home-brew is required on the latter but the gamecube can still connect without any home-brew whatsoever.

There are also two slightly different versions of the gamecube version, the standard game and "Episode I&II Plus". "Plus" corrected an item duplication glitch and included on-the-disc quests that could previously only be downloaded.

@khululy That's true, I guess. But then again, I remember my first half-hour of Mega Man. I hated it, put it down, and deeply regretted asking for the Mega Man Anniversary Collection for my 10th (11th?) birthday.

It took about 2 years and a lot of money in the swear jar before it landed in my personal gaming pantheon, alongside Sonic the Hedgehog and The Legend of Zelda. It was a game that didn't change much, yes. But Mega Man is an uncompromising set of games. It expects you to evolve to it. That's the same impression I get from Monster Hunter, for the most part.

@CanisWolfred Exactly as it should be, games shouldn't give players tools to make the game easier(as is the case in a lot of AAA titles where you get too powefull too easily it seems) but to prepare you for the coming challenges. The game doesn't need to cater to the player, the player needs to adapt to the game.

@JaxonH Yea I get that the game is time investment, but it just wasn't anything appealing. A lot of the same mechanics (i.e. armor/weapon crafting and enhancements) are the same as most MMOs out there.

So its nothing really mind blowing for me in that regard. I think the genre just doesn't do it for me anymore like it used to when I was younger.

@khululy Uh...I wasn't saying that was a bad thing. At all. In fact, I feel like we're having 3 completely different conversations here. I was just saying that your first impression is never truly indicative of the full experience. The most you'll get is an idea as to whether or not further progress might be worth your time, and that can sometimes be down more to your skill and tolerance levels than anything else.

Monster Hunter is a game that demands your time, and you'll only start seeing the fruits of your labor after a lot of hard work and dedication. For a lot of people, that's great. Even the very definition of a great game.

But some people don't have that time to spare, even if they wanted to. Whether it's real-life commitments, or other games that they could be playing instead with more immediate gratification, including some with similar bents as Nin10doh has illustrated. All I'm trying to say is that even if those first impressions indicative the final experience, I certainly wouldn't fault anyone for quitting after 30 minutes. After all, that doesn't even count as a warm up even for veteran players. And if that's all the time you have to spare, or at least consider "good enough" for a play session, you're gonna be in for a bad time.

...Heck, even I'm dread it a lot of the time. I basically can't play it unless I have at least an hour or so to myself, that's not always easy to get on a regular basis anymore...