Topic: Monster Hunter Rise

@Snatcher Here you go she appeared in MH4U like Jaxon said but you can also have her as a housekeeper in GU.

@iLikeUrAttitude Thank you so much. May I ask how? Is she a random character that shows up as a house keeper?

I kinda see what people are talking about, but the hair isn't really the same.

@Snatcher Oh simple, you unlock alternative housekeeper by completing specific quests for them. IIRC each one has their own questline.

@iLikeUrAttitude Thank you!

The Citadel

I'm mildly miffed that the 13GB download will be mandatory, whether or not you purchase Sunbreak.

sigh

Might as well go all-digital for this game. Although I'm going to hold out for however long it takes for the MHR + MHR:S digital bundle to go on deep discount (probably a couple years after Sunbreak goes live). I'll continue to hold out hope that everything gets bundled together physically sometime down the road, like those Japanese re-releases for BotW and Splatoon 2 that have all the DLC on cartridge.

How large is the citadel map?

@Magician Isn’t the bundle around 60-70 bucks? Iceborne was around 60 when they bundled it with the original game. I also heard there were physical copies, but sunbreak was just a code or something.

@VoidofLight
Iceborne Master Edition included the base game on disc and a download code for the expansion, same as the Rise + Sunbreak Set. We don't have a price yet, but I'm assuming the set will be $60, same as the MH World Iceborne Master Edition was.

As for Citadel size, we don't know for sure. All we know atm is that it has multiple biomes, which would seem to indicate it will be a larger than normal map in order to accommodate the ice area, forest area and ruins area. Or, maybe it's the same size as other maps but just has smart design with gradual transformations. Hard to say, really.

Either way, it's looking boss.

@JaxonH If the map turns out to be bigger than average I would like for there to be more subcamps then.

@iLikeUrAttitude
I'm sure there will be if that's the case. Volcano map had 3 camps total, as did the Ice map. Even World maps only had, what... 4 camps total? So if base Rise was already doing 3 I'm quite sure this one will have enough for its size.

New footage from Japan showing a brief clip of Astalos and Shogun Ceanataur gameplay

Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak is so hype! That direct was a blowout- everything weve seen so far has been top shelf. A MASSIVE map with different biomes (tundra, lush forest, ancient ruins), amazing new characters and village, and the monster roster? A-list.

Just look at these monsters!

Eh, I can't see a fully open world working with the type of game that Monster Hunter is. I feel like it'd just lose too much of it's identity in the process. @Ulysses

@Ulysses
I didn't get that impression at all. The amiibo armor for Malzeno looks sick. As does the Deluxe version armor. And Astalos armor. In fact all the armor we've seen have had previous gen designs carried over (except from World monsters, but so far no World monsters shown for Sunbreak).

World armor was definitely toned down, but Rise seemed to take us back to the good armor and weapon designs (that's not to say there wasn't great armor sets in World- to date the Bazel set is still one of my all time faves).

I also agree with @VoidofLight inasmuch that I don't expect one giant World. It just isn't a good fit for the game's structural design. It works for Elden Ring, but I don't think it would work for Monster Hunter. Giant open maps work, because it's a quest based game. And without separating maps you lose the diversity of locations. Yes, you can artificially combine biomes like Guiding Lands, and you can try to include different themes in a single map like The Citadel with ruins, and a forest bordering on rocky tundra, but that can only get you so far. If you want desert and ice, volcano and tropical forest, savannah, etc, you need separate maps.

Anyways, I noticed that crevice also. I wonder whats down there? I'm loving the verticality and I'm especially digging the vibe of The Citadel.

I'm pretty sure we're getting at least one more map since the marketing material mentioned "new areas" even while showing The Citadel. Whether it's another new map or a re-imagining of a previous map (Misty Peaks, anyone?) is anyone's guess.

Reminder that an open world doesn't automatically make a game good, in fact most of the time it's shoehorned without giving the world any depth.
And furthermore, a fully open Monster Hunter makes no sense whatsoever, its a quest based game with boss arena elements, you'll be fighting the same monster repeatedly, in what sense would that fit in with Monster Hunter?

@iLikeUrAttitude Tbh, I don’t really want a open world MH, world did a amazing job at it, but I would still feel like it was to big, as I was just running everywhere, and it feels even more so when you have one of those monsters that run all over the place.

I just don't think the quest based structure would lend itself well to an open world. They'd have to get rid of the timer entirely, so timed quests would be gone, or else exploration would be ruined as a result. Not every game has to be open world, or will become open world. I can see the maps in the next game probably being bigger, but I can't see them going "Here, have this fully open map to explore, and there goes timed quests, since we can't just whisk you back to the village to prepare for hunts!"

@Ulysses The thing is, the free roam timers worked for the free roam section of World. The free roam section didn't just take away one of the crucial points of the game. They'd have to fully abandon the mission quests entirely if they made the game fully open world. Also, I don't know about you, but walking back and forth between the village and an area of the world doesn't really sound.. fun? It sounds incredibly tedious to do.

Also, monsters leaving a zone wouldn't work either, given that in a fully open world game, there are no zones for the monster to run away from. Unless they just make it to where each region functions like a different part of the map, and the monster just up and runs away mid-quest (Which would also be extremely annoying.)

I just don't see that as a fun concept. I'd much rather them just keep the map structure honestly, given that it's the main thing these games do well. Yes, World had a territory system. I enjoyed that system, but I really wouldn't want it to be "OPEN WORLD, EXPLORE EVERYTHING!", since it'll ruin what makes the series itself unique. I'm tired of everyone thinking every game series needs to be 100% open world, since while it works in the favor of some series, it does ruin the unique aspects that made people enjoy a series in the first place.

For example, BotW. Yes, I know tons of people love it. I thought it was fine personally. However, I'll admit that I kind of wish we could go back to 2D top-down Zelda and traditional 3D Zeldas. BotW was a breath of fresh air, given that Zelda games were getting more and more linear as time went on. Despite this though, the game has glaring issues and it feels like some aspects of what made Zelda "Zelda" was lost. Things like actual dungeons that were themed, or a proper story/narrative that could actually invest you into the world. Things like the lack of enemy variety, with tons of Zelda enemies that people knew and loved being erased from existence. The combat being incredibly watered down to fit a world where you can go absolutely anywhere and do absolutely anything.

If they made Monster Hunter a series that was totally and fully open world, it will probably drop a ton of things that make the series what it was to begin with, or screw with systems that were already good, all so they could make it follow a trend that actively takes away from the unique aspects of the other series that followed said trend.

@Ulysses
Ya I'm just not seeing it. MH already did go "open world" to the extent that maps are fully open now without loading screens. That was hype and it added value. Simply merging all maps into a single map doesn't really offer anything of value, in fact it actively devalues the experience by being incompatible with the core structure of the formula.

Even if they made every possible biome into one map, there wouldn't really be any advantage to the current system. Searching for monsters would become impossible as you wander a map the size of Zelda? There is such a thing as too big.

Notwithstanding the fact Zelda was more high fantasy- they could merge multiple biomes by making a really huge map to separate them, and having a day night cycle that made it feel like you traveled for weeks to get to your destination. MH gives you 50 minutes. To go from desert to volcano to icy tundra to tropical rainforest in 50 minutes, and have time to fight the monster? That just doesn't seem compatible. It's one thing to go from a forest's edge to the start of tundra like Citadel, its quite another to do multiple opposing biomes you travel in 50 min. They'd have to drastically alter a formula that's already a golden goose. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. MH is now their highest selling game of all time. I don't see them making drastic alterations to the structure of the core game's identity like that. Even World with it's massive overhaul didn't dare change the 50 minute quest based structure across multiple maps.

There's just no need for it. It's a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. World solved real problems with loading zones and grind gathering. Merging maps doesn't solve any imminent problem.

I mean, nobody knows the future. But if you're asking me, I just don't see it happening. Maybe for a spinoff MMO? I could see that. But for the core series? Nah. I think the core structure will remain in tact indefinitely, until or unless players start losing interest and serious overhaul of the game's blueprint is required.