I’ve been playing a lot of Monster Hunter Rise since it launched. Like, an unhealthy amount. It’s easily my new favourite in the series, serving as a great jumping on point for new players and a place for veterans to hone their skills. But while I’ve enjoyed zipping to and fro with the new Wirebug, and riding around with my Palamute dog companion, Rise still makes me uncomfortable every now and then. Rise’s monsters are easily some of the most creative, awe-inspiring beasts in all of gaming, which makes it all the more upsetting when you’re driving blades through their hides and making hats out of their wings.
I understand what Monster Hunter is, the clue is in the name after all. I do wish that there were more ways of interacting with the series’ beasties than straight up killing them, though. This got me thinking, wouldn’t a 'Monster Hunter Snap' game be wonderful?
This hypothetical Monster Hunter spin-off would of course follow Pokémon Snap’s approach to the Pokémon universe. Pokémon Snap was a natural evolution of the series, giving players a way to hang out with Pokémon without having to make them fight. This has always been something my partner has pointed out to me while watching me play Pokémon: ‘I love this Pokémon, why do you have to fight it?’; ‘I just wish I didn’t have to battle all the time, I think I’d really enjoy Pokémon otherwise’ — it’s clear that there’s a lot of space for Pokémon games that exist without having to lean into combat as a main focus. The reveal of Pokémon Legends: Arceus earlier this year is yet another indicator of this shift, offering more exploration and free-roam play, as well as the usual battles.
The Monster Hunter series has already started to take steps towards a more empathetic view of the monsters that inhabit its world. Monster Hunter Stories allows you to hatch monster eggs and befriend monsters, being more akin to the Pokémon series in the treatment of monsters. It still involves battling, but from a much more friendly angle than the usual stab, kill and carve loop featured in the core series. Monsters like the Rathalos, Mizutsune and Tigrex have become icons over the years, with distinct personalities that make them feel like real animals.
Imagine being tasked with photographing two monsters as they battle, having to set up your shots to get great pictures while also keeping at a safe distance
Stories gives players a new way to interact with these creatures, forging bonds and adding a spin on the way the series usually views its monsters. The lesser-known Monster Hunter Diary also took a new direction, with an emphasis on village-management and Animal Crossing-style interactions with Felyne characters.
Taking the monster-friendly ethos of Stories further could really work in a Monster Hunter Snap game. Snapping photographs is already a part of Rise, there’s even missions that specifically ask you to photograph monsters in certain ways, like catching a Bombadgy as it exhales gas and rolls around. The monsters of Monster Hunter already exhibit unique behaviours and follow strict routines, setting the stage for players to go in and photograph them. Imagine being tasked with photographing two monsters as they battle, having to set up your shots to get great pictures while also keeping at a safe distance. The new Wirebug is a great fit for a photography game, given that it allows you to reach cliff tops and hidden areas with ease. You can bet there’d be a cat running the photo hut where you develop your pics, too.
You could be a researcher tasked with writing the first Hunters Notes volume, filling it in as you photograph each monster as it goes about its day. This would be a way to have progression tied to something other than armour sets and weapons. Mostly, I just want an excuse to spend more time admiring the beautiful locales I’m usually riding through as fast as possible. These locales are also often filled with strange and interesting flora, as well as smaller creatures that hide away behind the scenes. I’d love to get all Planet Earth and slowly document each area, perhaps visiting locations from a variety of Monster Hunter games. The many games in the Monster Hunter series are rarely tied together, meaning the overarching universe can feel a little undefined at times. What better way to establish this world than by letting players explore it at their leisure, documenting the differences between regions and learning new things along the way?
More than anything, I’d like non-combative spin-offs to become more of the norm. It makes sense that as games become more complex, with better visual fidelity and AI, that the ways we interact with them should become more complex also. This is something that genres like military shooters have had to wrangle with recently, offering deeper explanations as to why you are doing the things you’re being asked to do. Nintendo has always been better at this than most, and with Monster Hunter having much of its history entangled with the platform holder, it’d be interesting to see the series broaden to appeal to a more diverse set of gamers. The Switch has sold extremely well, and has excellent gyroscopic controls that could really shine here. I’d bet a MH Snap game would be a much easier sell than the often-intimidating main games.
The last two Monster Hunter mainline games have both seen amazing sales, finally bringing the series to mainstream Western audiences. It’s clear that Monster Hunter is currently a very hot property indeed (hey, you saw the film, right), and I’m hoping that this success will allow Capcom to be a bit more daring with potential spin-offs. With New Pokémon Snap on the way, it will be interesting to see how well it sells, and whether this could be yet another sign to developers like Capcom that there is an appetite for these kinds of games.
After so many Monster Hunter games it’s surely time to build out the world a bit with some smaller, weirder titles. Stories is a great start, as is having the new entry tie into Rise through shared compatibility. I’ll honestly take any opportunity to jump back into the Monster Hunter universe but please Capcom, consider making Monster Hunter Snap.
Comments 43
You guys it's like April 10th give it a rest already
Honestly, I play monster hunter for everything but taking pictures. I looked into getting pokemon snap, but it’s too expensive for a game so short, at least if the sequel is the same length as the original. Plus, l really don’t see the point in a game where in which you can only take pictures on rails.
It should really be like Pokemon so we have Monster Hunter Crackle and Monster Hunter Pop.
@VoidofLight the squeal is going to be much larger than the original, they’ve already revealed that.
I honestly half play it like Monster Hunter Snap already when I'm filling my Hunter Notes with pictures of monsters and fauna. I mount the Palamute, choose camera and go running around in first person perspective taking pictures of stuff.
While hunting monsters is still my main thing, it was a pretty nice and fun "mini-game in a game"
@ShadJV I mean, if you care about completing it, then yeah it should be. If you don't really care about the gameplay itself, or about 100%ing it, it'll just be like a few hours long.
I didn't know I needed something so much! Seriously, between lures and dealing with obstacles to get the perfect shot it could be fantastic. Make it a full 3D stealth style game; no on-rails, please! Oh, and vehicles/mounts are a must!
Capcom please don’t!
@VoidofLight it’ll still likely be notably longer. There’s not a huge difference in any% or 100% for the first game because you get locked behind gates where you need a certain number of photographed Pokemon to proceed, plus you are required to replay areas for other exits and to photograph specific things. It’s impossible to just go through Snap playing through each area once, you have to backtrack. This one will have more areas and more branching paths so it will take longer, even to any%.
@Lord I just rather have monster hunter on it's own, so I agree with you. Stories is fine for a spin-off, since it's actually substantial.
@ShadJV I'm not expecting New Snap to be longer than 10 hours though, since the type of game doesn't lend it to being longer than that.
I think this is better than a snap game.
I love not being on rails for my photos
I wouldn't mind being able to view and vote/like on other's photos, though.
I'd rather have a Pokemon game where we can hunt, kill and carve them.
@Aerona
Let them. They went on and on about Animal Crossing.
Finally they're going on and on about a game I care about.
Saw the pic, thought someone was making a "VelociPastor" game. 😂
A MH snap would be great.
A character creation included would be cool
MH Rise is the closest we're ever getting to MH Snap.
Normally I ignore photo features in games but for whatever reason I've gotten really addicted to taking photos of everything and cataloging all monsters and endemic life in MHR. Honestly, the new exploration options (wirebug and palamute) coupled with the relic treasure hunts and photo mode have made me spend a lot more time in exploration quests than I thought I would.
I can't believe it, but for once they added something to monster hunter that I enjoy as much as fighting big ass monsters!
I'm not gonna spend $60 just to take pictures
Gonna need a Monster Hunter Pinball game first.
@Aerona
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
@shonenjump86 GOD, yes, please. Metroid Prime Pinball is still one of my favorite DS games, and Monster Hunter would make a great theme for a pinball adventure title.
I don't think we really need a standalone game for that. Just bake it into the game as a side activity. More than it already is, I mean.
Make it ignorable if you want but if you want to partake in it, have an npc reward you with items and materials and armor spheres and perhaps even gems or talismans for snapping pics of certain things. It would weave into the main gameplay quite well.
World (specifically Iceborne) had something like this but I didn't do hardly any of it mostly because I could never remember the controls for using the camera, but it's made easy to do in Rise.
Did someone write too many April Fool's this month? While we're at it, let's have a primitive Pokemon game where you hunt legendaries and beat them up using swords, axes, and guns.
I think a whole jungle safari-like game featuring the Monster Hunter world would be neat...not for me, but I think it could find an audience. I don't even bother with the side quests that involve taking pictures.
What I think would be cool though, is a fighting game in which players control monsters from the MH series.
Look at the smiling Tigrex saying hello to everyone. Such a kind fellow.
Nah, Monster Hunter world already has photo mode. If they wanted to, they can try to expand that feature in game, but I don't care too much about paying for a standalone game. Leave that to the Pokemon franchise.
I honestly don't get the appeal, going round set routes taking pictures, you can't even walk around yourself.
Now if it was a massive island and you could walk around yourself taking pictures whilst doing side quests like npcs asking for certain pictures, with certain monsters only appearing at certain times of day or weather conditions then yeah maybe it would be more interesting than the premise pokemon snap is offering? And for £60 is a joke for a game that will take a few hours to complete
I think modern games can have this intergrated in the main campaign such as pokemon and monsters interacting with eachother and the environment and being able to take photos of them
That idea is pretty cool, but not 60 dollars cool, but as long as there's people who buy these..they can keep making snap games at any price they want
Monster Hunter Safari would be a fitting title for such a game without forfeiting the "Monster Hunter" moniker.
The picture mechanic in Monster Hunter Rise is so incredibly addicting. It auto tags what you're photographing and let's you swap out the brush stroke paintings in your notebook for actual pics you take. Even your guild card can be customized with your own pics. And you can hang them on the walls in your room- it makes it feel so personal.
Look at some of the amazing shots I've managed in MH Rise. And time does not stop when you're taking pics which makes it very challenging to get certain shots while a monster is aggroing you.
Sorry for the compression but I wanted to fit a bunch in one upload.
this whole article is cringe
Would make for a fun mobile game for younger audience to "get into" Monster hunter. They would recognise the monsters and already have "Hunter's notes" on favourite habitats, patrol patterns, attack cues (they can be photographed fighting other monsters on their turf). You could set the game across the newer title s including Stories 2, so anything you learn taking photos of, can be useful in the main games.
Well, I guess it looks like Pokemon Snap has started it's own genre if folk want to copy it. But 'it could be dinosaurs instead of Pokemon' is not game design lol.
I saw something like that done in one of TerminaMontage's "Something About Monster Hunter World" animations.
Sounds just as bad of an idea as Pokemon Snap
dumb idea imo. Doesn't suit monster hunter, only Pokèmon.
Maybe another go at Fatal Frame instead?
That is actually a great idea. Ha.
@Diogmites Awesome, have you gotten an award for that? I started doing that but it was feeling more like a chore so I stopped, but if there's an award involve then I'll start snapping again!
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