Monster Hunter [Archive]

SolarSamurai

Dec 22, 2012, 12:21 PM

I have been looking for things to keep me busy until PSO2 comes out and stumbled upon the release of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. I remember all of my friends back in 2009 constantly talking about Monster Hunter 3 for wii and how much fun it was. My other friend said the concept of it was similar to PSO. So I bought MH3 for Wii and loved the game play. I went ahead and pre-ordered two copies of MH3U for 3DS; 1 for my brother and 1 for I. I plan on getting the Wii U version later for online play.

I am still disappointed that PSO2 is only coming out for PC, Vita, and iso/android. It almost seems like Sega PSO is abandoning owners of the Nintendo systems, but I guess that's how the Monster Hunter fans feel about MH moving to Nintendo((for the most part). ((I plan on getting a Vita and my PC does runs PSO2; played the JP servers for a while.)) Isn't it kinda funny how the two series kinda swapped systems?

So, what are your favorite Monster Hunter titles, and why? What are your favorite monsters, armor, weapons, and comrades? Are you excited for MH3U or MH4? Any other hunters on here I should know about?

Note:: I got MHP3 a few days back and it's pretty fun.

I do hope that I am not breaking any rules by mentioning what can be considered Phantasy Star's rival.

Akaimizu

Dec 22, 2012, 03:03 PM

Not at all, because the games actually play very different. Monster hunter has way more Survival/Foraging/Monster behavior sim aspects, and too little special/skill/stat building to be an actual Dungeon Crawler-style game that PSO is. It's why I don't even consider them in the same sub-genre, really.

I'm definitely into monster Hunter games just that I generally don't get them unless they are localized. So my obvious faves are Monster Hunter Tri and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Oddly enough, nowadays, I tend to be way more Monster Hunter Tri thanks to the interesting tweaks and changes made to Tri's weapons, making existing ones more dynamic. Still, it does have less weapon choices than Unite, but it makes up or it in terms of overall game quality upgrades in animation, interesting new bosses, and a more dynamic ability for the weapons you can use. Like how Sword and Shield guys gained the ability to have a little of everything, for those who don't like to have to choose between slashing sharp-edged weaponry, and weaponry for which to bludgeon and KO creatures.

Haven't played anything released after Tri as I don't really do imports for Monster Hunter. I'm looking quite forward to MH3 Ultimate. Adding online play, on a console with online play built-in standard, is probably the best thing this series did for increasing localized sales. It's the community stuff, and multiplayer used to train new players, which always was the main attraction for the series. Making it so people have to jump through a bunch of hoops, and extra costs, to do so, kept this a niche title in the west.

Xevioso

Dec 22, 2012, 04:22 PM

I'm not exactly a fan of the series. The difficulty of the games feel artificial seeing as enemies are faster and have better recovery times than you do.

Though I guess I would have to say Tri as the Lagia gear is awesome.

Palle

Dec 23, 2012, 09:33 AM

MHdos was my favorite and the title on which I logged the most network hours, but it is not on the poll. A vote for the original is still legit, though, as it was a great experience when it was new.

Randomness

Dec 23, 2012, 11:58 AM

Tri, but it's the only one I've played.

Ceresa

Dec 23, 2012, 12:25 PM

I'm not exactly a fan of the series. The difficulty of the games feel artificial seeing as enemies are faster and have better recovery times than you do.

Wouldn't be much of a game if the enemies didn't have something over the players considering they telegraph the hell out of everything they do and the player has the opportunity for what, 20-30 lifebars worth of potions, unlimited stamina, and 2~4 traps, 5 flash bombs, all per player. Add in KO, sleepbombing, evade, block, game is stacked for the players...

Anyways, prefer Portable 3rd HD. UI is an eyesore but rest of the game looks great and multiplayer so good for the series. Adhoc party is ghetto for sure, but being able to finish the quest if you get d/c places it above Tri's also embarrassing online. Pretty much all my favorites except Kirin are in too. Alatreon, Gold and Silver Rath, Akantor, Amatsu...

Definitely buying a Wii U when Ultimate comes out, and hoping 4 gets a console version eventually too.

yoshiblue

Dec 23, 2012, 01:57 PM

As much as I love Freedom Unite, Tri introduced new things. SnS shield bashing is my favorite thing to do. pair it with the Almighty Dahaka and you got some fun times and easy hits ahead of you.

Randomness

Dec 23, 2012, 03:00 PM

As much as I love Freedom Unite, Tri introduced new things. SnS shield bashing is my favorite thing to do. pair it with the Almighty Dahaka and you got some fun times and easy hits ahead of you.

SnS is just a lot of fun to hack away with, because its so very agile and has a nice amount of branching in the combos.

SolarSamurai

Dec 23, 2012, 05:05 PM

MHdos was my favorite and the title on which I logged the most network hours, but it is not on the poll. A vote for the original is still legit, though, as it was a great experience when it was new.

I knew I missed something.. I do apologize for that. I don't think there is a way to change the poll after it has been created...

darkante

Dec 23, 2012, 06:38 PM

Well, i liked FU a bit more over P3rd. Not because of the challenge, but because of what type of bosses.

I never were that good at it, but when i needed help my big bro helps me out.
Big Monster hunter fan there, not to say i like them alot too.
Bombing is hella fun too.

I´m just kinda holding off playing P3rd until 3G is out.
Don´t wanna spoil the fun too much.

Ce'Nedra

Dec 23, 2012, 07:10 PM

MHtri, its my first expierence with Monster Hunter series and I fell in love with it. Played it 2 years non stop online with some friends from a other game. Had awesome time, got almost everything gear wise thats possible in the game spread over 2 chars, just lack a few arena coins... I think I got quite good at it, and I love to gun down Alatreon and axe Jho. Such good times~ I really miss the game...

I also got MHFU but couldnt get into it somehow, then I got MHP3rd and I played that for a while but it died out as well cause im alone with it...Can only go so far alone in MH.

I kinda hope the Wii U will get MH4 after MH3U. I really wanna play MH again. I think I will buy a copy of MH3U for sure for the Wii U once I get it. Maybe we could arrange a few games sometime OP?

Sinue_v2

Dec 23, 2012, 07:30 PM

I voted for Monster Hunter on the PS2. Not really because I like it, but because it's the only MH game I have any extensive experience with. Bought it on a lark looking for something to fill the PSO void when FFXI and EQoA couldn't accommodate. Gave it more than a fair shot, but didn't care for it.. and I haven't touched a MH game since. So... favorite by default, I guess.

I've played other games of it's ilk, and I couldn't really get into those either - except for perhaps God Eater Burst and Dragon's Dogma (which probably doesn't count since it's more like a lovechild of MH and Dragon Age)

SolarSamurai

Dec 24, 2012, 08:16 PM

Sinue_v2

Dec 24, 2012, 09:47 PM

And if you get a 3ds or a Wii u, you should try out mh3u if you can. You might like it.

Maybe. I doubt they'd change the core mechanics too far away from what made it popular, and I have played demos of MH on the PSP, and they don't seem encouraging. It just feels like all the worst aspects of an MMO condensed and injected into a dungeon-crawler - destroying the good aspects of those in the process. Even derivative titles like Gods Eater I found barely tolerable, and only because I enjoyed the world and the lore more.

I don't mean to bag on the MH series too much; I'm sure they're great titles if you're into that sort of game. I just don't understand why people enjoy them so much.

Oh yes, I heard Dragons Dogma is good. Anything in particular about it you find unique?

It's not too bad from a gameplay perspective. There's still a bit of MH in there, but it's much less tactical. You still have large enemies with insane HP pools to chip away slowly at, but they're rarer and you don't need a ton of specialized gear to take them out effectively. You can simply exploit weakspots and juggle elemental/status resistances to do the job. Still, I'm used to a bit more meat in my RPGs when it comes to atmosphere and narrative. There's really no story or lore to follow to speak of, and you don't really interact with the world in much a capacity beyond "kill this monster", "loot that box". The graphics could be better, but the art direction is quite nice. There's also a ton of items, upgrades, and micromanaging to be done each time you change a vocation or find a bit of shiny new gear. Lots of people hate that aspect of RPGs, but I enjoyed it. Gear is bought or found in the world, but you do need to harvest items for the upgrades... which is a nice compromise. I hate being stuck in noob gear just because I can't find that elusive last few bits of Griffin spunk or Ogre Dingleberries needed to craft higher level gear.

I do also like how females can get a wide array of reasonable armor for their job types, rather than be stuck with chainmail bikinis spuriously themed after their male counterparts. There's still chainmail bikinis and boob-plates to be found, sure, but it is very optional... and generally sub-par compared to the beefier armor sets. As it should be.

An example of female armor:
[spoiler-box]
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1254&pictureid=32893
Nawari, my knight in shining armor. Yes, my white knight also happens to be my black knight. :)

[spoiler](.... ok ok, so I also have a few pictures of her half-naked and riding a hydra. But I swear, that's not how I normally played.)
[/spoiler-box]

Otherwise, pawns are pretty neat to tinker around with. If you horde a bunch of RC crystals from killing enemies and from renting out your pawn to other players, you can buy some neat character customizations to really make them unique.

[spoiler-box]
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1254&pictureid=32894

Two of my favorites I used a lot in my campaign, plus a dreadlocked hunchback midget neanderthal helper thing I used. He's like Willow if he were raised by wolves... and had down syndrome.
[/spoiler-box]
[/spoiler-box]

SolarSamurai

Dec 25, 2012, 12:01 AM

Maybe. I doubt they'd change the core mechanics too far away from what made it popular, and I have played demos of MH on the PSP, and they don't seem encouraging. It just feels like all the worst aspects of an MMO condensed and injected into a dungeon-crawler - destroying the good aspects of those in the process. Even derivative titles like Gods Eater I found barely tolerable, and only because I enjoyed the world and the lore more.

I don't mean to bag on the MH series too much; I'm sure they're great titles if you're into that sort of game. I just don't understand why people enjoy them so much.

[spoiler-box]

It's not too bad from a gameplay perspective. There's still a bit of MH in there, but it's much less tactical. You still have large enemies with insane HP pools to chip away slowly at, but they're rarer and you don't need a ton of specialized gear to take them out effectively. You can simply exploit weakspots and juggle elemental/status resistances to do the job. Still, I'm used to a bit more meat in my RPGs when it comes to atmosphere and narrative. There's really no story or lore to follow to speak of, and you don't really interact with the world in much a capacity beyond "kill this monster", "loot that box". The graphics could be better, but the art direction is quite nice. There's also a ton of items, upgrades, and micromanaging to be done each time you change a vocation or find a bit of shiny new gear. Lots of people hate that aspect of RPGs, but I enjoyed it. Gear is bought or found in the world, but you do need to harvest items for the upgrades... which is a nice compromise. I hate being stuck in noob gear just because I can't find that elusive last few bits of Griffin spunk or Ogre Dingleberries needed to craft higher level gear.

I do also like how females can get a wide array of reasonable armor for their job types, rather than be stuck with chainmail bikinis spuriously themed after their male counterparts. There's still chainmail bikinis and boob-plates to be found, sure, but it is very optional... and generally sub-par compared to the beefier armor sets. As it should be.

[spoiler-box]
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1254&pictureid=32893
Nawari, my knight in shining armor. Yes, my white knight is also my black knight. :)
[/spoiler-box]

Otherwise, pawns are pretty neat to tinker around with. If you horde a bunch of RC crystals from killing enemies and from renting out your pawn to other players, you can buy some neat character customizations to really make them unique.

[spoiler-box]
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1254&pictureid=32894

Two of my favorites I used a lot in my campaign, plus a dreadlocked hunchback midget neanderthal helper thing I used. He's like Willow if he were raised by wolves... and had down syndrome.
[/spoiler-box]
[/spoiler-box]

Well, MH3U and Tri did change the MH series by quite a few aspects, as well as improved online play and multiplayer in itself. In fact, at the rate MH is evolving, it will be quite different from the original mh games. You see, MH4 will be coming out in Japan soon for the 3DS. It is already different from MH3U in that it is more "open world" rather than simple piece by piece area maps. Also, in MH4 and MH3U, a new targeting feature has been added that works similarly to the one used in 3D Zelda games. I think monster hunters biggest pull right now is the multiplayer. I myself prefere to play with friends than hunt alone.

yoshiblue

Dec 25, 2012, 01:35 AM