I've been playing this series on and off since the original PS2 demo that came with Devil May Cry 3. Without the online component available here in Europe it was kinda ok but forgettable playing it solo. Moving onto the PSP releases of Freedom, Freedom 2 and Unite where my friends and I would all get together to play it wireless on our PSPs was an absolute blast and I've been a huge fan ever since.
So for the uninitiated Monster Hunter is a co-op game of up to four players taking on missions to hunt down a variety of beasts on levels and arenas, carve up their bodies and make weapons and armour from their bits. The gameplay loop is extremely satisfying once you get past the fairly slow start of teaching you the mechanics and boy is there is a lot to learn here initially if you aren't a series veteran. There are 14 different main weapons, as well as the ability to craft traps, bombs, potions, armour, gems and accessories all of which can also have attached skills. It can be daunting at first but once you dig in you will find a decent amount of depth here to be had in the type of builds you can do or specialize in. I play with a group of friends who all use different weapons and skill sets. In fact as I mentioned on Appeciation's list of 'Perfect games if they were the only one you had' just changing weapon can absolutely freshen the game up if you are trying to learn how it works, it's skills and the right armour sets for it. In Rise I have played as the Hammer, Long Sword and Gun Lance mostly so far in about 150 hours. New to the series though is the wirebug. Kind of like a living grappling hook allowing you to propel yourself through the air like an absolute madman. It increases the games verticality in movement and recovery along with Palumutes you can ride and you ability to climb everywhere and Rise just feels much faster to play, almost more arcadey than the slower methodical approach of previous games. The wirebugs also give each weapon equipable attack skills to use allowing a small degree of customization.
I played the PlayStation port and I have to say I'm impressed by how this game looks. Capcom have always been incredibly proficient but it still looks gorgeous with fantastic art and is incredibly smooth. The RE engine truly is impressive stuff. The animations for all the monsters, cats, attacks and characters are the best part though. The attention to detail given to some of them like the NPCs in town or even some of the weapons. As an example I got a new hammer the other day to try that looks a little bit like a wheel that when you charge it up starts spinning. It's only this weapon that has that and there are hundreds. It's just full of small details like the Feyline blowing himself up in the kitchen, the Meowceneries palumutes on kites flying off backwards, the training Tetranadon powered by a Feyline that has to wind it up every so often etc. I love these aspects in the Monster Hunter games. They are just so charming despite the underlying theme of the games hunting completely innocent animals for no reason being kinda sinister to be honest.
While having a blast with this I do have some small niggles. Whilst the music is good I didn't find it as impactful as prior games like Zinogre's theme is just a bit muted in the background rather than 'you're in danger' in your face I would have liked. The endgame is kind of lacking too. I like the Rampage mode which is like a team tower defense but some more levels for variety would have been nice. All that's left for us now is crown hunting as we seem to have peaked equipment wise very early. This is possibly because as a group we also felt the Elder Dragon's with the exception of Crimson Glow Valstrax just didn't feel remotely threatening which was disappointing. I do like the mix of new and old monsters though gives a good roster. The Rakna-Kadaki and Magnamallo are especially memorable in the newer cast.
In conclusion we have had a great time with Monster Hunter Rise and I'm super happy Capcom ported it. I do prefer the slower approach of Monster Hunter World with monsters feeling far more threatening and I kind of agree with TylertheTigrex's review as he makes points that the wirebug trivializes a lot of the danger where monsters don't have the moves to deal with it as much. However despite that it's still a wonderful interactive world that is great in co-op, has a lot of options and content and looks and sounds great. I can't wait for the Sunbreak expansion release next month as I understand it adds so much to the game.
+ Looks and plays wonderfully with great details.
+ A lot of content and options for how you build your character.
+ Great co-op gameplay.
+ Rampages are fun.
+ WIrebug moves make the game fast paced....
-....and make some monsters too easy.
- Elder Dragons feel a bit weak.
So for the uninitiated Monster Hunter is a co-op game of up to four players taking on missions to hunt down a variety of beasts on levels and arenas, carve up their bodies and make weapons and armour from their bits. The gameplay loop is extremely satisfying once you get past the fairly slow start of teaching you the mechanics and boy is there is a lot to learn here initially if you aren't a series veteran. There are 14 different main weapons, as well as the ability to craft traps, bombs, potions, armour, gems and accessories all of which can also have attached skills. It can be daunting at first but once you dig in you will find a decent amount of depth here to be had in the type of builds you can do or specialize in. I play with a group of friends who all use different weapons and skill sets. In fact as I mentioned on Appeciation's list of 'Perfect games if they were the only one you had' just changing weapon can absolutely freshen the game up if you are trying to learn how it works, it's skills and the right armour sets for it. In Rise I have played as the Hammer, Long Sword and Gun Lance mostly so far in about 150 hours. New to the series though is the wirebug. Kind of like a living grappling hook allowing you to propel yourself through the air like an absolute madman. It increases the games verticality in movement and recovery along with Palumutes you can ride and you ability to climb everywhere and Rise just feels much faster to play, almost more arcadey than the slower methodical approach of previous games. The wirebugs also give each weapon equipable attack skills to use allowing a small degree of customization.
I played the PlayStation port and I have to say I'm impressed by how this game looks. Capcom have always been incredibly proficient but it still looks gorgeous with fantastic art and is incredibly smooth. The RE engine truly is impressive stuff. The animations for all the monsters, cats, attacks and characters are the best part though. The attention to detail given to some of them like the NPCs in town or even some of the weapons. As an example I got a new hammer the other day to try that looks a little bit like a wheel that when you charge it up starts spinning. It's only this weapon that has that and there are hundreds. It's just full of small details like the Feyline blowing himself up in the kitchen, the Meowceneries palumutes on kites flying off backwards, the training Tetranadon powered by a Feyline that has to wind it up every so often etc. I love these aspects in the Monster Hunter games. They are just so charming despite the underlying theme of the games hunting completely innocent animals for no reason being kinda sinister to be honest.
While having a blast with this I do have some small niggles. Whilst the music is good I didn't find it as impactful as prior games like Zinogre's theme is just a bit muted in the background rather than 'you're in danger' in your face I would have liked. The endgame is kind of lacking too. I like the Rampage mode which is like a team tower defense but some more levels for variety would have been nice. All that's left for us now is crown hunting as we seem to have peaked equipment wise very early. This is possibly because as a group we also felt the Elder Dragon's with the exception of Crimson Glow Valstrax just didn't feel remotely threatening which was disappointing. I do like the mix of new and old monsters though gives a good roster. The Rakna-Kadaki and Magnamallo are especially memorable in the newer cast.
In conclusion we have had a great time with Monster Hunter Rise and I'm super happy Capcom ported it. I do prefer the slower approach of Monster Hunter World with monsters feeling far more threatening and I kind of agree with TylertheTigrex's review as he makes points that the wirebug trivializes a lot of the danger where monsters don't have the moves to deal with it as much. However despite that it's still a wonderful interactive world that is great in co-op, has a lot of options and content and looks and sounds great. I can't wait for the Sunbreak expansion release next month as I understand it adds so much to the game.
+ Looks and plays wonderfully with great details.
+ A lot of content and options for how you build your character.
+ Great co-op gameplay.
+ Rampages are fun.
+ WIrebug moves make the game fast paced....
-....and make some monsters too easy.
- Elder Dragons feel a bit weak.
TylertheTigrex
1 year ago