All it took was Yasunori Ichinose directing another MH game to make easily one of the best games in the franchise.
Never did I expect how hard they would work to make both classic(Gen1-4) and new MH(Gen5) meet halfway with all the changes they did. The return of Village and Hub separation, classic Talisman and Decoration system, a combat system that gets very close to how GU felt, a buddy system that's back to classic's albeit not as complex, very well-thought out adjustments for monsters in terms of HP and damage, and a ton of other small stuff that just pile up to collectively make the experience an extremely enjoyable and memorable one.
I'm very very happy that they did away with World's realism aspect and went back to classic MH's playful and comical feel, aesthetics, and humor. Weapon designs are once again back to their expressive and unique designs save for the returning World-introduced monster's weapons. Armors are sadly lacking in count but what we do have are designs that definitely feel like classic MH design-wise but given the graphical upgrade of Gen5 MH.
The maps are back to classic's style of wide open spaces that highlight the fight between you and the monster and it is so god tier how they recreated some of the Gen3 maps so perfectly. These, on top of the new ones that are extremely well crafted, are all very fun to navigate, explore, and fight in which is definitely the type of maps MH should have. Paired with absolutely mesmerizing battle themes and remixed tracks, make for hunts that feel extremely immersing, satisfying, and fun.
Returning monsters in the game were treated very well with moveset updates to make them feel fresh. The new ones are all very cool thematically, being inspired by Japanese youkai, and are very fun fights. But the standouts would definitely be the flagships which are honestly some of the most memorable in the franchise ever and definitely land a spot on my favorites of all time for sure.
I honestly cannot overstate how much they grinded this game for it to be as god tier as it ended up being. After my utter disappointment with World, I already resigned myself to the fact that classic MH was gone but was hoping the next installment would be somewhat at least enjoyable in more aspects. But after having finished the game, I can confidently say that they went way above and beyond that and made me feel like I was back to classic again, and reminding me why this is one of my favorite franchises ever.
Never did I expect how hard they would work to make both classic(Gen1-4) and new MH(Gen5) meet halfway with all the changes they did. The return of Village and Hub separation, classic Talisman and Decoration system, a combat system that gets very close to how GU felt, a buddy system that's back to classic's albeit not as complex, very well-thought out adjustments for monsters in terms of HP and damage, and a ton of other small stuff that just pile up to collectively make the experience an extremely enjoyable and memorable one.
I'm very very happy that they did away with World's realism aspect and went back to classic MH's playful and comical feel, aesthetics, and humor. Weapon designs are once again back to their expressive and unique designs save for the returning World-introduced monster's weapons. Armors are sadly lacking in count but what we do have are designs that definitely feel like classic MH design-wise but given the graphical upgrade of Gen5 MH.
The maps are back to classic's style of wide open spaces that highlight the fight between you and the monster and it is so god tier how they recreated some of the Gen3 maps so perfectly. These, on top of the new ones that are extremely well crafted, are all very fun to navigate, explore, and fight in which is definitely the type of maps MH should have. Paired with absolutely mesmerizing battle themes and remixed tracks, make for hunts that feel extremely immersing, satisfying, and fun.
Returning monsters in the game were treated very well with moveset updates to make them feel fresh. The new ones are all very cool thematically, being inspired by Japanese youkai, and are very fun fights. But the standouts would definitely be the flagships which are honestly some of the most memorable in the franchise ever and definitely land a spot on my favorites of all time for sure.
I honestly cannot overstate how much they grinded this game for it to be as god tier as it ended up being. After my utter disappointment with World, I already resigned myself to the fact that classic MH was gone but was hoping the next installment would be somewhat at least enjoyable in more aspects. But after having finished the game, I can confidently say that they went way above and beyond that and made me feel like I was back to classic again, and reminding me why this is one of my favorite franchises ever.
4 Comments
I'm living inside your walls
Not to sound like I’m gatekeeping, but it really annoys me when people talk like World’s more grounded approach was the departure from classic Monster Hunter, when it was very much in line with Gens 1-3. Those early games were very grounded, the colours muted, they had this ethereal sort of atmosphere of venturing forth into the unknown and facing down this living, breathing ecosystem of creatures that can break you like a kit kat bar in 2 seconds if you slip up. The cozy atmosphere of the villages, and the lighthearted playfulness of things like the felynes, even some of the goofier monster designs like Congalala, Nibelsnarf, Zamtrios, are supposed to be reprieves from a mostly grounded and serious experience. The 4th gen’s departure from that in favour of a higher contrast colour scheme and a more cartoonish personality and tone was more just them compensating for the downgrade in hardware. As someone who grew up on Freedom 2/Unite and Tri, as much as I love 4U, I was worried for a while that it had buried a part of Monster Hunter that I considered part of it’s identity. World was essentially to me what you describe Rise as being to you. My hope though is that between the mainline and portable teams, both styles get to live on so everyone stays happy.
Anyway, sorry for forcing you to read my rambling. Terrific review.
Anyway, sorry for forcing you to read my rambling. Terrific review.
That's fair yea and I do see your point. I guess what really stuck to me and made me love the franchise were the games specifically directed by Ichinose from Gen3 onwards (P3rd, X/G, Rise) since they were the ones that really had the playful personality mixed into everything that just really kept things fresh instead of just having a really standard hunting gameplay loop. I'll probably be fine with however MH6 will turn out since even if I don't end up liking it, if they keep making games at a pace this fast then waiting for the next one probably won't take too much but I'm definitely up for both teams just doing their own thing since I guess I just really needed a confirmation for myself that Gen5 MH can still be fun for me and Rise did that.
Also all good fam, and thanks for the input too :)
Also all good fam, and thanks for the input too :)
Shu_Watch
2 years ago