Almost over 40 million copies has already been sold worldwide, the Monster Hunter franchise has grown significantly and it became one of Capcom's most prolific titles to date. However, in the past, not all Western players are as receptive to the first few Monster Hunter games; which is probably why there are only a few of them being distributed in the US.
Fortunately, as time goes by, Capcom continues to find new and innovative ways to make the series interesting and with the monumental success of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, selling over a million copies in the West, Capcom has started to find renewed interest from Western players.
OK! Enough of the background check and its time for another Reader's Review. This review is all about the "definitive" hunting game; Monster Hunter Generations!
Title: Monster Hunter Generations
Date Released: July 15, 2016 in the United States and in Europe (November 28, 2015 in Japan and a day later after the US and European release in Australia)
Company: Capcom
Genre: Action, RPG, Open world exploration
Platform: Nintendo 3DS family of consoles
ESRB Rating: Teen
Brief Background: As mentioned in my previous Reader's Review of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, the series as a whole sold more than 30 million copies and counting; making this title as prolific as their other games like Street Fighter and Mega Man.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate has sold over a million copies in the West, which was a safe thing to assume that Capcom has finally been able to make the Westerners embrace the game fully. The secret is that it is actually the first Monster Hunter on a handheld console to feature a fully-integrated online multiplayer mode; increasing the flexibility and interactivity of the game exponentially.
There are many people who have anticipated for the release of Monster Hunter Generations in the West after finding out that about 1.5 million copies has been sold in Japan for its very first week after release, which is a strong reason for these Western gamers to be excited in the game.
Time has gone by and while Monster Hunter Generations may no longer be the top best-selling game out there due to the release of other popular titles in varying consoles, the positive reception of players has lead to the rise of the popularity of the title and the sales of the Nintendo 3DS line of handhelds.
What do you do here?
You play the role of a Hunter (which you can customize upon making a new save file) hired by the Wycademy in Bherna Village to investigate the newly-found lands of the Jurassic Frontier. You are also given the opportunity to visit other villages in previous titles to provide additional assistance and to make the Wycademy known for a lot of people there... or so I would assume that's the plot.
However, as you investigate and explore the different Hunting Grounds, you are also forced to fight monstrosities, both old and new, in order to find out more about the unknown lands you are exploring. So it's best that you prepare your best gear to hunt them down; for better or for worse...
What makes the game interesting?
The game itself is considered a celebration to commemorate the past achievements of the franchise; which is quite evident to the places that you explore. You visit familiar places of Kokoto, Pokke, and Yukumo along with their respective hunting grounds; the Verdant Hills together with the Marshlands (known previously as simply Forest and Hills and Swamp respectively), the Arctic Ridge and Volcano (the former being a revamped version of the Snowy Mountains map), and finally, the tandem of Deserted Island and Misty Peaks.
The main village you are staying with is Bherna, where the Wycademy is stationed. The features in the game are quite different from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, all of which were either heavily reworked (such as the canteen and Meownster Hunter system) or removed entirely (including weapon honing and Guild Quests) in order to introduce unique elements in the game.
Each town provide specific quests and allows you to earn Village Points (?) which will either provide useful items or perhaps recipes in making specific pieces of equipment. There are specific quests, however, that are not worth checking out (Yeah, I am talking to you egg delivery quests!).
Another mode that was added that significantly increased the player experience was the Prowler Mode. In the past, Palicoes (cat-like beings found in previous titles until today) were specifically known to be AI-controlled units, but in this game, you can play as one; which is a lot of fun!
Being a Prowler has its advantages and here are some of them;
1. Palicoes doesn't require stamina to dash, dodge, etc,
2. Prowlers don't actually need Pickaxes and Bug Nets to gather
3. Palicoes have unique skills to boot; making the experience differ depending on what type of Palico your Prowler is.
4. Palicoes are not affected by weather conditions
5. Weapons that Palicoes use don't go dull
6. It takes 3 tries before Palicoes get carted back, among others.
However, there are also certain disadvantages when using them:
1. They have generally lower defense than Hunters
2. They don't have Armor Skills
3. Their attacks are generally weaker, even with great gear equipped
4. Skills needed are only limited based on the number of slots
5. Only a few quests are dedicated to Prowlers (quests that is specifically catered for Prowlers), among others
Another important factor that made the game even more convenient is that the Advance Quests no longer need to appear and disappear; allowing you to gain access to certain missions with ease and to collect hard-to-earn parts.
With so many changes that has been implemented in this game, there will be a chance that I may not be able to cover them up, but the most important feature that is exclusive in this version is the inclusion of the Hunter Arts; extremely powerful techniques that can allow you to deal massive damage against monsters or provide extremely useful buffs for your fellow Hunters.
While there are some features in the quest system that has been removed (such as the Guild Quests), there is another system that has been introduced called "Special Permit" quests. Special Permit quests allow you to hunt special monsters known as "Deviants" which are considerably more powerful versions of certain monsters like Rathalos and Tigrex, but these are not to be confused with Subspecies and Variants that are majorly absent in this game. There are 12 of them and you can only access these quests once certain conditions are met. Each of these quests asks you to provide a certain amount of Special Permits in order to take the quests (with varying amounts depending on the difficulty and quest type). You can replenish these Special Permits by meeting other Hunters via StreetPass or to buy them from the trader worth 500 Wycademy Points (1000 points in the Japanese version).
What are the flaws that I found unpleasant in this game?
There have been a lot of complaints from some Monster Hunter fans; one of which is the exclusion of the G-Rank difficulty; a more difficult set of missions that was previously included in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Veterans, to be specific, are quite critical about it since Monster Hunter was meant to be a game of memorization and timing.
Nevertheless, the absence of G-Rank was alleviated in the form of the Special Permit quests, however, with only 10 levels for each Deviant (120 quests in total), the amount of challenge was a bit shorter than the previous one (where each monster's HP in the Gathering Hall was optimized to be hunted by 4 Hunters).
Certain tweaks in the game are deemed unnecessary such as the removal of music to animated sequences when the music is turned off in the Options menu, the zoomed-in perspective where it can be pretty awkward especially when fighting tall monsters like Glavenus or Gammoth, and the removal of the arm-wrestling feature (I know that some of them may be irrelevant for others but these key features allows the players to have a nice experience, both in and out of the Hunting Grounds).
However, the worst one is got to be the removal of those immersive monster introductions. There is this odd yet satisfying feeling of seeing your actual Hunter in action; whether it is just gathering mushrooms and other irrelevant items like honey and herbs, or battling dangerous monsters that can either spell doom to that monster... or to yourself. The adrenaline rush of every hunt can be seen in those particular intros, which was toned down into brief CGI cut-scenes in Generations (which is a complete bummer).
If you were to play a Monster Hunter clone, what game would it be and why?
I have to be honest, there is no clone that can ever top Monster Hunter's unique formula. Nevertheless, there are some games that I can see the same promise that MonHun provides. That being said, if I were to play a game that looks like Monster Hunter, I would say either between God Eater or Toukiden; both good games with their own theme and style.
God Eater is set in a post-apocalyptic world where monsters rule around the lands, and you play as a character with the titular role of a God Eater to battle monsters. While the title can be misleading for most people, the game itself doesn't even actually involved about gods at all... or so I would like to assume. Toukiden, on the other hand, is set in a fantasy-like realm where you take the role of a Slayer to battle Oni (which is like the Japanese mythology equivalent of the large monsters seen in THAT hunting game) in order to prevent the Onis in taking over the world.
Again, the reason I would like to play either of them because they have their own style and unique mechanics that made them distinct from Monster Hunter games. God Eater has this particular mechanic where you "devour" monsters to gain useful abilities, while Toukiden has a Mitama system, which acts as spells that can heal your party or bolster your parameters, among other things.
EDIT: Oh, I forgot Final Fantasy Explorers, which also made a nice take on the Monster Hunter formula while also slapping in some memorable Final Fantasy game-play elements, which is nice.
Overall Rating: 9.4/10
Monster Hunter Generations is a celebration of everything that is Monster Hunter for the past 12 years of its existence. The combat is more dynamic while remaining to be exhilarating and fun. Also, with the additional features that made the game even more interesting, there really isn't any reason not to play this game at all. Truly, Monster Hunter Generations is the pound-for-pound king of monster hunting games!
--END OF REVIEW--
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